4 Plank Challenges to Try

These quick plank challenges range from 4 to 8 minutes. (That’s total time with rest—you won’t be holding a plank that whole time!) I like doing them as a workout finisher or as buy-in before starting a longer workout.

Planks are often thought of as an “ab exercise.” And they certainly are great for strengthening the core. But, when done correctly, a plank is a total body exercise. You’re stabilizing through the shoulders, engaging your glutes, energizing through the legs, pressing the floor away through the hands—everything is working.

Give one of these four plank challenges a try this week!

The OG Plank Workout

Eight years ago to the day, I posted my first workout tutorial to the blog. It was, fittingly, a plank workout. I went back and revamped it, adding a video and tweaking the sequence. It’s made up of six plank variations, each done for 20 seconds (so in total that’s a 2-minute plank). You rest for 60 seconds before repeating the sequence 2-3 times. FULL WORKOUT HERE.

Plank Tabata: Forearm Plank Exercises

This workout is part of a seven-day tabata plank challenge I did years ago. If you have wrist pain that prevents you from being on your hands for extended periods of time, this uses forearm plank variations only. 20 seconds on / 10 seconds off for four minutes. If you’re advanced, hold a plank during the “rest” intervals instead! FULL WORKOUT HERE.

Slider Plank Challenge (7 Mins)

In this quick plank-based workout, you’ll build exercise combos with sliders (dish towels or socks work, too!). You do a three-minute sequence on one side, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat on the other side. If you enjoy megaformer workouts, you’ll love this one. FULL WORKOUT HERE.

4-Min Plank Tabata with Sliders

If the three-minute sliding sequence in the previous workout sounds intimidating, start off with this slider plank challenge. 20 seconds on / 10 seconds rest, going through four different sliding plank exercises. FULL WORKOUT HERE.

If you’re looking for more, all my core-focused workouts can be found here.

xo Nicole