The RKC plank, or Russian Kettlebell Challenge plank, was invented by former Soviet special forces trainer Pavel Tsatsouline as part of his fitness programme.SkiptomaincontentareaAdvertisementSignupforourdailynewsletterNewsletterCloseSignmeupSectionsAdvertisementTrendingHowToDoTheRKCPlankExercisesHityourabsandgluteshardwiththisbrutalplankvariationfacebooktwitterpinterestNickHarris-Fry17Feb2017AdvertisementTheClassicPlank30-DayPlankChallengeSidePlankReversePlankPlankJackBodySawPlankShoulderTapWalkingPlankSupermanPlankRKCPlankOncetheregularplanknolongerthrillsyourcore,andyoustarthavingtoholdthepositionforfiveminutestofeelanysemblanceofaburn,it’stimetomoveontopasturesnew.Pasturesharder.TheRKCplank,orRussianKettlebellChallengeplank,wasinventedbyformerSovietspecialforcestrainerPavelTsatsoulineaspartofhisfitnessprogramme.Itdoesn’tinvolvekettlebellsitself,butdon’tthinkthatwillmakeitanyeasier.BenefitsOfTheRKCPlankThetensionthroughoutyourbodyseesdifferentmusclegroupsworkagainstoneanothertomaintaintheplankposition.Yourabstakefarmoreofapastingcomparedtoaregularplank,asdoyourglutes.Infact,justabouteverymusclethatbenefitsfromanormalplankgetsamuchtougherworkoutwiththeRKCplank.Andallinlessthanhalfthetime.HowToDoTheRKCPlankAtfirstglance,theRKCplanklooksmuchlikeanormalplank,buttheslightvariationsbetweenthetwoexercisesmakeittwiceashard.Thefocusisonwholebodytension–thekindofbum-clenchingintensityyouwouldfeelwhilewatchingEnglandloseanotherWorldCuppenaltyshootout.Onlyinplankform.Startingfromthestandardplankposition,clenchyourhandstogetherinfrontofyouandpullyourshouldersin–akindofreverseshrug.Thentenseyourquadstoforceyourkneesupandreallyclenchyourglutesashardaspossible.Tospreadthetensionfurther,squeezeyourshoulderstowardsyourtoesandtoestowardsyourheadasifyou’retryingtoraiseyourmidriffintothepikeposition.Thisincreasesthestabilisingforcerequiredfromyourglutestomaintaintheplankposition.Evenifyou’reanexperiencedplanker,yourmuscleswillstarttoshakeprettyquickly.Startwiththreetofiveplanksofarou