It is day twenty-four of our Plank A Day Challenge or Plank Every Day For A Month Challenge. For some it is easier to make adjustments at the beginning of the week. Is today an adjustment day for you? Are you adding time onto your plank?
Posts Tagged ‘planking’
Sunday Planking
Posted by terrepruitt on March 24, 2013
Posted in Planking | Tagged: day twenty-four, plank, plank a day challenge, Plank Every Day For A Month Challenge, planking | 4 Comments »
It’s A Bird, It’s A Plank
Posted by terrepruitt on March 23, 2013
What? You try to come up with thirty-one days of titles for the basically the same thing. Not easy. And please, even if you lie to me, can you say at least one so far has made you smile?
Here it is day twenty-three. Plank A Day For A Month Challenge. How’s it going?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: it's a bird, plank, Plank A Day For A Month Challenge, plank challenge, planking | 4 Comments »
Day Twenty-Two Of Planking
Posted by terrepruitt on March 22, 2013
Ahhh, Friday, yes? Here we are at our twenty second day of planking. I bet that you are better at it than on the first Friday, March 1st. Whether you are doing it for a longer time or whether you have better form, I bet you are better. Even if you missed a day or two, you are better today than you were twenty-two days ago.
Do you feel better at it than when you first started?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: better form, better plank, day twenty-two, planking | 4 Comments »
Double Planking
Posted by terrepruitt on March 20, 2013
So have you found yourself doing more than one plank a day yet? This is day twenty of our Plank A Day For A Month Challenge and I was just wondering if you think about it during the day after you’ve done the plank for the challenge or not and decide to do another one. Why not, right? It is only 15+ seconds out of your day?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: day twenty, plank, Plank A Day For A Month Challenge, plank challenge, planking | 3 Comments »
Plank Muscles
Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2013
While you are doing your plank you might notice some of the muscles involved in doing the plank. As I am sure you know, there are many variations to the plank. Many movement practices/exercise disciplines do planks. There is a plank in yoga, in Pilates, in weight training . . . you probably have seen it all over. That alone tells you that it is an exercise/pose worth doing right? We even do planks in Nia. If there is a version in so many different disciplines it could be that is because does a body good. The plank we are doing in our Plank A Day Challenge is the plank on our forearms as opposed to the plank where your arms are straight (the position of the “top” of a push-up). There are a lot of muscles used in this plank.
The muscles being used in a plank are the abdominal muscles, the back muscles, the muscles in the arms, the shoulders, leg muscles, and butt muscles. So pretty much muscles in every muscle group. You can understand why it is such a great exercise. It is a full body workout. So, while it might not utilize every muscles it calls upon a lot of them. If you are participating in the challenge you might even notice that the endurance in the muscles is improving.
I often think of the plank as a great exercise to work on your core. You might have heard “core” and “core muscles” before. You might even wonder what they are. And just like so many things there are so many answers. I think of the core as a muscle group. I think of the core muscles as the group that allows your body to remain stable and/or upright. So sometimes that could include your quads if you are standing or doing a plank.
Having a strong and stable core helps us accomplish everyday things. From sitting, to walking, to doing things with our arm as in pushing, pulling, carrying, etc. A strong trunk helps us when we need to work with are arms. Especially with our arms extended. If we are do something with our arms out, say opening a window, grabbing a grocery bag and bringing it towards you, or pushing something in to a vehicle for transport, you rely a lot on your torso. So when it is strong and stable it can support you while you do these task.
On top of the strong core having arms that are able to open windows, grab and hold groceries, pull them towards you or push things help with every day life too. Be able to do all of these everyday things might be one reason the plank is in so many exercise disciplines. It is a great functional exercise. It is understood that it can assist with muscle strength and endurance. And it is one of the exercises that gets a lot of muscles all at once!
Are you participating in our challenge? Are you feeling your muscles? You have probably felt the muscles used in a plank, right?
Posted in Core Muscles, Muscles, Planking | Tagged: abdominal exercise, core muscle group, Core Muscles, core workout, exercise, functional exercise, Nia, Nia exercises, Pilates, plank, plank a day challenge, plank challenge, plank muscles, planking, shoulder exercise, stable core, weight training, workout, Yoga | Leave a Comment »
Tuesday, Day Nineteen Of The Plank A Day For A Month Challenge
Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2013
So here it is day nineteen. Where are you? You can add time any day, it doesn’t have to be Sunday? Have you decided to add some time? Have you tried the stopwatch duration?
