When it comes to your back, make sure that you keep it straight throughout the movement. If you are looking to reap the results from doing planks every day, start with the basic plank. This is particularly if you have never done a plank exercise before. Do not start with complicated plank variations such as the side plank knee to elbow crunch, side plank rotations, or the bent-knee side plank.
Although they are very effective and rewarding, they are not suitable for beginners. These are advanced exercises that better suit individuals in the advanced fitness level. Start by familiarizing yourself with the regular plank, and there after, try out other plank variations as recommended by your instructor.
So much goes into play into getting a six-pack or reducing love handles besides doing planks every day. Nutrition is one of them. So, as much as you are breaking a leg planking, remember also to pay attention to your lifestyle.
You will hardly lose muffin tops or belly fat if you continue drinking alcohol excessively or eating junk or processed foods. Such behaviors only compromise your efforts of losing such fat when you are doing planks. With that in mind, also work on changing your lifestyle for the better. Try to limit your alcohol consumption, eat mindfully and healthy, and get good rest 4.
Such behaviors can shorten your road to losing both love handles and belly fat. Even if you are only doing planks, remember to warm up before performing this exercise and cooling down afterwards. Most people who are doing one single exercise tend to ignore warming up. It would help if you warmed up to loosen tight muscles and prepared them for the upcoming activity.
Your warm-up routine does not necessarily have to be extended. Instead, it only has to be effective. A short and effective warm-up routine stokes your blood flow and prepares your body for the plank exercise program You will find that your muscles quickly respond to the workout because they are loose and warm.
Warm-up to avoid injuries that may result from forcing tight muscles to exercise. You can seek the help of a professional to help you craft a meaningful warm-up routine lasting between 5 to 10 minutes Remember also to cool down after you are done with your planks. It helps prevent the sudden reduction or drop of both your heart rate and blood pressure For this routine, you need to incorporate exercises that allow you to stretch and relax.
Do not add on vigorous activities as these will only increase your heart rate, further telling your body it is continuing with the exercise routine. Doing planks every day is beneficial as it can help you get ripped abs, get rid of your love handles, reduce your obesity risk and other related health conditions.
Likewise, performing this exercise every day can help improve your general health, fitness, posture, and daily functioning. Talk to your doctor and trainer before starting this exercise program. Similarly, remember to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the correct planking technique, and do warm-up and cool-down exercises. These behaviors promise to maximize your benefits. This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances.
It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on for decision-making. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
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By Jeremy Mukhwana medical review by I. On days when I planked first thing in the morning, I was far more likely to hold it for over a minute too, which I often unintentionally did.
On day 24, however, I woke up really tired for some reason and the plank felt a lot more difficult. I successfully completed my day challenge, though! I wasn't expecting to see any difference when I looked in the mirror, but my before-and-after shots tell a different story. Side-on, I think my stomach is slightly flatter in the after photo right below.
Of course, how we look in photos can vary so much depending on angles, how you pose, where women are in their menstrual cycle, lighting, whether you recently ate a salty meal and are thus retaining water, and more. I did try really hard, however, to make my before-and-after shots a fair comparison — I attempted to stand the same, didn't suck my stomach in or pose in any way, and took them all first thing in the morning. I was surprised by the difference in the side-on pictures, but from the front there wasn't any change.
In terms of my fitness or performance in the gym, I'd be lying if I said I noticed a difference after a month of planking. It may just be that I needed to push myself harder to have a tangible effect on my core strength. I don't find planking particularly hard — not just for a minute anyway. And I acknowledge I haven't carried on the daily plank since finishing the 30 days. The hardest part for me was actually remembering to do the plank, and it taught me a valuable lesson about making new habits part of your daily routine.
My error was not committing to a specific time of day to plank, which meant I kept forgetting. And boy oh boy, was it harder at the end of the day with a belly full of food and a sluggish body. When it comes to making healthy new habits a part of your day, and something you stick to, it has to become routine and second nature, like brushing your teeth. That will never happen if you just tell yourself you'll do it at some point over the day.
