You want to be able to plant your feet and quickly turn to move in the opposite direction of your opponent. Exercises You Should Be Doing: Copenhagen Side Plank Shenanigans Copenhagen plank is a side plank variation that targets our adductors or inner thigh muscles. You will engage and strengthen your adductor muscles by squeezing your legs together. prohockeystrength.com., the official website of the Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey. This variation requires you to move your hands and feet in a walking motion while keeping your hips steady. To master it, take note of the following techniques: Keeping the core and glute tight will help you maintain proper form throughout the duration of the exercise, as well as help to increase the intensity of the exercise. This is great if youre starting out and also if this bugs your knee (which well get to) this option takes the knee out of the equation since itll be resting on the bench. Holding your breath can cause you to become dizzy and affect your form, so make sure to keep breathing steadily while doing the Copenhagen Plank. How To Do Copenhagen Plank Properly - Flab Fix Start with 10 seconds, then, as the move becomes easier, slowly add a few more seconds at a time, says Ros. Once appropriately warmed up, follow the steps outlined below to execute a Copenhagen plank hold correctly. .css-13y9o4w{display:block;font-family:GraphikBold,GraphikBold-fallback,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-13y9o4w:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.05rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.28598rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.39461rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-13y9o4w{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.3;}}8-Minute Ab Workouts Won't Build a Six-Pack, The Suitcase Carry Is an Underrated Core Exercise, 5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Lower Back, This Shoulder Press Move Will Crush Your Core, Too, This Will Give Your Core a Superhero Challenge, 3 Exercises to Train Your Abs Instead of Crunches, This Intense Hanging Ab Move Will Crush Your Core, Sculpt Your Core With Half-Iso Hanging Leg Raises, The 3-Way Knees to Elbow Upgrades Your Leg Raise, 3 Obliques Exercises to Replace the Side Bend. The origin of the exercise is a bit of a mystery, but it's safe to say it was invented way before the early 2000s. Furthermore, it was also shown to elicit the highest activation of the external oblique and rectus abdominis. No need to be a hero and set the bench in contact with the thigh. Copenhagen Denmark: Rosenborg Castle A small village existed on the site of the present city by the early 10th century. However, there are many ways the exercise difficulty level can be scaled up or down depending on your abilities. It stands to reason that strengthening your groin muscles will reduce the risk of injuring your groin, and that's exactly what the science says: And in particular, having strong eccentric adductor strength, or strength when your adductors are being lengthened which happens in a lot physical activities "seem important to consider, especially in prevention, as this resembles the situation where the muscle-tendinous structures are at the highest risk of injury" Serner et al (2014). The Copenhagen plank, also commonly referred simply as an "adductor side plank", is a fantastic exercise to include into your fitness routine. Below we list all the variations you can apply, from easy to hard, so that you can pick the right one based on your skill level. As well as developing hip strength, the Copenhagen plank is also a great way to activate the core muscles, especially the obliques. Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin - YouTube The Copenhagen Plank, or the Copenhagen Side Plank, is a side plank variation that, in addition to training the abdominals, targets the adductor (groin) muscles. Serious imbalances can lead to compensated movement patterns and, in turn, an increased risk of injury, according to the American Council on Exercise. Although this may not sound like the most exciting muscle group to strengthen, it is actually incredibly important for healthy functional movement. What are the risk factors for Copenhagen Plank? While nutrition plays an important role, adding exercise into your routine improves the process of achieving your goal. This will mean as you place your leg on the raised surface, and lift your hips, your back should naturally be nice and straight. Try a 10-second hold, repeated three times with rest in between as needed. Copenhagen Plank Progressions - YouTube As is the case with any plank variation, think: Abs on, glutes on. It targets the leg adductors, which are muscles often neglected in training, but they play an essential role in our everyday lives and workouts. [1], [2]. Your adductors and abductors and both your inner and outer thighs are going to wind the firing in this move as well.. This is a dynamic alternative that can be applied at any regression or progression stage to increase intensity and difficulty. More broadly, you may think of the adductors as crucial stabilizer and core muscles. There are many studies out there demonstrating the link between weak groin muscles and the prevalence of groin injuries in athletes. Copenhagen, Danish Kbenhavn, capital and largest city of Denmark. For non-athletes, the exercise can simply help to create better hip stability, which is associated with reduced risk of back, hip and knee injuries as well as better posture. Planks arent that easy to add weight to. If you do it right, you should be giving everything you have for seconds. In order of easiest to hardest, the progression goes: While planks are often done for increasingly long periods of time, you dont have to take that approach to get the benefits out of the Copenhagen plank. Your bottom leg can be straight if using a chair or bench, or it