Exercise and an active lifestyle are usually all about movement, but to strengthen your core muscles, it is the lack of movement that is the most vital component in your armory.
A static hold works wonders for your core. It may look and sound easy because you do not need to use any weights or even move at all and just stay propped up parallel to the floor on your elbows (or palms) and toes while squeezing your abdominal and the butt muscles, but give planks a try and you will quickly become aware of how painfully long 30 seconds can be.
Suhasini Sampath, the co-founder and CEO of Yogabar, found out when she returned to exercise post-partum a few months ago. “I can just about hold a plank for 30 seconds right now and that’s also difficult. But I am improving every day,” she says validating the universal truth about planks.
While sit-ups and crunches used to be all the rage to get great abs, static holds such as planks only started gaining popularity since the late 2000s as exercise, active lifestyle and health became buzz words along with a corresponding increase in knowledge and interest in this field with the proliferation of Internet. That’s when the focus shifted to the core and people realised that it is really the engine that powers all your movements and athletic endeavours.
Planks are great for stability training which is the first step towards building a strong base for any human body, says Gagan Arora, celebrity trainer and founder of Kosmic Fitness in Delhi. “People often straight away start out with exercising in the gym by lifting weights or pick up an endurance sport like running and cycling, which involve very high repetitions of the same movement; they are at a greater risk of injuries as they have missed the foundation stone in their fitness journey. One should progress to weight training, running and cycling only after adequate mobility and stability training for 8 to 12 weeks, if not more,” Arora adds.
Arora’s advise is backed up by doctors and health experts. Dr Subhash Jangid of Fortis Memorial Research Institute says exercise, running and any kind of athletic activity require a solid foundation. “Our spine is stabilised by the abdominal and back muscles. Strengthening the core and all the muscles that surround and support the spine, will help our legs (and rest of the body) also grow stronger. This helps us to be a more economical runner as well. We recommend core strengthening exercises, such as planks, superman hold and glute bridges, to all runners, cyclists and active people,” notes Dr Jangid.
The plank is not the only exercise that can strengthen your core, but it comes with a bundle of benefits to build and check your core strength, explains Arora. In fact, fitness and health professionals deploy the elbow and side planks as standard assessment protocol for their clients. Planks are an integral part of core strengthening exercises and an excellent way to prevent back and neck pain, says Dr Jayan Arora, director and unit head of the Fortis Bone and Joint Institute, Fortis Hospital, Gurugram.
So, would planks lead to getting a six-pack? The simple answer is, planks alone would not give you six-pack abs. But, without doing planks you are highly unlikely to get them either. “Under those six-pack abs there is a lot more happening which is vital for optimal human locomotion and performance. Rectus abdominals, which is referred to as the six-pack, is just one component of your core muscles and is definitely trained while holding the plank but you need to watch your diet to reduce the body fat percentage in order to make those abs visible,” Arora advises.
So, don’t you go get lazy about doing the planks. They are an easy workout that require no equipment at all. Once you master them you could do them as part of your warm-up, intra workout or at the end of a session. “They also make for a great standalone quick workout when mixed with some other bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, jumping jacks and mountain climbers which can be done anywhere in HIIT (high intensity interval training) format,” suggests Arora. However, before you go on and try to do a 5-minute plank, you must learn to activate right muscles, he warns. “As with any exercise, start small and gradually work up to higher durations. Maintaining the correct posture will help avoid injury,” says Dr Arora.
There is a common notion prevalent these days that women are better at planks than men. “That’s not really true,” refutes Arora as he dismisses the received wisdom. “How long one can hold the plank depends on one’s strength, experience and focus. But it doesn’t really matter... However, if you are going beyond the 4-minute mark with the plank hold, with equal strength and experience women might take over as they generally have more endurance than men. But mostly it’s very personal and doesn’t depend on age, sex, height or weight.”
Even pregnant women can safely do planks as part of a prenatal programme, says Dr Arora, adding, “They may need modifications like incline planks or use their knees.”
From beginners to elites, plank and its variations are always good to incorporate in all exercise regimen to build and maintain strong core muscles.
How to do the plank
1. Start by lying down flat on your belly.
2. Prop yourself on your elbows*, shoulder width apart and directly under your shoulders, and engage your stomach and butt muscles by squeezing them.
3. Now, lift your lower body off the floor till you find yourself parallel to the floor with all your weight on your toes, feet about 12 to 18 inches apart, and elbows.
4. Make sure your butt is neither sagging or going up towards the ceiling. Keep it neutral and your body straight.
5. Hold for 30 seconds.
6. Increase duration of hold as per ability.
*You could also use the palms of your hands facing down instead of your elbows if you find the elbow plank too easy. In this case the plank position will not be parallel to the floor but slightly elevated in the front.
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