The Plank Pose is the bomb for strengthening your abdominal muscles and also the muscles of the back, hips, and pelvic floor. You won’t get six-pack abs doing this exercise alone, but you will gain core stability (trunk and spine) and great posture!
How to do it.
Tighten your abdominal muscles to help you hold the position correctly, and hold it as long as you can. When you begin to feel your lower back start to sag from fatigue, take a break, then get back into the proper position and hold the move once again.
How to do it better!
Exercise progression is key to getting stronger. Make the plank a DYNAMIC move: when you can hold this pose for 30-60 seconds begin to implement movement modifications to target a variety of strength, balance, stability and coordination initiatives. The Power Plank demo video is a GFO40 classic. Watch it here and incorporate some new moves to your core training. Make it a challenge!
Core Activation
When it comes down to good physical conditioning the bottom line is “how quickly does your body respond”. Training for muscle activation is a huge component of physical fitness. We want our bodies to react strongly, quickly and efficiently in our daily activities. A conditioning sequence for the plank pose should include “quick activation” drills:
Activation Plank
Perform a series of Activation Plank repetitions by lying flat on the floor in position to engage the posture. Begin by tensing and engaging all muscles of the body and quickly lift into plank position. Hold the posture for a few seconds and then return to relaxed posture, lying flat on the floor. Immediately repeat this process 6-8 times for one set of Activation Planks. Work up to 3 sets.
I Just Wanna Zip my Jeans!
Do you want to get rid of the middle age belly bloat? Do you want to have flat abs of steel? Do you want to simply zip up your friggin jeans? You can, but it takes a consistent overall effort; diet and exercise. The whole process has to start with some really “not sexy” core strengthening. Overall, full body, integrated strength will enable you to perform the more vigorous training necessary to burn fat efficiently. You need endurance and stamina to hang in there for the long haul. The plank is one of those basic exercises that you might take for granted, a training staple that will support your long-term goals.
Did you do the Power Plank series?
Grab a foam roller and then let me know how many rounds you finished!
xokp
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Great read!!! Thanks
I Have A Question…Are You Saying To Do The Plank Activation Before The Power Plank Work Out, Like Immediately Before?
Ok, Two Questions…When I Do Mountain Climbers, I Feel Like I’m Suffocating. Am I Doing Them Wrong, Or Is This Normal For Some
People?
Thanks For All Your Help. so Glad When You Add The Videos Because Sometimes When You Put Up The Boards With No Video, I Don’t Know How To Do All The Exercise
Good Morning Julie! I would use the plank activation drill separately from the Power plank…especially in the beginning when you are working towards becoming aware of all the muscles involved in activating the movement with intentionality. Later, when your body adapts to the signals it might be a benefit to do an activation set before any plank series, just to prepare.
Breathing and mountain climbers: I suppose there could be a physiological explanation, check your form and posture, reduce the number of reps, stop to consciously breathe at regular intervals and just relax….maybe there is anxiety involved….lol there are a lot of reps on those boards. Grow into them, don’t stress…..you will naturally begin to adapt and grow stronger, endure more! Great job.
Videos 🙂 I am excited to say that I will be able to share more of them, now that the website is up and technical growth of gfo40 is stable ..I love to do those for you more than anything! Thanks so much!