Planks

Posted byWonderWoman & FitPosted inMisc Blog Post

 

Today we are going to jump right into another exercise we all like to call the plank.  For some of you this is a lovely exercise and for others of you, you use curse words to describe your hate for it.  I can understand why, because planks make you sore afterwards; you begin thinking everything is fine and “it isn’t so bad” then after 15 seconds, you might still feel okay, 30 seconds, you have decided to move a bit, 45 seconds, your obliques are burning like crazy and after a 1:00, you are ready to pray to whatever god. LOL. So trust me that is exactly how I feel when doing my planks too, some of you may be boss plankers and can plank for loads of time before feeling any kind of burn (I envy you), the longest plank I have held was about 2:30, which is decent for me, but normally I do 3 sets of 1 minute planks during a circuit or ab workout. Generally speaking, rumor has it the least amount of weight someone is, the easier it is. I wouldn’t know though, so it could be true or false. If you do planks, what is the longest you have held your plank? Why kind of planks do you like, if any? how often do you do plank exercises? are you a fan of doing planks? do you add weight on your back when you plank? I have yet to add any amount of weight on my back during a plank, I am not that “cool” yet. When do you start to feel the burn when planking? I would love to hear from all of you, your planking stories, so please feel free to share!

Plank types: add some variation to your plank

 

Those are a list with an example (click on the links next to them for an example). Hopefully this will give you an idea of different planks that you could try to spice up your workout.  

 
  1. Planks build your upper body, lower body and core strength and also inner core muscles 
  2. planks can increase flexibility (in posterior muscle groups)
  3. planks can improve your posture
  4. Planks can help build mental strength.  When one feels like giving up because the burn sets in but you still have time on the clock, it can help build the mental strength you need to continue. 

So whether you hold it for 20 seconds or 30 seconds, a plank will still hold the same benefits, for someone who is not conditioned, I would work on holding a plank for at least 15 seconds and work your way up overtime, if you an intermediate to advanced athlete you could aim for 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on what you can handle at the time. The goal is being able to hold a plank for as long as you can but you have to train your mind and body together so that when things get tough you know how to focus on the goal at hand and not the pain.  For some people, you may set your goal higher than a  minute if you know you can do it.  I would recommend this exercise to anyone, this isn’t about beating time, it is about concentrating on the task at hand, staying within correct form and building a stronger core and building a stronger mind as well.

 

Your fitness blogger,

Shay-lon xoxo

Published by WonderWoman & Fit

You can assume I have a love for fitness & a love for Wonderwoman -- both assumptions are correct. I am an ACSM certified personal trainer of 8+ years -- I currently reside in Ohio and live a simplistic life at the age of 29. If I am not lifting, I am eating, sleeping, traveling, exploring, or movie watching. I recently moved during a pandemic, now I am focused on self care (self love), building a business of my own in personal training, becoming a professional blogger, starting a podcast and doing things that make me happy! I am a sister, daughter, and loyal friend --- I love everyone's dog and I am on a mission to pet as many dogs as possible everywhere I go! LOL. My mission is to talk health (physical/mental), design programming, motivational speak, learn, grow, prosper, build others and make as many people smile as possible because I want nothing more than to be the change I seek in the world.

7 thoughts on “Planks”

  1. I hate planking with a passion, but since I’ve been doing an ab workout post-running and incorporating planks – I admittedly have seen a benefit! I might vary my style of plank now though 🙂

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    1. Haha, knew someone who hated planking would come forth , LOL
      I am happy that you have seen benefits from it though, that is a great thing! I am seeing a bit of benefits too, it definitely isn’t my favorite either, always hurts so much! Grr.

      Shay-lon

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    1. Do you really? 🙂 haha that is awesome! You might be the small percentage of people who like planks. How long do you usually hold your planks?

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  3. I used to do planks a lot, but I ended up getting bored of doing them. My coaches swore by them so we would do planks all the time, but after I got out of competitive athletics I switched to the ab wheel. To be honest I’m scared to go back to planking because I’m sure I’ll be terrible at them haha :p

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    1. Really? I have heard of people getting bored of them. They are not the most exciting workout, I will admit that much, but people swear by them so I try to incorporate them as often as possible, if I can. Did you see any results from doing your planks so often?
      No such thing as being terrible, it doesn’t matter how long you hold one, everyone starts somewhere 🙂

      Shay-lon

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  4. Planks are definitely great because of all the stabilization and static strength that you mentioned earlier! Everyone should do them at some point, and I should probably start doing them again.

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