Tuck planche

Balance on straight arms with your knees tucked to your chest and feet off the floor, building the shoulder, wrist and tendon strength for harder planches.

How to do it

1. 01Warm up your wrists, squat down and place your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers turned out or back, arms locked.
2. 02Push the floor away so your shoulder blades spread forward and your back rounds, then lean forward until your shoulders are past your wrists.
3. 03Pull your knees tight to your chest and lift your feet, hips level with or slightly below your shoulders, elbows still locked.
4. 04Breathe in short, steady breaths; stop a few seconds before your form breaks and set your feet down softly.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows to get the feet up — keep your arms locked; if you cannot lift yet, keep building the planche lean.
• Not leaning enough, so the feet stay down — bring your shoulders further past your wrists instead of hopping.
• Holding to failure — tendons adapt more slowly than muscle, so stop early and move up very gradually.

In the Planche progression

1. 1Planche lean
2. 2Tuck planche
3. 3Advanced tuck planche
4. 4Straddle planche
5. 5Full planche

Standard to move on: 4 sets × 15s, two sessions in a row.