When in doubt, plank it out, sounds fun right? Plank can seem like an easy thing to a bystander. But those who plank every day, know that performing it for even 30 seconds is a deal. Plank benefits can be gained by people who incorporate this exercise every day in the workout routine. When performed consistently, and for a stipulated time, it is one of the best ways to tone your abdominal muscles, reduce belly fat around your waist and improve your core strength.
It is also important to stay hydrated while working out and even during the day. One must invest in a good-quality water bottle to get you going through the tough parts of your workout.
Let’s look at some of the plank exercise benefits
The benefits of plank can be reaped when you practice it daily. But what benefits is everyone talking about? What will you gain if you practice this workout every day?
Let’s find out.
1. Doing plank every day improves our posture.
Planking every day aligns our neck, shoulders, and back. This helps to improve our posture, stand tall and keep our back straight.
2. Benefits of planks also include flexibility
While planking you use quite a few muscles in your body: shoulder muscles, collarbones, core, glutes, calf muscles and more. When you engage your entire body to perform this exercise, you can improve strength and flexibility.
3. Plank benefits for weight loss
Weight Loss also gives plank workout benefits. When you work your core, it starts to strengthen the core muscles, tone them and also reduce fat around the region. It improves metabolism and stimulates the whole body.
4. The benefits of doing plank also help you to reduce pains the body
Planking can help you reduce joint pains in your body. It strengthens the abdominal muscles, improves strength and promotes core strength.
5. The benefits of doing planks also include improved metabolism
Planking for 30 seconds to 1 minute can help you improve your metabolism. Improving our metabolism rate can help improve absorption in the body, manage your weight and help you burn more calories.
How many calories can burn during a plank?
Doing a plank can indeed help you burn calories. According to healthline if you weigh around 110 lbs, you can lose 2 calories per minute, similarly, if you weigh around 150 lbs, you can lose 3-4 calories per minute, and someone weighing 175 lbs can lose. 6-7 calories per minute.
Different variations of planks can help you tone your body and strengthen multiple muscle groups. You can combine different variations and increase the time for each rep slowly to maximise your gains.
How to gain the Plank effect for our body? How do you practice a good plank?
To gain advantages of plank follow the below-mentioned steps. Improve consistency day by day to receive maximum benefits from the plank.
- First, kneel down on a yoga mat, perpendicular to the ground. Face the yoga mat and get ready to rise.
- Next, place your hands exactly beneath your shoulders, and rise and balance your body on the palm of your hands and toes.
- Keep your legs hip-width apart, and align your neck, back hips and shoulders.
- Tighten your grip, keep your core engaged and tighten your glutes.
- Hold this position for about 30 seconds, and repeat the step 3 times.
- As you progress with the workout, gradually increase the time to 60 seconds.
Another important thing to remember when you do a plank is to invest in a good-quality yoga mat. Your yoga mat should be anti-slip and absorb any sweat. If you don’t, then you might slip and hurt yourself. So, always choose a good-quality yoga mat so there are no health risks in the future.
What are the different variations of a plank?
Now that we know what are the benefits of planks, let's talk about how many types of planks there are.
1. Basic plank
The basic plant is the simplest of them all. It has been mentioned above.
2. Alternate plank
Alternate planks require slightly more attention and strength. After you practice your basic plank you can graduate to the alternate plank. In this case, you need to lift your opposite knee and opposite hand. For example, if you lift your right hand then lift your left knee for 30 seconds. Then slowly, return to a neutral position, and lift your left hand and right knee. Complete 3 repetitions of his routine.
3. The walking plank
If you are thorough with the basic plank and want to challenge yourself a little more try the walking plank. In this case, you need to move laterally, for example, use your right hand and leg to move to the right side. Then, come back to a neutral position. Take a few seconds off and repeat this procedure on the left side.
4. The ultimate side plank
This plank tests your core strength to the maximum. It requires practice and consistency to get it right. First, keep your right hand on the ground and try to stack both your legs to the right side. Hold this position for a few seconds, next, keep your left hand on the ground and stack both your legs on the left side. This works your transverse abdominal muscles and strengthens your arms and legs along with your core.
Conclusion
Planking can look quite simple on the outside but only those who practice it every day know what a challenging task it is. A good plank session when performed correctly can have a ton of benefits for your body and promote weight loss. It tones down your body, improves metabolism, improves core strength and also builds muscle strength. Take the plank challenge with your friends or family and try out the different variations mentioned above, you will feel the difference it makes to your body.