Whether it's a skincare regimen, saying affirmations, or the plank, if you commit to doing it at the same time every day — and set an alarm for the first couple of weeks at least — you're far more likely to stick to it. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. The result is enhanced core strength that can help you in your day-to-day life as well as other athletic endeavors. This is even more noticeable when you expand your plank routines beyond the basic forearm plank and incorporate other plank variations to mix things up and target your core from different angles.
One thing to keep in mind about the basic plank exercise is that it's an isometric , or static, exercise. Unlike many other traditional exercises, like pull-ups , pushups, squats, or even crunches , which are considered iso tonic exercises, the plank and other isometric exercises involve muscle contraction without movement.
All of the muscle groups involved contract and hold at a very specific joint angle or body position. As explained by personal trainer and writer Amy Marturana Winderl in an article for Self , isometric exercises can help build strength, but they're less effective at helping you grow muscle because your muscles aren't moving and experiencing the muscle damage associated with isotonic exercises. That said, they help teach your brain to recruit more muscle fibers for a given isometric action and they can help develop muscular endurance, or the ability to perform a certain movement for a longer length of time, exercise physiologist Mike T.
Nelson told the publication. Planks will also help you develop strength and stability in the other muscles and joints, including the shoulders, hips, glutes, arms, and quads. The thing you have to remember about the muscular system is that it all works together. This is referred to as the kinetic chain. Even isolation exercises, like a biceps curl or triceps kickback, require recruitment and stabilization of the core muscles to help isolate the targeted muscle group.
But one of the primary functions of the core is to help the upper body and lower body work in coordinated actions. Think about it: Something as simple as walking, which requires coordinated arm and leg swings that are connected through the muscles of the core, is actually quite complex when you take into account all of the muscles being used. When planks are performed on a regular basis, athletic performance may even improve because your body learns how to efficiently recruit core muscles for stabilization and the transfer of energy between upper and lower body," Rozalynn Frazier, a NASM-certified trainer, explained in an article for Livestrong.
This helps improve body awareness, stability, and coordination, all of which play an important role in athletic performance. The shoulder joint is pretty amazing. It's the most flexible joint in the body, capable of rotation, flexion, extension, and both abduction and adduction in two planes of motions. The result is an incredible range of motion that allows for all sorts of movements that make day-to-day life easier. Of course, there's a downside to all that movement and range of motion.
The shoulder is also the least stable joint in the body. This makes it particularly susceptible to injury and dislocation. One effective way to help improve stability and strength at the shoulder is to perform planks on a regular basis. As pointed out by Stack , the plank's isometric hold engages and builds strength around the shoulder blade and at the rotator cuff to keep these smaller muscles stable when performing other exercises.
This helps enhance the activation of shoulder muscles during exercise, ultimately reducing injury risk — particularly if you tend to play sports that require swinging or throwing or if you tend to lift heavy weights. If your mom still nags you to stand up straight or pull your shoulders back, it might be time to start incorporating planks into your daily routine.
This is especially true if you work a desk job in which you're constantly rounding your back, shoulders, and neck while sitting in front of a computer all day. You see, proper plank form is more or less perfect posture. Even though planks are performed in a horizontal position, the idea is the same — you're contracting your core, engaging your lumbar spine and glutes to prevent your low back from caving, and pulling your shoulder blades down and in toward the spine to prevent your neck from collapsing between your arms.
If someone were to draw a line from your ears to your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles, it should form a completely straight line. As Rozalynn Frazier, a NASM-certified trainer, explained in an article for Livestrong , the plank exercise teaches your muscles and joints to "stack" your spine in proper alignment, developing strength and recruiting the proper muscles for good posture.
This ultimately transfers from the plank's horizontal position to proper posture when you're sitting, standing, walking, or running. A strong core can improve balance and help prevent falls, as pointed out by Harvard Health.
When your core muscles are efficient and strong, your lower body joints and muscles are more capable of making quick corrections to sudden changes in body position. To put it another way: If you're walking down the street and someone bumps into you from behind, a strong core will be able to contract and engage efficiently, helping prevent your spine from flexing or rotating awkwardly while simultaneously helping the muscles of your legs respond in a way that allows you to catch your balance.
This quick and efficient core engagement is essential for balance and can be enhanced with plank exercises. Health suggests using a plank reach — a variation in which you lift opposite hands and feet of the ground while holding a stable core — to further develop balance and coordination.
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