The plank is one of the most popular exercises for fitness lovers. Although apparently it may seem simple to perform and the widespread idea is that it only requires considerable strength and little technique, in reality it is not immune from errors, which can be encountered both by beginners, who are able to hold the position only for a few seconds, both the more experienced athletes, who instead do it for a longer time.
Whether it belongs to one or the other category, however, makes no difference: the exercise becomes useless in both cases if it is not performed correctly.
Only in this case, doing planks trains a large number of muscles.
Doing planks can also cause elbow pain, here's how to avoid it.
shoulders.
Performing an arch also eliminates the core strengthening benefits of exercise because the abs no longer work to support the body.
To avoid making this mistake, bend the pelvis to keep the back straight, pull the navel towards the spine and tilt the hips towards the chest to prevent the lower back from dropping.
Look up
Looking at a mirror, clock, or screen while planking can help control form and stay focused, but it can also lead to incorrect posture. The key to success in this exercise lies in keeping the entire body in a straight line from head to hips to heels.
Looking elsewhere risks losing this alignment and holding your head in that position, even for a few sessions a week, can cause neck pain and tension in the upper back muscles.
To avoid taking risks, keep your neck straight and look at your hands or straight ahead, keeping the axis and preventing the neck muscles from stretching too much.
Relax your hips
After about 45 seconds of plank, fatigue begins to be felt and the temptation, even unconscious, is often to raise the hips towards the ceiling or lower them towards the ground to give the abdominals a break.
However, this takes weight off the core and adds weight to the shoulders, making the exercise different from what it should be. To get the maximum benefits from the plank, however, you must keep the hips in a straight line with the body and pelvis at the same time. below.
The plank is a full-body exercise and also trains the legs and glutes. To keep your hips from moving towards the ceiling or bending towards the ground, contract your quads and squeeze your glutes.
This is one of the reasons why you can't keep the plank for long.
Hunch your shoulders
As the seconds spent in the plank position increase, the body begins to shake and the breathing becomes irregular. Now is the perfect time to check if your posture is optimal.
If your shoulders are high and hunched around your ears, you are making a mistake because lifting them can stiffen your upper back muscles and strain your neck too much. In addition, bent shoulders make it more difficult to maintain an even breathing rate, which is necessary for any exercise.
To avoid this mistake, keep your shoulders down and slightly back while performing the exercise and as fatigue sets in, always check that they remain in the right position.
Prolong the exercise for too long
Often those who start plank regularly are convinced that to improve it is necessary to maintain the position for longer and longer periods of time but this is not the most important factor.
If you are not used to it, keeping the body in traction for several consecutive minutes inevitably generates fatigue and physical failure that can lead to incorrect posture. Nothing could be more wrong, since doing any exercise in an unsuitable way is useless and harmful.
Planks are key to helping develop core stability, but they burn fewer calories than other movement-based exercises. Therefore, for beginners, instead of doing them for several consecutive minutes, it is recommended to do it in moderation and integrate the workout with different basic exercises.
As an alternative to the classic plank you can try the bear plank, which trains the core intensely.
The plank is also one of the exercises useful in the postpartum workout.
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