Plank Pull-Through

The plank pull-through is a kettlebell anti-rotation core exercise. From a push-up position, the bell sits beneath the torso. One hand reaches under the body to drag the bell to the opposite side while the hips stay level. The exercise trains anti-rotation against a shifting load. Used in the Kettlebell Complex protocol as a strength-stability core finisher.

Mechanics and load path

Hold a push-up plank with hands under the shoulders and feet wide for a stable base. The bell rests on the floor just under the chest. Reach across with one hand, grip the bell, and drag it through to the opposite side, then return with the other hand and alternate. The hips and shoulders stay square to the floor through every pass.

The failure mode is a rotating hip. When the pelvis twists toward the reaching arm, the obliques stop resisting the rotation the bell creates. The movement then becomes a swing of the trunk. A wider foot stance and a lighter bell hold the line. Load stays moderate at eight to twelve kilograms.

In the Kettlebell Complex protocol

Plank pull-through sits in the strength-stability core finisher (S5, S11, S17), paired with the Pallof Press and the Dead Bug, on a forty-second work and twenty-second rest pattern across two rounds. The same movement runs in the capacity-archetype core finisher (S6, S12, S18), paired with the Hollow Hold on a thirty-second work and fifteen-second rest pattern. In both, the hips and shoulders stay square against the bell's pull.

In the Kettlebell Strength protocol

Program 02 closes the Press Ladder session with the plank pull-through alongside the pallof press. Dragging the bell across under a square plank trains anti-rotation through the trunk, the complement to a pressing day that never loaded rotation. The hips and shoulders stay square against the pull, two rounds at a light feel.

Used in: Program 01 — Kettlebell Complex · Program 02 — Kettlebell Strength