What Are the Three Planes of Motion?

Your body moves in three-dimensions throughout the day and during your training sessions — and, no, you don’t need 3D goggles to make this happen. The body moves forward and backward, side to side, up and down, and into rotation, described as the different planes of motion — or planes of movement.

By understanding the these planes, you can adjust your training to maximize your performance and ensure you’re getting enough variation in your programming since every exercise you do includes them.

There are three planes are sagittal, frontal, and transverse. It's easiest to think of each plane as an imaginary line that divides the body into segments when standing in the anatomical position — body erect, arms down at sides, palms facing forwards.

THE THREE PLANES OF MOTION

1. Sagittal plane: slices the body into left and right sections

2. Frontal plane: slides body into front and back sections

3. Transverse plane: slices the body into upper and lower sections

To determine which plane of motion of an exercise is occuring in, consider how the movement lines up with those three imaginary lines.

When a movement runs parallel to the imaginary line or plate, the movement is occurring in that plane of motion.

I like to use my arms as guides to help me make those imaginary lines a reality. All you have to do is hold both arms up and align them with the movement of an exercise — the exercise should be happening between your two arms. Whatever direction your arms are moving to make the exercise fit between both your arms will match the plane of movement.

For example, when you squat to sit down in a chair, the flexion happening at the knees and the hips occurs primarily in the sagittal plane. If you hold both arms out in front of you and move them up and down, you can fit the squat movement between them. This up and down movement matches the up and down imaginary line that makes up the sagittal plane.

If you stepped sideways over the edge of a tub to take a shower, you’d be moving in the frontal plane because that movement runs parallel to the line slicing the body in front and back sections.

If you turned around to check your blind spot while driving, you’d be moving in the transverse place because your torso rotation runs parallel to a line slicing the body into a top section and a bottom section.

Typically, simple movements mainly occur in one plane, whereas complex movements can occur in multiple planes of movement.

THE SAGITTAL PLANE

Movement that occurs in the sagittal plane generally happens in front of us or behind us.

It divides the body into right and left sides with an imaginary line that runs up and down.

Most typical day-to-day activities, as well as exercises, are performed in this plane — squatting, deadlifts, stairs, sitting in a chair, walking, computer work, etc.

SAGITTAL MOVEMENTS INCLUDE:

• Flexion: A bending movement that decreases the angle at a joint

• Extension: An extending movement that increases the angle at a joint

• Hyperextension: Extending the angle at a joint beyond neutral

• Dorsiflexion: Bending at the ankle so the top of the foot moves toward the shin

• Plantarflexion: Pushing the foot down like on a gas pedal

SAGITTAL PLANE EXERCISES:

• Squats — back squat, front squats, goblet squats

• Hinge patterns — deadlifts, RDLs, hip thrusts

• Forward and reverse lunges

• Pulling patterns — pull-ups, lat pulldowns, seated rows

• Pushing patterns — chest press, push ups

• Split Squats

• Bicep curls & tricep pushdowns

• Running & walking

THE FRONTAL PLANE

Movement that occurs in the frontal plane generally happen laterally or side-to-side.

It divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) sections with an imaginary line that runs up and down.

Unlike the sagittal plane, not many day to day movements occur specifically in the frontal plane. You spend more time walking forward vs sideways, and reaching your arms out vs out to the sides.

FRONTAL PLANE MOVEMENTS INCLUDE:

• Abduction: Moving (or moving a limb) laterally and away from the midline of the body

• Adduction: Moving (or moving a limb) towards the midline of the body

• Elevation: Moving the scapula (shoulder blades) up

• Depression: Moving the shoulder blades down

• Eversion: Rolling the foot towards the inside (medial side)

• Inversion: Rolling the foot towards the outside (lateral side)

FRONTAL PLANE EXERCISES:

• Shoulder lateral raise

• Side lying leg raise

• Banded Lateral walks

• Lateral lunges

• Standing side bends

THE TRANSVERSE PLANE

Movement that occurs in the transverse plane generally happens with rotation.

It divides the body into top (superior) and bottom (inferior) sections with an imaginary line that runs side to side.

For the majority of people, movement in the transverse plane is not common which is why it’s important to incorporate some sort of rotation, especially spinal rotation, each day to maintain mobility and prevent stiffness.

TRANSVERSE PLANE MOVEMENTS INCLUDE:

• Rotation: Moving the torso or a limb around its vertical axis

• Horizontal abduction: Moving the upper arm away from the midline of the body when it is elevated to 90 degrees

• Horizontal adduction: Moving the upper arm towards the midline of the body when it is elevated to 90 degrees

• Pronation: Rotating the forearm or foot to a palm-side or foot-side down position

• Supination: Rotating the forearm or foot to a palm-side or foot-side up position

TRANSVERSE PLANE EXERCISES:

• Hip airplanes

• Lunges with rotation

• Quadruped thoracic rotation

• Side plank with rotation

• Banded wood chops

• Forward plank knee to opposite elbow

TRAINING IN THE THREE PLANES

The majority of exercises in strength training programs will take place in the sagittal plane. There will be instances where frontal plane movements are programmed, like lateral raises or lateral lunges, but these occur far less than sagittal plane exercises. Programming of the transverse plane usually has to be intentional, since we don’t naturally spend a lot of time here when resistance training.

This is why I like to program movements from the transverse and frontal planes as accessories, warm-ups, and activation exercises in order to encourage variety and resiliency.

SAMPLE TRAINING DAY

Warm-up:

• Banded over and backs, 30 reps (sagittal plane)

• Banded pull aparts, 30 reps, (frontal plane)

• Banded face pulls, 30 reps, (sagittal plane)

• Quadruped thoracic rotation, 1 minute each side (transverse plane)

A) Barbell bench press @ 2121, 5-7 reps x 4 sets, rest 3 minutes (sagittal plane)

B) Bent over landmine row @ 2121, 8-10 reps x 4 sets, rest 2 minutes (sagittal plane)

C) Dumbbell fly’s @ 3121, 8-10 reps x 3 sets, rest 90 seconds (frontal plane)

D) Half-kneeling single arm pulldown with rotation @ 3121 x 3 sets, rest 90 seconds (sagittal and transverse planes)

E1) Bicep curls @ 2121, 8-10 reps x 2 sets, rest 1 minute (sagittal plane)

E2) Lateral raises @ 2010, 8-10 reps x 2 sets, rest 1 minute (frontal plane)

Even if you understand the general concepts and importance of training various planes of motion, it can still be tricky when you first try to incorporate them into your programming. However, planes of motion are just ONE small detail when it comes to a solid program.

I hope you learned something by reading! Don’t forget to Move Your Bones today!

Got a question? Drop your info below and I will get back to you as soon as I can!