A planche pushup is a pushup done with your legs off the floor. It is a great test of upper-body and core strength and challenges your core muscles and full-body mobility. While planche pushups can be difficult to master and require a high level of athleticism, it is possible to perfect the exercise -- provided you choose the right exercises to begin with, train hard and have patience.
Master the Regular Pushup
You need to start with the basics before trying to do any complicated planche exercises, so your first step is to get good at doing pushups. Strength and conditioning coaches Bret Contreras and Elsbeth Vaino explain on the T Nation website that pushups are a great exercise for teaching you correct body positioning and improving your core and upper-body strength. Build up to doing 40 pushups at a stretch with perfect technique.
Change Your Hand Position
When doing a planche pushup, your hands are positioned very differently compared to a regular pushup. To support your body, they need to be in line with your waist. This can cause a fair amount of strain on your wrists and forearms, so it's important that you build them up before adding planche pushups to your workout. Perform pushups as your would usually, but try bringing your hands back underneath your body. At first, move your hands back 2 to 3 inches every time you do pushups, until you can perform 20 reps with hands level with your waist.
Learn the Frog Stand and the Tuck Planche
To do a frog stand, sit down into a full squat and place your palms on the floor with your arms against the inside of your knees. Gradually lean forward, the Dragon Door website instructs, putting your weight in your hands until most of your weight is supported through your shoulders and arms. Over time, push your weight forward more until you can remove your legs from the floor. To progress to the tuck planche, bring your hips high off the ground, and your knees away from your elbow, and hold this position for a minute.
Planche Pushups
Once you can hold the tuck position for a minute, you are ready to attempt full planche pushups. Hold the planche position with your legs out straight behind you and bend your arms until your chest is 2 inches from the floor, then push back up again. Build up to doing 10 repetitions.
Integrate Planche Pushups Into Your Regimen
Once you can do 10 planche pushups, you can add them to your other workout sessions. They fit best with an upper-body workout or a body-weight circuit. When you start off, you may wish to do them first in a session when you have more energy, and move them toward the end when you become more confident. Use planches as an accessory exercise for improving your upper-body lifts and core strength.
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