As I mentioned earlier, unless you’re well-trained focusing on planche in advance, you most likely won’t be able to perform this feats right off the bat.
And that’s why planche progressions is so important; it helps you improve your strength while enhancing other required skills.
The four main and highly-recommended progressing exercises for the planche are:
- The frog stand
- The tuck planche and other advanced variations
- The straddle planche
- Full planche
These are arranged based on their levels of difficulty.
These progressions require a strong physical base in advance, which is established by various compound exercises; for example, planks, push-ups, pull-ups and dips.
You should master each progression, starting from the easiest, before moving on to a harder one.
- In general, holding a progression for 60 seconds consecutively in good form is considered good enough.
1. The Frog Stand
Congratulation on making the very first step of planche training! Here is a video to help you with the basics of the frog stand.
Start with the full-squat position, then place your hands on the ground, your feet right behind the hands.
You can use your elbows to support your knees as you lean forward and focus your weight onto the hands.
The goal is to completely lift your feet off the ground and hold that position for 60 seconds. More advanced frog stand variations can be seen in this video.
2. The Tuck Planche & Variations
That’s one step closer. In order to accomplish the full planche, you must be able to do a tuck planche first. This video below will show you how to progress with tuck planche step by step.
Assume the same position as frog stand. The difference is instead of resting your knees on the elbows, they should be pressed into your chest.
As the results, you rely solely on your straight arms to support the entire body weight.
This progression requires consistent practice. You should aim to level your hips at shoulder height and hold for 60 seconds consecutively.
Once you’re able to execute the tuck planche for the required length of time, you’re ready for the advanced tuck planche, which differ by the straight back positioning.
More details on tuck planche progression and variations can be found here.
3. The Straddle Planche
This progression actually builds on the tuck planche position, with legs extended straight out from the body.
From the tuck planche position, slowly shift your legs and extend them out from the chest behind you.
You should try to lean forward to counter the shift in weight and maintain your balance. Balance can be acquired easily by keeping your legs further apart.
However, you should attempt to bring them closer together as you get better at the exercise.
Aim for a consecutive 10-second hold because this progression is much harder than the previous ones.
4. The Full Planche
This is the final test. The complete tutorial of how to do a full planche can be seen here.
It is important to warm up your body to the best condition before attempting the full planche. It also prevents some injuries. Some common exercises are: touching toes and stretching arms.
Finally, you’ve conquered the static planche, but it’s not the end. You can intensify the exercises by integrating some dynamic movements or attempting the planche push-up.
