by Molly Rausch L1 Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Athletic Trainer
Hello everyone! This week’s “Fitness Tip of the Week” is about proper plank form! Upright plank, side plank, forearm plank, plank shoulder taps, etc, etc. There are so many plank variations and they are all so great for strengthening your core! Planks are hard and they should always be hard, especially if you keep doing them the right way. It’s a whole body workout that will leave every muscle shaking until that timer goes off.
Why is everyone always planking? First, it’s a great full body exercise. You use your arms to hold you up. Your serratus anterior muscles are used push your shoulders forward and keep your mid back from sinking down. Your whole core is holding your trunk off the ground and keeping your back straight. Your glutes help keep those hips where they belong. Your quads keep your legs straight. Your tibialis anterior keeps those feet flexed.
Second, it strengthens your core the right way. What do I mean by that? Your core is meant to stabilize your body, so you need to do a stabilizing strength move. An exercise like crunches contract one muscle group to flex your trunk forward. We work all day to avoid that position, because we want to protect our backs so why strengthen that way? Planks don’t just strengthen one muscle making up your core. You hit them all and it puts on in a better postural position.
Tips on Plank Form
- Start by getting on your hands and knees in the quadruped position.
- Place your hand directly below your shoulders so your hands, elbows, and shoulders are all stacked on top of each other.
- Maintain a straight line from your head, your back, and your hips.
- Straighten one leg out at a time.
- Now that you are holding the position, step it out a notch and really get the most of out of your plank:
- Tuck your chin down and in
- Push the floor away with your hand
- Squeeze your core tight drawing your ribs in so they don’t flare
- Tuck your pelvis in
- Squeeze your glutes
- Squeeze your quads to keep your legs straight
- Push your toes forward to maintain proper position
If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact me at mrausch@healthworksfitness.com or leave a comment below!
Molly’s Fitness Tip of the Week 