Forearm Plank Gaze
Quick Intro
Forearm Plank Gaze uses the forearm plank, a core hold supported on the forearms rather than the hands. You face each other close enough to see clearly, hold the plank at the same time and keep eye contact for the duration.
The hold’s full technique is covered at Plank.
What You’ll Need
No equipment.
How to Do It Together
- Face each other. Both partners set up in a forearm plank facing each other, close enough to see each other clearly, elbows under shoulders.
- Hold together. Both partners hold the forearm plank at the same time.
- Keep the gaze. Hold eye contact for the duration of the hold rather than looking down at the floor.
- Lower together. Come down together at the end of the hold.
Breathe steadily throughout, avoid holding your breath.
Why a Lower, More Stable Base Makes the Eye Contact Easier to Sustain
A standard plank balances on the hands, which puts real demand on the wrists and shoulders and leaves less spare attention for anything beyond holding the position itself. A forearm plank spreads that load across a longer, lower base of support, which takes real pressure off the wrists and tends to feel steadier once you settle into it.
That extra stability is exactly what makes this a gentler way into the eye-contact mechanic than a hold like Face-to-Face Wall Sit. Wall sits ask the legs to work hard the entire time, which competes directly with the attention needed to hold a steady gaze. A forearm plank still takes real core effort, but it’s a more familiar hold for most people, which frees up enough attention to actually notice your partner’s eyes rather than just gritting through the position.
Couples who find eye contact itself a little awkward at first may do better starting here than with a harder or less familiar hold. The exercise is doing two unfamiliar things at once, holding a gaze and holding a plank, so it helps when at least one of those two things is already comfortable.
Keeping the elbows directly under the shoulders does double duty here. It’s the stable base that holds the position up, and it also happens to be the easiest thing to check on each other without breaking the gaze, since a dropped or sagging hip is visible in the same glance you’re already using to hold eye contact.
Checking a partner’s hips with the same glance that holds your gaze fits the way Working Out Together describes looking out for each other during effort.
If You’re at Different Fitness Levels
A couple with a lower baseline can use a knee-supported version with a shorter hold target of ten to fifteen seconds instead of thirty to forty-five, keeping the same eye-contact mechanic. Where one partner is noticeably stronger, that partner holds the full position while the other uses the knee-supported version, with both maintaining eye contact for as long as the weaker partner can sustain it.
Safety and Consent
Keep the hips level, avoiding both sagging and piking. Elbows should stay directly under the shoulders throughout.
Every connection moment in these exercises is something either partner can skip or scale back at any point, including this one, no explanation needed. A forearm plank held alone, with no facing partner and no shared gaze, is a full plank.
FAQ
Why is this easier than other eye-contact holds like Face-to-Face Wall Sit? A forearm plank spreads load across a longer, more stable base and is a more familiar hold for most people, which leaves more attention free for the eye contact itself.
What if one of us finds holding eye contact awkward? That’s common at first. Starting with a hold that’s already comfortable physically gives you one less unfamiliar thing to manage while you get used to the eye contact.
Do both partners need to hold the full position? No. A knee-supported version works for either partner who needs it, and the eye contact still runs for as long as the less able partner can sustain the hold.
How long should the hold last? Thirty to forty-five seconds for a standard hold, ten to fifteen for the knee-supported version. Treat either number as a loose target to work toward.
Is looking away during the hold a problem? Not a big one. Resetting the gaze after a brief break is a completely normal part of this exercise.
What should the hips and elbows be doing while we look at each other? Keep the elbows directly under the shoulders and the hips level, with no sagging toward the floor and no piking upward. Looking at your partner is a good cue, since a head that stays level with theirs usually means the body is in a straight line too.
Can we just hold a forearm plank without the facing setup? Yes. Plank on its own works fine with no partner gaze attached.
Built on Plank. Chair Pose Mirror Gaze carries the same eye-contact mechanic over into a standing hold.