How to do the plank
Squeeze glutes and stomach — hips level with shoulders.
Step by step
- Rest on your forearms with your elbows directly under your shoulders.
- Extend your legs back and rise onto your toes.
- Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes so your body is one straight line.
- Hold, breathing normally — don't hold your breath.
The cue that matters: Squeeze glutes and stomach — hips level with shoulders.
How it progresses over eight weeks
In the Fitness Akhi programme, the plank appears on Push & Core day, for 3 rounds. The target rises every two weeks — these are the intermediate figures, and there are easier and harder tiers either side of them.
| Weeks 1–2 | Weeks 3–4 | Weeks 5–6 | Weeks 7–8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds | 45 seconds | 60 seconds | 75 seconds |
The target is a lookup, not a formula: each exercise has its own table, hand-set, so one movement can progress faster than another on the same day.
Where it fits
It is one of the exercises in a six-day rotation that runs for eight weeks. Each session is a circuit — you work through the day's exercises in order, then repeat the whole list 3 times — and the app walks you through it one screen at a time, keeping the phone awake so you never have to touch it mid-set.