Core · Bodyweight
Side Wall Plank
How to do the side wall plank, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Isometric
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand at arm's length from a wall, turn sideways, and place your bottom forearm or hand against it. Stack your feet and hips and hold a straight line from head to heels, bracing your obliques against the wall.
- 1Bottom-side obliques and glute working to hold the line
- 2Hips stacked and lifted, not sagging toward the wall
- 3Steady breathing through the hold
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips drop or rotate toward the floor
- Collapsing into the supporting shoulder
- Holding your breath through the set
Muscles worked
The side wall plank mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs, lower abs, and side delts assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- GlutesMinor
Kovo programs the side wall plank for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.