The plank is a simple exercise that is often included in the best ab workout programs. But what happens if you hold a plank every day for a week?
The simple plank exercise is a staple of many of the best ab workouts, but what would happen if someone held a rock-solid plank every day for a week? Tom’s Guide’s fitness specialist decided to find out. Luckily for her, you don’t have to hold a plank for as long as you might think to get results — one researcher suggests that holding the move for just 10 seconds is enough to work your core. A plank is an exercise designed to strengthen the body during stillness, as the body works against gravity to maintain the pose.
The plank is an exercise suitable for beginners, and there are several variations of planks to help strengthen the core if you are looking to increase the difficulty. The key to a perfect plank is maintaining the correct posture. If you have never done this exercise or are returning to exercise after an injury, it is a good idea to consult a fitness trainer before practicing the plank.
Position while plank is imperative for spinal health and abdominal results. To get into a good plank position, start in a push-up position, with your arms placed slightly wider than your shoulders, and your body weight resting on your hands flat against the ground, or your forearms, depending on the variation chosen. . Then think about creating a straight line from your heels to the crown of your head, engaging your trunk. We hold for a few seconds at the beginning, and increase until we hold the plank for a minute, or as long as possible without arching our back.
Here’s what happened to the fitness expert who tried to do a plank for a week. On the first day, it didn’t take long for his trunk to shake. On the second and third days, she increased the plank by 10 seconds each day. For days five and six, she decided to spice things up by adding motion to the plank — she set the timer back to one minute but added sawing motions — swinging her body weight back and forth, and hip dips, lowering one hip towards the floor then to the other side, to intensify the movement.
After a week, although the Tom’s Guide fitness manager didn’t get visible abdominal muscles, she felt that her core had become stronger. The board also helped improve her core activation during running, pilates, and walking her dog. This improves performance and helps you run, walk and strength train with better posture.
