Plank Hip Dip
What Is the Plank Hip Dip?
Plank Hip Dip is a compound exercise that primarily targets the core, especially the obliques, and also engages the shoulders, the serratus anterior and the glutes. It is a beginner-level movement that starts from a forearm plank and adds a slow rotation of the hips from side to side, lowering each hip toward the floor before turning back through the center.
A standard plank asks the trunk to resist movement. The hip dip keeps the forearms planted and the shoulders still while the pelvis turns underneath them, so the obliques have to drive the rotation and then control it on the way back up, and the rest of the abdominal wall keeps the lower back from sagging the whole time. That makes it a useful step between static planks and more demanding rotational core work, and it fits easily into a core circuit, a warm-up or the end of a session without any equipment.
The obliques do most of the work, with the shoulders and serratus anterior holding the upper body steady over the elbows and the glutes keeping the pelvis and legs moving as one unit. A small arc keeps the exercise close to a plank and puts the emphasis on stability, while a deeper, slower dip with a short pause just above the floor asks more of the obliques. Speed works against it: swinging the hips lets momentum and the lower back do the turning.
It suits anyone who can already hold a steady forearm plank with a level pelvis and wants to add rotation. If the hips sag or the shoulders shift, build up with the Plank and the Side Plank first, or do the dips with the knees on the floor. Once it feels easy, the Plank to Side Plank and the Russian Twist add more rotational core work.
Muscles Worked
- External Oblique
- Primary
- Rectus Abdominis
- High
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Erector Spinae
- Medium
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Rectus Abdominis (Lower)
- Medium
- Serratus Anterior
- Medium
Instructions
- Set up on your forearms with your elbows directly under your shoulders and your hands in loose fists, forearms pointing forward.
- Extend your legs behind you with your feet close together and rise onto your toes so your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
- Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes lightly and press your forearms into the floor so your chest does not sink between your shoulders.
- Keep your neck neutral, looking at the floor just ahead of your hands.
- Rotate your hips to one side, pivoting on your feet, and lower that hip toward the floor until it hovers just above it or taps it lightly. Breathe out as you dip.
- Keep your shoulders square over your elbows and both forearms planted as your hips turn.
- Rotate back through the center to the starting plank, with your hips level and your lower back flat.
- Dip to the other side in the same way and keep alternating at a slow, steady tempo for the planned reps.
- Lower your knees to the floor to finish the set.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips sag
When the abs switch off between dips, the lower back arches toward the floor and takes load the core should be carrying.
Swinging the hips
Dropping fast and bouncing off the bottom lets momentum turn the hips instead of the obliques, so slow down and control both directions.
Turning the shoulders with the hips
If the shoulders roll and an elbow lifts, the upper body has stopped being the stable base and the twist becomes a loose half side plank.
Sinking between the shoulder blades
Letting the chest drop toward the floor hangs the body on the shoulder joints, so press the forearms down and keep the upper back broad.
Forcing the hip to the floor
Driving each hip all the way down before you can control it twists the lower back past where the abs can hold it, so hover where your form still holds.
Injuries
Plank Hip Dip is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The body is the only load and the forearms carry the upper body, so the strain points are few: the lower back when the hips sag or the rotation is swung rather than controlled, the shoulders and elbows from holding the forearm plank, and the neck when the head hangs or cranes up.
Keep the elbows under the shoulders, the abs braced and the body in one line from head to heels before each dip. Move slowly and lower only as far as you can while the shoulders stay square and both forearms stay planted. A folded mat under the elbows takes pressure off the forearms on a hard floor.
To make it easier, do the dips with the knees on the floor, shorten the arc, or go back to holding a Plank and a Side Plank until the pelvis stays level. To progress, add a short pause just above the floor on each side, slow the tempo further, or move on to the Plank to Side Plank.
Stop if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the lower back, pain that travels into a leg, or pain in the shoulder or elbow. Anyone with a current back or shoulder injury should check with a clinician before adding rotation under load.
- Primary Focus
- Core
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Plank Hip Dip
The Plank Hip Dip is also known as:
- Plank Hip Twist
- Rainbow Plank
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Do plank hip dips get rid of love handles?
No. Exercise cannot remove fat from one chosen spot, so hip dips strengthen the obliques underneath while a slimmer waist comes from overall fat loss through diet and total activity.
- Q: How many plank hip dips should I do?
A good start is 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side at a slow, controlled pace. Add reps or a short pause at the bottom of each dip once every rep looks the same as the first.
- Q: Does my hip have to touch the floor?
No. Lower only as far as you can while your shoulders stay square and both forearms stay planted; hovering just above the floor or tapping it lightly is enough.
- Q: Are plank hip dips the same as side plank hip dips?
No. Side plank hip dips are done stacked on one forearm with the hips lowering and lifting, while plank hip dips keep both forearms down and rotate the hips from side to side. The side version builds on the Side Plank and works one side at a time.
- Q: Can I do plank hip dips if planks hurt my wrists?
Usually, yes. This version is done on the forearms, which keeps the wrists out of the bent-back position a high plank needs, and a folded mat under the elbows helps if the forearms get sore.