A Primer, Bodyweight Basics

THE PLANCHE
AND HOW WE GET THERE...
The planche is to push ups what muscle ups are
to pull ups in many people’s opinion.
It can be seen as the ultimate test of pushing
power, requiring insane amounts of strength
throughout the whole body.
This is a lever exercise, resulting in a counter
balance where the aim is to evenly distribute the
weight of the body over the hands.
PLANCHE LEAN
The difficulty of this exercise has MANY
variables, some of which you are unable
to control. Shorter people tend to have an
easier time achieving this move.
The more mass you have on your legs, the
harder this exercise will be. For many, the
straddle planche (shown above) is more
than enough of an achievement.
In a later section, we will talk about how to
train legs, personally I like to use an external
weight (a barbell) to perform squats.
Find the training style that works for you!
The starting position on the long
road to the planche is the planche
lean.
From a normal push up position, lean
forward while keeping your shoulders
protracted.
When you can hold this for 15-20
seconds, you could add a planche
lean press into the equation for some
serious pressing gains, leading up to
planche press ups!
The futher forward you move your feet,
the harder it’ll be as you’ll have to lean
more, Your back will naturally round in
this position.
BODYWEIGHT 23