Today I'd like to share with you what I do almost on a daily basis (6 times a week), training for The Planche. The planche is one of the toughest calisthenic exercises and needs quite a lot of consistency and targeted training to master. That is why I'm doing this routine almost every day and with baby steps I'm getting a little bit further each week. If it is a gym day, i'd do the planche workout before I go there. I do throw in some handstands in the session as well. It takes me about 30-40 minutes to finish. 

  

The Workout

First and most important thing is WARM-UP. I can't stress out how important it is to warm up and mobilise the joints. This exercise puts a lot of stress on almost every part of the body and it is important to prevent any injuries. After I do the basic mobility exercises I stretch my wrists.

I do this exercise and hold it for about 10 seconds - 3 times.  I push slightly more each time while trying not to lift my hands off the floor since they tend to go up. To simplify it, changing the position of the wrists could be quite helpful. In fact I started with my fingers facing sideways and slowly started twisting them upwards each day, until I got to the point where they are pointing forward. 

Next thing I often do is L seat to a hand stand and hold for a few seconds. I do this a few times.. not really counting the sets all that much since it isn't something I need for the planche.

This is a planche progression. Advancing through progressions leads you closer to the planche itself but it takes quite a lot of time to get to the next one. Even a slight change in the body composition adds so much more difficulty. This one is called the advanced tuck planche and I manage to hold it for over 10 seconds. I am ready to start with the next progression but I still do at least a set of this one. 

This is the next progression I am currently trying and failing miserably to hold for more than 2-3 seconds. Trying to extend just one leg while the other stays tucked in. It brings a lot of pressure on my wrist that way though since one of them is holding a lot more weight than the other one. May need to try another thing instead for this progression. 

I try and hold a total of 40-50 sec of each progression I'm on. If I am too tired or trained hard at the gym the previous day - I go for 30 sec. But I don't really count sets - it may take me 3-4 sets to do it or 10-15. It all depends on the current difficulty of the exercise I'm training. 

Last I do a planche hold with my feet up on a raised surface. It is important to keep your feet up rather than stepping on your toes. That way you can pull yourself a bit and activate your core. It becomes quite difficult. I hold this for 10 sec  - 3 times. 

I try to take sufficient breaks between sets. Usually around a minute is good. If I am only able to hold the main progression exercise for 2-3 seconds, then I am taking a bit shorter breaks since I don't fatigue that much from it. After I finish my workout it is either time for gym or stretches. At the gym I implement a few exercises here and there to strengthen my arms in a straight arm position. I do straight arm flyes but I change the position of my hands so I don't use my chest for them. It solely applies pressure to my arms and more specifically to my elbow joint and forearm. Core and lower back training as well as back training in the gym is important but it is something I already have in my fitness programmes. With this my training time has gone up quite significantly adding 4 hours per week of training on top of my gym sessions. I do enjoy it though and keeps me focused on a goal. I hope you enjoyed the post! If you did stay tuned for my progress on that!