Copenhagen planks are mainly aimed at improving strength in your hip and groin muscles, known as adductors; however, they also work the core and more specifically, the obliques. Lift the hips up until your body is in a straight line with the lower leg off the floor. For this progression, you will hold the same side plank position but move your chest toward the ground in a slow, controlled movement. EMG evaluations of hip adduction exercises for soccer players: implications for exercise selection in prevention and treatment of groin injuries. Similar to the Nordic hamstring exercise, the Copenhagen adduction exercise (CAE) is a bodyweight movement popularized by Danish researchers and sports therapists. By Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. This will ensure that you are engaging and strengthening your adductors correctly. , Your email address will not be published. The first is that it strengthens your frontal plane. Strengthening your adductors through Copenhagen Plank will help create balance in the hip area and reduce injury chances. With the top arm, grab a light dumbbell or kettlebell and hold it up in the air as you do so. Copenhagen plank doesn't engage core? : r/bodyweightfitness Copenhagen Planks (How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits) Start with as much of your leg on the support as possible. These modifications will add extra difficulty to the Copenhagen Plank and challenge your core and stabilizer muscles. However, instead of your feet on the ground, place the top foot onto a chair, bench or another stable surface, while holding the bottom leg off the ground. The Copenhagen Plank, or the Copenhagen Side Plank, is a side plank variation that, in addition to training the abdominals, targets the adductor (groin) muscles. Popular with Strength Coaches and Physical Therapists alike, the movement can help improve lumbopelvic stability, core strength, and healthy hip function. Gaze forward and maintain a straight line from head to heels. Just like the side plank, the Copenhagen plank involves lying on one side of your body with your bottom elbow bent, forearm resting flat on the floor, and legs fully extended. Lift the hips up until your body is in a straight line with the lower leg off the floor and hold. From here we are going to raise our hips up by contracting our adductors until are hips are in a straight line. This will improve abdominal and adductor activation. Clam shells, for example, along with lots of glute exercises, will help strengthen these outer hip muscles which is undoubtedly important. It stands to reason that strengthening your groin muscles will reduce the risk of injuring your groin, and that's exactly what the science says: And in particular, having strong eccentric adductor strength, or strength when your adductors are being lengthened which happens in a lot physical activities "seem important to consider, especially in prevention, as this resembles the situation where the muscle-tendinous structures are at the highest risk of injury" Serner et al (2014). 1) Set up with your head perpendicular to a bench and facing away. If done correctly and youre really focusing on what it's targeting [read: the core and thighs], the Copenhagen plank is really hard to hold for even 10 good seconds, says Analisse Ros, C.S.C.S., a certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist in Connecticut. Try a 10-second hold, repeated three times with rest in between as needed. That said, make sure to schedule it for the beginning of your mat workout (the way you want to do dips or pull-ups before getting into the heavy stuff . To do this exercise, lie on your side with your feet and legs stacked, then prop yourself up on one arm while keeping the other arm extended. The Copenhagen plank comes with a range of variations that can either decrease or increase the intensity and help you progress in your adductor strengthening program. 5) Take a deep exhale and engage your abs and glutes. 3 Killer Side Plank Variations to Build Your Obliques It can be regressed or progressed, which makes it perfect for any skill level. Below we list all the variations you can apply, from easy to hard, so that you can pick the right one based on your skill level. Just 10 seconds at a time, over three sets, is a great place to start. Start with 10 seconds, then, as the move becomes easier, slowly add a few more seconds at a time, says Ros. This particular exercise you can do 1-2 times per week for 2-3 sets, and that will have you well on your toward stronger adductors, better posture, fewer injuries, and some compliments on your inner thighs. How to Do a Copenhagen Plank For Stronger Abs | Well+Good Copenhagen Plank is an exercise to make your inner thigh muscles strong that can help reduce groin pain and injuries during sports activities. Copenhagen, Danish Kbenhavn, capital and largest city of Denmark. Buyers Guide to Cold Plunge Pools and Baths, Oblique Crunches How to Perform & Benefits. In the meantime, you can strengthen your adductors with other isometric exercises. As this move is already creating a ton of