Large eccentric strength increase using the Copenhagen adduction exercise in football: a randomized controlled trial. Copenhagen Plank Lift Exercise Demo Video and Info Is the Copenhagen Adduction Exercise Smart for Groin Injuries? Additionally, the variations mentioned can help you challenge your core and give those muscles extra work. An individual starts by lying on his or her side with the forearm supported on the floor and the top leg being held by a partner at either the ankle or the knee. The Copenhagen plank is a great exercise for a few reasons. Unlike most plank holds, which encourage 60 seconds or more of isometric agony, the Copenhagen plank is a brief affair. How to do a Copenhagen plank 1. In our opinion, the best way to progress this movement is to use a suspension trainer (like a TRX system) to rest your upper foot. How to: Copenhagen Plank Primary Muscles Used:Upper Legs, Hip Adductors Exercise Families:Hip Adduction Equipment:Chair Trainer:Kayla Itsines Lying l Sign Up Sweat Programs Articles Community Support The Copenhagen plank comes with a range of variations that can either decrease or increase the intensity and help you progress in your adductor strengthening program. Published: Oct 13, 2020 Yes, you can hold a plank for hours upon hours. Based on the look of it, you can probably guess that the Copenhagen plank is a seriously challenging move. The suspension trainer isnt stable like a bench, so it will wobble and move. Popular with Strength Coaches and Physical Therapists alike, the movement can help improve lumbopelvic stability, core strength, and healthy hip function. David is a writer and strength coach and co-owner of Roman Fitness Systems. This plank variation challenges even the strongest coreand gives runners an extra form boost, too. Focus on controlling your movements through the transition from one position to another, all while maintaining perfect form. While holding the plank position, the stabilizer muscles in your core will need to work extra hard to keep your body which is being supported only by the foot resting on the bench in place. The Copenhagen plank is an excellent exercise to test your core strength, stability, coordination, and balance. Elevate your feet onto a box or bench while doing the Copenhagen plank to increase the intensity. In this article, we will discuss the progressions for mastering the bodyweight dip from complete beginners. How to Do the Copenhagen Plank to Upgrade Your Ab Workout - Men's Health The Copenhagen plank, also known as the Copenhagen adductor plank due to its target muscles, or the Copenhagen plank hold, is a more challenging side plank variation. If you dont have that stability and anti-rotation [capacity] in your core, your body would just continue going the way that it's going and you wouldn't be able to change directions super quickly, says Ros. Privacy Policy. Having weak groin muscles is huge contributor to groin injuries. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Being able to master the Copenhagen plank will help you in other aspects of your workout, as strong adductors are essential for stabilization and balance, as well as helping to prevent injury. Plus, they'll be challenged to prevent you from rotating forward, says Ros. What is the proper form for Copenhagen Plank? Prone Cobra Push Up How to, Benefits and Muscles Worked, Featured image and video demonstration credit AchieveFitnessBoston. For non-athletes, the exercise can simply help to create better hip stability, which is associated with reduced risk of back, hip and knee injuries as well as better posture. Losing weight can be a challenge, but its definitely doable. To make the Copenhagen adductor plank even harder, you could also switch the support system to a suspended one. Instead of planting your ankle on top of the bench, if you plant you knee if will shorten the lever, as they say in physics, making it easier. To even out that disparity and keep injuries at bay, you can temporarily prioritize Copenhagen planks on your left side, along with other strengthening exercises that target those weaker muscle groups. The first level is to just hold the plank at the top position. While the Copenhagen adduction exercise doesn't appear to be functional, Haroy et al i Show more Shop the E3 Rehab store Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin Injury. Eccentric and isometric hip adduction strength in male soccer players with and without adductor-related groin pain: an assessor-blinded comparison. You want to be able to plant your feet and quickly turn to move in the opposite direction of your opponent. The first is that it strengthens your frontal plane. The groin is a loosely defined term and what we are actually going to focus on is the adductor group of muscles. However, having very strong abductors, but weak adductors, wont create the overall stability around the hips that you need. From the static side plank position, you would then lift and drop your body using your abs to perform pulses. Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin Injury (Science-Based) E3 Rehab 26K views 2 years ago Adductor Mobility Flow [P]rehab 22K views 4 years ago 3 Core Exercises You Should. You wouldn't feel side plank in your chest. Try a 10-second hold, repeated three times with rest in between as needed. If you want to make the Copenhagen plank more challenging, you can try the following progressions: Take a narrower grip with your hands while doing the Copenhagen plank to increase the intensity. The adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, pectineus, and gracilis are the muscles that are involved for adducting the hip, or bringing the leg closer to the midline. From here we are going to raise our hips up by contracting our adductors until are hips are in a straight line. A kettlebell or dumbbell work fine, but for just like TGUs I find the kettlebell to work a little bit better. As this move is already creating a ton of tension through your glutes and shoulder blades, keeping your free leg raised and in the proper 90 degree position is serious anti-rotation work for your core. Watch Ros demonstrate the move below. If so, there is good news stretches can help improve your toe point. Sure, it's a simple movement that doesn't stir much excitement when you see someone holding the position in a corner of the gymbut if you level up to one of the toughest variations of the exercise around, the Copenhagen plank, you won't be so quick to snub your nose. These days, the fitness world is all about increasing efficiency. Generally, upper-body strengthening and muscle-building resistance exercises can be categorized into two: pushing and pulling exercises. 1. Once the static version becomes to hard, we can simply introduce some movement and perform the copenhagen plank for reps instead of time. tl;dr: https://youtu.be/XeCF_sWfBTk Sauce: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/14/1089.short https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546510375544 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2325967114521778 https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/09/bjsports-2020-102606.abstract, Why the Copenhagen Plank is a Massively Underrated Calisthenics Leg Exercise, https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/14/1089.short, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546510375544, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2325967114521778, https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/09/bjsports-2020-102606.abstract. Drive your right knee forward. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. And dont let the difficulty level discourage you or make you feel inadequate even pros like Ros think the Copenhagen plank is an exhausting but worthwhile move. Important consideration: Some groin problems may have a secondary related abdominal issue. The Copenhagen plank has been shown to effectively reduce groin injuries and increase groin strength..In this video we take a look at the research surroundin. Think about squeezing both shoulder blades and glutes. Youll also notice that youre actually set up in a position that mirrors a runner's stride, so be aware of reinforcing a good, high-knee position, and make sure you can own it in the sagittal plane. Promise, a little bit goes a long way with this bodyweight exercise. This means your core and adductors have to work extra hard to maintain stability. Underrated and underused (and maybe initially overwhelming on first attempt), the Copenhagen plank without question is one of the most challenging plank variations out there. ). Generally speaking, I think core exercise can be sprinkled in every training session during rest periods from major strength movements. Numerous studies have shown a correlation between hip adductor strength and groin related injuries. The Copenhagen plank, or Copenhagen adduction exercise, is a side plank variation that targets the muscles of the inner thigh and groin- the adductors. This will challenge the stabilizer muscles in the core and strengthen your shoulder muscles, making it an excellent alternative for Copenhagen Plank. Copenhagen planks can fit into a program where any abdominal or core exercise can go. It is a fairly technical exercise; for this reason, we will describe in detail how to perform it successfully and apply regressions or progressions when needed. Before moving forward, it should be noted that a majority of the research looks at the use of the Copenhagen adduction exercise, an eccentric variation involving a partner and no equipment. How to Perform & Program the Copenhagen Plank for Eccentric Adductor The adductor muscles also help support better athletic performance, especially in sports or activities that involve running or kicking. From here we are going to raise our hips up by contracting our adductors until are hips are in a straight line. If you can nail those, you've just dominated the. Vegetarian Diet To Build Muscle: Basics & 15 Foods to Eat Every Day, Intermittent Fasting 20/4: What You Should Know Before Starting, Put yourself in a side plank position perpendicular to a bench, With your bottom arm fully extended, place the top leg on the bench, using the internal part of your foot to support the hold. The Copenhagen plank, also commonly referred simply as an adductor side plank, is a fantastic exercise to include into your fitness routine. And in any plank exercise, your core is engaged, otherwise your form would be collapsing. But instead of stacking or staggering your feet on the floor, youll prop one foot on top of a bench (or couch, chair, or another stable surface that's about 18 inches tall). 