Planche progression
The planche holds your body level above the floor on straight arms. It is a project measured in years, and this chain breaks it into steps you can own one at a time.
- Realm
- The Planche
- Steps
- 16
- Grades
- White to Red
- Gear
- floor
In a planche your arms stay locked while your shoulders lean far past your hands, and your body floats parallel to the floor. Only your hands touch down. Shoulders and core hold the whole position while the wrists bear the load bent back. It is one of the hardest static holds in calisthenics, which is why the full Planche sits at Red, the top chalk grade.
The early steps pay off long before the finish. Leaning work builds the straight-arm pushing strength that press handstands also run on, and the tuck holds are where your body first floats with nothing resting on your arms. The full planche is a long game, so the steps on the way are the real training, and each one is worth owning for itself.
This chain uses all five chalk grades. White is the Planche Lean. Green is the Crow Pose and Crane Pose, your first balances on the hands. Blue is the Tuck Planche and the Tuck Planche PU, and Yellow is the Adv Tuck PL and the Straddle Planche. Red is the One Leg Planche, the full Planche and everything built on top of it, up to the One Arm Planche.
The ladder
Every step has a standard. Own it, then climb. Grades run White, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red.
- 01Planche LeanWhiteHands turned out, hollow body, push the floor away.holds for time, increase lean and time
- 02Crow PoseGreen3 × 20–30s hold
- 03Crane PoseGreen3 × 20–30s hold
- 04Tuck PlancheBlueProtract hard, feels harder now, pays off for everything later.3 × 20–30s hold
- 05Tuck Planche PUBlue3 × 5–8 reps
- 06Adv Tuck PL PUYellow3 × 5–8 reps
- 07Adv Tuck PLYellow3 × 20–30s hold
- 08Straddle PlancheYellow3 × 20–30s hold
- 09One Leg PlancheRed4 × 8–15s hold
- 10PlancheRedCouple of years is the normal timeline. That's not you being slow.4 × 8–15s hold
- 11SA Str PL to HSRed4 × 8–15s hold
- 12Straddle Planche PURed4 × 3–5 reps
- 13OL Planche PURed4 × 3–5 reps
- 14Planche Push UpRed5 × 2–3 reps
- 15Planche Press HandstandRed3 × 1 press
- 16One Arm PlancheRed3s hold
How to climb it
Own each hold before you lean further. From the Crow Pose to the Straddle Planche the standard is 3 × 20–30s, and the BARCROSS ladder gets you there: 3 × 10s, five seconds more each session, and at 3 × 30s you move up. Most Red holds ask for 4 × 8–15s instead, and the Blue and Yellow push up steps climb in reps, from 3 × 5 to 3 × 8.
Train the planche two or three times a week, early in the session while your shoulders are fresh. Give the joints time to catch up: straight-arm work loads the wrists and the biceps tendon far more than bent-arm pressing, and tendons adapt slower than muscle. Warm up your wrists every session, add lean in small steps, and back off when an elbow starts to ache. If pain persists, see a professional.
A full planche takes most people a couple of YEARS. Patience is part of the program.
Form cues
- Turn the hands out, lock the elbows
- PUSH down through the shoulders, protract hard
- Hollow body throughout
Accessory work and gear
- PP Push Up
Common mistakes
- Not leaning far enough: the planche lives in the lean, and if your shoulders stay over your hands your feet will never leave the floor.
- Soft elbows: a slight bend makes the hold feel easier and builds the wrong strength, so lock the arms and shorten the hold instead.
- Counting seconds in a bad shape: a 30-second tuck on bent arms with the hips sinking is worth less than ten clean seconds.
- Skipping the Adv Tuck PL: jumping from tuck to straddle leaves out the step that bridges them, and the straddle usually stalls.
- Too much volume too soon: piling planche work onto unprepared tendons is the classic way to earn a sore elbow and lose months.
Questions
How long does it take to learn the planche?
Plan in years, not months. A full planche takes most people around a couple of years of steady training, and some longer. The Tuck Planche and Adv Tuck PL come sooner, and each one is a real result.
Can you learn the planche at home?
Yes. Every step from the Planche Lean to the full Planche is trained on the floor, so a clear patch of floor is enough, and parallettes are optional. The rings are a separate chain for later.
What is the best planche exercise for beginners?
Start with the Planche Lean and the Crow Pose. The lean teaches the forward shoulder position, and the crow teaches you to balance on your hands. Pair them with pseudo planche push ups, the strength work that goes with this chain.
Why do my wrists hurt from planche training?
The planche puts your full weight on wrists bent back further than daily life takes them. Warm them up every session, build lean in small steps, and try parallettes, which let the wrists stay straighter. If pain persists, see a professional.
Further reading
The chain follows the r/bodyweightfitness progressions chart. Standards, grades and words: BARCROSS.