Plank Pike Slide With Towel
Plank Pike Slide With Towel Exercise Description
The Plank Pike Slide with Towel is a bodyweight core drill that blends a stable high plank with a controlled hip pike using sliding feet. It emphasizes anterior core control—rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques—while the hip flexors assist and the shoulders stabilize through the serratus anterior, deltoids, and rotator cuff. The goal is anti-extension: maintain a neutral spine and steady ribcage-pelvis relationship as the base of support moves. As the hips lift into a pike, the legs stay long and the trunk remains braced, forming an inverted “V” without rounding the lower back. Sliding the feet increases trunk stiffness demands and closed-chain shoulder stability, reinforcing precise alignment and smooth control.
- Muscle Groups: Abs, Core, Waist
- Target Muscles: Rectus Abdominis
- Assisting Muscles: External Obliques, Iliacus, Internal Obliques, Psoas Major, Transversus Abdominis
- Stabilizing Muscles: Deltoid - Anterior, Infraspinatus, Serratus Anterior, Subscapularis, Teres Minor
- Body Area: Upper Body
- Body Parts: Core, Torso
- Body Surface: Front
- Body Symmetry: Bilateral
- Equipment: Bodyweight
- Exercise Patterns: Other
- Exercise Type: Strength
- Functional Grouping: Trunk Flexors
- Joint Involvement: Single-joint
- Muscle Location: Stomach
- Movement Direction: Other
- Muscle Position: Anterior
- Gender: Male
How To Do The Plank Pike Slide With Towel Exercise
‘- Place a small towel under both toes on a smooth floor. Set up in a high plank: hands under shoulders, legs long, feet hip-width.
– Spread fingers and press through palms; “push the floor away” to stabilize and slightly protract the shoulder blades.
– Keep head and neck neutral; ribs down; gently posteriorly tilt the pelvis. Brace the abdomen as if preparing for a cough.
– Inhale to prepare while maintaining a straight line from head to heels.
– Keeping knees straight, slide both feet toward the hands by lifting the hips into a pike. Move only as far as you can keep the spine long.
– Pause briefly at the top; keep shoulders away from ears and elbows locked but not hyperextended.
– Exhale and slide the feet back to a strong plank without letting the lower back sag or the ribs flare.
– Maintain even pressure through both hands and controlled speed throughout.
– Prioritize alignment over height of the pike; avoid bending the knees, collapsing through the shoulders, or rounding the lower back.
Plank Pike Slide With Towel Tips
‘- Place a small towel under both toes on a smooth floor so your feet can slide.
– Set up in a high plank with hands under shoulders, legs long, and feet hip-width.
– Spread your fingers and “push the floor away” through your palms to slightly protract the shoulder blades.
– Keep head and neck neutral, ribs down, and gently posteriorly tilt the pelvis.
– Brace the abdomen as if preparing for a cough while maintaining a straight line from head to heels.
– Keep knees straight as you slide both feet toward your hands by lifting the hips into a pike.
– Only slide as far as you can while keeping the spine long.
– Pause briefly at the top with shoulders away from ears and elbows locked but not hyperextended.
– Exhale as you slide the feet back to a strong plank without letting the lower back sag or ribs flare.
– Maintain even pressure through both hands and controlled speed, prioritizing alignment over how high you pike.
Plank Pike Slide With Towel Beginner Introduction
The Plank Pike Slide with Towel is a bodyweight core exercise that links a straight-arm plank with a smooth hip lift while the feet glide on a small towel or similar slider. The movement shifts the body from a long, rigid line into an upside-down “V” shape, with the legs staying extended and the back lengthened rather than rounded. This creates a moving plank that challenges balance and control as the contact point of the feet travels closer to and farther from the hands.
This drill highlights the front of the core, including the abs, deep abs, and side abs, with support from the hip flexors. At the same time, the shoulders and chest take on a strong stabilizing role, especially around the upper back and rotator cuff area. The main theme is resisting arching through the lower back while the lower body glides, keeping the midsection firm and the shoulders steady. The result is a demanding blend of trunk stiffness, shoulder stability, and precise body alignment, performed with steady, deliberate motion rather than momentum.