Side Plank with Hip Dip
obliques
What moves the load, and what it costs
3.5MET
Obliques is the prime mover, with the abs, glutes assisting. Adds movement to the side plank while keeping the same anti-rotation demand. Slow and controlled.
Cue: From a side plank, lower the hip towards the floor and drive it back up without rotating.
ਸਰੋਤ·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER CALISTHENICS, LIGHT·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files side plank with hip dip under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 3.5, and middling for conditioning work.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so side plank with hip dip is filed under Calisthenics, light or moderate effort, general (e.g. back exercises).
- Take the category's MET value — 3.5. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 3.5 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Side Plank with Hip Dip: 3.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal/min
ਸਰੋਤ·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| ObliquesExternal and internal obliques | Prime mover | Rotate and side-bend the trunk, and resist rotation. The internal oblique on one side works with the external oblique on the other. |
| Absਰੈਕਟਸ ਐਬਡੋਮਿਨਿਸ | Synergist / stabiliser | ਧੜ ਨੂੰ ਅੱਗੇ ਝੁਕਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ, ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਕੰਮ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ, ਇਸਨੂੰ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਵੱਲ ਖਿੱਚੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਕਰੰਚ ਅਤੇ ਪਲੈਂਕ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਇਸ ਉੱਤੇ ਭਾਰ ਪਾਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ — ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਢੰਗ ਨਾਲ। |
| Glutesਗਲੂਟੀਅਸ ਮੈਕਸਿਮਸ, ਮੀਡੀਅਸ ਅਤੇ ਮਿਨਿਮਸ | Synergist / stabiliser | ਕੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਨੂੰ ਖੋਲ੍ਹਦਾ ਹੈ (ਮੈਕਸਿਮਸ), ਅਤੇ ਇਸਨੂੰ ਬਾਹਰ ਵੱਲ ਲਿਜਾਂਦਾ ਤੇ ਸਥਿਰ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ (ਮੀਡੀਅਸ ਅਤੇ ਮਿਨਿਮਸ)। ਸਰੀਰ ਦਾ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਤਾਕਤਵਰ ਇਕੱਲਾ ਪੱਠਾ ਸਮੂਹ। |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Bodyweight. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
PATTERN · BRACE
- Lie on your side with the elbow directly under the shoulder and the feet stacked or staggered.
- Lift the hips until the body is in a straight line from ear to ankle.
- From a side plank, lower the hip towards the floor and drive it back up without rotating.
- Press the bottom shoulder down away from the ear and keep the top hip stacked over the bottom one.
- Hold, breathing normally, then lower under control and switch sides.
- Match the time on both sides to the weaker one.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Hips dropping or rolling forward.
Stack the hips and squeeze the top glute. If the position sags, drop to the bottom knee.
Sinking into the bottom shoulder.
Actively push the floor away.
Only training the stronger side properly.
Side-to-side differences here are common and worth fixing. Set the time by the weaker side.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
Progress — the next demand
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a single-joint movement does its best work in moderate to high reps — very low reps load the joint before the muscle.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–4 | 6–10 | 2 ਮਿੰਟ | Single-joint work responds poorly to very low reps — the joint gets the load before the muscle does. |
| Muscle size | 3–4 | 10–15 | 60–90 sec | This is where isolation work earns its place: cheap volume for one muscle, little systemic fatigue. |
| Endurance / fat loss | 2–3 | 15–25 | 30–45 sec | High reps here are genuinely useful — the load is small enough that form survives the fatigue. |
| First month | 2 | 12–15 | 60 sec | Light. Isolation work is for adding volume later, not for building a base. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Calisthenics, light or moderate effort, general (e.g. back exercises) — 3.5 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 3.5 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 4.29 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
ਸਰੋਤ·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
ਇਸ ਲਈ ਕਿਸੇ ਸਾਮਾਨ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ, ਇਸੇ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਹਰ ਸਫ਼ਰੀ ਤੇ ਘਰੇਲੂ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਹਰ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਸਾਮਾਨ ਵਾਲੀ ਕਸਰਤ ਇਕੱਠੀ ਦਰਜ ਹੈ।
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the side plank with hip dip work?
Side Plank with Hip Dip is a single-joint isolation movement in which the obliques is the prime mover, assisted by the abs, glutes. Rotate and side-bend the trunk, and resist rotation. The internal oblique on one side works with the external oblique on the other.
Is the side plank with hip dip good for beginners?
Not on day one, but it is reachable within a few weeks. It rates 3 out of 5 for technical demand. Work up through the easier versions listed on this page first, starting with the side plank.
What can I do instead of the side plank with hip dip at home?
Nothing is needed — the side plank with hip dip already requires no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in any home programme.
How many sets and reps of the side plank with hip dip should I do?
For muscle size, 3–4 sets of 10–15 with 60–90 sec rest. For strength, 3–4 sets of 6–10 with 2 min rest. In your first month, 2 sets of 12–15, stopping well short of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle group matters more than the exact rep number in any of these ranges.
Does the side plank with hip dip burn fat from the obliques?
No. No exercise removes fat from the area it trains — spot reduction has been tested repeatedly and does not happen. Training the obliques builds the muscle underneath; where body fat is lost from is decided by an overall calorie deficit and by your genetics, not by which exercise you chose.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
ਸਰੋਤ·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
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