Bodyweight planks are excellent for enhancing core strength and endurance. However, they are static and are not effective for building strength.
If you want to build strength, stamina, and muscle simultaneously through plank variations, try planking with dumbbells.
Dumbbells are a super effective equipment that provides good resistance, a better range of motion, and a suitable grip. You can perform planks in different ways with dumbbells, such as plank drag, plank row, and side plank hold.
In this article, I’ll show you the following dumbbell plank variations.
- Plank Dumbbell Drag
- Dumbbell Side Plank
- Dumbbell Plank Rotation
- Dumbbell Renegade Row
- Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Lift
- Incline Dumbbell Plank Row
These exercises strengthen core muscles, build endurance, improve mobility, enhance athleticism, and help correct posture.
Whether you want to develop your abdominal strength or help your clients achieve a functional core, add these dumbbell planks to the workout program.
The Scientifically Proven Benefits of Planks
The planks’ primary purpose is to strengthen the core (midsection of the body that includes the rectus abdominis, obliques, and hips).1Core Anatomy: Muscles of the Core – American Council of Exercise.
A strong core helps move, support, and stabilize your spine and minimize the risk of lower back injuries.2 Chang WD, Lin HY, Lai PT. Core strength training for patients with chronic low back pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Mar;27(3):619-22. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.619. Epub 2015 Mar 31. PMID: 25931693; PMCID: PMC4395677, 3Frizziero, A.; Pellizzon, G.; Vittadini, F.; Bigliardi, D.; Costantino, C. Efficacy of Core Stability in Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2021, 6, 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6020037
Strengthening the midsection also enhances balance, stability, athletic and lifting performance, as well as fixes poor posture.4 The real-world benefits of strengthening your core – Harvard Health Publishing
The plank exercises also increase skeletal muscle mass, reduce body fat, and improve muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility.5 Effects of High Intensity Plank Exercise on Physical Fitness and Immunocyte Function in a Middle-Aged Man: A Case Report – National Institute of Health, 6Park S, Kim YC, Jee YS. Plank exercise improves respiratory capacity through positive changes in body composition, abdominis function, and autonomic nerves’ activities. Eur J Sport Sci. 2024 Feb 15;24(3):330–40. doi: 10.1002/ejsc.12086. PMCID: PMC11235748.
Benefits of Planking with Dumbbells
Doing planks with dumbbells can be challenging at first, but if you can do a bodyweight plank for two minutes, then you’ll also be able to plank with weights.
Planking with dumbbells is not limited to static hold only. It also involves rowing and dragging the weights, and rotating your torso.
Weighted planks have multiple advantages, such as:
- It creates more tension on the core muscles, improves muscular endurance, and thickens the abs and oblique muscles.
- Improve balance and muscle coordination.
- Burn decent calories and tone abdominal muscles.
- Besides the abdominal, the dumbbell planks also strengthen the back, shoulders, hips, arms, and other body parts.7 Laguarta-Val, SofÃa & Carratalá-Tejada, MarÃa & Molina-Rueda, Francisco & Moreta-Fuentes, Ricardo & Fernández Vázquez, Diego & López-González, Raúl & Jiménez-Antona, Carmen & Moreta-Fuentes, César & Fidalgo Herrera, Alberto & Page, juan-carlos & Navarro López, VÃctor. (2024). Effects of a plank-based strength training programme on muscle activation in patients with long COVID: a case series. Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra. 47. 10.23938/ASSN.1083.
6 Best Dumbbell Planks To Forge Your Core and Build Abs
1. Plank Dumbbell Drag
The plank drag or pull-through is a full-body workout that works various muscles throughout the body, including your abs, back, shoulders, and hips.
It is an excellent exercise to develop your core muscles while improving your mobility and endurance.
The plank dumbbell drag is easy to perform, and even a beginner can do it. You can include this exercise in your cardio as it burns a good number of calories in a short time.
Follow the steps to perform a plank drag:
- Place a dumbbell on the floor and get into a high plank position with your arms straight below your shoulders. The dumbbell should be close to your right hand underneath your chest.
- Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, drag the dumbbell with your left hand from your right side to your left.
- Bring your hand to the floor, and now grab the dumbbell in your right hand and drag it to your left side.
- Repeat for the desired number of times.
