How to Do a Planche Progression
The planche progression is a body-weight conditioning routine that works the upper body by improving strength and increasing balance. As you master one exercise, you move on to the next, building on what you’ve already learned. This is a great workout for people involved in gymnastics, but it can benefit any fitness enthusiast. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Frog Stand
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Start in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist, and your knees are positioned outside and against your bent elbows.
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Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your hands and your knees. (Your knees will be pressed against your bent elbows.)
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Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up by your hands and supporting your position with your elbow/knee connection.
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Hold this position for 60 seconds.
Tuck Planche
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After you’ve become familiar with the frog stand, you can move onto tuck. Again, start in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist. Instead of resting your knees against your elbows, press them into your chest.
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Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your right and left hands. Your back will have a slight curvature as you move into position.
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Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up only by your hands.
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Hold this position for 60 seconds. Please note that you will most likely only be able to hold this position momentarily. As you work with the tuck planche, the time you are able to suspend your body will increase.
Advanced Tuck Planche
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After you’re able to hold tuck planche for an extended period of time, move on to advanced tuck planche. Once again, start in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist, and press your knees lightly into your chest.
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10
Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your right and left hands. Your back will have a slight curvature as you move into position.
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Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up only by your hands.
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Extend your hips back slowly until your back is flat and your hips are at about shoulder height.
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Hold this position for 60 seconds.
Straddle Planche
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After you’re able to hold advanced tuck planche for an extended period of time, move onto the straddle planche. Again, start off in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist, and press your knees lightly into your chest.
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15
Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your right and left hands. Your back will have a slight curvature as you move into position.
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16
Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up only by your hands.
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Extend your hips back slowly until your back is flat and your hips are at about shoulder height.
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Straighten your legs back until they are fully extended and parallel with the floor. As you straighten your legs, you will most likely need to lean forward a bit further.
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Hold this position for 10 seconds.
Tuck Planche Push-Up
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After you’ve become familiar with the straddle planche, you can move onto the addition of the push-up. Again, start in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist. Instead of resting your knees against your elbows, press them into your chest.
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Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your right and left hands. Your back will have a slight curvature as you move into position.
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Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up only by your hands.
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Bend your elbows, drawing your chest toward the ground. Then straighten your arms back to the original position.
Advanced Tuck Planche Push-Up
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After you’re able to do the tuck planche push-up, move on to the advanced form. Again, start in a full squatting position, placing your right hand directly in front of your right foot and your left hand directly in front of your left foot. Make sure the toes of both feet are touching the area where your palm meets your wrist, and press your knees lightly into your chest.
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25
Lean forward so your weight is evenly distributed to both your right and left hands. Your back will have a slight curvature as you move into position.
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Draw your feet off the ground, holding yourself up only by your hands.
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Extend your hips back slowly until your back is flat and your hips are at about shoulder height.
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Bend your elbows, drawing your chest toward the ground. Then straighten your arms back to the original position.
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Tips & Warnings
If you experience any sort of pain in the wrists while performing the planche progression, use a set of push-up bars to complete the exercise.
If you suffer from a wrist or shoulder injury, avoid practicing the planche progression except under the supervision of a medical professional and personal trainer.
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Comments
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On average how long does it take to work through all these steps if you train every day?
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Can you please add pictures of each step?
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great for parkour training this stuff is.
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martialghost
Jan 25, 2010
I understand you need to be able to hold each static hold for 60 seconds before continuing, but how long do you practice the 60 seconds? What i mean is, do you do 3 sets of 20 seconds per day? or do you try to do 6 sets of 20 seconds? Either way one really only works this workout for around 5 minutes a day.