can be bent if the surface prevents you from straightening the leg, such as when using an ottoman or couch. The Copenhagen plank lift is a dynamic variation of the Copenhagen plank for adductor strength and hip stability. And this training can do you some good: Improving your core stability not only helps prevent injuries in your back, but it can also improve your athletic performance, she notes. The proper form for Copenhagen plank involves squeezing your legs together, keeping your core engaged and stable, breathing normally throughout the exercise, and keeping your shoulders in line with your chest. If you want to make the Copenhagen plank more challenging, you can try the following progressions: Take a narrower grip with your hands while doing the Copenhagen plank to increase the intensity. Copenhagen Plank can cause strain on the lower back if done incorrectly. The adductor group contains a bunch of muscles, the specific names are not important because we want to focus on them as a group. Few Exercises Are as Difficult as the "Copenhagen Plank" - InsideHook Now you're not only like working the adductors in the leg that's on top of the bench, but you're also using your hip flexors to bring the bottom leg [up to] 90 degrees, she explains. To begin with start with your knee on the chair. In addition to strengthening the adductors, the Copenhagen plank also contains the elements of a normal side plank, meaning it has a side effect of strengthening a variety of core muscles . Better yet, combine the two moves during a single set, as Ros demonstrates below. While the Copenhagen adduction exercise doesn't appear to be functional, Haroy et al i Show more Shop the E3 Rehab store Copenhagen Planks for Strength and Reducing Risk of Groin Injury. Still, your obliques, the muscles responsible for rotating your trunk, get a large chunk of the action. Due to these groin related injuries, there are a significant number of athletes being taken out of games, missing seasons, or even having to retire early. Check out the video and please leave any questions or comments below. The Copenhagen plank looks a bit like a side plank: Youre leaning on your hand or elbow, other arm away from the ground, trying to hold your body in a rigid position. Maintaining a straight body while doing Copenhagen plank is essential to ensure that your core and glutes are engaged and maximize the exercises effectiveness. The Copenhagen Plank is very simple, all you need is a chair or bench. It is an intense exercise that requires a lot of balance and strength to execute correctly. Copenhagen Plank - Sweat Drive your right knee forward. This helps strengthen the deep core muscles, essential for everyday activities like lifting or carrying heavy loads. To make things harder, you can also include a dynamic hip movement by lowering and raising your hip to the ground or using a suspension trainder instead of a bench. Here are some options: Also known as the Vasisthasana in yoga, the side plank is excellent for strengthening the core muscles and activating stabilizer muscles. The suspension trainer isnt stable like a bench, so it will wobble and move. Similar to a standard side plank, your obliques are required to help create stability as you hold the position. By strengthening one muscle group, we help shift into the posture that allows the other to contract as well, creating a positive feedback loop. 5.1K views 3 years ago Here I have one of my awesome clients Mitch performing a modified regression of the Copenhagen plank as he's performing it with his knee, shin, foot, and ankle on the. Thats why she usually starts her clients off with their top knee bent at a 90-degree angle and their knee and calf fully resting on the bench (aka a short lever), she says. How to do a Copenhagen Plank: Technique, Benefits, and Variations It is also great for improving core strength and stability, especially in the obliques. The individual then raises his or her body and the bottom leg up, until the feet touch and the body is in a straight line. This requires the adductor muscles to contract isometrically. We suggest starting about two inches out. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The exercise is isometric, which means you hold your body in one position while contracting your muscles. It is located on the islands of Zealand (Sjlland) and Amager, at the southern end of The Sound (resund). 2014;2(2):2325967114521778. If you cant do any of the versions above, even the one with your knee on the bench, one way to modify is to keep your free leg on the ground. Our inner thigh muscles, called the hip adductors, are responsible for pulling our legs in toward each other. And yet, [the inner and outer thighs are] often neglected parts of the body, so some people have weak adductors without really knowing it, she explains. It is an intense exercise that requires a lot of balance and strength to execute correctly. In a side plank position, place the top leg on a bench with the bottom leg under the bench. If your aim is to work on your hip and groin muscles, there are plenty of alternatives to the Copenhagen plank that also focus on the same muscles. To attack the obliques and get some added value by tapping into the adductors and abductors, a smart modality to implement would be the Copenhagen plank. Say youre a soccer player. It doesn't just target your obliques like a side plank, but it also fires up your adductors and your abductors your inner and outer thigh muscles. Sound complicated? Popular with Strength Coaches and Physical Therapists alike, the movement can help improve lumbopelvic stability, core strength, and healthy hip function. Repeat on both sides for 10-15 seconds, rest for a few seconds, and do the exercise again. It worked: Programs including this Copenhagen adductor exercise made male soccer players adductors stronger, and while its not a silver bullet for preventing groin strains, it seems to help.