Exercises Using a Transverse Plane of Movement

The traditional form of weight training focuses on muscles. You train your back, biceps, legs and all of your other muscles, often one at a time. However, over time, the focus has changed to functional exercise. Instead of targeting a specific muscle or group of muscles, you move in patterns. These patterns use the planes of motion, including exercises in the transverse plane.

  1. Planes of Movement

    • There are three planes of human movement: frontal, sagittal and transverse. The transverse plane is an imaginary plane that divides the upper and lower half of your body. Movements occur parallel to this plane. The most common are internal and external rotation, but also horizontal abduction and adduction. You can choose exercises that combine different planes or just focus on exercises in certain planes of movement, such as the transverse.

    Russian Twist

    • The Russian twist focuses on your internal and external obliques. You can perform it a few different ways, but start with the most basic. Master this before moving on to any more advanced variations. Lie on a mat with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms straight up toward the ceiling and press your palms together. Crunch your torso up slightly so that your head and shoulders hover off the ground about 2 to 3 inches. Exhale and rotate your arms and torso to the left. Inhale back to center and repeat to the right for one complete repetition. Perform one to three sets of eight to 12 reps.

    Rotator Cuff Standing External Rotation

    • Your rotator cuff is responsible for keeping your arm in the shoulder socket, as well as internal and external rotation. When you perform the exercise standing, external rotation is done in the transverse plane. Use a cable apparatus to perform the exercise. Set the cable so that it is level with your waist, with about 2 to 5 pounds set on the apparatus. Stand with your right side to the cable, and grab the handle with your left hand. Keep your left arm bent at 90 degrees the entire time, and keep the upper part of your arm against your body. Start with the lower part of your arm across your waist. Rotate and swing your hand and lower arm out to the left side, rotating externally. Slowly bring your arm back to the start position for one complete repetition. Do one to three sets of eight to 12 reps on each side.

    Bench Press

    • A bench press works your chest and the front of your shoulders. It is horizontal adduction on the contraction portion of the exercise and is a transverse plane movement. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees and place your feet on the bench to support your low back. Place your arms straight up in the air so the dumbbells are over your shoulders. Inhale and bend your elbows, lowering your arms. Lower until your upper arms are parallel to the floor and the lower part of each arm is directly above the elbow at 90 degrees. Exhale and press up to the start position for one complete repetition. Perform one to three sets of eight to 12 reps.