How Long Should You Be Able to Hold a Plank?

How to Build MuscleHow to Build Endurance

Jul 7

Written By JC

How long to hold a plank

What does doing a plank do for you

How to do a plank

Making a plank more challening

Here's the truth...

If you can already hold a plank for 2 minutes or longer,

you don't need to keep chasing a longer hold.

At that point,

you need to make the plank harder, not hold it for longer.

If you can't hold a plank for 2 minutes I'll show you:

How long you should be able to hold a plank for based on your age
The muscles a plank works and why it's a great exercise to do
The right way to do a plank so you work your abs not your hips
How to make the plank harder

Here’s how long you should be able to hold a plank below.

How long you should be able to hold a plank according to your age

The goal according to your age should be:

30–60 seconds: Master perfect technique.
60–120 seconds: Build endurance.
120+ seconds: Make the exercises harder

Your age doesn’t stop you from acheiving your goals but… it does change where you are starting from.
My online coaching client is 67 and in remission from breast cancer started doing a plank by holding it for 20s… and in 3 months she was able to reached 2 minutes of a plank!
And now she is doing much harder variations.

stronger plank means less pain

The longer you sit the more you put your core, hips, glutes, and back in a weak position.

And the weaker the position,

The more pain this can cause in the long term.

So a plank is an “anti- sitting position” that forces your body to strengthen muscles sitting weakens.

It strengthes your:

glutes
hip flexors
obliques (the sides)
rectus abdominis (the front of your abs)
transverse abdominis (deep core that wraps around your waist)

Each muscle is essential for protecting the lower back for proper posture while you are sitting and other exercises like:

during a deadlift, squat, and shoulder press.

Keeping your core tight is the foundation of every movement.

Becuase the weaker your core the easier it is for your back to give out during every day movements.

Othe benefits of a plank

Other benefits of the plank include:

Improving blood pressure
Less lower back pain
Less fall risk

What the research has found: In just 9 weeks of core training, you could improve your core strength, flexibility, balance, walking speed, and overall mobility despite your age.

How to do a true plank

How to do a plank so you feel it in your core and not your hips.

1. Start with good alignment. Shoulders above elbows (and elbows above wrist if you are doing a high plank).

2. Brace your core. Keep your legs hip with apart, and squeeze your abs as if someone was hitting to punch them.

3. Keep your hips down. But do not arch your back. There should be a straight line from your head, following your shouldsers, hips, and down to your ankles.

3. Keep your chin down and breathe. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

4. Once you are done. Drop your knees first. Do not make the mistake of dropping your hips to the floor and arching your back.

If a forearm plank is to difficult, there are several ways to make it more adaptable to your starting point:

1. Incline Plank

The higher your hands, the easier the exercise becomes.

2. Knee Plank

Keep your forearms on the floor but bend your knees so they rest on the ground. Maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.

3. Shorten the Hold

Instead of trying to hold one long plank, break it up into short sets: 3–5 sets of 10–20 seconds.

4. Widen Your Base

Put your feet farther apart wider than your hips to create more support and make your balance easier.

5. Hold a Tall Plank

If this is hard on the wrist you can use a bosu and put the flat part up to make it easier on your wrist.

making a plank more challening

Once you can hold a **forearm plank for + 90 seconds with perfect form**, you’ve graduated and it’s time t akethe exercis harder.

1. RKC Plank

Pull your elbows toward your toes while squeezing your glutes, quads, and core as hard as possible. This creates much more full-body tension than a standard plank.

2. Long-Lever Plank

Move your elbows a few inches farther in front of your shoulders. This increases the leverage and forces your core to work harder.

3. Plank with Shoulder Taps

From a high plank, slowly lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder while keeping your hips level. This challenges anti-rotation strength and shoulder stability.

4. Body Saw

Place your feet on sliders or towels and slowly glide your body forward and backward while maintaining a neutral spine. This is one of the most challenging core exercises.

5. Stability Ball Plank

Rest your forearms on a stability ball. The unstable surface forces your core and shoulder muscles to work harder to stay balanced.

6. Plank with Alternating Leg Lifts

Lift one foot a few inches off the floor without letting your hips rotate or your back arch.

7. Plank with Arm Reach

Reach one arm straight in front of you while keeping your hips square to the floor.

8. Weighted Plank

Place a weight plate on your upper back (not your lower back) to increase the resistance while maintaining perfect form.

Rule of thumb: If you can hold a plank for 90 seconds minutes without your hips dropping or body shaking it’s time to make it harder.