Building the Frog Stand: Your First Planche Skill

The frog stand is where the planche journey begins. It's often dismissed as too easy, but done correctly with proper shoulder position, it's a legitimate training stimulus and a necessary skill checkpoint.

Setup: place hands on the floor, fingers spread, slightly wider than shoulder-width. Bend the elbows and place your knees on the outsides of your elbows. Lean forward, shifting your center of mass over your hands, and lift your feet.

The correct shoulder position: actively protract and depress the scapulae. This means the upper back rounds slightly, and the shoulders feel pushed away from the ears. This is the same position required for every planche progression that follows.

Balance point: your center of mass needs to be directly over your hands. Most beginners don't lean enough forward and fall backward. Lean until it feels too far, then adjust slightly back. The balance point is further forward than most people expect.

Time to hold: build to 30 seconds before progressing to tuck planche. Don't rush. The frog stand builds real wrist conditioning and scapular control that you'll need later.