Reformer Plank: How to Do It, Muscles Engaged, and Benefits

How to do a plank on a reformer?

The reformer plank is an advanced core exercise that leverages the unstable, spring-loaded carriage of the Pilates reformer to significantly enhance core stability, strength, and proprioception beyond what a traditional floor plank offers.

Introduction to the Reformer Plank

The plank, a foundational core strengthening exercise, takes on a dynamic and more challenging dimension when performed on a Pilates reformer. The reformer's moving carriage, driven by spring resistance, introduces an element of instability and requires precise control, engaging a broader range of stabilizing muscles. This variation not only builds formidable core strength but also refines body awareness, balance, and neuromuscular control, making it a highly effective exercise for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and those seeking advanced core conditioning.

Muscles Engaged

The reformer plank is a full-body exercise with a primary emphasis on the anterior and lateral core musculature, but also significantly recruits muscles of the shoulders, arms, and hips.

• Primary Core Stabilizers:
  • Transverse Abdominis (TA): Deepest abdominal muscle, crucial for spinal stability and bracing.
  • Rectus Abdominis: The "six-pack" muscle, involved in preventing hyperextension of the spine.
  • Obliques (Internal and External): Responsible for anti-rotational and lateral flexion stability.
  • Multifidus: Deep spinal muscles providing segmental stability.
• Shoulder Girdle Stabilizers:
  • Serratus Anterior: "Boxer's muscle," vital for scapular protraction and upward rotation, preventing winging.
  • Deltoids and Rotator Cuff: Maintain shoulder joint integrity.
• Arm Muscles:
  • Triceps and Biceps: Provide isometric support.
• Hip and Leg Stabilizers:
  • Gluteus Maximus and Medius: Extend and stabilize the hips, preventing sag.
  • Quadriceps: Maintain knee extension and contribute to overall leg stability.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Reformer Plank

Performing a plank on the reformer requires attention to setup, form, and controlled movement. There are several variations based on hand/foot placement and desired challenge.

Preparation

1. Spring Setup: Start with a moderate spring setting (e.g., 1-2 red springs or equivalent). Fewer springs increase the instability and challenge the control, while more springs offer more resistance for the push/pull, challenging strength.
2. Reformer Configuration: Ensure the footbar is up. Depending on the variation, you will place your hands on the carriage or the standing platform, and your feet on the footbar or shoulder rests.
3. Body Alignment: Approach the reformer and position yourself facing the footbar.

Execution (Standard Plank - Hands on Carriage, Feet on Footbar)

1. Starting Position: Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the carriage, directly under your shoulders. Ensure your fingers are spread wide, pressing through the palms. Place the balls of your feet on the footbar, hip-width apart.
2. Engage Core: Draw your navel towards your spine, engaging your transverse abdominis. Stack your shoulders directly over your wrists, and your hips in line with your shoulders and heels. Maintain a neutral spine, avoiding arching or rounding.
3. Initiate Movement: Exhale and slowly push the carriage away from the footbar by extending your body into a full plank position. The movement should be controlled and initiated from your core, not by pushing solely with your arms or legs.
4. Hold and Control: Hold the plank position, maintaining a straight line from head to heels. Focus on keeping your core engaged to prevent the hips from sagging or lifting too high. Your shoulders should remain stable, pressing down through your arms, avoiding shrugging towards your ears.
5. Return: Inhale and slowly pull the carriage back towards the footbar, using your core muscles to control the movement. Resist the springs, ensuring a smooth, deliberate return to the starting position.

Execution (Pike Variation - Hands on Carriage, Feet in Straps)

1. Starting Position: Lie supine on the carriage, place your feet into the long straps, and then flip over to a prone position. Place your hands on the carriage, shoulder-width apart, directly under your shoulders.
2. Plank Position: Extend your legs into a plank, lifting your hips to align with your shoulders and heels, maintaining core engagement.
3. Pike Movement: Exhale and, keeping your legs straight, lift your hips towards the ceiling, drawing the carriage towards your hands. Imagine folding at your hips to create an inverted "V" shape. This deeply engages the lower abdominals and hip flexors.
4. Return: Inhale and slowly lower your hips back to the plank position, controlling the carriage as it moves away from your hands.

Execution (Kneeling Plank Variation - Hands on Carriage, Knees on Standing Platform)

1. Starting Position: Kneel on the standing platform with your knees hip-width apart. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the carriage, directly under your shoulders.
2. Engage Core: Engage your core, maintaining a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
3. Initiate Movement: Exhale and slowly push the carriage away from the standing platform, extending your body into a kneeling plank.
4. Hold and Return: Hold briefly, then inhale and slowly pull the carriage back, controlling the movement with your core. This is an excellent regression for building core control and stability before moving to a full plank.

