Is the plank a good way to shape your 6-pack abs?
The plank does indeed engage your abs, and not only those visible at first glance (such as the rectus abdominis muscle, which makes part of the 6-pack abs), but also deep muscles which make up your core and constitute a muscular corset which stabilizes and strengthens the spine. Therefore, the exercise will not only prove effective in flat toned stomach workouts, but will mainly appeal to those who want to improve their back muscle strength due to pain related e.g. to working in a sitting position. By engaging your back and shoulder girdle muscles, the plank will also be useful to improve your overall body posture.
To do it correctly, contract the muscles of your legs and buttocks, as well as of the chest and shoulders. With a correct plank technique, your whole body is engaged in maintaining the right position – making the plank the most complex and multi-level exercise, as compared to e.g. traditional sit-ups.
A comprehensive abdominal workout should therefore include not only sit-ups, but also all kinds of other support-position exercises. To complete the workout, do some yoga – support and engagement of deep muscles are key elements of many asanas, helping you to work on your core muscles in a multi-dimensional way.
For more information, read the article: “Yoga for a flat toned stomach: 4 easy asanas for everyone”.
6 plank exercises and their benefits
You can do the classic version of the plank – support your upper body on your forearms, placing your elbows directly under your shoulders and keeping your feet together, but you can also modify it to fit your individual training needs and preferences.
1. Classic plank
Start from a supported kneeling position, with your forearms touching the ground. Place your elbows directly under your shoulders and keep your forearms parallel to each other. Straighten both of your knees, put your feet together and contract your glutes – the latter is the most frequently omitted element of the plank. If you find it difficult to keep your leg muscles and glutes contracted, imagine that you are trying to hold pieces of paper between your feet, legs and buttocks.
Make sure that your hips are aligned with your shoulders and then tuck your pelvis under – move your hips so as to "shorten" your abdomen. Imagine that you are trying to pull the floor together underneath your body, moving it with your elbows towards your feet and with your feet towards your elbows.
If your entire body starts to shake, do not worry – it is a normal sign that you are doing the plank right – this is the natural effect of effective muscle contraction. As your entire body is engaged in performing this exercise, the classic plank targets virtually all muscle groups, with the ones most engaged being those of your abdomen and back. This exercise will fit perfectly with a workout which improves trunk strength and stability.
2. Side plank
This variation helps to improve balance control more than the classic plank. In side plank, the sides of the body become more engaged, which may translate into better defined abdominal oblique muscles (the waist).
How to do it?
Lie on your side with your legs straight and align your hips, knees and feet. Make sure that your elbow is directly under your shoulder. Raise your other arm straight up so that it is perpendicular to the floor (or, for an easier version, keep your hand on your hip). Press your hand and forearm to the floor to lift your torso off the ground. Keep your abdominal muscles tense and raise your hips to fully straighten your legs. Remember to do the same number of repetition on each side.
3. Reverse plank
In this version of the exercise, you place yourself with your abdomen and chest facing up, rather than downward. The objective is the same: keep your body in a single straight line, without lowering your hips and with full control of your abdomen. This version of the plank more fully engages the glutes and the muscles responsible for straightening your hips and also improves body posture by opening up the chest. This makes it the perfect workout complement for those working or simply spending a lot of time during the day in a sitting position. It improves body posture, glute fitness and hip mobility.
How to do it?
Sit down on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Place your hands on the floor slightly behind the line of your hips with the fingertips pointing towards your feet. Lift your hips, forming a straight line from your heels to your shoulders. Make sure that the shoulders and shoulder blades are drawn down, away from your ears. To avoid lowering your hips, strongly contract your glutes.
Read also: “Effective Exercises for Brazilian Buttocks“.
4. Plank with shoulder taps
This variation adds some movement to your traditional plank exercise. The starting position is similar to that in the classic straight-arm plank and your task in this case is to tap the opposing shoulder with your fingers. As your body temporarily loses one of its points of support, it must make an even greater effort to remain stable. Choose this plank variation if you want to work especially hard on your body stability and shoulder muscles.
How to do it?
Start out in the traditional straight-arm plank position. Place your feet apart at hip width. Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, lift your right hand off the floor and touch your left shoulder. Then let your right arm drop to the floor and repeat the exercise on the other side of your body. Avoid rotating your shoulders or hips during this exercise – make sure that your whole body is properly aligned.
5. Walking plank
Before you do the exercise, make sure that you have enough room on both sides of your mat – you will be moving sidewise in the plank position. This exercise not only targets the abdominal and back muscles, but also your shoulders and glutes. To engage the other muscle groups even more, you can place mini-bands on your wrists and ankles.
How to do it?
Start from a straight-arm plank position. Take a “step” sidewise, moving your right arm and right leg to the right. Let your left arm and leg follow. Stop and make sure that your hips are still in the correct position and then repeat the sequence on the left side by taking a step to the left starting with your left arm.
You can modify this sidestepping movement to fit your needs – you can take one step towards each side or more, e.g. two to the right and two to the left.
Check more exercises with elastic bands HERE.
6. Bear plank
This exercise might seem like nothing compared to the classic plank. However, if done right, it is just as effective. Just like the classic plank, it mainly engages abdominal and back muscles, which makes it the perfect exercise for those looking to strengthen their lumbar spine.
How to do it?
Start in the supported kneeling position – place your hands under your shoulders, your knees under your hips and your spine in a neutral position. Flex your toes so that you can keep your weight on them and on your hands for the rest of the exercise. Lift your knees ca. 1 cm above the floor and maintain this position.
You can add movement to modify this exercise – move to the front, to the back or to the sides. It is important to make sure that your spine stays in a neutral position and that your hips are engaged throughout the exercise.
The plank is a multi-level exercise worth introducing into your training routine to strengthen and stabilize your entire body. You will benefit from that as you do other exercises, while at the same time supporting your spine to perform better during your everyday activities.
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Reference:
- Frédéric Delavier, Michael Gundill, „Mięśnie brzucha. Atlas ćwiczeń”, PZWL, wyd. 1, 2013.