front plank with twist: technique and muscles worked

Animated demonstration of front plank with twist

How to do this exercise

Step:1 Start in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to toe.
Step:2 Engage your core and glutes to maintain a stable position.
Step:3 Rotate your torso to the right, lifting your right arm and extending it towards the ceiling.
Step:4 Keep your hips and legs stable as you twist.
Step:5 Hold for a moment, then return to the starting position.
Step:6 Repeat the twist on the left side.
Step:7 Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.

Equipment: Body weight
Body part: Abdominals
Target muscle: Transverse abdominis Internal obliques External obliques
Secondary muscle: Gluteus maximus Anterior deltoid Lateral deltoid Rectus abdominis

Hypertrophy grade

Low4 / 10

Nemeo’s take

This exercise, a versatile tool for strengthening the abdominal strap and stabilizing the trunk, focuses mainly on isometric tension and a dynamic component to work the obliques. Its main limitation lies in the difficulty of progressing in load and in the fact that maintaining core strength, rather than local muscle fatigue, is the limiting factor. Compared to the crunch or the abdominal wheel, it shines for improving overall stability but remains less effective for specific, targeted hypertrophy.

This catalog score reflects Nemeo’s assessment of the exercise’s muscle-building potential. It is not a standardized scientific rating or a personalized recommendation.

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front plank with twist

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