1.1.1. Some Tips
for Plank Exercise:
- Keep your glutes and stomach tight
- Your head and heels should be in a straight line while performing plank
- Also keep your back straight
- Make sure that hips are not sagging
- Place your elbows directly beneath the shoulder
- Feet should be hip-width apart
1.1.2. Tips for
Holding a Longer Plank:
- Perform plank daily
- Divert your mind
- While doing plank, read an article to pass the first few minutes
- Never look at the timer to drop the position
- Hold a position till it hurts
1.2. Plank Exercises for Flat Belly
1.2.1. Basic Plank
·
Lie flat on
floor or yoga mat (stomach down).
·
Put your hands at the side of your chest, as
if you are ready to perform push-ups.
·
Lift your body off the floor, keeping your
back straight and heels together.
·
Hold the position for 10 to 60
seconds and come back to starting position.
·
Carry out two repetitions.
1.2.2. Forearm
Plank:
o
Made for those who have injury-prone wrists, the
forearm plank is a classic exercise for a reason:
o
It emphasizes all of your core muscles by resisting
rotation!
·
Start in a
push-up position on forearms.
·
Keep arms perpendicular to body, forming a straight
line from shoulders to ankles.
·
Engage core and hold for thirty seconds.
Trainer Tip:
o
Roll your shoulders back before you get into
position.
o
This will help sustain an open chest during your
plank.
o
Squeeze your butt! It'll facilitate a flat, lower
back through the entire exercise, which will keep you from rounding or
hyperextending the lumbar spine, which could lead to disc herniations and
pinched nerves.
1.2.3. Side Plank
·
Lie down on your right side on the yoga mat.
·
Put your left hand on your waist and right
hand on the floor such that your forearm is at a right angle to the body.
·
Now, slowly lift the body, balancing your
whole body weight on the right hand and right foot.
·
Stay in this position for as long as you can
and repeat it, on the other side.
·
Give the
obliques a little action with a side planks – be sure to keep the hips lifted
1.2.4. Plank with Arm Lift
·
Start with a
basic plank position.
·
Stay in the pose for 5 seconds, and then
transfer your weight to the right forearm.
·
Raise your left arm to shoulder height and
hold the position for 1 to 2 seconds.
·
Slowly, return to basic plank pose and repeat
with other arm.
·
Do 3 to 5 reps on each arm.
1.2.5. Plank with
Leg Lift
·
Begin with a basic plank position.
·
Hold the position for 5 seconds, and then
transfer your weight to the left foot.
·
Gradually, lift right leg off the floor with
the toe pointed down.
·
Stay in this pose for 5 seconds and come back
to original position.
·
Repeat the movement with another leg.
1.2.6. Side plank with knee lift- one side only
- go in the position of a side plank
- move the knee forward and back
- don´t forget to breath
1.2.7. Plank Jacks:
o
If you've gotten your front plank down to a
science, crank it up a notch by adding dynamic movement!
o
Get the blood flowing by jacking the feet in and
out from your plank position.
·
Hop your toes to the outside of a yoga mat and then
back together while maintaining your pretty, flat back.
·
Start in a full plank position with feet together
and abs tight.
Jump feet
apart into a wide V, then immediately jump them back together (like a jumping
jack).
·
That's 1 rep. Start by incorporating 8 reps into
your circuit.
·
If this feels super easy, up the number to 10.
Consider increasing by two reps every two weeks as long as you can maintain
strong form.
Trainer Tip:
o
Keep your shoulders over your hands.
o
The shoulders can take a major beating during this
exercise if you're not careful.
o
By keeping them in proper alignment, the core is
doing all the work!
1.2.8. Side Forearm
Plank:
Sister to your front plank, the side plank
highlights muscles that help you rotate quickly and safely. Extra perk? A
nipped-in waistline will be yours in no time.
·
Lie on side with bottom elbow on the floor.
·
Raise hips so
that the body forms a straight line from ankles to shoulders.
·
Extend the top arm laterally so that it is
perpendicular to the floor.
·
Engage core and hold for 30 seconds.
Trainer Tip:
o
Start simple. Begin with your bottom knee on the
ground to reiterate proper muscle activation.
o
Envision sending your bottom hip to the sky.
o
If you feel like this is more of a stretch than a
workout, straighten your legs and try to stagger your feet with your top foot
in front of your bottom foot.
o
Still yawning? Stack the feet! Keep an eye on
squaring off your top and bottom hip the entire time.
1.2.9. Pike Plank:
- Not only do you get a nice stretch but you put your core in motion which adds a level of difficulty.
1.2.10.
High Plank:
- Recruit more of your chest muscles by moving up to your hands.
1.2.11.
High-to-Low
Plank Walk-downs:
- Add a major degree of difficulty by moving up and down between high and low plank.
1.2.12. Lateral Plank Walk
- This move will challenge your core and define your deltoids, shaping your shoulders.
- Begin in plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders, and your body in one straight line.
- Simultaneously cross your right hand toward the left as you step your left foot out to the left.
- Then simultaneously step your left hand and right foot to the left, returning to the plank position.
- Your hands move together as your feet step apart.
- Take two more steps in this direction, keeping your abs pulled toward your spine and your pelvis level.
- This completes one rep.
- Reverse directions taking three steps the right.
- Do 15 reps in each direction to complete one set.
Hip Taps:
Rotation through the trunk to drop the hips to the floor will surely get your obliques screaming!
