Power up your plank with these tips
The plank works multiple muscle groups for a well-rounded workout.
Many people prioritize healthier habits at the beginning of the new year, but knowing where to begin can be challenging. My suggestion: Start with a plank.
It’s important to iron out big-picture details, like setting achievable goals, scheduling your workouts, and figuring out how to maintain motivation. But it’s also important to think about what exercises you’ll do when you finally get to the gym — and to choose impactful ones.
I encourage all clients — new and seasoned — to include some version of a plank at each workout. Compound exercises, like planks, engage multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously, rather than targeting just one muscle at a time. This helps the body become a well-balanced, more cohesive unit. After just a few weeks of practicing planks, you will feel stronger, more flexible, and capable of performing your activities of daily life with greater ease.
With a little creativity, you can transform a basic — and sometimes boring — plank into endless varieties that train your muscles and joints in new, stimulating ways.
Plank basics
As with all exercises, form is fundamental for planking to be safe and successful. Here is what proper posture looks like:
Start from the floor with your hands beneath the shoulders and toes curled under the feet. If you prefer a forearm-dominant plank, begin with your forearms tucked under the chest.
Take a deep breath, tighten your core and glutes, and push through the palms (or forearms) and feet to lift the body into a plank. The top of the head, spine, and heels form a straight line. Do not allow the hips to hike up or sag. For a hand plank, palms are aligned below the shoulders. Forearm planks must maintain the elbows under the shoulders.
Change it up
Once you’ve mastered a basic plank, and can hold it for 30 seconds without breaking form or fatiguing, keep your muscles and mind guessing by alternating between the endless versions of planks.
For example, if you want planking to encourage a greater cardiovascular output, add movement by driving the knees up toward the chest one at a time.
To target the core muscles further, extend the arms, legs, or both (one at a time) away from the body. When limbs are moving, the core must work extra hard to stabilize the body. This adds an extra boost to this muscle group.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is performing the same, stale movement patterns day after day. This inevitably results in frustrating fitness plateaus and injuries, as repetitive use breaks down muscle fibers without giving ample time to recover. But by placing new demands on your body, like when incorporating free weights to your plank, your muscles must quickly respond by working in a new way. This is the key to unlocking fitness gains and hitting your exercise goals.
Add weight
Once you’ve had a few weeks to build endurance and improve balance with the above style planks, try a weighted plank.
Begin by placing a free weight in arm’s reach. I’m using an eight-pound weight but you can choose whichever weight feels like a good challenge without compromising proper form. Assume the plank position, grab your weight, and keep your core engaged as you pull the weight up toward your ribs. The elbow should be pointed up at the ceiling.
Hold for two counts then release the arm back down. Repeat on this side for 10-12 repetitions, then switch sides.