The Requirements

Hi there.

So, this is still my first weak practicing and let me tell you - my shoulders are pretty sore!
I will post my weekly routine in the end of this weak so you could see what is that I'm doing.

But first, lets start from basics. what do you need to have, for planching?
Planche is a really hard thing to do, it involves so many fitness aspects and I will cover that in this post.

I sense that there is an argument whether this is a strength skill or a balance one.
For my own opinion, it's a mix of those two - You simply can't hold your entire body up in the air without a massive shoulders and lower back strength and also, you might just fall on your head without the full body balance, when trying to reach forward and overload those shoulders for increasing front side leverage.


Strength
As I said, the most working muscles are the shoulders and core (Lower back, Abs and everything between).
Most trainees, myself included, don't put a lot of attention to their core - especially the lower back.
In fact, having a strong lower back can benefit you a lot!
A better posture, reducing the common lower back pains, and of course, helping you with extreme skills as the front lever, back lever, human flag and the glorious planche.

So, those are the muscles involved in the position:

Shoulders - responsible for holding your torso up in the air.

Core - raising your legs up.

Chest and upper back - Helping your shoulders keeping your rib cage in the air.

Triceps- Will work for stabilization . also kicks in when you want to go forward for the planche push-ups.

Gluts, quads and hamstrings - need to be strong too so your legs will be straight.

Flexibility
Having a flexible wrists is a key ability for preventing injuries and having a perfect form.
Since your palms are the only thing that connect your body to the ground, most of the pressure will be focused on your wrist's joints.
Working on flexible your wrists, and getting it stronger is a must.

One of the progressions for a full straight legs planche is the straddle planche, where your legs are spread out behind you, decreasing the leverage your legs makes.
The higher the angle between your legs, the easiest the straddle planche will be for your shoulders and core.
So, if you planning on ever get to the straddle planche (I guess otherwise you wouldn't read my blog) you should spend time on working on your front split and dynamic leg flexibility, So when you will eventually get there, you will be prepared.

The straddle planche looks like this-

Balance
As I said, your entire body is relied on your wrists, and your palms are the only balance source it got.
You will have to know how to control your balance in order to keep the position.
My recommendation is working on a handstand.
In the handstand position, you also use only your palms for balancing and that can be a good practice. Also, the handstand can contribute to your wrists flexibility and shoulders strength.


For summary, the planche is a journey, And during that journey you will learn new skills and improve your body overall fitness.

See you later.