The 3 Planes Of Movement

Sagittal plane:

The sagittal (anteroposterior) plane passes through the body from front to back and divides it into left and right portions. Several actions occur within this plane, such as flexion (decreasing the angle between two body segments), extension (increasing the angle between two body segments), dorsiflexion (moving the top of the foot toward

Frontal plane:

The frontal (coronal) plane is a vertical plane which passes through the body from left to right, dividing the body into front and back portions. Several actions occur within this plane, including abduction (movement away from the midline of the body), adduction (movement toward the midline of the body), elevation (moving to a superior position at the scapula), depression (moving to an inferior position at the scapula), inversion (lifting the medial border of the foot), and eversion (lifting the lateral border of the foot).

Transverse plane:

The transverse (horizontal) plane passes through the body in a line parallel to the ground, dividing the body into upper and lower portions. Several actions occur within this plane, such as rotation (internal or external turning about the vertical axis of a bone), pronation (rotating the hand and wrist medially from the elbow), supination, (rotating the hand and wrist laterally from the elbow),

Most "normal" day to day activity occurs mainly in the Sagittal Plane. Walking forward, etc... This is why it is very important to train in all 3 planes for a balanced body. In addition performing exercises that demand all three planes of movement make the movement more challenging and most beneficial.

Shuffles for example are a frontal plane movement, while an oblique twist would be movement in the transverse plane.