CalisthenicsIn review

Copenhagen Plank

A side plank supported by the top ankle on a bench and the lower forearm on the floor.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Trunk stability
Modality: Calisthenics
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Unilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Lie on the side with the top ankle on a stable bench.
Place the lower elbow under the shoulder and keep both legs straight.

Do the rep

Press the top leg into the bench and lift the hips from the floor.
Lift the lower leg toward the top leg and hold the trunk in one line.
Lower the hips and repeat on the other side.

What counts as a rep

Count only time held with the hips raised, the top ankle on the bench and the lower leg lifted; count each side separately.

Breathing

Breathe steadily during the hold.

Cues

Press down through the top leg.
Keep the hips raised.
Face straight ahead.

Common mistakes

Hips dropping
What you seeThe pelvis sags below the shoulder-to-ankle line.
FixEnd the hold or use a reviewed shorter-lever variation.
A level pelvis maintains the supported side plank.
Bench moving
What you seeThe bench slides as the top leg presses down.
FixUse a stable bench that cannot slide or tip.
A fixed support is required for the hold.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if you feel groin pain.
Stop if the bench moves.
End the set when the hips cannot stay raised.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Adductors · moderate confidence

Assisting

Rectus abdominis · moderate confidence
Obliques · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence
Shoulders (coarse UI group) · moderate confidence

Equipment

Bodyweight + Bench

Optional: Floor mat

Lie on the side with the top ankle on a stable bench. Place the lower elbow under the shoulder and keep both legs straight.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Manual

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 5, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints unless a correction is listed below; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_side_plank, the closest Wave 1 record. The draft carries no Wave 1 review evidence.
CSV equipment bodyweight|floor-mat|pull-up-bar-optional is normalized to required bodyweight, bench and optional floor-mat. The CSV floor-mat is optional under the existing catalog normalization. Required equipment follows the movement and the owner picker rules.
The CSV says bilateral. The movement is unilateral; count each side separately.
Skill tier intermediate: A straight-leg adductor-supported side hold needs months of strength training. The CSV says beginner. Failure cost low: the movement ends on the floor or in a stable stand.
The CSV allows reps or duration. This static hold uses duration only, as the Wave 1 planks.
The CSV core family omits adductors. The draft makes adductors primary, keeps the trunk and shoulders secondary, and drops the hip-flexor and grip hints. The trunk role follows the owner rule despite the adductor emphasis.
The CSV rep-or-duration-candidate hint maps to manual tracking because it is not a schema capability. Camera support stays false and public capability stays manual_only.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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