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Today we are focusing on the side plank beginners version on our knees, a modified side plank. This is a fantastic exercise to help strengthen some of your core muscles, specifically your quadratus lumborum or QL muscles, which is a muscle on the lateral portion or side of your lower back, an extremely important muscle to help stabilize your core.
With the beginner side plank version, what that looks like is that my elbow is roughly under my shoulder. Keep it at 90 degrees, just to take some of the stress off your shoulder.
I would have my knees bent to roughly 90 degrees. I have my legs in alignment with my torso, in alignment with my neck, so I’m straight from my knees through my hips and torso into my neck. Then I’m going to come up and pivot slightly at my hip to bring it forward so that everything through my hips is not bent, but it’s completely straight.
I’m holding this position for 10-30 seconds or whatever you are comfortable with. For many people, they are very weak in their side or lateral stabilizers, their QL muscle. So oftentimes people feel really shaky with this. That is perfectly normal.
Once I’m done holding, I come down slowly. I keep myself relatively upright, so I’m not collapsing through my elbow. I’m keeping myself up to take some of that stress off my lower back. I rest for five or 10 seconds, and then I’m going to come up again.
Ideally I’m doing three sets, holding it anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds or whatever you are comfortable with. Then I would switch sides. None of this should be painful. If it’s painful, please stop. Let us know. We can work on modifying the beginner side plank for you. It is always better to do this slowly and controlled, better to do less time, fewer sets than to push through. It should be a nice, controlled motion with no pain.
Any questions about any of this, please ask.
The beginner side plank exercise is a great beginner-intermediate core exercise that targets the stabilizing side muscles of the spine. This exercise is done on the knees, which makes it easier than the traditional side plank on feet exercise.
In this video you will learn the side plank exercise beginner version. This modified side plank is a great core exercise, but particularly for anyone with low back pain, as it places less stress on the lumbar spine. The positioning on the knees also allows for a more focused contraction on the core muscles, particularly the QL or quadratus lumborum muscle, which is a side or lateral stabilizer of the spine.
The key points for how to do a side plank exercise for beginners is to start on the knees. This decreases the number of joints involved, and also makes it easier to focus on the low back and core muscles.
Ensure your body is in alignment from knees, to hips to neck. Try to avoid sticking your neck out in front of your body, keep it back in alignment with your torso, to decrease stress on it.
This exercise should be thought of as two parts. Coming up from the ground, then pivoting forward slightly at the hips, so that you are straight from your legs, hips, torso into your neck. Hold this position for 5, 10, 20, 30 seconds, whatever you are comfortable with.
With your elbow, try to keep it directly under your shoulder, and bent to 90 degrees, to minimize stress on your elbow and shoulder.
If at any point during the exercise you experience pain, please stop, as there may be some modification required.
If you find this exercise too easy over time, consider progressing to the side plank exercise on feet as a next variation.
Any questions, please feel free to ask.
For further low back exercises, low back stretches, and core exercises, refer to our back pain Toronto condition page here:
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Please fill out the form below, including all the required fields, and receive priority new patient scheduling.