Planks for Core Strength

Planks have to be one of my favourite exercises for building core strength; in the following blog I will explain why!

When most of us think of core strength the first thing that comes to mind are “abs” or a “6-pack”, but in fact core strength encompasses our back, our abdominals, and our glutes.  Together, these muscles work to keep us strong and stable.  Having good core strength will improve performance in just about any exercise or activity.  I addition, core strength is vital to the strength of your spine.  Unfortunately, it often gets over-looked, and most core training involves only doing sit-ups/crunches.  Esthetically crunches may help you with that 6-pack look, but there are better ways for improving your core and still help you with the abs you’ve always wanted.

So why don’t I like crunches?  First of all crunches involve spinal flexion, and ultimately over time too much flexion is going to result in disc problems (and trust me, that is not going to be fun!!).  Secondly, they reinforce poor posture, and finally they strain your neck. 

Instead, I say do planks!  Planks work more muscles than your standard crunch; you are working legs, glutes, abdominals, core, shoulders, and your chest.  On the other hand, when you are crunching you are merely using your abdominals, specifically rectus abdominus.  To develop sufficient core strength, for performance and for spinal protection, it is important to develop both your abdominal and your back muscles.  When planking not only do you sufficiently engage your core muscles, but you are doing it without compressing or bending the spine.  Other exercises that build core strength without spinal compression include bridges, planks, side planks, bird dogs, and leg extensions.

A few tips for when doing planks:

      -Keep the core and glutes engaged 

      -Hips down but not sagging

      -Straight back

      -To increase the intensity you can take away a base of support: E.g. lift up an arm or a leg, or flutter       

       the feet

So there are my thoughts and tips about core strength, and why I personally choose planks over crunches any day J

Cheers,

Lindsay