tension through your glutes and shoulder blades, keeping your free leg raised and in the proper 90 degree position is serious anti-rotation work for your core. To hold the correct position and avoid losing your balance, tense your whole body along with the adductors. The closer your body is to the bench, the easier the movement becomes. Extend out the bottom leg while keeping it off the floor. In this article, we will discuss the progressions for mastering the bodyweight dip from complete beginners. How (and Why) to Do Copenhagen Planks - MSN Copenhagen Plank - Sweat Keep your core engaged and stable during the exercise by contracting the muscles in your abdomen. This ability to strengthen the adductors helps to ensure your lateral movements arent solely reliant on your abductors. These days, the fitness world is all about increasing efficiency. Holding your breath can cause you to become dizzy and affect your form, so make sure to keep breathing steadily while doing the Copenhagen Plank. The Copenhagen plank is a very technical, yet very effective, exercise. 2019:1-34. For runners, this position reinforces the posture you want when you run. Remember to maintain proper form throughout the exercise and stop immediately if you feel pain or discomfort. The human body doesnt cope with imbalances very well in fact, imbalances are a recipe for disaster when it comes to injuries. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anterior_Hip_Muscles_2.PNG, You Dont Need To Fix Your Flat or Pronated Feet. The Copenhagen plank, also known as the Copenhagen adductor plank due to its target muscles, or the Copenhagen plank hold, is a more challenging side plank variation. The adductor strengthening programme prevents groin problems among male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. This help increases the strength of your adductors and improves your overall hip stability and balance. If you dont have a bench or other suitable support, you could also use a training buddy to help you perform this exercise. Forget counting your reps in minutes. How to Perform and Progress the Copenhagen Plank The basic idea is to support your upper body on your forearm or hand, while your leg is supported on a bench or another object. Why Mastering the Pistol Squat Should Be Your Next Fitness Goal, 6 Triceps Extension Variations to Strengthen Your Arms, No Matter Your Fitness Level or Abilities, The Best Exercises for Sculpting Your Glutes, The Z Press Will Challenge Your Upper-Body and Core Strength Heres How to Do It, The 10 Best Hamstring Exercises to Strengthen Your Lower Body, How to Improve Your Flexibility with Stretching Exercises, How to Do Dead Bugs to Strengthen Your Core, The Kettlebell Windmill Is the Stability Exercise Your Core and Shoulders Need Heres How to Do It. Looking to improve the strength, range of motion, and control of your hips to enhance your function and performance? 2013;48(14):1108-1114. Anytime youre standing on one leg (like every step you take while walking) the adductors work to prevent your knee from caving in. This variation is similar to the regular plank but requires more coordination as you alternate tapping each hand forward into a pushup position. If you're performing the exercise with your right arm on the floor, for example, you'll fire up your right side's obliques and left leg's adductors and abductors, she adds. It is a fairly technical exercise; for this reason, we will describe in detail how to perform it successfully and apply regressions or progressions when needed. You should also strive to keep the legs together, as this will work your leg adductors more efficiently. Serious imbalances can lead to compensated movement patterns and, in turn, an increased risk of injury, according to the American Council on Exercise. Another variation of the knee-assisted Copenhagen plank is the bent-knee Copenhagen plank. Benefits. Once you have mastered the basic form of the Copenhagen Plank, you can progress to more advanced variations. They are mainly included in rehab programs for athletes who have suffered an injury in the groin area, but they are often also found in strength programs. Make sure to progress from the more accessible variations to the more challenging ones as you get stronger. As the Copenhagen plank aims to strengthen the hips, it would be ideal to start by performing some hip mobility exercises to warm the muscles up and improve the range of motion. Copenhagen Plank can cause strain on the lower back if done incorrectly. In this exercise guide, weve got tips on how to do the Copenhagen plank properly, the muscles worked, benefits and things to consider when doing the movement. To make things harder, you can also include a dynamic hip movement by lowering and raising your hip to the ground or using a suspension trainder instead of a bench. Think of these inner thigh muscles like the hamstrings of the frontal plane. Additional information: Adductor longus and pectineus will also contribute to hip flexion, while adductor magnus (posterior head) also contributes to hip extension. This will engage and strengthen more muscles in your arms, shoulders, and core. Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin Injury (Science-Based) E3 Rehab 26K views 2 years ago Adductor Mobility Flow [P]rehab 22K views 4 years ago 3 Core Exercises You Should. 2016;26(11):1334-1342. Think about squeezing both shoulder blades and glutes. Copenhagen Plank Variations. Find the right variation that provides zero pain. Copenhagen plank, commonly referred to as adductor side plank, is a fantastic exercise to strengthen your hips, glutes, and core. Press into side plank position. Once you have mastered the regular two-leg Copenhagen plank, try doing it on a single leg for an extra challenge. As soon as you go up onto your palm instead of your forearm, you take away some of that stability, so theres a little bit more work that your body has to do to stabilize and not rotate to one side, she explains. 6) Lift your bottom leg up so its parallel to the ground. This variation is a Copenhagen plank progression, as it requires more strength and stability since there is the addition of weights. What is the proper form for Copenhagen Plank? This exercise is so effective that when an adductor strengthening programme, adding just ONE exercise, was implemented, groin injury rates fell by 41%. A 30 second hold would be really good and a 60 second hold would demonstrate very good adduction strength. 2. Still, your obliques, the muscles responsible for rotating your trunk, get a large chunk of the action. Here's why you should be mixing Copenhagen planks into your routine and how to do so with perfect form. Move it out more, and the lever becomes longer and more challenging. When that gets easy, try a harder variation. Adductors bring your legs in toward your midline; the two letter Ds in the middle may help you remember that they bring the legs together.). But its an under-appreciated exercise, and deserves a spotlight of its own. As well as developing hip strength, the Copenhagen plank is also a great way to activate the core muscles, especially the obliques. This variation requires more balance and stability to maintain the position. 1. If you dont have that stability and anti-rotation [capacity] in your core, your body would just continue going the way that it's going and you wouldn't be able to change directions super quickly, says Ros. C. Then, lift left foot off the ground so it's hovering a few inches below right foot. The bottom leg hangs underneath the bench. In a side plank position, place the top leg on a bench with the bottom leg under the bench. Doing Copenhagen Plank is a great way to strengthen your core, improve stability and reduce injury chances. The Ultimate Test of Strength: The Copenhagen Plank BJSM. We will start with the easiest progression and work our way up to more advanced variations. The Copenhagen Plank is very simple, all you need is a chair or bench. This regression involves performing the side plank on the forearm rather than extending the arm fully to increase stability. The exercise is isometric, which means you hold your body in one position while contracting your muscles. You can also check out his Instagram, he's pretty easy on the eyes. Fortunately, with side plank variations its not so difficult. Haroy J et al. Ishoi et al in 2016 had 24 male soccer players perform the Copenhagen adduction exercise two times a week, while progressively increasing the number of sets and repetitions over the course of 8 weeks (starting with 2 sets of 6 each and ending with 3 sets of 15 each). No need to be a hero and set the bench in contact with the thigh. Copenhagen Denmark: Rosenborg Castle A small village existed on the site of the present city by the early 10th century. No, you place one leg (your top leg) on a bench. Say youre a soccer player. This variation will target the core muscles more intensely than the regular side plank. This is great if youre starting out and also if this bugs your knee (which well get to) this option takes the knee out of the equation since itll be resting on the bench. JOSPT. A kettlebell or dumbbell work fine, but for just like TGUs I find the kettlebell to work a little bit better. Place yourself in a perpendicular position to a bench, in a forearm side plank position, Place your upper leg on top of the bench and keep the bottom one off the floor, Place a mat under your arm to provide more comfort to your elbow, Keep the core engaged to maintain the correct posture, Use a lower bench to further decrease the intensity and support your back, Bend your upper leg on the bench and use that knee as support to reduce the intensity and add stability, Place yourself in a perpendicular position to a bench, in an extended side plank position, Bend the bottom leg on the floor and use the knee as support, Use a mat to put under your leg to provide extra comfort to your knee. Hold this position. As the muscles worked in the Copenhagen plank are mainly those in the inner thigh area. The origin of the exercise is a bit of a mystery, but it's safe to say it was invented way before the early 2000s.
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