5.1K views 3 years ago Here I have one of my awesome clients Mitch performing a modified regression of the Copenhagen plank as he's performing it with his knee, shin, foot, and ankle on the. Hold this position for a minimum of 15 seconds, 3-4 times on each side, Keep your core, glutes, and back engaged throughout to maintain the correct posture, If the knee of your top leg is feeling uncomfortable during the plank hold, bend it on the bench to decrease the strain in that area, If performing this exercise on a hard floor, place a mat under your body to provide more comfort to your hand. Lift the hips up until your body is in a straight line with the lower leg off the floor. Start in a side-lying position with your elbow placed directly under your shoulder and the feet stacked one on top of the other or with the feet slightly wider apart. Check out the video and please leave any questions or comments below. If you're performing the exercise with your right arm on the floor, for example, you'll fire up your right side's obliques and left leg's adductors and abductors, she adds. Shoulder Calisthenics Workout Bodyweight Training Arena, Full Body Calisthenics For Women Beginners | Female Calisthenics. Strengthening the obliques helps to better stabilize the torso and spine, helping to promote better posture, as well as rotational strength. Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, and Men's Health. If youre coming off of a knee injury, or have a history of knee pain, try the regression variations first. The Copenhagen plank works your arms, shoulders, core, and adductors. This will improve abdominal and adductor activation. Haroy J, et al. Repeat on both sides for 10-15 seconds, rest for a few seconds, and do the exercise again. Start by lying on your side, like you would for a regular side plank. Because we're going to work a lot of lateral stability in this plank, you're going to start to get a lot of hip effect, Samuel says. How to Do a Copenhagen Plank for Strong Thighs and Core Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. Copenhagen Planks - E3 Rehab Normally when we think side plank, we prioritize bracing our entire core. If you want to improve your function and reduce your risk of reinjury, strengthening your quads needs to be your top priority. The Copenhagen plank primarily targets the adductor muscles of the hip. This means you need to use the inner thigh muscle on that top leg to hold yourself up. Just 10 seconds at a time, over three sets, is a great place to start. What are the risk factors for Copenhagen Plank? If youre performing the exercise with your right arm on the floor, for example, youll fire up your right sides obliques and left legs adductors and abductors, she adds. Ahead, learn details on all the benefits a Copenhagen plank has to offer and find out how to do one with perfect form every single time no matter how you modify or spice up the move. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. This helps to improve exercises like lateral side squats too. As soon as you go up onto your palm instead of your forearm, you take away some of that stability, so theres a little bit more work that your body has to do to stabilize and not rotate to one side, she explains. Keep your core engaged and stable during the exercise by contracting the muscles in your abdomen. The lower-body and core exercise is no joke. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The Copenhagen plank is a unilateral exercise, meaning it targets just one side of the body at a time. Remember to maintain proper form throughout the exercise and stop immediately if you feel pain or discomfort. With the top arm, grab a light dumbbell or kettlebell and hold it up in the air as you do so. Build abs, obliques, and shoulder strength with the Copenhagen plank delt raise. Doing the copenhagen plank for 1 min, I really feel it in my inner thigh. Return the hips to the floor under control. It is a killer leg exercise, and it has benefits beyond just adding variety to your routine. The purpose of this blog is to discuss why Copenhagen Planks are an important consideration for rehab and injury reduction programs for the groin. It can be regressed or progressed, which makes it perfect for any skill level. If thats you, the first thing to ask is whether you were in a straight line (no hips sagging) with your abdominals engaged. You would simply position your upper leg on their hands and keep the bottom leg off the floor. To progress, straighten the top leg and perform the same movement. Just like the side plank, the Copenhagen plank involves lying on one side of your body with your bottom elbow bent, forearm resting flat on the floor, and legs fully extended. Furthermore, it was also shown to elicit the highest activation of the external oblique and rectus abdominis. Ensuring you are actively training for adduction strength as well as