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Forearm Plank Up and Down

Starting on the forearms, you press up onto one hand then the other into a high plank, then lower back down forearm by forearm. Plank up-downs load the triceps and shoulders while the trunk fights the twist built into every transition. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Abs · rectus abdominis Deep core · transverse abdominis Obliques Lower back · erector spinae Front shoulders · anterior deltoid

Sets & reps by goal

Goal	Sets × Reps	Rest
Strength	4 sets × 3-6 full up-down cycles (slow tempo)	90 sec - 2 min
Muscle	3 sets × 8-12 cycles	60-90 sec
Endurance	2-3 sets × 30-45 sec of continuous cycles	45 sec

Level — Beginner

Intermediate — a hidden push-up workout; the knees-down version is the honest regression.

Proper form — 5 cues

Place each hand exactly where its elbow just was — no wandering forward.
Climb one arm at a time with a push, not a lurch.
Split the feet slightly wider than the hips to tame the side-to-side sway.
Lead with the same arm for half the reps, then switch the leading arm.
Squeeze the glutes hard so the hips ride level through every changeover.

Breathing: Exhale on each climb to the hands, inhale on the descent to the forearms.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

Hips swinging like a pendulum with each transition. Every climb removes an arm, and an unbraced trunk lets the pelvis lurch toward the loaded side. Fix: Widen the feet, slow the tempo, and brace before — not during — each arm move.

Planting the hands ahead of the shoulder line. A forward hand position turns each press-up into a strained, shrugged push the shoulders pay for. Fix: Mark where the elbows sit and treat those two spots as the only legal hand positions.

Dropping onto the forearms on the way down. Falling through the descent skips the eccentric work and pounds the elbows into the floor. Fix: Lower each forearm with the same control you used to climb — down is half the exercise.

Common questions

Are plank up-downs arms or core?

Genuinely both. The triceps and shoulders press bodyweight on every climb — comparable to a push-up per arm — while the trunk works overtime resisting the twist as support alternates. Which one fails first depends on your history: pressing-weak trainees feel the arms, plank-strong trainees usually feel the wobble.

Why alternate the leading arm halfway through?

The arm that presses first does more work each cycle, so leading with one side all session builds an asymmetry rep by rep. Swapping the leader halfway through each set — or set by set — spreads the load evenly. It is a small habit with a measurable payoff across months of training.

My wrists hurt in the high-plank half — options?

Grip the floor with spread fingers so pressure moves toward the knuckles, and shorten sets before the wrists fatigue. Push-up handles or hexagon dumbbells keep the wrists neutral and usually erase the issue. If discomfort continues even with handles, train the knees-down version while wrist tolerance builds.

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