And here I’d thought I’d come up with a new creative, witty title!
Planking is the latest fad in total body exercise, and I think there is good reason for that. It sounds in theory very small and ineffective. The basic plank, when done in correct form, is a stationary horizontal position when you suspend your body parallel to the floor. Most commonly, and for beginners, you hold your upper body up with your forearms in a triangular position (elbows out, hands clenched) and the lower body is supported with the feet in vertical position toes to the floor. The beauty of this exercise is that it is rather lazy, i.e. no movement necessary, and the difficulty level is just determined by time in plank and different plank variations.
The Power of the Plank is the result of your own body weight being supported by only two relatively small contact points that are widely spaced. The strength training is then full body, mostly centered in your core abdominal muscles and back muscles. The bridge created between these forearm and feet points is where your body does its work in just holding you still. You are strength training your body to support its own weight, which in my case is rather substantial. I have a 5′ 10″ frame with about 200 pounds spread out along it, admittedly most of that weight is around my hips. So for me at least, holding myself in a plank position for one minute is excruciatingly difficult. My abdominal muscles are trying to resist letting my bridge slouch down and my back muscles are focused on keeping my back straight and not moving into a pike position. I would say that if you were to start with only one exercise, you should go with the plank. And from there you could make a total workout around the plank position. Just add variations.
The first variation I’ve personally tried, and is rather easy, is the Plank–to–Pike. I do not know the official name for this maneuver but I find that to be the most descriptive. You simply start in a standard plank, except with your arms straight and balanced on your palms. You then slowly walk your hands backwards while raising your hip section upwards into a pike position. Hold, return to plank and repeat. It’s rather simple and I would say easier than just holding a plank.
Another variation is the Side–Arm–Reach. This one is pretty self-explanatory and involves the same starting position with the arms straight. You just twist the whole body and raise your arm upwards. Hold until you shake a little and then lower your arm and return to starting position. This one is great to add weights to and make sure to switch sides. Doing this plank variation is a ideal way to engage your shoulders and arms into the workout.
Lastly, the Leg-Lift-Plank. Here I would suggest the standard position with the forearms completely against the floor. The horizontal position helps work the muscles more effectively. Start with that plank position and slowly raise one leg, hold, and lower. Switch to the other leg and repeat. You will find this to be a good plank variation to engage the lower body muscles, particularly the glutes.
Each of these variations are in themselves full of possible varieties. I’ve seen them done with weights, exercise balls, rolls and for differing lengths of holds. If you constantly change it up (changing the weight, position and length of hold) you can continue to challenge the variety of muscles engaged in this simple exercise. You don’t know till you try, it might sound like it’s too easy but trust me it is one of the hardest exercises I’ve done!
The Power of the Plank is in the ability to use your own body’s weight to make it stronger all over. It’s easy to learn, master and use in any situation. You can literally do these while watching a show, waiting for that pizza to get done in the oven or your roommate to get out of the shower. It’s one of the best workouts. Just make sure not to push yourself too fast and to master the correct posture to avoid injury.
Hope you have a wonderfully healthy weekend and Happy Planking!
Living My Crazy Fabulous Life 