What is a sensible starting hold time for the full planche, and what should you own first?

Start with 3-5 holds of 2-5 seconds, resting well over a minute between attempts, and treat any clean second with the legs together as real progress. Before attempting it, you should already hold a controlled straddle planche for 8-10 seconds and have logged real time in weighted straddle work.

How do you make the full planche hold easier or harder?

Make it easier by spreading the legs into a straddle, which shortens the lever back to a more manageable length. Make it harder by holding it longer, pressing up into it from the floor, or adding a small amount of weight once clean holds are steady.

What is the full planche hold good for, and who should skip it?

It is a pinnacle straight-arm strength feat with maximal demand on the anterior delts, chest, and scapular stabilizers. Skip it until a straddle planche is genuinely solid, or all you will train is a sagging, bent-arm shape.

Advanced

Full Planche Hold

The full planche suspends the entire body parallel to the ground on locked arms with legs together, giving the longest possible lever and the maximal demand on the anterior delts, upper chest, and scapular stabilizers. It is a pinnacle straight-arm strength feat that also requires precise balance over the hands. Only pursue it after a strong, controlled straddle planche.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Chest, Shoulder
Type: Balance, Strength
Browse by muscle: Deltoid Anterior, Pectoralis Major Sternocostal
Browse by movement: Horizontal Press

How to do it

1
Place the hands by the hips, fingers forward, and lean the shoulders as far ahead of the wrists as possible.
2
Protract and depress the scapulae hard and brace the entire body.
3
Lift the hips and bring the legs together, raising the body to a flat horizontal line.
4
Keep the arms locked straight, glutes and quads tight, and toes pointed.
5
Hold the line with the shoulders balanced over the hands, breathing shallowly and steadily.
6
Lower with control the instant the hips or shoulders start to drop.

Tips

Maximal forward lean is what keeps the body from tipping backward; commit to it.
Keep the elbow pits facing forward and never let the arms unlock.
Build up with weighted straddle holds and planche lean overloads before chasing seconds here.

Variations

Common mistakes

The breath gets held completely rigid instead of staying shallow and steady, adding tension exactly where the body needs to stay calm and controlled.
The legs come together before the hips can actually support a horizontal line at that lever length, so the hold sags from the first second.
The toes stay unpointed and the legs stay slightly bent, so the long lever adds instability on top of an already maximal demand.
The attempt gets made without first logging real time in weighted straddle holds, skipping the strength base the full planche is built on top of.

Frequently asked

What is a sensible starting hold time for the full planche, and what should you own first?: Start with 3-5 holds of 2-5 seconds, resting well over a minute between attempts, and treat any clean second with the legs together as real progress. Before attempting it, you should already hold a controlled straddle planche for 8-10 seconds and have logged real time in weighted straddle work.
How do you make the full planche hold easier or harder?: Make it easier by spreading the legs into a straddle, which shortens the lever back to a more manageable length. Make it harder by holding it longer, pressing up into it from the floor, or adding a small amount of weight once clean holds are steady.
What is the full planche hold good for, and who should skip it?: It is a pinnacle straight-arm strength feat with maximal demand on the anterior delts, chest, and scapular stabilizers. Skip it until a straddle planche is genuinely solid, or all you will train is a sagging, bent-arm shape.

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