Biomechanical Considerations and Benefits

The reformer plank offers several unique biomechanical advantages over a static floor plank:

• Enhanced Core Activation: The unstable, moving carriage forces the deep stabilizing muscles of the core (especially the transverse abdominis and obliques) to work harder to control movement and prevent unwanted motion.
• Dynamic Stability: Unlike a static floor plank, the reformer plank requires continuous adjustment and control against the spring resistance, improving dynamic stability and coordination.
• Proprioceptive Challenge: The shifting base of support heightens proprioception, enhancing body awareness and the nervous system's ability to sense the body's position and movement.
• Scapular Stability: The need to stabilize the shoulder girdle against the moving carriage significantly strengthens the serratus anterior and other scapular stabilizers, crucial for shoulder health and function.
• Eccentric Control: The return phase of the reformer plank emphasizes eccentric control, where muscles lengthen under tension. This is vital for injury prevention and building resilient strength.
• Versatility: The reformer allows for easy modifications through spring changes, hand/foot placement, and adding movements like pikes or knee tucks, catering to various fitness levels and goals.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

To maximize effectiveness and prevent injury, be mindful of these common errors:

• Sagging Hips: Allowing the hips to drop below the line of the shoulders and heels indicates a lack of core engagement and puts undue stress on the lower back. Actively draw your navel to your spine and engage your glutes.
• Hiking Hips Too High: While a pike is a variation, in a standard plank, lifting the hips too high reduces the core challenge. Maintain a straight line.
• Shrugging Shoulders: Allowing the shoulders to creep up towards the ears indicates tension and poor scapular stability. Keep your shoulders pressed down and back, engaging your serratus anterior.
• Hyperextending Elbows: Keep a micro-bend in your elbows to avoid locking the joint and placing stress on the ligaments.
• Holding Your Breath: Maintain steady, controlled breathing throughout the exercise. Exhale on exertion (pushing out), inhale on return (pulling in).
• Jerky or Uncontrolled Movements: The essence of reformer work is control. Avoid letting the springs "snap" the carriage back. Move slowly and deliberately.
• Incorrect Spring Tension: Too few springs can make it excessively difficult to control, leading to poor form. Too many springs might reduce the stability challenge. Adjust to find the right balance for your strength level.

Progression and Regression Strategies

The reformer plank is highly adaptable.

Regression (Easier)

• Kneeling Plank: As described above, perform with knees on the standing platform.
• Fewer Springs: Counter-intuitively, fewer springs can make the plank more challenging for control as there is less assistance to bring the carriage back. However, for sheer strength against resistance, more springs are harder. For beginners, start with a setting that allows stable, controlled movement.
• Shorter Range of Motion: Don't push the carriage out as far, reducing the lever arm and intensity.
• Forearm Plank: If hand/wrist discomfort is an issue, perform on forearms on the carriage, maintaining the same alignment.

Progression (Harder)

• More Springs: Increases the resistance against which your core must stabilize to prevent the carriage from moving.
• Pike: As described, lifting hips high to challenge lower abdominals and hip flexors.
• Single-Leg Plank: Lift one foot off the footbar (or out of the strap) to increase the instability.
• Single-Arm Plank: Perform with one hand on the carriage, the other on the shoulder rest or by your side, significantly increasing the core and shoulder stability challenge.
• Long Lever Plank: If using the box for a plank, moving the box further away from the shoulder rests increases the lever, making the exercise harder.
• Adding Rotation: Incorporate controlled rotation, such as a side plank variation with one hand on the carriage and the other reaching up.
• Increased Hold Time: Gradually increase the duration of your plank holds.

Who Should Consider the Reformer Plank?

The reformer plank is an excellent addition to the routine of:

• Pilates Practitioners: A natural progression for those familiar with reformer exercises.
• Fitness Enthusiasts: Seeking to deepen their core work and add variety to their routine.
• Athletes: Particularly those in sports requiring high levels of core stability, balance, and power transfer (e.g., runners, golfers, dancers, martial artists).
• Individuals Seeking Injury Prevention: Enhanced core and scapular stability can help protect the spine and shoulders.
• Those Recovering from Injury: Under the guidance of a physical therapist or certified instructor, the controlled environment of the reformer can be beneficial for rebuilding strength safely.

Conclusion

The plank on a Pilates reformer transforms a classic core exercise into a dynamic, challenging, and highly effective full-body movement. By demanding greater control, stability, and proprioception, it offers superior benefits for core strength, body awareness, and functional movement. Mastering this exercise requires attention to detail, proper form, and a progressive approach, but the rewards—a stronger, more stable, and resilient core—are well worth the effort. Always consult with a qualified Pilates instructor or fitness professional to ensure proper technique and appropriate progression.