Imagine a move where your upper body floats in the air, your legs elevate off the ground, and your entire body is supported only by your hands. You are defying gravity, as those who witness your skills swoon at the jaw-dropping feat of what looks like a superhuman feat. Impressive, right!? We are all captured and mesmerized by athleticism like this, and oftentimes we might think we could never accomplish the same type of full body movement and control. The skill we’ve painted for you is the Straddle Planche and we’re here to tell you that you CAN learn to do this if you so desire. And, even if you don't care to take it all the way, the Planche journey is filled with health and basic strength benefits. Let us explain:

Why Do It?

The benefits of even just doing the most basic progressions to this exercise will give you stronger glutes, more flexible hips, stronger and more flexible wrists, beastly shoulder strength, and better balance, all of which are huge benefits to everyone’s daily life. Aside from the benefits of strength, mobility, and balance, the street credit and glory of attaining the Straddle Planche is unmistakable. Not many humans on the face of the planet can – and therefore attempt – to defy gravity.

You can become one of them. There are many variations of a planche, including bent-arm, straight-arm, tuck, straddle, and full (all available in detail inside the GB Foundation Series). Using these Courses means gaining superior athleticism; our athletes are proof that no matter where you start, you can progress towards being able to perform a straight-arm planche with legs held wide in a straddle position. It simply takes consistency in your training and the right tools and guidance.

As you can see, everyone can begin and benfit from planche training. Get started with GymnasticBodies Planche Progressions now!

Develop Your Straight Arm Strength

The biggest bicep builder in all of bodyweight strength training is SAS (Straight Arm Strength) and is the first step towards attaining the planche, which really when it comes down it, is just a glorified plank. And just as anyone can do a plank, so can you, with some consistency, do a Straddle Planche.

Holding this position with your arms straight and elbows completely locked out is an entirely different beast than doing it with bent arms. In the case of the planche, even a slight bend in the planche is not a complete planche. You will be engaging a whole different set of muscles, not just in your arms, but also throughout your shoulders, chest, back, and entire upper body when you completely straighten your arms to master this gloried plank.

Working towards being able to perform a proper straddle planche will greatly strengthen not only your shoulders, improve your posture, and increase your hip mobility while improving your balance and wrist strength, making it a skill with carryover into daily life, definitely worth striving for. Learn how to defy gravity with the straddle planche and other near superhuman skills that can be achieved through the step-by-step progressions in the GymnasticBodies Foundations Series.