Get to know the plank exercise and its benefits

Who doesn’t want defined, sporty abs? There’s no exercise as strong and effective as plank. It works all your abs, butt muscles, shoulders, back, arms, and legs. All your body muscles work together in this tough exercise.

The plank exercise is one of the best for burning belly fat and boosting your body strength. It strengthens your abs, hips, spine, and shoulders. It helps reduce fat, prevent back pain, and improve your body balance and flexibility.

The plank works your whole body. It targets upper body muscles, your core, and lower body muscles.

• Main muscles:

Even though you balance your body on your arms and toes, your rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis muscles get used.

1. The rectus abdominis is the top layer of stomach muscles. It’s also called the ‘six-pack.’

2. The transverse abdominis is the deep layer of stomach muscles called the corset muscle. It tightens your waist and stabilizes your back muscles.

3. The internal and external obliques and back muscles are activated.

• Upper body:

1. Upper body muscles like the trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, chest muscles, deltoids, biceps, and triceps.

• Lower body:

1. Quadriceps (front of thighs) and glutes (buttocks), connected to your abs and lower back, helping stabilize and strengthen your hips.

2. Hamstrings play a role too, since you work against gravity to keep your body stable. Because your position in plank faces down, hamstrings help extend your hips, keeping a straight line from your core to your legs.

The plank activates all these muscles, so it gives you many benefits at once.

• Benefits of the plank exercise:

1. It reduces belly fat by mainly working on core abdominal muscles. Just a few minutes of plank every day alone helps get rid of belly fat and shapes your body nicely.

2. It tightens and improves body posture because all your muscles tense up to do the exercise.

3. It reduces back pain by strengthening abdominal muscles, which supports your body weight while walking and helps prevent back pain.

4. It boosts energy levels by increasing blood flow through working the deep tissues.

5. It increases muscle strength because the plank targets big muscle groups like the front and side abs, core, legs, back, and some helper muscles like shoulders, chest, and back. So it strengthens all those muscles.

6. It improves body flexibility since doing plank daily helps stretch the muscle groups mentioned before.

7. It improves metabolism because this position helps build abdominal muscles and promotes muscle growth in other body parts. As muscle mass increases, you'll burn a lot of calories just by doing plank every day.

• How to do the plank exercise:

• This type is like push-ups, but the only difference is that instead of resting your body weight on your hands, you place it on your elbows.

1. Lie down on the floor and bend your elbows so your forearms are on the ground under your shoulders with your body in a straight line (like a push-up).

2. Push your body up and keep your chin pulled towards your neck.

3. Keep your abs tight and look between your hands to make sure your spine is straight.

4. Hold this position for 10 seconds.

5. Move your body down then do this 3 times and take a break.

• Tips to get the most out of the plank exercise:

1. Make sure to tighten your abs and keep your back completely straight.

2. Make sure your head and neck are in a straight line with your back so you look at the ground.

3. Don’t forget to breathe because lack of oxygen can cause dizziness or nausea.

• Don’t do the Plank exercise in these cases:

1. If you have a shoulder injury.

2. If you feel pain in your shoulders after the exercise.

3. If you are pregnant.