While it would be pretty incredible to live in a flat, two-dimensional environment like they do in cartoons such as Peanuts or Scooby-Doo, your life takes place in a 3-D world. And in order to stay healthy and injury-free, you have to practice moving in multiple dimensions — or training in all planes of motion.
But what are planes of motion, exactly, and why are they so important?
What Are Planes of Motion?
To put it simply, a plane of motion is a way to describe the direction your body is moving within space. “When it comes to training, specific movement patterns are broken down into different directions, or planes of motion. During a workout, for example, you might move forward and backward, shift from side to side, or rotate, and these three basic movements make up three planes of motion.
The 3 Planes of Motion
Your movements can be categorized into three planes of motion: the sagittal (aka longitudinal), frontal (aka coronal), and transverse planes. In order to determine which plane of motion you’re moving in, imagine plates of glass running through your body, cutting you into different halves — left and right (sagittal), front and back (frontal), and top and bottom (transverse). As you tackle an exercise, think about how you’re moving in relation to the glass; if you're moving parallel with one of those plates, you’re primarily working in that plate's corresponding plane of motion.
For example, moving in line with the glass plate dividing you into front and back halves means you're predominantly training in the sagittal plane.
While this mental image gives you a good idea of which plane of motion you’re primarily utilizing, know that some of the muscles within your body may be working in different planes during an exercise. “You’re not moving like a robot, so while you can break down movements and fit them into different planes of motion, it's also important to not like let that box you in.
Sagittal Plane of Motion
The sagittal plane divides your body into left and right halves and involves forward and backward movements. In this plane of motion, you’ll practice movement patterns such as flexion (bending a joint so the two bones are closer together) and extension (extending a joint so the two bones are farther apart), according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
That means many of your major movement patterns — squatting, hinging, pushing, and pulling — take place in the sagittal plane of motion. “Basically all the things that you do on a daily basis with your huge muscle groups, they all are primarily [occurring] within the sagittal plane,” . For example, biceps curls, forward lunges, pull-ups, and push-ups all primarily occur in the sagittal plane. Walking and running also take place in the sagittal plane, so it's one of the most commonly used planes of motion.
Frontal Plane of Motion
To envision the frontal plane, imagine the plate of glass dividing your body into front and back halves. In turn, any side-to-side (read: lateral) movements take place in this plane of motion. Specifically, adduction (movements toward the midline of the body) and abduction (movements away from the midline) exercises occur in this plane of motion.
IRL, moving in the frontal plane might look like stepping to the side of a sidewalk to avoid a big crack or waving your arm up from your side to hail a taxi. And in the gym, you might tackle frontal plane exercises such as lateral raises, side planks, cossack squats, lateral lunges, and side shuffles.
Transverse Plane of Motion
In the transverse plane of motion, your body is split into top and bottom halves at the waist, so it involves twisting movements. “Whether it's spinal rotation, limb rotation, or shoulder and hip rotation, that will all be within the transverse plane of motion”.
Rotational Lunges, wall ball slams, Russian twists, and wood chops all take place in the transverse plane of motion. And anti-rotational moves — such as renegade rows and bird dogs. “Any time you're resisting the rotation, it's going to be an isometric contraction,”. “So your muscles are contracting but they’re not necessarily moving — that's still gonna be considered within the transverse plan of motion.”
The Importance of Training In All Planes of Motion
Above all, training across planes of motion ensures that your fitness routine is well-rounded, similar to how training all muscle groups and utilizing multiple exercise styles is key for a balanced regimen. But moving your body in different directions also comes with a few specific benefits for your daily functioning and health.
Helps Your Body Work More Efficiently
Although you can categorize specific exercises as occurring in one plane of motion, the reality is that some of your muscle groups are performing small movements in other planes of motion during these activities. Take running, for example. The cardio practice primarily occurs in the sagittal plane of motion, as you’re moving forward. Since it’s a single-leg activity (you’re only making contact with the ground with one foot at a time), however, “your body has to contract in all the planes of motion to actually keep you upright, stable, and from leaning or falling, specifically, your hip abductors, which bring your leg out to the side in the frontal plane, need to contract to keep your legs moving forward, and the rotational muscles around your pelvis need to contract to prevent movement in the transverse plane.
If you haven’t trained in all planes of movement so you’re able to best perform those contractions, “you're going to actually be moving more from side to side in the frontal plane, just going from one leg to another, and that in itself is going to decrease your efficiency”. “And if you don't have the stability and the strength around your joints, you're gonna be putting even more stress on [the joints], the muscles, and the tendons than you would if you were trained in other planes of motion.”
Reduces Risk of Injury
Perhaps most importantly, training in all three planes of motion may reduce your risk of injury, says Cook. If you were to skip training in the frontal plane, for instance, you may lack strength when performing lateral movements or develop muscle imbalances, she explains. When you do perform movement within the plane of motion, your body won’t be used to it, says Cook, and this can lead to compensated movement patterns and ultimately injury, according to ACE. “Some muscles may be weaker because you don't use them as much, so that’s going to give you less stability, less balance, even less coordination,” says Cook.
Supports Everyday Functioning
Although you might perform the deadlift with perfect form in the weight room, you may not have the same all-star technique when you go to lift a heavy laundry basket off the floor. And that’s why training in all planes of motion can be beneficial.
“If you’re closing a drawer directly in front of you, you might be twisting around and closing it with your hip or reaching across your body to close it” — not hinging at your hips and pushing it closed with both hands, says Cochell. “It's important that you train in these different ways in the gym so you can strengthen different muscles and the coordination between them." In turn, you're more aware of your body and less likely to get injured while moving in your day-to-day life, she adds.
How to Train In All Planes of Motion
Glance over your weekly workout plan, and there’s a good chance it's full of sagittal movements, has a few frontal, and is totally lacking transverse. Each plane of motion, however, should be utilized within your training routine, so consider mixing a few of the moves into your programming.
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REFERENCES:
https://www.shape.com/planes-of-motion-6754581
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