We had a phase a couple of years back with an internet-craze known as planking.
Now, whilst some of these people literally died in an attempt for about 3.5 seconds of internet fame, the fads didn’t stop there with owling, batmanning, and even milking coming along shortly after.
We haven’t had a new one of these in a while, but instead we’re now inundated with 10-15 second videos, a myriad of regurgitated (and mostly hilarious) memes, and the proof that our society as a whole, really is getting more and more attention-lacking as the days go by.
Though, let’s bring it back to the topic of planking and discuss very briefly how a proper plank can do you more wonders than just “better abs”.
USUALLY…
Typically, planks are done to work the “core”. But, let me ask you: Do you think that’s happening in this pic?
Or even this?
Of course other areas of their body, like the shoulders, would definitely be getting a nice isometric workout, though the area they’re most likely trying to target wouldn’t be seeing too much activation. Well, enough to truly get some proper “core” results anyway.
THE RETURN OF THE TT
The tail tuck (TT) that I aptly named myself many moons ago that you can read about here, discussed what muscles make up the core.
In short, it consists not just of the abdominals, but more the entire structure of the body, with the muscles such as the lats and glutes playing a huge role along with even the spiderweb-like fascia that is riddled throughout our entire body.
Yep, all that blue is fascia. And all of it, is happily connected together running from the base of your skull,
right down to your feet. One big chain of “core”.
The “core” can be a hard one to pinpoint exactly where it is, but when we’re performing a plank, we can help make it simple to understand as we can work on the entire body switching on, and in turn, work the core, too.
THERE’S MORE…
What’s also great about the TT is the fact that when we switch on like this, we’re actually switching on our anterior core (which is what everyone is trying to target with these) and our glutes in unison. This provide us with a proper scenario for a helluva lot more results.
This kind of position, along with making our entire body hard like concrete, is a hard one to hold for too long, and it makes the 1 minute or more ridiculous results of 6 minute planks a shake-your-head situation.
But, that’s enough discussing for now, watch the vid below to learn how to get in a proper position for the plank.
Not only can this method for planking provide you with more benefits than just awkwardly (and uncomfortably) hanging out on your shoulders and neck, it can also help free up any pesky and annoying tight hip flexors that you might suffer, as the anterior core will be properly switched on now, and this will allow the frigid-flexors to finally relax and not take all the load.
Give this a go. Try the plank with a true TT for three or four sets of 5-15 second bursts and tell me that you don’t feel that so much more. Hell, superset the planks with some glute bridges for 15-25 repetitions and you will really feel the lazy, inactive glutes rise up from the ashes.
Let me know what you think below.