The Benefits of Planking

Regular exercise is an essential ingredient to optimal health. The benefits of exercise can be broken down into several categories:

1. Cardiovascular endurance

2. Flexibility

3. Balance

4. Coordination

5. Quickness & Mobility

6. Strength

Overall body strength is important, but core strength and stability keeps our low back strong and supports our abdominals and internal organs.

Planking is excellent for core strength & stability:

Core strengthening and stability has become very popular in recent years in the exercise world. I have been exercising since I was a child, but performing planks was never anything that I saw people doing at the gym, read about or thought about decades ago. Now planks are everywhere and for good reason, since they are a great form of exercise.

If you have an underlying medical condition, have an injury or haven't exercised in a long time, you'll want to seek medical advice from your physician, before you start planking, or any other new exercise program.

Why is Core Strength so Important:

Core strength and stability is more than just doing crunches and having flat abs.

Your core muscles encompass your whole midsection, including your abdominals, back muscles, oblique muscles, hip muscles and pelvic muscles. They keep you together. Much of the power that is generated in most athletic activities, comes from the core. Your core muscles all work together to keep you upright, standing straight and pain-free. A weak core will also weaken the actions of your arms and of your legs. This is true even if you have strong arms and strong legs.

No matter how much strength training you do to improve the power in your legs or the ability of your arms to lift, with a weak core, you won't achieve your best results.

Basic Plank Maneuvers:

In the video that you can watch through the link below, plank positions are demonstrated that you can use as a beginner.

While you will see results within days, don't rush it. Increase your level slowly, since this will minimize your chances of injury.

Each of the maneuvers can be held for 5 to 60 seconds. You can work up to 20 repetitions.

Here are several beginner plank maneuvers that work different muscle groups:

• Basic Plank. Stand approximately 3 feet from a wall. Press your hands into the wall, elbows straight, weight on your toes and hold for 30 seconds. You may also do this on the floor with your hands flat to the floor and knees bent.

• Up Down Plank. Start on the floor on your knees in straight-arm position. Next, move to your forearms, hold for two to three seconds and move back to a straight arm position. Up and down is one repetition

• Planks with Leg Raises. Start on the floor with your knees bent and in the straight-arm position. Pull one leg up toward the ceiling as if a string were pulling your leg from behind the knee. Hold for one or two seconds and bring it back down. Repeat with the other leg. This is one repetition.

• Plank with Knee Crunch. Place your hands flat on a chair or bench, placing your body in the plank position, bearing your weight on your toes. Bring your right knee to your right elbow and return to the start position. Repeat with your left leg. This is one repetition.

In the video, you are warned about postural rules to reduce injury. These include:

• Shoulder, buttocks and legs in a straight line
• Head in neutral position, looking approximately 8 to 12 inches in front of you
• Abdominal and gluteal muscles tight and hips tucked in
• Shoulder blades pulled down
• Lower back in neutral position without excess or reduced lower back curvature

It may help to do your planks in front of a mirror to see your form.

You may not be perfect at the beginning, but you will see fast improvement in your form and endurance and you will be on your way to a stronger core.

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