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This bodyweight exercise is a very challenging version of the plank.
The plank targets the anti-rotation function of the deep core muscles.
It has the potential to develop serious core strength and stability.
To do this exercise effectively…
Set one forearm on the ground perpendicular to your body.
You want to hold your shoulders square to the ground…
DO NOT roll up onto your side.
That changes the focus of the exercise and makes it easier.
As you tire on one side, switch arms.
Repeat until you can no longer hold yourself up on either arm…
The one-arm hammer plank helps build core strength and stability.
As well as developing a tighter waist (result of anti-rotational function being worked).
It’s also going to develop a rock-solid core.
As well tightening up your entire midsection and waist.
You probably know by now that crunches are NOT the way to get a flatter stomach.
This version of the plank cranks up difficulty level and it’s not a beginner version…
You’re going to be doing the plank with one arm instead of two.
The arm you’re bracing on will be set perpendicular to your body.
This is why I call this one a “hammer” plank…
Mimics hammer curl so you’ll be exerting force against the ground with your fist, just like a hammer.
And instead of setting the forearm in line with body and tilting so you’re doing a side plank…
You will instead be keeping your shoulders parallel with the ground.
Use your arm position to brace the core.
It’s a VERY tough position to hold, which targets obliques and deep muscles of the core strongly.
The transverse abdominis, for example) by focusing on anti-rotation tension.
What it means is you’ll be exerting force to STOP rotation of the spine…
This is a much safer way to target “rotational” muscles without actually rotating the spine.
When doing this one, you have two options…legs together or separated.
(I just did the legs-together version in the demo).
Keeping your legs together increases torsion throughout core.
Setting feet wider makes the exercise easier.
This part of the work is what your abs should be doing.
So it will be done with leg stabilization.
Here’s the position you will be in for the One-Arm Hammer Plank…
Notice how arm is set and how my shoulders are kept square to the ground.
This is the MOST important step to note for the exercise. Why?
Because if your body tilts up on it’s side, it turns it into a Side Plank.
And that is a whole difference exercise.
TIP: Don’t make it easy on yourself 🙂
One-Arm Hammer Planks – Bodyweight Exercise for Developing Extreme Core Strength and Stability.
In order to maintain that shoulders-square position…
You must exert force with your fist against the ground.
And this force carries through arm and into the core.
Hold until your position starts to break, then set your other forearm down and switch arms.
Keep repeating this side-to-side sequence until you’re unable to hold yourself up.
Keep shoulders square to the ground on either side.
As you can see, this is a VERY challenging plank movement.
To give you an idea of how hard it is, I can do a normal plank for about 4 minutes…
I was less than a minute on this, even switching between arms.
You will feel this bodyweight exercise from the moment you start it.
And it will develop tremendous anti-rotational core strength and stability.
In addition to tightening the entire midsection and waist.
By Nick Nilsson
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, Nick Nilsson is known around the world as the “Mad Scientist of Muscle” for a reason. Nine-time published author and fitness expert Nick Nilsson enters his lab every day with one obsession to experiment with and deliver something better, the kind of mind-blowing, extraordinary resistance training exercises that get results FAST.
An expert in kinesiology, physiology and anatomy, Nick’s driving passion is helping people create the body they want, especially when nothing else seems to do the trick.
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One-Arm Hammer Plank
