Video Quick Tip! Side Plank 1 Arm Rows
Today I wanted to quickly share one of my new favorite exercises I got from the strength coaches at Champion PT and Performance. As I’ve talked about before, it’s really important that we are training all aspects of the core equally. As a whole, sporting populations and gymnastics are famous for training lots of anterior core and posterior core while maybe forgetting that the entire core unit is must work synergistically as a unit.
Athletes and coaches typically pay much less attention to lateral core, rotational core, and breathing/pelvic floor training. Similarly, many people train the upper body horizontal pushing (push up) and vertical pulling (pull ups, rope climb, etc) but neglect equal ratios for horizontal pulling (horizontal rows). Here is a great exercise called a Side Plank with 1 Arm Rows, which is great to capture two commonly overlooked areas of lateral core work and horizontal rowing.
Here Are a Few Instructional Tips
- Have the athlete start by securing the band to the bottom of a sturdy base. Any form of cable system can also be used
- The athlete will then move to a well aligned side plank position ensuring open hips, properly stacked shoulder alignment, and utilize proper core breathing/bracing patterns
- From this position, row the band to the midline of the body. We do not want the athlete to pull excessively past the body, as it many times may overtime lead to some anterior shoulder pain
- Ensure the resistance is challenging enough for the athlete, and set the rep/set scheme up so that the core is appropriately taxed
- If the athlete has a significant asymmetry, try adding an extra set to the less proficient side or playing with different resistances to help close the gap
This exercise can easily be progressed to use more resistance, lift the top leg for more challenge, by adding in more challenging conditions. Find what’s best for the athlete and make sure the quality of motion is always the highest priority. Best of luck!
– Dave Tilley DPT, SCS