abduction strength will provide more overall benefits. How to Do the Copenhagen Plank - DG Athlete The Copenhagen Plank, or the Copenhagen Side Plank, is a side plank variation that, in addition to training the abdominals, targets the adductor (groin) muscles. Copenhagen plank - Wiktionary The Copenhagen plank is a unilateral exercise, meaning it targets just one side of the body at a time. Here are some options: Also known as the Vasisthasana in yoga, the side plank is excellent for strengthening the core muscles and activating stabilizer muscles. Ultimately, the scientific research around Copenhagen planks is very positive and suggests athletes can improve performance and avoid injuries by including the exercise into their fitness routines. You can further challenge your shoulder stability and cores anti-rotation capacity by holding a kettlebell with your free hand (with the bottom of the bell pointed toward the ceiling), extending your arm straight up, and holding it there. Alternatives to Copenhagen Plank are an excellent way to challenge your core and increase stability. 6) Lift your bottom leg up so its parallel to the ground. 2016;26(11):1334-1342. Buyers Guide to Cold Plunge Pools and Baths, Oblique Crunches How to Perform & Benefits. Cookie Notice Copenhagen Plank Levels of Progressions - YouTube Any sort of lateral movement will involve careful coordination between adductors and abductors to move meaningfully in a sideways direction. Adductors bring your legs in toward your midline; the two letter Ds in the middle may help you remember that they bring the legs together.). As such, a better name might be the adductor plank, or adductor side plank, but the Copenhagen name has stuck. The adductor group contains a bunch of muscles, the specific names are not important because we want to focus on them as a group. What are the Alternatives to the Copenhagen Plank? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Improve your grip strength with these effective exercises that will give you a vice-like grip, allowing you to lift heavier weights and reduce the risk of injury during everyday tasks. But once you master it, according to Mens Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., and fitness editor Brett Williams, N.A.S.M., the Copenhagen plank will provide plenty of core-crushing benefits, especially if you're a runner. What muscles does the Copenhagen Plank work? Some of these muscles also have secondary actions, including hip flexion (adductor brevis and gracilis), internal rotation (adductor longus, adductor brevis, and pectineus), and extension (anterior head of adductor magnus). 2013;48(14):1108-1114. 2019;53:145-152. 1) Set up with your head perpendicular to a bench and facing away. Our website content, services, and products are not intended to serve as medical advice and are intended for informational and educational purposes only. The exercise is isometric, which means you hold your body in one position while contracting your muscles. Ultimately, the benefit of stronger adductors is the reduce risk of groin injuries and pain. In addition to strengthening the adductors, the Copenhagen plank also contains the elements of a normal side plank, meaning it has a side effect of strengthening a variety of core muscles, including your obliques. Whether youre an athlete, a fitness enthusiast, or simply looking to enhance your hand strength, these exercises will help you achieve your goals. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); All Content Copyright Roman Fitness Systems 2019. In this exercise guide, weve got tips on how to do the Copenhagen plank properly, the muscles worked, benefits and things to consider when doing the movement. Idk I don't feel it in my core at all though. Rotating your shoulders forward will cause you to lose balance, so keep your shoulders in line with your chest throughout the movement. Your abductors also help stabilize your leg, preventing your knee from collapsing when youre balancing on just one foot, she adds. Then when they're moving laterally and going full speed [such as in sports], they pull their groin muscle, or they have super tight hip flexors. What's more,the hip abductors and adductors both play a key role in stabilizing your pelvis, and if one of those muscle groups isn't strong enough to offer that essential support, you could develop lower back pain, Leigha VandenToorn, C.S.C.S., P.P.S.C., an NASM-certified personal trainer, previously told Shape. These both reduce the amount of load and effort placed on the top leg, thus making it easier to hold. This exercise got its name (and its mild popularity) from research out of Denmark that showed it helps to prevent groin pulls in athletes. Stronger adduction means you can move your leg with more power and precision. The Copenhagen plank trains them in this fashion, and therefore has more transfer towards actual real life than exercises like the adductor machine. If you can nail those, youve just dominated the once-indomitable exercise. Few Exercises Are as Difficult as the "Copenhagen Plank" - InsideHook Due to these groin related injuries, there are a significant number of athletes being taken out of games, missing seasons, or even having to retire early. So what are the techniques to master the Copenhagen plank? And since it is so challenging, its best to make this your first move of your core workout. The Copenhagen Hold: The Toughest Plank Variation You Aren't Doing For more information, please see our Lift one arm off the ground and extend it forward while doing the Copenhagen plank for an added challenge. No, you place one leg (your top leg) on a bench. Required fields are marked *. 