Push · Tier 4
Tuck Planche
The first real planche: knees tucked to chest, feet off the floor, your whole body balanced on protracted shoulders that lean far past your hands.
Also known as: Tucked Planche- Difficulty
- 7/10 · Advanced
- Tier
- 04
- Equipment
- none
- Static hold
- ▥
Track this skill
Saved in this browserSelf-reported progress never unlocks paid content.
The tuck planche is the gateway to the planche family — the moment a flashy lean turns into a true floating hold. It sits one step past the pseudo planche push-up and directly feeds the full planche; nearly every harder pressing skill on the tree borrows the protraction and straight-arm strength you build here.
The whole skill lives in one cue: lean until your feet float, then lean more. Treat it as a patience project, not a max-effort grind — your shoulders will be ready long before your wrists and elbows are, so let the slowest-adapting tissue set the pace and the strength will keep showing up.
Readiness gates
Clear these measurable conditions before forcing the skill.
8+ deep-lean reps
20s
Technique, step by step
Four checkpoints for one honest repetition or hold.
- 01Entry
Set the hands and the lean
Hands flat on the floor (or parallettes) at hip width, fingers spread and pointing forward or slightly out. From a kneeling lean, push the floor away hard to round the upper back and drive your shoulders well in front of your wrists. Keep elbows straight and pits-forward (biceps rotated to face ahead) before any weight comes off the ground.
- 02Position
Tuck and load the shoulders
Pull both knees toward your chest and round your lower back so the pelvis tucks under, not arches. Your bodyweight should shift onto the hands until the toes go light — chase the lean, not a jump. Look at the floor a hand-length ahead, keep the chest open and shoulders pressed down away from the ears.
- 03Hold
Float, protract, breathe
Once the feet leave the floor, push the ground away even harder — protraction is what holds you up, not bent elbows. Squeeze knees to chest, brace the core, and keep the lean constant; if you feel yourself sinking back, push the shoulders further forward. Breathe shallow through the ribs and hold the cleanest 3–8 seconds you can rather than a sloppy longer one.
- 04Exit
Lower under control
Reach the toes back to the floor with intent — don't collapse the shoulders and crash. Keep the protraction as you touch down, then shake out the wrists and forearms. End every set before form breaks; a failed rep teaches your shoulders the wrong shape.
Skill practice guide
Public skill guidance — not your protected personalized eight-week plan.
Accumulate clean straight-arm hold time and bulletproof the wrists toward a 15s tuck planche.
5–6 holds of 3–8s, stopping each rep before the elbows bend or the lean drops.
2–3×/week with at least 48h between sessions; pair with planche-lean and protraction work.
Total quality time-under-tension beats single max holds. When you can stack 30s across the session cleanly, extend single holds, then start drifting toward an advanced tuck (knees opening away from the chest).
Common faults
My feet won't leave the floor in a tuck planche+
You're not leaning far enough forward — the lift comes from shoulder position, not effort. Build your planche lean first: hold a deep pseudo-planche-push-up lean for 20s with shoulders well past the wrists, then tuck from there. If the lean is solid and feet still won't lift, it's protraction strength — drift back to weighted planche leans and scapular push-ups.
My elbows keep bending when I try to hold it+
Bent elbows mean you're muscling it with the biceps instead of leaning over straight arms, and your shoulders aren't loaded yet. Rotate the elbow pits to face forward and lock the arms before you tuck. If they still cave, you're stronger than your tendons are ready for — back off the lean and earn straight-arm time with longer planche leans.
My wrists hurt in the tuck planche+
The deep lean stacks a lot of load on extended wrists before the tissue has adapted. Warm up with 2–3 minutes of wrist circles and floor rocks every session, and try parallettes to keep the wrist neutral instead of hyperextended. Progress hold time slowly — wrists and elbows adapt far slower than the muscles pulling on them.
I tip backward and sit down out of the hold+
Your shoulders slid back behind the load and the lean collapsed. The fix is constant forward pressure: actively push the floor away and reach the chest forward the entire hold, not just at entry. Film from the side — your shoulders should stay clearly ahead of your hands the whole time.
My lower back arches and my hips hang low+
You're holding an open tuck instead of a tight one, so the core isn't doing its job. Posteriorly tilt the pelvis, round the lower back, and pull the knees hard into the chest to make the lever as short as possible. A tighter ball is both easier to hold and the correct shape to build the next progression from.
Useful setup
Keeps the wrist neutral so you can chase the lean without aggravating the joint.
Adds support during the deep lean while your wrist tendons catch up to your strength.
Kills hand slip under the high palm pressure of the lean so you can fully commit.
Primary muscles
Front delts · Biceps · Core · Scapular protractors