The Better Side Plank Exercise

The Better Side Plank Exercise-DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training

The last thing many of us need are MORE exercises. Why not? Often novel exercises simply serve as a means to distract people from their goals. They want to achieve something specific and once they stall, they don’t know how to progress other than doing something that feels completely different. The goal we have at DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training is not to give you just a cool looking new exercise, but rather drills that help you build layers of strength.

A great example is a drill we have been working with to improve core stability. More and more people are becoming familiar with the idea that smart core training isn’t sit-ups, crunches, or even just planks. That is why exercises like turkish get-ups have gained such popularity. Yet, as we learn more and more about the body we can see how easy it can be to cheat or compensate during some of these more complex drills. 

You see it all the time during the turkish get-up, legs shoot right up off the ground, the bent knee folds inwards, and let’s face it, the whole movement goes downhill fast. Now, some would argue, some of these compensations are necessary to lifting bigger weights, unfortunately, that is like saying letting your knees cave or lifting with your back is okay when your squat is heavy (btw, if you believe this too don’t complain to me when you can barely move). 

That is why we started working with a drill to set the foundation for the get-up, the side plank get-up. Why does this drill work so well? Well, I got the idea first watching Dr. Perry Nickelston’s “baby get-up” video. Dr. Nickelston uses this drill to teach the body how to sequence the RIGHT muscles at the right time. As we say in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training, functional training is about teaching movement efficiency. A large part in accomplishing this goal is to teach the body to use the best strategies to move, this leads to being more resilient to injury and becoming stronger! 

It made so much sense to serve as a means to quickly identify issues in the get-up. For one, we can isolate the roll a bit easier, we can see a disconnect in core stability (with the down leg popping off the ground), and an inability to decelerate the body. The truth of the matter is that most people need a lot more lateral stability. In fact, I think this is going to be a top of discussion by many fitness professionals in the future. 

Not only does this DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training drill make the get-up better, but allows you to add a layer of progression to your side planks as well. The eventual goal building more and more complex movements over time!