One Tweak To Fire Up Your Entire Core With Plank

A plank is great core strengthening exercise. It won’t give you a six pack but it will work the deep abdominal muscles that help pulling your gut in. A plank itself is an almost perfect exercise and you can only make it better and more challenging by either increasing the time spent in a plank (fitness instructor Tom Hoel set the new world record at four hours and 28 minutes) or performing different variations.

Fire Up Your Core With This Plank

Woman doing exercise ball plank

One of those variations is an exercise ball plank where your feet rest on the exercise ball elevating you into a perfect even plank. This variation is a bit more challenging due to ball instability and the fact that your ab muscle activates throughout whereas in a regular plank you need to remember to tighten up your stomach.

It’s also not as easy to hold as the ball is conostantly moving a little but it’s enough to create a lot of tension in your entire body so your core has to work very hard to keep form. In a regular plank that strenuous moment may come after a minute or so, depending on how good you are at the exercise. This plank variation gives you an instant challenge.

You can also try to do your side planks this way as well as putting your elbows on the ball.

Variation is good as well as perfecting each exercise. If you’re just starting, be sure to learn the proper form for a plank. It might seem like nothing but even a plank can be done wrong. Your butt should not sag or stick out. Your whole body should be in one line like a plank.

 

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Mona Liz

Editor/Writer
Mona Liz is a fitness and healthy lifestyle enthusiast with a passion for writing, music, cats, and food.

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