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Try planks. A great alternative to crunches, planks can help improve core strength and stability. Well, one reason is that situps and crunches can be hard on your back. Pushing your spine against the floor can cause lower back pain later on.
Planks require your arms, your legs, and all of your abs, making them an all-encompassing workout and a more efficient way to exercise. By strengthening your back, chest, shoulders, neck, and abs, this exercise makes it easier to keep your shoulders back and your lower back in a neutral position while sitting or standing — two vital components of good posture. Planks also help you develop isometric strength in your core muscles, which gives you the power to keep from hunching while standing or sitting for long periods of time.
While it may not feel like it, planks are a great way to stretch out the lower half of your body. Getting into the hold position lengthens your hamstrings as well as the arches of your feet, making the plank pose a dual strength and stretch exercise. If you want to stretch your sides, side planks with an extended arm can target that individual area of your body. While the classic plank is a great go-to exercise, planks can also be modified and added to in order to suit what your body needs.
Dropping to your forearms in the plank position is one modification you can do. Increasing the length of time you hold the pose is another way to maximize the exercise. Start with a to second hold, and increase your time from there.
Make two minutes your maximum time limit. Want to incorporate planks into your everyday regime? Try these different variations on the classic exercise. It also includes your hips, pelvic floor and lower back. When you perform a plank, you're not only contracting your abs, but you're also tightening your quads and glutes, which helps reduce pressure on your lower back. Moreover, planks are a classic example of the power of isometric exercises , which are the ultimate stabilization moves, per the Mayo Clinic.
Isometric exercises like the plank are great for building stability because you are contracting muscles without moving any joints. As you develop a more stable core, you may begin to notice improved posture.
Whether you're sitting, standing or performing day-to-day activities, your core plays a big role in maintaining posture and alignment, says Jereme Schumacher, PT, DPT , physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments in San Diego. In addition to engaging your core, planks encourage glute and hip activation, both of which are crucial for good posture and movement, from walking to running and jumping, says Samuel Chan, PT, DPT , a certified strength and conditioning specialist CSCS and physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments in New York City.
Practicing good posture may sound like an insignificant detail, but it's actually a big factor in your overall back health, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Poor posture often contributes to common body aches and pain, like in the shoulders and upper and lower back.
But improving your posture with core exercises can help minimize or eliminate nagging pains. Shoulder muscles often get overlooked, but they are crucial for lifting and reaching overhead. Doing planks also improves your overall shoulder strength and stability, Chan says. By boosting shoulder stability, planks can in turn help increase shoulder strength, which may ease shoulder pain and prevent impingement.
A common injury in older active adults, shoulder impingement occurs when the rotator cuff swells, creating compression or pinching in the surrounding tendons, according to the Cleveland Clinic. While increasing muscle strength and size are typically more popular goals, you don't want to neglect muscular endurance , which is a muscle's ability to move against resistance rep after rep.
Because planks are an isometric exercise, you hold them for a longer period of time than other exercises, which helps build muscle endurance, especially in the core, Schumacher says. Strengthening your core endurance will help you maintain good posture during long runs, walks, bike rides and other sustained activity.
In addition to all the core-strengthening benefits, planking will help strengthen your glutes, too, Chan says. When you hold a plank with proper form, you'll notice your pelvis is tilted slightly down to increase your abdominal engagement. This tilt will also target your gluteus maximus, which plays a big part in improving your posture. Although you may be eager to reap the many benefits of the plank, it only works if you have the form down.
A strong midsection translates into improved athletic performance and enhanced body balance. The plank is an isometric exercise, which means it allows you to train your core without moving.
This also makes it very versatile, since you can do it anywhere, anytime. As with any other exercise, naturally, there are pros and cons of doing planks.
Lets lake a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of planking exercise :. It might look very easy and simple at first, however looks can be deceiving. The plank is one of the most challenging exercises of all. You might also ask if its benefits outweigh the risks. The majority of fitness enthusiasts are very skeptical about the plank. They figure there are superior ways to train the abdominal muscles, like the butterfly crunches, hanging leg raises, reverse crunches, the stomach vacuum etc.
As always, the way to optimal muscle growth is stimulating the muscles near to the point of exhaustion. The process lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 seconds. Some exercise experts think that the plank is overrated. Other even say it can be outright dangerous. It would seem that hundreds of people doing the plank end up in a hospital every year with a condition known as costochondritis, which is an inflammation of the cartilage that is connecting the ribs to the sternum. Plus, since the plank is isometric, it may not be suitable for those who are suffering from high blood pressure.
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