As I mentioned on my Sunday comment, planking before planking (as in doing another workout be it yoga or Nia) is a bit easier so I am shooting for a big jump this week. Again, I have my goal duration, but I am letting my stopwatch go to see how far I can comfortable get!
How are you doing? Do you have a goal duration you want to be at when the month is up?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Nia, Plank A Day For A Month Challenge, planking, stopwatch, Yoga | 5 Comments »
Monday, Planka, Planka
Posted by terrepruitt on March 18, 2013
Here we are on our Plank A Day For A Month Challenge post. So really, it is not easy coming up with titles for a challenge for thirty one days. I could just keep it at “Day XXXXX Of Plank A Day For A Month Challenge” but I get bored with that. So . . . I make titles up, as you can tell.
Here is your Monday Plank Post to check in on. How are you feeling today about your planks?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Plank A Day For A Month Challenge, planking, planks | 3 Comments »
Plankety, Plank, Plank
Posted by terrepruitt on March 15, 2013
FIFTEENTH DAY OF PLANKING! Wahoo! Getting better? Added time? Where you at?
Here is where we talked about the month of planking every day: A Few Seconds CAN Make A Difference
Posted in Planking | Tagged: A Few Seconds CAN Make A Difference, month of planking, planking | 3 Comments »
You Planker, You
Posted by terrepruitt on March 14, 2013
Hey, it is Thursday, March 14, 2013! It is our fourteenth day of planking! So glad you are still here doing our plank challenge.
I’m going to get my plank in before I teach Nia tonight!
Tell me how it is going for you?
Posted in Planking | Tagged: Nia, Nia at night, plank challenge, planking | 3 Comments »
Review The Plank Form
Posted by terrepruitt on March 12, 2013
Let’s do a little form check on our planks. We are doing our month of daily planks (and beyond?) on our elbows/forearms. Let’s review how we are doing them.
–Rest on elbows and forearms
–Upper arm bones come straight down, so elbows should be directly under the shoulders
–Elbows are shoulder width apart, elbows are directly under the shoulders
–Shoulder blades are pulled down (putting them in your back pockets)
–Face is facing down, eyes looking at the earth (assisting with proper head alignment)
–Head is in line with shoulders, hips, knees, and feet
–The entire spine is straight
–Hips are not bowing up or sagging down (part of the “alignment” is that they are doing neither)
–Muscles are squeezing and active; abdominals, glutes, qudriceps
–Rest on the toes, heels off the ground
–Feet are in open stance, which is hip JOINT width apart*
*As with many exercises there are variations and modifications, but for this plank challenge we are keeping our feet in open stance. (For an “open stance” reminder, click here) With the feet in open stance it encourages the hips to stay in alignment. Also in open stance your bones are in alignment with your joints.
Try doing the plank with your feet apart (like in “A” stance) and you might notice how much “easier” it is for the hips to start to sag down.
If you are still learning and really want to focus on form, doing the plank on your knees is always another option. If you are doing the plank on your knees the stance is the same. The knees are straight out from your hip joints just as if you were standing in open stance. Your feet are also in “open stance”.
Be very conscious of your arm bones. You want to make certain they are perpendicular to the floor. Don’t allow your toes to push you forward. Check to see that your shoulders are directly over your elbows. An idea that might help with this is to press back with your heels. Your heels are in the air but imagine the bottoms of your heels are reaching out to press against something. This also helps with activating your thigh muscles, while on your toes. If you are doing the modified plank on your knees you can still press with your heels you just would not be using your thigh muscles to help.
As with all exercise remember to breathe. How you breathe is up to you, if panting helps you, then pant, if slow inhales and fast exhales help you, then do that. Breathe however it is best for you, but don’t hold your breath. Your muscles need oxygen so give it to them.
Remember to keep your form every time and through out the duration of your plank. If your form starts to “suffer” then stop. No use doing a minute of “planking” if your bum is high in the air or your hips are on the ground. Let’s make sure we are doing quality over quantity. So every time you plank, review your form!
Do you have any questions? Is this clear for you?
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Planking | Tagged: A Stance, abdominal muscles, glutes, hip joints, month of planks, open stance, plank, plank challenge, plank modifications, plank variations, planking, Quadriceps, thigh muscles | Leave a Comment »
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