Planche Progressions

The planche is the skill I respect most and train least consistently. I’ve got the frog stand, straight-arm frog stand, tuck planche and tuck planche push-ups; the advanced tuck planche and a 30-second tuck hold are the goals.

It keeps getting parked because it competes with handstand and HSPU work for the same wrists and shoulders. That’s a choice, not an accident: Calisthenics Programming: Skill vs Hypertrophy Phases explains why I’d rather focus.

Prerequisites

• Wrists that tolerate a big lean. The planche loads wrist extension harder than anything else I do. See Wrist Load in Handstands.
• Pseudo-planche push-ups with a real lean, ideally on rings turned out.
• Straight-arm strength: support holds, frog stands, planche leans.

The ladder

1. Frog stand, then straight-arm frog stand
2. Tuck planche (back rounded, knees under the hips)
3. Advanced tuck planche (back flat, hips level with the shoulders)
4. Straddle, then half-lay / one-leg
5. Full planche

Each step is a longer lever, exactly like the front lever (Front Lever Leverage has the maths); the jump from tuck to advanced tuck is the first big one.

Cues

• Lean, don’t lift. The shoulders travel well past the hands until the feet float.
• Protract hard: round the upper back and push the floor away.
• Straight elbows, elbow pits forward.
• Posterior pelvic tilt in the advanced tuck and beyond, so the hips don’t sag.

Programming

• Leans and pseudo-planche push-ups as the main volume; holds as short, quality sets.
• Two or three sessions a week, never to failure.
• In a handstand block, planche goes to maintenance: one short session a week.

Common mistakes

• Bent arms in the hold. A bent-arm planche is a different, easier exercise.
• Not enough lean, and trying to muscle the legs up instead.
• Too much too soon for the wrists and elbows. Planche progress is measured in months.

Sources

• Overcoming Gravity (2nd edition), Steven Low: planche and planche push-up columns.
• FitnessFAQs planche tutorials.