I’ve always been pretty fascinated by the supermodel physique, and Gisele Bündchen is one of those women who makes strength and femininity look completely effortless. Think long lines, confident posture and a strong core that seems to hold everything in place.
After seeing a clip of the 46-year-old mom of three performing a one-legged plank on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, it became pretty clear those long lines aren’t just for show. The Brazilian powerhouse has some serious strength, too.
“This is good for your abs, and it's good for your arms and it's basically good for everything,” Bündchen tells Fallon. Let’s take a look at what makes Bündchen’s plank variation so effective.
Amp up your plank. You’ll feel this one everywhere.
How to do Gisele Bündchen’s plank variation
Don’t be fooled by how easy Bündchen makes this look. Before adding the leg lift or push-up, make sure you can comfortably hold a high plank without your hips sagging or your lower back arching.
If adding the push-up causes your hips to rotate or your lower back to arch — or you find yourself dropping your hips or raising your bottom too high — stick with the leg lift until you’ve built enough strength to progress.
- Start in a high plank position with your hands directly underneath your shoulders and your legs extended behind you.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes, creating a straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
- Keeping your hips as square to the floor as possible, lift one leg behind you and hold.
- Lower your leg back to the floor with control.
- Once you’ve mastered the one-legged plank, keep the leg lifted and bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the floor.
- Push through your palms to return to your starting position.
- Repeat, switching legs on the next rep.
The benefits of plank leg raises
Combining a high plank with a single-leg lift and push-up fires up multiple muscle groups at once, challenging your core, glutes and upper body while putting your balance and stability to the test.
As a personal trainer, I’m a big fan of exercises that save time by working multiple muscles at once, especially when they require zero equipment or a gym membership.
The classic plank might be best known as a core exercise, but it’s far from an abs-only move. Holding your body in a straight line requires the muscles around your midsection to work together to keep your torso stable, while your shoulders, arms and glutes stay switched on. Add a leg lift to the move, and things get considerably harder.
By reducing your points of contact with the floor, you create instability, meaning your core has to work even harder to prevent your hips from rotating or dropping. The leg lift also works your glutes, particularly the gluteus maximus and medius, as you work to lift the leg and keep your pelvis stable.
Then comes the push-up. Bending your elbows and lowering your chest toward the floor brings your chest, shoulders and triceps into the equation, while your core continues working hard to keep your body in a straight line.
In other words, Bündchen wasn’t exaggerating when she said it’s “basically good for everything.”
There’s a posture payoff, too. Strengthening the muscles in your core, shoulders and around your pelvis can help maintain good alignment and give your spine the support it needs, which is particularly useful if you want to hold yourself tall and move like a supermodel.
The best bit? You don’t need a dumbbell, resistance band, or even much space. Just your bodyweight.
I tried Gisele Bündchen’s plank variation, and here’s my verdict
At first glance, adding a leg lift to a plank doesn’t look like much of an upgrade. But the second I lifted one foot off the floor, I felt the difference.
My glutes switched on, my core fired up, and, most importantly, I had to concentrate hard on keeping my hips still. They naturally wanted to rotate as soon as my foot left the ground.
That’s what I love about this exercise. Your core has to stabilize your body while movement happens. Taking one foot away also reduces your base of support, so suddenly the plank you thought you knew feels considerably less comfortable.
There’s no relying on momentum, either. To lift my leg with control, I had to actively engage and switch on my lazy glutes, which isn’t the easiest when, like most of us, you spend a fair amount of time sitting. Yes, even fitness journalists and personal trainers are guilty of this.
Three reps... and I was done.
After holding the position for around 30 seconds, I could understand why Bündchen says it’s “basically good for everything.” My shoulders, arms, core, glutes and hamstrings were all working, and even the quad on my supporting leg started to burn.
My balance was tested, and so was my breathing. Holding your breath might feel tempting when your entire body is working this hard, but the trick is to keep breathing steadily and embrace the full-body challenge.
As for the push-up? Well, I gave it a go — and suddenly, my body felt very heavy. I had to move my hands slightly wider to accommodate the movement, while my chest, shoulders and triceps worked hard to lower me toward the floor and push me back up.
Three reps... and I was done.
Bündchen might make it look effortless and perfectly poised, but I certainly didn’t. Still, that’s one of the things I like most about this variation: it takes an exercise most of us have done hundreds of times and makes it considerably harder without adding a single piece of equipment.
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