TABLE OF CONTENT: The Ultimate Guide to Planche 

1. 🧐What is a Planche ? 2. ✅Planche Benefits 3. 🤸‍♀️Planche – Muscle used and Requirements 4. 📌Planche Training Injury Prevention 5. 🔑How to perform a perfect planche 6. ☑The most effective planche progression 7. ⭐Expert’s effective tips for the perfect planche 8. 🍄Boost planche progress – the most effective planche drills 9. 🔥Planche workout – for all levels 10. 💪Planche training equipment 11. 🤩What’s next after planche? – advanced planche transitions and variations.

PLANCHE TRAINING EQUIPMENT

You can learn planche with virtually no equipment, just the floor. 👌

But if you want to learn planche more efficiently and get the most out of your workout every time, there are pieces of equipment you can add to your planche journey.

These are very accessible pieces of equipment so it’s not that particularly hard to look for (Expect for the fancy planche trainers). Keep also in mind that it’s not mandatory to get these items but it will certainly boost your progress so why not, right?

  • Hard Floor 
  • Parallettes
  • Gymnastics Rings
  • Resistance Bands
  • Weights/dumbbells
  • Planche Trainer

🔑 Planche equipment

✅ HARD FLOOR

Purpose: Training surface

A good hard surface is the one thing most important for planche (and almost all other calisthenics exercises). It’s vital to have a solid floor so that the force you apply to the ground gets reverted back to you. You get better feedback and easier to push off the ground.

With softer surfaces such as cushioned gym mats or grass, applied force is lost on the surface so you will find it more difficult to push off the surface. You might find safety from the softness but it will actually do you more harm so I highly recommend looking for a smooth, hard surface for you to train your planche.

✅ PARALLETTES / P-BARS

Purpose: Training surface

Parallettes are gymnastic-based equipment simulating the parallel bars in men’s artistic gymnastics category.

Using parallettes relieve some load off your wrists allowing you to focus on training other aspects of the planche which is already very demanding. This is due to having neutral grip on the bar. You’ll need to get used to this feeling if you’ve been training on a hard flat surface for quite some time.

Parallettes are also excellent for additional difficulty on some strength training exercises and allows you to train moves that are too difficult to do on the floor. It opens new transitional moves such as training the front lever to planche.

You can definitely opt to train with parallettes even if you are starting out so you can put less pressure on the wrists. Highly recommended if you’re going to train from an injury (assuming you’re already 100% healed first!)

✅ GYMNASTICS RINGS

Purpose: Training surface

For those who are advanced enough, planche on gymnastics rings could be an option to increase intensity. The jump from planche on the floor to planche on the rings is huge. Make sure you have a strong straight-arm support hold on rings.

The natural instability on rings creates added difficulty. Your core and upper body need to work harder to promote stability even as simple as a support hold on rings. Do not underestimate ring work as most individuals did. It is a truly humbling experience especially if you’re aiming to do planche on rings.

Ring training also opens up new transitional abilities from and to planche. You can do muscle-up to planche, levers to planche, planche to maltese and the likes. Rings’ instability promotes freedom of movement in which you are able to do more moves but comes at a hefty price of being more challenging. It’s certainly not a disadvantage in our eyes!

✅ RESISTANCE BANDS

Purpose: Training assistance

nlike the regular purpose of resistance bands which is to add resistance on other exercises, bands have a special and very vital role of assisting you in more difficult planche progressions. This allows you to learn the position while experiencing less demands of the unassisted version.

Resistance bands have the amazing capability of bridging the gaps between progressions that seemingly have a big jump between them. Such gaps are experienced in tuck planche to advanced tuck planche. Many people get stuck at tuck planche and don’t know what to do. 

Easy solution: Use band-assisted advanced tuck planche so your body can learn the position and strengthen the shoulders and wrists for the additional lean required for the advanced tuck. The assistance will allow you to hold longer periods and build the necessary volume for growth.

This is only a specific example. You can always use bands for more difficult progressions to get a feel of the position.

Here are things you need to remember when training with bands for planche:

  • Don’t abuse the band assistance – Always keep the exercise challenging. The band shouldn’t do all the lifting.

  • Choose the lightest bands – This will keep you from relying too much from the band. If the exercise is still too difficult, focus on the easier progressions and weak links first.
  • Keep band set-up consistent – Do not change the height or position of the bands. Keep it consistent so you get consistent assistance every session.
  • Place band support around hips – Placing the band in the center of your body will prevent any awkward assistance from the bend when holding the position.

  • Band support should be 90-degrees vertical as much as possible – Similar reasoning goes for this when placing the support around the hips.

✅ WEIGHTS / DUMBBELLS

Purpose: Training accessory for overload

As much as we want to train only with bodyweight, we cannot deny the benefit from training with weights and dumbbells for faster and more efficient progress. 

Dumbbells are mainly used to overload the biceps and elbow joints safely when preparing these weak points for planche. Bodyweight be used but the isolation that dumbbell provides cannot be dismissed. 

Furthermore, using weights for weighted push-ups allows you to get your pushing basics stronger which directly transfers to your planche work. 

These items are fairly affordable and accessible which can also be replaced with other equipment you can find in your own home.

Train with weights slowly. Do not go for heavy lifting.

✅ GYMNASTICS TRAINERS / PLANCHE TRAINERS

Purpose: Training assistance

These are very specific equipment designed to train planche and other gymnastics/calisthenics advanced skills.

They work similar to resistance bands but offer more control on the amount of resistance you get. You can dictate the resistance by adjusting the counterweight placed in the pulley system. If you can get a hand of these, then that’s great for you. You can definitely get an advantage in training for planches and other advanced skills.

The drawback of this type of equipment is the cost of purchase as well as setting it up. It does require you a set of weights, dumbbells or kettlebells for the counterweight. Price range for the harness set alone costs around 270USD and above; weights not yet included.

Resistance bands offers an affordable yet highly effective alternative. Of course, if this planche trainer is accessible to you, why not?

WHICH EQUIPMENT SHOULD I GET? 🤔

It highly depends on your accessibility. If you can afford everything in the list, the better. If not, key items such as resistance bands and a few sets of dumbbells will already provide you excellent opportunities to boost your training.

👆 Remember that these pieces of equipment are not mandatory, but can aid your training journey for planche.

Train smart!

The Ultimate Guide to Planche