Plank for Core Strength:-
It improves balance and stability in the body and is nowadays being considered more effective than crunches or sit-ups. In fact, they utilize multiple muscles of the body at the same time and puts less strain on the spine.
Strengthening the core means while doing a plank, you are actually working on all the core muscles namely transverse abdominus, internal & external obliques, erector spinae , rectus abdominis and the multifidi.
Plank engages the arms, shoulders, glutes, legs, hips all at the same time to stabilize the body and thereby improves the overall core strength. Increased core strength leads to improvement in issues related to lower back and knees.
Practicing a Perfect Plank:-
- Place your hands and knees on the floor while facing the floor.
- Support your body by placing the forearms on the floor. Take the knees back, one at a time and take support of your toes to rest the legs.
- The entire body will now be in a straight line from head to heels.
- Keep the spine protracted to open up the shoulders more in order to have a better stability of the upper body.
- The legs can be kept a bit wider than the hip for beginners.
- Tighten the abdomen and glutes towards the midline of the body and hold.
Holding a Plank:-
Usually as a beginner one can start off with 10 seconds and go up to 1min or 2 mins of holding a plank.
But the transition should be gradual and not hurried. Every human body is different and it is perfect to take you own time and improve on your holding times.
If too much strain is taken to hold a plank for longer time span, then this would obviously result in arching of the lower back , causing incorrect posture and lead to back injury.
Hence, a gradual progress is always beneficial in the long run.
Comments (1)
Bn - December 28, 2023
Very good explanation