How long should you hold the planche lean when you are new to the exercise, and how many sets?

Start with 4-5 holds of 10-15 seconds, resting 45-60 seconds between them, and lean only as far forward as you can keep the elbows fully locked and the hips level. Add a couple of seconds per hold before you add sets, and increase the forward lean angle gradually across weeks rather than all at once.

How do you make the planche lean easier or harder?

Make it easier by leaning forward less, keeping the shoulders closer over the wrists, or by working on parallettes if flat-hand wrist loading is uncomfortable. Make it harder by shifting the shoulders further ahead of the wrists over successive weeks, which is the entire progression toward a tuck planche.

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

It is the entry point to all straight-arm pushing, building the tendon and shoulder tolerance a tuck planche and planche push-up demand. Skip it on a day your wrists already hurt, and do not expect fast weekly jumps in how far you can lean, since this is slow tendon-building work, not a quick warm-up.

Intermediate

Planche Lean

The planche lean is the entry point to all straight-arm pushing, teaching the shoulders, chest, and biceps tendon to tolerate load with locked elbows. The further forward you tip your shoulders past your wrists, the more of your bodyweight the anterior deltoids and protracted shoulder girdle must support. It builds the exact tendon strength and body tension that the tuck planche and planche push-up demand, so patient, gradual leaning here pays off later.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Shoulder
Type: Balance, Strength
Browse by muscle: Deltoid Anterior
Browse by movement: Core Brace, Horizontal Press

How to do it

1
Start in a push-up position with hands under the shoulders and fingers pointing forward or slightly out.
2
Lock the elbows and push the floor away to round the upper back into a protracted position.
3
Shift your weight forward so the shoulders travel ahead of the wrists, hips staying level.
4
Squeeze the glutes and brace the abs to keep a straight line from heels to head.
5
Hold the lean, then shift back to neutral under control before your form breaks down.

Tips

Keep the elbows fully locked; any bend turns it into a push-up and takes tension off the connective tissue you are training.
Progress by leaning a little further forward over weeks rather than by holding a shallow lean for longer.
Ease your wrists in with a thorough warm-up or use parallettes if flat-hand loading bothers them.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips sag below the heels-to-head line as the shoulders lean forward, turning straight-arm shoulder loading into a lower-back arch.
The fingers point out to the sides or back instead of forward or slightly out, putting the wrist into an angle it is not built to press through.
The lean gets held well past the point where form breaks down, so the last several seconds train a collapsing shape instead of a stable one.
The shoulder blades stay pinched back instead of rounding forward into protraction, so the upper back never takes the load the lean is meant to build.

Frequently asked

How long should you hold the planche lean when you are new to the exercise, and how many sets?: Start with 4-5 holds of 10-15 seconds, resting 45-60 seconds between them, and lean only as far forward as you can keep the elbows fully locked and the hips level. Add a couple of seconds per hold before you add sets, and increase the forward lean angle gradually across weeks rather than all at once.
How do you make the planche lean easier or harder?: Make it easier by leaning forward less, keeping the shoulders closer over the wrists, or by working on parallettes if flat-hand wrist loading is uncomfortable. Make it harder by shifting the shoulders further ahead of the wrists over successive weeks, which is the entire progression toward a tuck planche.
What is the planche lean good for, and who should skip it?: It is the entry point to all straight-arm pushing, building the tendon and shoulder tolerance a tuck planche and planche push-up demand. Skip it on a day your wrists already hurt, and do not expect fast weekly jumps in how far you can lean, since this is slow tendon-building work, not a quick warm-up.

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