Planes of Motion:

 by Brent Brookbush DPT, PT, MS, PES, CES, CSCS, ACSM H/FS

Sagittal Plane

Sagittal Plane:

Etymology – “shaped like or resembling an arrow,” 1540s, from Modern Latin sagittalis, from Latin sagitta “arrow”  - think of the direction an arrow flies (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Definition: The sagittal plane is a plane that divides the body into right and left halves.

• Motion: Sagittal plane motion runs parallel to this plane, generally in a forward, backward, up and/or down direction - Imagine being trapped in a narrow hallway.
  • Note: The muscles that move us in this plane, generally run up and down in the front and back of our bodies.

Activity:  Name all of the sagittal plane exercises you can think of:

• Printable PDF of Graphs Below: Planes of Motion Graphs
• Answer key is at the bottom of this post

Sagittal Plane Movements

Upper Body: Core: Lower Body: Whole Body:

Frontal (Coronal) Plane

Frontal Plane (Synonym – Coronal Plane):

Etymology:

• Frontal - 1650s, of the forehead; 1971 with reference to the naked body; from Modern Latin frontalis, from front-, stem of frons “brow, forehead” – Think the plane of the forehead(Online Etymology Dictionary)
• Coronal - 1540s, “pertaining to a crown” (or, later, to one of the extended senses of Latin corona), from French coronal (16c.), from Latin coronalis, from corona (see crown (n.)). – Think the “crowning” plane (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Definition: The frontal plane is a plane that divides the body into front and back halves.

• Motion: Frontal plane motion runs parallel to this plane, generally in a side-to-side, up and/or down direction - Imagine being sandwiched between two pieces of glass (one in front and one in back).
  • Note: The muscles that move us in the plane generally run up and down on the sides of our body.

Activity:  Name all of the frontal plane exercises you can think of:

• Printable PDF of Graphs Below: Planes of Motion Graphs
• Answer key is at the bottom of this post

Frontal Plane Movements

Upper Body: Core: Lower Body: Whole Body:

Transverse (Horizontal Plane)

Transverse Plane (Synonym – Horizontal Plane):

Etymology:

• Transverse – “lying across,” early 15c. (earlier transversary, c.1400), from Latin transversus “turned or directed across,” past participle of transvertere “turn across,” from trans- “across” (see trans-) + vertere “to turn” (see versus). The verb transvert is recorded from late 14c. (Online Etymology Dictionary) – Think the plane that “runs across”
• Horizontal - 1550s, “relating to or near the horizon,” from French horizontal, from Latin horizontem (see horizon). Meaning “flat” (i.e., “parallel to the horizon”) is from 1630s. Related: horizontally. (Online Etymology Dictionary) – “Think the plane that runs with the horizon”

Definition: The transverse plane is a plane that divides the body into top and bottom halves.

• Motion: Transverse plane motion generally refers to motion that rotates, pivots or moves horizontally medial to lateral/lateral to medial - Think of how your joints would move with a pin stuck straight through from the top (also known as an x axis)
  • Note: The muscles that move us in the plane generally run horizontally across our body or diagonally (obliquely)

Activity:  Name all of the transverse plane exercises you can think of:

• Printable PDF of Graphs Below: Planes of Motion Graphs
• Answer key is at the bottom of this post

Frontal Plane Movements

Upper Body: Core: Lower Body: Whole Body:

Activity - Progressing exercises through multiple planes:

Before you click on the hyperlinks, try to visualize how the exercises in bold could be done in multiple planes: Push Ups

• Sagittal: Close Grip Push Ups
• Transverse: Push-Ups

Pull Ups

• Sagittal: Close Grip Pull Ups
• Frontal: Wide Grip Pull Up
• Transverse: Horizontal Pull-Up

Step Ups:

• Sagittal: Step-Ups (Same video progresses through all 3 planes)
• Frontal
• Transverse

Lunges:

• Sagittal: Forward Lunge
• Frontal: Lateral Lunge
• Transverse: Transverse Plane Lunge

Answer Key:

Note there are dozens of exercises that could be added to the graph below.  This is just a sample set of correct answers.  If you have a question about a particular exercise please feel free to ask in the comments box below.

Sagittal Plane Movements	Upper Body: Close Grip Row Close Grip Push Ups Close Grip Pull Ups Close Grip Shoulder Press Front Shoulder Raise Triceps Extension Biceps Curl Lower Body: Leg Press Squats Step-Ups Forward Lunge Dead-lifts	Core: Crunches Reverse Crunches Sit-ups Planks (Progression)     Whole Body: Walking Running Sprinting Jumping Cycling
Frontal Plane Movements(Coronal Plane)	Upper Body: Wide Grip Pull Up Lat Pull Down Military Press Lateral Shoulder Raise  Lower Body: Side-Stepping Lateral Lunge Ice-Skaters	Core: Side Bending Side Planks  Whole Body: Jumping Jacks
Transverse Plane Movements (Horizontal Plane)	Upper Body: Push-Ups Bench Press Chest Fly Reverse Fly Wide Grip High Row Lower Body: Turning Transverse Plane Lunge	Core: Russian Twists Axe Chops Oblique Crunch   Whole Body: Golf Swing Baseball Swing