All training resources
Exercise guide
Downward Dog to Plank
A moving transition between downward dog and a high plank: the hips travel from high to level and back, so the shoulders and trunk work through a full range instead of holding one position.
What this exercise works
- Muscles
- anterior deltoid · rectus abdominis · hamstrings · serratus anterior · trapezius
- Goals
- endurance · strength
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Category
- Strength
- Difficulty
- intermediate
Demonstration
Step 1
Step 2
How to perform the movement
- Set up in downward dog with the hips high and the hands shoulder-width apart.
- Shift the weight forward and lower the hips until the body forms a straight line in a high plank.
- Hold the plank for a moment with the ribs down and the glutes engaged.
- Press the floor away and lift the hips back up into downward dog.
- Continue alternating for the desired number of repetitions.
Technique cues and common mistakes
- Move the hips, not the hands; the palms stay in the same place the whole set.
- Keep the shoulders pushing away from the ears in both positions.
- Slow the transition down if the lower back sags on the way into the plank.