Multiplanar Training

In order to make this article clear and concise, let me first start with explaining what is a "plane of motion".

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Plane of motion (in lay-mens terms)- the areas of which the body moves in. There are three (3) total planes of motion in which the body normally moves.

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Why is Multiplanar Training important?

*Development of a total body (whether its performance/sports based, aesthetics, or functional) requires training in ALL THREE planes of motion. Main reason being, there are muscles/areas of the body that often go underdeveloped or become a "lagging part", due to negligence in the weight room, specifically, training in one dimension only. Think of the age old example regarding the "top heavy gym goer". This is when someone who likes to only workout their upper body- with no regard to the other half of their body, and have legs like toothpicks. Don't get this confused with people that genetically have a hard time growing their legs, as those people will actually be seen training their lower body on a frequent basis (maybe even more so then their upper body). Think of the inner thigh, specifically, the Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) and the adductor complex. These are harder to reach areas in general, and certainly training in one plane of motion will not accomplish the fully developed "tear drop" look that compliment your quads.

How do I understand the planes of motion?

When describing the planes of motion, try to think of an imaginary line/sheet of glass forcing your body to break up into two different halves- continue reading below as you see the application of this exercise when explaining the three planes.

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The Three planes of motion (in no particular order):

1.) Sagittal:

The most commonly used plane of motion in most average weight lifters. This plane splits/bisects the body into a right half and a left half. This plane is most commonly used because the main motions consist of flexion and extension (which revolves around many of the "typical" workouts). For example, the standard squat takes place in the sagittal plane, as you deal with flexion in the knees (on the way down) and extension in the knees (on the way up).

2.) Transverse:

The transverse plane splits/bisects the body into a top half and a bottom half. The main motions consisted of in this plane are the rotational movements, but can also consist of horizontal adduction and horizontal abduction. Personally for me being a former baseball player in my middle school days, I relate to the example of swinging a bat as a motion in the transverse plane. The top half of the body rotates from to bring the bat in a fixed position, then over the plate and into the ball. The lower half of the body remains relatively still as there is simply a triple extension of the ankle complex to allow for total power into that swing. Please note :his plane is especially important for those who are athletes, as rotation and core stability is essential in every major sport.

3.) Frontal:

The easiest (in my opinion) of all three planes to remember, because the frontal plane splits/bisects the body into a front half and back half of the body. The typical motions associated with the frontal plane are adduction/abduction, and lateral flexion. The side lunge is a great exercise to think of when talking about the frontal plane. I would highly recommend you check the following video to understand the effectiveness of the side lunge as it pertains to your leg development.

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How can you effectively train in each plane for your workouts, in order to optimize those much sought after gains?

Sagittal Plane: As mentioned before, this plane is normally covered in almost any workout- so you shouldn't have a problem here. Reminder: think of flexion and extension movements (biceps curl, vertical jumping, triceps pushdown, etc...)

Transverse Plane: Incorporate more rotational work into your routines, (i.e. rotational movements for the obliques like Russian twists, upper body wood chops, core cable rotations)

Frontal Plane: Incorporate movements that have you crossing the imaginary line place between the front and back of the body. Think of side lateral leg lifts, or jumping jacks with the arms placed slightly behind the head on the way up.

Give a great effort in training in all three planes of motion and you will be able to realize the many benefits of multiplanar training.

Author:

Ivan Varela- NASM CPT