2019:1-34. If you notice your form is breaking down, consider scaling back to a modification. In another study by Haroy and colleagues (2018), a group of male soccer players completed a 36-week long adductor strengthening program using the Copenhagen Adduction exercise. Many people find it challenging to hold this position for 30 seconds or more, but it is a great way to see how strong your leg adductors are! Simply, when our abdominals contract, our adductors are primed to contract also. You can make the Copenhagen Plank harder by elevating your feet on a box or bench, lifting one arm off the ground, and using a resistance band around the legs. Similar to the Nordic hamstring exercise, the Copenhagen adduction exercise (CAE) is a bodyweight movement popularized by Danish researchers and sports therapists. Lift your lower leg off the floor so it hangs under the bench, unsupported. Copenhagen plank is a side plank variation that targets our adductors or inner thigh muscles. Regularly practicing Copenhagen planks, however, can strengthen these key lower-body muscles and help keep injuries at bay. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Smith Machine Bench Press: Is It Right for You? As Ive learned from the postural restoration institute, a lot of the movements in our body couple together. These adductor muscles include the: adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and gracillis. Activate your core muscles and raise your hips, so your torso is perpendicular to the floor. Including the Copenhagen Adduction exercise in the FIFA 11+ provides missing eccentric hip adduction strength effect in male soccer players: a randomized controlled trial. More broadly, you may think of the adductors as crucial stabilizer and core muscles. Enter the Copenhagen Plank. Ishoi et al in 2016 had 24 male soccer players perform the Copenhagen adduction exercise two times a week, while progressively increasing the number of sets and repetitions over the course of 8 weeks (starting with 2 sets of 6 each and ending with 3 sets of 15 each). On exhales, our body moves towards flexion and internal rotation. Remember the Copenhagen keys: maintain stability and squeeze your glutes and shoulder blades while fighting off rotation in both directions. In 2017, Haroy and colleagues demonstrated that adding a Copenhagen plank variation into a FIFA 11+ program led to a significant increase in eccentric hip adduction strength. This will allow you to scale your planks difficulty level. JOSPT. If you do it right, you should be giving everything you have for seconds. There are many studies out there demonstrating the link between weak groin muscles and the prevalence of groin injuries in athletes. This is great if youre starting out and also if this bugs your knee (which well get to) this option takes the knee out of the equation since itll be resting on the bench. The Copenhagen plank is one of the most challenging plank variations out there, a side plank variation that requires extra glute and hip adductor focus and builds all-around ab and core. Your adductors and abductors and both your inner and outer thighs are going to wind the firing in this move as well.. Your email address will not be published. Here, you place your top knee on the bench and keep your bottom leg bent too. Find the right variation that provides zero pain. Hold this position. Engage core, grounding through left elbow and side of left foot, and lift hips and knees off the floor. People hold often their breath because [this move] is so hard, she adds. Copenhagen | History, Population, & Facts | Britannica Some of the most common exercises to target the inner thighs include. This can make Copenhagen Planks a critical exercise in your strength training plan to help reduce groin injuries. BJSM. C. Then, lift left foot off the ground so it's hovering a few inches below right foot. It is an intense exercise that requires a lot of balance and strength to execute correctly. These should be performed slowly and with control. Hary et al (2018). How are we going to fix it? So there you go, a simple and effective to build strength in your adductors which will help you reduce injury and become a better athlete! Copenhagen Plank. Most importantly, remember to breathe, says Ros. Here's the breakdown. Your #1 site for all things sports rehab, sports performance, and orthopedic rehabilitation is: https://www.sportsrehabexpert.com/http://www.annarbor.physio . 2) Plant your elbow and forearm parallel to the bench, 4) Lift up your hips so youre in a straight line from the ankles to the shoulders. Copenhagen Plank can cause strain on the lower back if done incorrectly. Copenhagen Plank with Modified Regression - YouTube