Bench Incline Side Plank
In SetGrip: Incline Side Plank (Bench)
- Primary muscleAbs
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeCore · Core stability
- Secondary muscles
- Obliques, Delts
- Body part
- Core
- Position
- Prone
- Laterality
- Unilateral (one side at a time)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
Propping your forearm on a bench raises your torso and shifts weight toward the feet, cutting a large share of the load a floor side plank puts through the obliques and shoulder. Use it to build toward the floor version, adding time each session until 45 seconds per side feels routine, then lower the surface.
How to do the Bench Incline Side Plank
- Start by lying on your side with your legs extended and stacked on top of each other.
- Place your forearm on the ground directly below your shoulder, with your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Engage your core and lift your hips off the ground, creating a straight line from your head to your feet.
- Hold this position for the desired amount of time.
- Lower your hips back down to the ground and repeat on the other side.
Tip: Pull the elbows toward the toes and the toes toward the elbows without moving either to fire the whole core.
Muscles worked
Primary
Abs · Core
The abs resist the hips from sagging and should feel like they are tightening more with every exhale.
Secondary
- Obliques — On side planks and rotations the obliques on the bottom side hold the hips up and should burn along the side of the waist.
- Delts — The shoulders hold the upper body up and get more work on shoulder tap variations.
Common mistakes
- Hips sagging — squeeze the glutes and tuck the pelvis slightly so the lower back stays flat; a plank with an arched back trains nothing useful.
- Hips too high — the body should be a straight line from head to heels, so check in a mirror or have someone lay a bar along your back.
- Time over tension — a two minute plank with a loose core is worse than 30 seconds with everything braced; shorten the hold and squeeze harder.
- Holding the breath — breathe normally through the hold and keep the abs braced through each exhale.
Where it fits in a workout
Planks go at the end of a session or in the warm-up to switch the core on before squats and deadlifts. Superset a front plank with a side plank each way.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without bodyweight
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Bench Incline Side Plank in SetGrip
All 1,100+ exercises with animations are in the app. No account, no sign-up — your history stays on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Works with Apple Watch.
More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.