2. Dumbbell Side Plank
The dumbbell side plank is an isometric exercise. It involves staying in a static position while holding the weight.
This exercise engages multiple muscles simultaneously, such as the obliques, rectus abdominis, hips, shoulders, and back.8 Murofushi, Koji & Oshikawa, Tomoki & Akuzawa, Hiroshi & Yamaguchi, Daisuke & Hirohata, Kenji & Furuya, Hidetaka & Mitomo, Sho & Kaneoka, Koji & Yagishita, Kazusyohi. (2022). Trunk muscle activation in side plank exercises with and without external-focus instruction. Isokinetics and Exercise Science. 31. 1-8. 10.3233/IES-220016.
It primarily targets your love handles (obliques), the muscles often overlooked during standard core exercises, such as crunches, hollow body, mountain climbers, and forearm plank.
Strengthening your obliques improves the appearance of your core muscles and helps you enhance your performance where abdominal muscles are required.
However, the dumbbell side plank is demanding and also puts stress on your shoulders. So this is certainly not for beginners.
It is only for those who have sturdy delts and the ability to hold the bodyweight side plank for at least 30 seconds.
Instructions for Side Plank:
- Lie on your right side on your forearm with your legs extended and stacked on each other, from hip to feet.
- Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and keep your arm straight over your body.
- Brace your core, hips, and legs, and hold in this position for 15 to 30 seconds.
- Once you complete, switch on your left side without taking a break.
3. Dumbbell Plank Rotation
The side plank rotation is another excellent exercise for strengthening core muscles, particularly obliques.
It is slightly more challenging than the traditional side plank but also activates the core muscles more efficiently and provides better results.
How to do the side dumbbell plank rotation:
- Place your left lower arm on the floor and lie on your side with your legs straight and stacked from hip to feet.
- Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and extend your arm directly over your shoulder.
- Keeping your core and lower body tight, twist your torso toward the floor and bring the dumbbell under your body.
- Pause for a moment and then return the dumbbell to the start.
- Perform the desired reps and sets equally on both sides.
4. Dumbbell Renegade Row
The renegade row is a compound exercise that works the entire upper body, including your core, chest, and back.
It’s a great exercise to help you build muscles while improving endurance, balance, and muscle coordination.
Follow the steps to perform Renegade Row:
- Holding one dumbbell in each hand, get into the up position of the pushup exercise with your arms straight below your shoulders and body straight from head to heels. Take your feet slightly out, as it provides stability.
- Brace your core, perform a pushup, and pull the dumbbell to your right side while keeping your left hand on the floor.
- Lower the dumbbell to the floor and repeat on your left side.
- Maintain a neutral spine position throughout the movement.
5. Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Lift
If you want to work deeply on your love handles and sculpt your abdominal muscles, you should include the weight side plank hip tap in your core workout routine.
The side plank dumbbell hip lift is an excellent move to build and tone your abdominal muscles and improve the appearance of your six-pack abs. It is also an excellent exercise for improving balance and coordination, and improving your hip mobility.9Kim, S. Y., Kang, M. H., Kim, E. R., Jung, I. G., Seo, E. Y., & Oh, J. S. (2016). Comparison of EMG activity on abdominal muscles during plank exercise with unilateral and bilateral additional isometric hip adduction. Journal of electromyography and kinesiology: official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology, 30, 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2016.05.003
The side plank hip dips involve the following steps:
- Get into a side plank position on your right side.
- Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and place it over your hips.
- Engage your abs and thighs, take your hips up and down for the desired number of times.
6. Incline Dumbbell Plank Row
The incline dumbbell plank row is an excellent exercise to hit the different upper body muscles simultaneously, particularly the abs and upper back. It will help you build strength, muscle, and endurance, as well as burn significant calories.
However, the incline plank row is slightly more challenging than other plank variations because it requires you to keep your bodyweight on one arm while holding a dumbbell and pulling at your side with your other arm.
If you can do the standard one-arm dumbbell row, then you should include this exercise in your workout regimen.
How to perform incline plank dumbbell row:
- Grab a dumbbell in your right hand with a neutral grip.
- Place your left hand on a flat bench or elevated object.
- Keep your arms straight and extend your legs behind, and maintain a shoulder-width distance between your feet. That’s the starting position.
