A safe way to build core endurance and support your spine to help with your low back pain
The Plank — Quick Guide
- Best for: Recurrent low back pain
- Reps: 3–6 with a 30 second break
- Hold for: 10–30 seconds (Build gradually)
- Frequency: 1–2x daily
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Time: 1–3 minutes
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
- Lie face down.
- Place your elbows directly beneath your shoulders.
- Lift yourself onto your forearms and toes.
- Keep your body in a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
- Gently tighten your abdominal muscles.
- Continue breathing normally.
- Hold the position without letting your hips sag or lift too high.Step 1 — starting position.
HOW TO DO THE PLANK
When to Be Cautious
You may want to modify or avoid this if:
- The exercise causes sharp or worsening back pain
- Your symptoms travel into your leg (see my Sciatica and Disc Bulge pages)
- You cannot comfortably support yourself on your elbows or wrists
- You have recently had abdominal surgery or another medical condition that limits exercise
If unsure, seek professional advice.
What This Exercise Helps With
The plank isn’t about getting a six-pack.
It’s about teaching your body to support your spine more efficiently.
Your abdominal muscles, back muscles and hips work together to create a stable base for everyday activities like standing, walking, lifting and sitting.
Rather than repeatedly bending your spine, the plank trains these muscles to resist unwanted movement and provide gentle support.
One way I often explain this to patients is by using the analogy of a tent.
Think of your spine as the tent pole.
The muscles around your trunk are like the guy ropes.
What Should You Use This Exercise For?
I commonly prescribe the plank for people with:
- Mechanical Low Back Pain: To improve endurance of the muscles that support the spine.
- Disc Degeneration: When improving spinal support without repeated bending is the goal.
- People with desk-based jobs: To help maintain spinal support during long periods of sitting.
- People returning to exercise: As a simple way to rebuild core endurance.
The movement should feel easy and controlled—not forced or held rigidly.
How Long Should You Hold It?
Start with:
- 10–20 second holds
- 3–5 repetitions
- Rest for around 20–30 seconds between each hold
As your endurance improves, gradually work towards:
- 30-second holds
- Progress to 45 seconds if appropriate
For most people, there is very little extra benefit in holding a plank for several minutes.
Quality is far more important than duration.
What You Should Notice
- Your abdominal muscles working
- Gentle effort around your sides and hips
- Your shoulders helping support the position
- A feeling of your whole body working together
Muscle fatigue is perfectly normal.
The exercise shouldn’t reproduce your familiar back pain.
What You Should Avoid Feeling
- Sharp low back pain
- Pain travelling into your leg
- Holding your breath
- Excessive strain in your neck or shoulders
Common Errors
Try not to:
- Let your hips sag towards the floor
- Lift your bottom too high
- Hold your breath
- Look forwards (keep your neck neutral)
- Continue after your technique starts to break down
Remember:
A shorter, well-controlled plank is far more effective than a longer plank with poor technique.
Clinic Tip
One of the biggest mistakes I see is people trying to hold a single plank for as long as possible.
I’d much rather see someone complete five perfect 20-second planks than one shaky two-minute effort.
Holding the plank for too long can lead to muscle fatigue low back strain. If you are still in the recovery period of a low back issue, in my experience, this will make you more prone to a flare-up over the next 24-48 hours
Key Insight
The plank isn’t about building huge muscles.
It’s about improving endurance.
Your spinal muscles need to work quietly for hours at a time—not just produce short bursts of strength.
That’s why relatively short, good-quality holds often provide the greatest benefit.
When to Use This Exercise
This exercise works particularly well:
- Before starting a long day at your desk
- During a lunch break if you’ve been sitting all morning
- Before activities that involve lifting or prolonged standing
- As part of your regular back maintenance routine
A Lesson From Professor Stuart McGill
I remember Professor Stuart McGill (a renowned spinal expert) talking about this during a seminar I attended, and one point has always stayed with me.
He discussed research looking at muscle activation during exercises such as the plank using muscle activity measurements.
The findings suggested that after performing a few good-quality planks, the core muscles continued to show increased background activity for the next 2–3 hours.
In other words, those muscles appeared to stay a little more “switched on” after the exercise had finished.
That’s one of the reasons I often recommend a few short planks in the morning and again later in the day for patients with sedentary jobs.
If you’re about to spend several hours sitting, it may be a simple way of encouraging your core muscles to provide a little more background support throughout the day.
It’s a small habit that can easily become part of your daily routine.
How This Fits Into Your Recovery Plan
I normally introduce this exercise when my patients are out of a “flare-up” stage but are still aware that their low-back is feeling vulnerable or weak.
The aim is to:
- Rebuild stability in your low back so that you don’t feel like your back is so fragile
- Build endurance so that you can sit, walk, and move longer without your low back pain starting
- Feel more confident getting back to everyday activities without worrying that your back will “go” again
From here, you may want to combine it with:
Still Waking Up Stiff? Your Spine Deserves Better Than That.
Most people accept morning stiffness as just part of life. But it doesn’t have to be yours. In just 7 minutes, this free spinal mobility routine helps you shake off that locked-up feeling, ease the aches, and step into your day feeling like you actually want to move. Perfect as a morning wake-up, a warm-up before your workout, or before heading out to the garden.
Your future self — the one who bends down without wincing — starts right here.
Medical disclaimer
This article is for general education only and is not a diagnosis or a substitute for personalised medical advice. If your symptoms are severe, worsening, unusual, or linked with trauma, fever, unexplained weight loss, changes in bladder or bowel control, saddle numbness, progressive weakness, chest pain, or shortness of breath, seek urgent medical help.
Exercises should feel comfortable and controlled. Stop if pain spreads, symptoms worsen, or you feel unwell. For individual advice, book an assessment with a registered healthcare professional.
This exercise helps with: