We offer a routine that allows you, even if you are a beginner, to gradually strengthen your trunk and stomach through one of the most important exercises recommended for this purpose, the plank challenge.
The ideal figure to endure this exercise may be a dream of the many people. Physical exercises and a diet allow you to properly strengthen the muscles of the body and have a far better silhouette.
For a standard plank, lie flat face down. Your arms are L-shaped and support your elbows and forearms. Keep your neck in a comfortable position and don’t look too far up. Your legs are straight and resting on your toes. The easiest way to maintain the correct posture is when you are in a push-up position and then place your elbows on the floor.
This exercise sounds easy, but gravity frustrates your body and pushes its weight down. You are using your leg, stomach and back muscles to maintain your correct posture. Also, the muscles in your back and legs mainly use the force needed to counteract gravity, and your abs for stability and balance.
What is the plank challenge?
The plank challenge is a powerful and highly effective abdominal fat burning exercise that uses multiple muscle groups at the same time.
However, if it is included in a general routine that allows reducing body fat, it is often effective.
When trying to find a workout belly to incorporate during a routine, the choice is the plank challenge. Have you heard about that before? It is a routine performed for 30 days that consists of one workout.
The secret to this challenge is the duration of the exercise. That is, it is easy to do this exercise, but resistance requires a lot. The days of this challenge have to happen very regularly.
How can the plank challenge that we’ll mention next benefit us?
Before we start, it’s worth noting that no exercise alone will work miracles. to urge positive results, each routine requires supplementing with a healthy diet, some different exercises and adequate rest. thereupon in mind, let’s take up this challenge!
The abdomen may be a complex place and a really important organ
Removing fat from the lower and upper extremities might not be that difficult if the above guidelines are followed. Therefore, the rise in terms of lean mass or muscle strength is far greater in these areas.
On the contrary, there are other parts of the body that are difficult to affect . one among them is that the abdomen, which is where fat reserves are usually located, providing an aesthetic aspect that a lot of individuals wish to steer beyond .
According to a study published within the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, it’s impossible to get rid of fat from a selected area of the body through targeted exercises.
Instead, what you ought to do is lower the general levels of fat resulting from lack of energy; this suggests that you simply need to burn more calories than you consume. this is often clearly explained within the research published by Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism.
The plank challenge is a powerful and very effective abdominal fat burning exercise that uses several muscle groups at the same time.
For a standard plank, you lie flat with your face down. Your arms are L-shaped and support your elbows and forearms. Keep your neck in a comfortable position and don’t look too far up. Your legs are straight and resting on your toes. The easiest way to hold the correct posture is when you are in a push-up position and then place your elbows on the floor.
This exercise seems easy, but gravity puts your body down, pushing its weight down. You are using your leg, stomach and back muscles to maintain your correct posture. Also, the muscles in your back and legs mainly use the force needed to counteract gravity, and the abdominal muscles are used for stability and balance.
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What are the muscles that work when you do the plank challenge?
The main muscles that you train are the abdominal muscles, back and shoulders muscles. Your body must be constantly correcting, because you are working against gravity.
As a result, a lot of stability is needed and this stability comes from the abdominal muscles and back muscles. The abdominal and back muscles work together more to maintain stability.
Your trunk and the rest of your upper body are centered primarily on your forearms. To stay your forearms still in place, you need strong shoulders to stay still without any movement like a plank.
There are also supporting or secondary muscles at work on the plank challenge such as the quadriceps (thighs) and glutes (glutes).
What do you need to do the plank challenge?
Gym mat: When you do a plank challenge, you may not notice right away, but as your muscles correct, your arms will friction against the surface you are training on. If you exercise the plank on a rough carpet, you run the risk of damaging your arms until they bleed
Shoes: It is important that you wear shoes while doing plank exercises. Especially if you are a superhero who does the workout for several minutes. It may be hanging on your toes making this painful and annoying.
Why is the junior plank exercise so heavy?
Plank exercise look very simple, but for those who are unfamiliar with them, they can still be disappointing and elusive.
This is due to the weakness of the shoulder, forearm, core and abdomen muscles, as well as the weakness of the front quadriceps, in addition to the gravity that pulls you down, as over time you will not be able to continue.
How long do you need daily planks for a good result?
According to your current ability, if you can do the plank exercise for only 20 seconds on 5 sets per day, then you will definitely get a positive result with continuation and increasing time.
How long can you do the plank exercise now?
It’s profitable and very good if your goal is to do the plank exercise for up to two minutes more. If you can do the plank exercise for more than two minutes, the exercise is very easy and you will notice positive results over time.
A very important note: If the plank exercise causes you muscle pain, stop exercising for a day, exercising while feeling pain in the muscles is counter-productive, because you interrupt your body in the process of gaining strength.
Remember: you must do the exercises regularly, as you must count groups of the plank exercise, and count the minutes during which you did this exercise
For example:
- A group of two minutes
- A group of 1.5 minutes
- And a set of 1 minute
- Take a 30-second to 1-minute break between sets.
You should have given all your power by the end of the last move and you should not be able to do another set.
You May Interested: Science To Lose Belly Fat And Get Flat Stomach – Fitoont
How long do you need plank exercises for an effective workout?
You can use as a guideline to do five sets with a one-minute break between groups.
I’ll give you an example, start with sets of 15 seconds (if you can manage that) and slowly work your way up to a longer time per set.
Do this according to your own discretion and listen privately to your body, do not put pressure on your body muscles, causing pain and stress for them, listen to your body well, dear.
Once you can easily do 5 sets of 1 minute, it is time to make the exercise more difficult by working with extra pounds or trying other forms.
If the plank exercise becomes too easy, its effectiveness decreases. You should always strive to do the exercise to get a good result.
When do you make the plank challenge harder?
You can make this exercise difficult when you increase the time to more than the tolerance of your body 3 minutes or 5 minutes, depending on your physical ability.
If you can perform 5 sets of 2 minutes in a row without any problems, it is time to gain weight …. How is that?
This can be done with the help of a weight jacket, as there are weight jackets that can control its weight. But note that this will be after several exercises, to avoid also back pain.
What should novice Blanker pay attention to?
- Correct posture is most important.
- Make sure you are not hanging down with a hollow or sagging back, but rather your back should be level with your leg.
- Keep your body stable and straight, and never move.
- Also, make sure you place the plank on a flat, non-rough surface such as a yoga mat, as you are always safe with a sports mat.
How can you do plank exercises without back pain? (Source)
Of course, exercising planks when you are free of back pain is very gentle.
In fact, if you are experiencing back pain while doing plank exercises, it is best to stop for a while. After all, you don’t want a situation that goes from bad to worse.
You should know, my dear, that the benefit of the abdominal muscles is to create a balance with the back muscles as well to maintain the backbone. You should make sure that your stomach does not hang around, but it should be active during the plank challenge.
- The abdominal muscles must be tightened to relax your lower back, here the abdominal muscles will bear a great responsibility from the back muscles.
- Also, make sure the arms are properly stretched so that your upper body is well supported.
- Your neck should be completely relaxed.
- Of course, also do a good warm-up for at least 5 minutes, as cold muscles have not been known to work like warm muscles.
Tips for planking without back pain
- First of all, the posture in which you plank is crucial.
- You should have an attitude similar to the picture above.
- You can ignore the fitness ball.
- The belly should not hang down, but should be active during the plank exercise.
- Contract the abs to relieve your lower back.
- Also make sure that the arms are properly tensioned so that your upper body is well supported.
- Relax the neck.
- Of course also do a good warm up of at least 5 minutes, cold muscles do not function as well as warm ones.
A quick overview of the benefits of a plank challenge
Your shoulders, chest, back, stomach, buttocks, and the top and bottom of your legs are stretched during the plank exercise. This gives you a stronger, suppler body and more elasticity. Muscles that are usually difficult to contract also work.
These muscles are called “deep muscles”. It will improve your posture and thus loosen your joints which may be able to absorb more weight than others. Take, for example, a woman wearing a handbag along her right shoulder. Over time, the right shoulder will droop lower than the left, affecting the neck, back, shoulders, and knees.
Hence a plank exercise will be excellent for correcting your posture. The plank exercise contains the Standard Edition, but also many other versions to increase difficulty and work many other muscles.
You can perform the plank exercise anytime, anywhere. You should start slowly according to your ability, and you will soon notice that the exercise is easier for you and you will see better results.