- Brace your core and glutes, and row the weight at your side until the dumbbell reaches close to your rib.
- Pause for a couple of seconds and lower the dumbbell.
- Perform the desired reps and switch to the opposite side.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can You Do the Plank Every Day?
You can do bodyweight planks every day, but not the weighted ones. Doing planks with dumbbells puts more stress on your core muscles and requires more time to recover.
And without proper recovery, you risk injury from overuse of muscles and joints. So it’s best to do them on alternate days.10 What Really Happens to Your Body When You Plank Every Day – Livestrong.com
How Long Should You Hold During the Plank?
You can do planks anywhere from 15 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on your fitness level.
Most experts say you will need to do at least 30 seconds to get results from this exercise.
However, if you are a beginner, you can start with 15-second holds. And once you improve your fitness, you can increase the plank duration to two minutes.11 How long should you hold a plank? – Harvard Health Publishing?
Do Planks Reduce Abdominal Fat?
Planks do not specifically reduce stomach fat, but help decrease overall body fat mass to some extent if you do them consistently for a longer period of time.
A study has shown that four weeks of plank training helped increase skeletal muscle mass (3.10%) and lower body fat mass (−2.98%) in middle-aged men (ref 3).
The fact is that weight loss depends on various factors, including physical activity, calorie deficit, hormones, age, gender, and other factors.
Can Planks Help You Build Six-Pack Abs?
Planks are core-strengthening exercises and can help you thicken your six-pack muscles if you do them with other ab exercises.
The truth is, everyone has those six-pack abs, a.k.a rectus abdominis. It is hidden under the belly, whose body fats are high but visible, whose fat percentage is low.
So it is best to do different core workouts, including planks, and lower your body fat simultaneously to expose your six-pack abs
References
- 1Core Anatomy: Muscles of the Core – American Council of Exercise.
- 2Chang WD, Lin HY, Lai PT. Core strength training for patients with chronic low back pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Mar;27(3):619-22. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.619. Epub 2015 Mar 31. PMID: 25931693; PMCID: PMC4395677
- 3Frizziero, A.; Pellizzon, G.; Vittadini, F.; Bigliardi, D.; Costantino, C. Efficacy of Core Stability in Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2021, 6, 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6020037
- 4The real-world benefits of strengthening your core – Harvard Health Publishing
- 5Effects of High Intensity Plank Exercise on Physical Fitness and Immunocyte Function in a Middle-Aged Man: A Case Report – National Institute of Health
- 6Park S, Kim YC, Jee YS. Plank exercise improves respiratory capacity through positive changes in body composition, abdominis function, and autonomic nerves’ activities. Eur J Sport Sci. 2024 Feb 15;24(3):330–40. doi: 10.1002/ejsc.12086. PMCID: PMC11235748.
- 7Laguarta-Val, SofÃa & Carratalá-Tejada, MarÃa & Molina-Rueda, Francisco & Moreta-Fuentes, Ricardo & Fernández Vázquez, Diego & López-González, Raúl & Jiménez-Antona, Carmen & Moreta-Fuentes, César & Fidalgo Herrera, Alberto & Page, juan-carlos & Navarro López, VÃctor. (2024). Effects of a plank-based strength training programme on muscle activation in patients with long COVID: a case series. Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra. 47. 10.23938/ASSN.1083.
- 8Murofushi, Koji & Oshikawa, Tomoki & Akuzawa, Hiroshi & Yamaguchi, Daisuke & Hirohata, Kenji & Furuya, Hidetaka & Mitomo, Sho & Kaneoka, Koji & Yagishita, Kazusyohi. (2022). Trunk muscle activation in side plank exercises with and without external-focus instruction. Isokinetics and Exercise Science. 31. 1-8. 10.3233/IES-220016.
- 9Kim, S. Y., Kang, M. H., Kim, E. R., Jung, I. G., Seo, E. Y., & Oh, J. S. (2016). Comparison of EMG activity on abdominal muscles during plank exercise with unilateral and bilateral additional isometric hip adduction. Journal of electromyography and kinesiology: official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology, 30, 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2016.05.003
- 10What Really Happens to Your Body When You Plank Every Day – Livestrong.com
- 11How long should you hold a plank? – Harvard Health Publishing?
