Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Walk the plank with me!!

My first training tidbit is going to be about one of my favorite exercises; the all-powerful plank!

The plank is a core focused, stationary position that engages nearly every muscle from beneath your sternum to above your knees! There are so many variations that have been adapted from this simple yet powerful move, and I am going to share some of my favorites with you today and compile them into an ab-defining, 5 minute workout that you can do once or repeat as many times as you can or wish to for your personal fitness goals! I generally do it a total of 3 times at the conclusion of my workout! 

You will notice that I threw in a few different ab exercises that break up the plank exercises so your arms do not get too fatigued holding up your body weight. Each individual exercise is to be done for 30 seconds with no rest between each exercise. At the conclusion of the final exercise, take 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest before starting the second round. As you get stronger, feel free to increase the time from 30 seconds per exercise to 45 seconds or even a minute for you ambitious fitness freaks!! :)

**Core Circuit**
1. Traditional plank (push up position)
2. Elbow plank rock (rock forward/back on your toes)
3. Double cross crunch (lie flat on your back, crunch up and touch right hand to left toe, switch in a scissor action and reach left hand to the right toe, then return to the lying down position)
4. Right side plank (elbow or hand - for added challenge, add a leg raise or a twist with the hand not on the ground reaching down and underneath your body)
5. Left side plank (same as right!)
6. Plank with leg raises (traditional or elbow plank - keep body flat and lift legs quickly one at a time)
7. Plank with arm raises (traditional or elbow - keep body flat and lift arms quickly one at a time)
8. Windshield wipers (lying flat on back, raise legs at 90 degrees with feet together. Slowly drop your legs over to the right, back to the ceiling, over to the left, back to the ceiling. Slow and steady, keeping your back flat on the ground)
9. Plank in and outs (traditional plank position - jump feet in to a tuck position and jump back out to plank. Speed is key, but so is form. Don't let your butt lift up!)
10. Plank jacks (traditional plank position - keeping the form intact, jump feet out and in like a jumping Jack. For added challenge {my favorite} add a push-up as your legs are out!)

REST AND REPEAT!


Any questions on form, feel free to comment!

Plank it out, my friends! :)
Court

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