Other Editions and variations to standard plank challenge
- Side Plank
- Forearm Plank
- Plank Leg Switches
- Plank Walkout
- Push-up Plank
- Side-Plank Leg Kick to Slow Decline
- Single-Leg Down Dog to Knee Drive
- Alternating Straight-Leg Kick Out
- Toe Walk-Ups
- Side Plank Leg Swings
- Single-Arm Toe Tap
- Single-Leg Knee Drive to Kick Out
- Single-Leg Kick Through to Hip Drop
- Plank Bird Dog
- Plank Jump to Arm Raise
- Single-Leg Kick Through to Open
- Plank Jack with Chest Tap
- Rocking Forearm Plank
- Side Plank Knee to Elbow
- Knee Drive to Straight-Leg Kick Out
- Rotate Open to Reach Back
- Dive Bombers
- Side to Side Jumps
- Side Plank Nose to Hand
- Rollover to Knee Drive
- Forearm Plank Knee Drop to Hip Drop
- Tap Over Leg to Knee Drive
- Side Plank Toe Tap
- Quad Hold Knee Taps
- Side Plank Hip Drops
Is practicing the plank exercise daily considered better?
The plank is an exercise that sounds easy, but not for many. Gravity causes your body to be pushed down, and your abdominal and gluteal muscles (glutes) are mainly under great stress during a plank challenge.
Usually, a muscle group needs a day of rest to recover. However, something special is going on with the abdominal muscles. Your abdominal muscles are the muscles you use with almost any movement.
Even if you are sitting upright, you need your abdominal muscles to stay in the same position. Because the abdominal muscles are mainly responsible for a good balance.
This means that you use your abs a lot every day. During a plank, your abdominal muscles are the most active and therefore bear most of your weight. It is wise to have a rest day to avoid stress.
Burn more calories after a plank workout
If you do plank exercises more intensively, your body will receive a signal that muscles need to be restored.
Muscle recovery requires energy and calories must be burned for that, so your body will burn more calories than usual while at rest, more muscle means more fat burning Another advantage is that when you train frequently, your muscles will grow, all of those muscles must be preserved and this also ensures that your body uses more energy than usual.
Here’s how to do the plank challenge daily
Regarding the plank challenge that we’ll explain below, everyone who will implement it should be reminded that the 30 days must be during a row without laziness which additionally , the exercise time will increase with time.
Days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
These are the times to start out practicing the plank. Therefore, the position should be taken calmly and patiently. Feeling a touch “shaky” and a few body fatigue is normal. this will happen thanks to a scarcity of conditioning, balance and strength within the abdominal and trunk area.
- During the primary and second days, the exercise are going to be performed during a duration of 15 seconds.
- On days 3 and 4, you ought to attempt to hit 20 seconds.
- By the 5th day, the body are going to be a touch more accustomed, which is why the duration of the exercise will increase to 25 seconds.
Days 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
- Rest is essential in physical exercise. That is why we will take advantage of the sixth day to relax.
- On the following days, the 7th and 8th, the plank is performed for 30 seconds.
- For days 9, 10 and 11, if the transition of the exercise has been successful, the time will be exactly 40.
Days 12-17 of the Plank Challenge
We’re within the middle of the road. If we eat well and also do aerobic and strength training exercises, the results are bound to be already showing. this is often quite enough argument to continue the trail .
- On the 12th day, we’ll increase to at least one minute.
- On the 13 day, we’ll have a second respite .
- Day 14 and 15 resumes with one minute.
- Days 16 and 17, the exercise are going to be increased to 90 seconds.
Days 18 to 21
- On Day 18, we’ll be doing a 120 second plank challenge.
- On the 19 day, we’ll take a 3rd break.
- Also on days 20 and 21 we’ll resume with 130 seconds.
Days 22 to 25
The goal is getting closer and closer, therefore the effort must be increased. The event of those days are going to be as follows:
- On days 22 and 23, we’ll do 150 seconds of the plank.
- By day 24, we’ll increase to 180 seconds.
- On the day 25, the fourth and final break is formed.
Days 26, 27 and 28
- After the break, activity resumes on day 26, for 180 seconds.
- On the 27th day, we’ll continue until 210 seconds.
- By 28th day, we’ll continue until 240 seconds.
Days 29 and 30
Finally, The last two days, gentlemen.
- On the 29th day, we’ll continue until 270 seconds.
- On the last day of the thirtieth month, we’ll continue until 300 seconds.
We achieved the goal, we must go as far because the body can resist it.
Other explanations about the Plank challenge
As we’ve indicated repeatedly before, this challenge will succeed as long because it is amid an honest diet. Consistent with “Mayo Clinic” professionals, it is vital to eat an honest breakfast, monitor your portion sizes and choose your snacks well, among other keys to maximizing the consequences of exercise.
Last but not least, we must not delude ourselves about achieving the goal. attempt to stick with the order for every day, albeit it is a short break if it doesn’t arrive all the time. Courage and training!
