The plank, a classic ab workout, dates back to the 1920s, when Joseph Pilates introduced his students to the leg pull forward. However, it wasn't until the early 2000s that the plank gained traction as a go-to core-strengthening exercise. Major national fitness groups, such as the American Council on Exercise, were praising the plank as a valid ab-strengthening substitute for crunches and sit-ups by 2014. With the popularity of the exercise came corresponding challenges, such as the 30-day plank challenge.
His challenge's main goal is to perform a plank (with proper form) every day for 30 days, with the goal of being able to hold a plank for two minutes by day 12 and five minutes by day 30. It's a good approach to track a single exercise's strength and stamina increases over the course of a month. And it appears to be achievable, right? Over the course of a month, you just have to put in a maximum of five minutes of labor per day. But what can you expect to achieve if you decide to take part in this type of challenge? The results vary from person to person, but here's what you should expect if you start practicing planks on a daily basis.
13 Things That Will Happen When You Do Planks Every Day
You'll benefit from reduced lower back pain when you plank every day
If you don't practice planks correctly, even seemingly basic exercises like them might cause agony. The good news is that if you execute a plank correctly, you can not only avoid injury, but you may also have less lower back pain.
The plank is an effective exercise for managing back pain, according to the American Council on Exercise, since it contracts all of the major core muscle groups without needing much movement, strengthening the deep abdominal muscles to help stabilize the spine. So, how can you tell if you're performing a plank properly? Examine your application.
Form a straight line from your heels to your head as best you can. Your elbows should be squarely behind your shoulders, and your upper back and shoulders should be engaged to avoid your chest from sinking between your arms or your shoulders from compressing toward your ears. You should also activate your quads and glutes by tucking your pelvis down and "pulling" your belly button into your spine to keep your low back from sagging to the floor. Then, without compromising good form, hold the position for as long as you can.
Planking every day will lead to deep ab muscle strength
Most people associate ab exercises with strengthening the "six-pack" muscles, also known as the rectus abdominis. The internal and external obliques (the muscles that wrap around your abdomen and help with trunk flexion, compression, and rotation) and the deep transverse abdominis (the muscles that wrap around your abdomen and help with trunk flexion, compression, and rotation) are among the abdominal muscles that make up the "show me" muscles (TVA).
The plank, unlike some other ab workouts, needs activation of all four sets of muscles, but it is especially effective at targeting the TVA. This deep muscle is particularly significant, according to Strong Muscle, since it functions as a "corset" to flatten the abdominal wall, support the internal organs, and stabilize the lumbar spine, especially when executing arm and leg motions.
Bracing — clenching your abdominal muscles without moving, as if you were waiting to be punched in the stomach — or hollowing — constricting your abdomen while trying to "drag" your belly button toward your spine — are two ways to activate the TVA. Planks, interestingly, combine both bracing and hollowing to efficiently train this crucial, yet often-overlooked muscle group.
You'll see total core strength improvement when you plank every day
Planks work to exercise all of your core muscles. While many people conceive of the "core" as being the abdominal muscles, it is far more complex, spanning everything from the hips to the shoulders. The rectus abdominis, internal obliques, external obliques, and transverse abdominis are the four basic abdominal muscular groups, as well as the upper back, lower back, chest, shoulders, quads, glutes, and calves.
To keep your body in place and preserve good form, all of these muscles must contract and operate together. As a result, you'll have more core strength, which will benefit you in your daily life as well as in other athletic efforts. This becomes even more apparent when you go beyond the standard forearm plank and integrate other plank variations to change things up and target your core from other angles.
You'll enjoy enhanced isometric strength when you do planks every day
It's important to remember that the basic plank exercise is an isometric, or static, exercise. Unlike many other classic isotonic workouts, such as pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and even crunches, the plank and other isometric exercises entail muscle contraction without movement. All of the associated muscle groups contract and hold at a certain joint angle or body position.
Isometric workouts can help you increase strength, but they're less effective at helping you create muscle because your muscles aren't moving and experiencing the muscle damage associated with isotonic activities, according to personal trainer and writer Amy Marturana Winderl in a Self article. According to exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, they can assist increase muscular endurance, or the ability to perform a specific movement for a longer period, by teaching your brain to engage more muscle fibers for a particular isometric activity. Planks will also help you develop strength and stability in the shoulders, hips, glutes, arms, and quads, among other muscles and joints.
Doing planks every day could improve your overall athletic performance
The important thing to know about the muscular system is that it is all connected. The kinetic chain is a term used to describe this process. Even isolation exercises, such as biceps curls and triceps kickbacks, necessitate the recruitment and stabilization of core muscles to isolate the targeted muscle group. However, one of the core's key responsibilities is to assist the upper and lower bodies in coordinating their operations.
Consider this: Walking, which needs synchronized arm and leg movements that are related through the core muscles, is fairly complex when all of the muscles involved are taken into account. When you do planks regularly, your body learns how to efficiently use core muscles for stabilization and energy transmission between the upper and lower bodies, and your athletic performance may improve as a result.
Your shoulder stability will improve when you do planks every day
The shoulder joint is quite remarkable. It's the body's most versatile joint, capable of rotation, flexion, extension, as well as abduction and adduction in two planes of motion. As a result, you'll have a huge range of motion that will allow you to do all kinds of things that will make your life easier. Of course, all that flexibility and variety of motion has a drawback. The shoulder is also the body's least stable joint. As a result, it's more vulnerable to damage and dislocation.
Planks are an efficient approach to assist increase shoulder stability and strength daily. According to Stack, the isometric hold of the plank engages and increases the strength around the shoulder blade and rotator cuff, which helps keep these smaller muscles stable when completing other exercises. This improves the activation of shoulder muscles during exercise, lowering the chance of injury – especially if you play sports that entail swinging or throwing, or if you lift big weights.
Planking every day will improve your posture
If your mother still tells you to stand up straight or bring your shoulders back, it's time to include planks in your daily routine. This is especially true if you work a desk job and spend your days sitting in front of a computer, continually rounding your back, shoulders, and neck.
Because, as you can see, proper plank form is essentially ideal posture. Although planks are done horizontally, the concept is the same: you're clenching your core, engaging your lumbar spine and glutes to keep your low back from caving, and drawing your shoulder blades down and in toward your spine to keep your neck from collapsing between your arms. If someone drew a straight line from your ears to your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles, it should be perfectly straight.
When you plank every day, you'll have better balance
According to Harvard Health, a strong core can enhance balance and help reduce falls. Your lower body joints and muscles are more capable of making quick repairs to sudden changes in body position when your core muscles are efficient and powerful.
To put it another way, if someone bumps into you from behind while you're walking down the street, a strong core will be able to contract and engage efficiently, preventing your spine from flexing or rotating awkwardly while also allowing your leg muscles to respond in a way that allows you to regain your balance.
Plank exercises can help you engage your core quickly and efficiently, which is important for balance. To improve balance and coordination, Strong Muscle recommends performing a plank reach — a version in which you elevate opposite hands and feet off the ground while maintaining a firm core. If you're not quite ready for this variant yet, start with a conventional plank and then elevate one limb for a second or two at a time. Even minor trials might help to improve balance and stability.
You may have the ability to lift heavier weights when you plank every day
In two ways, planks can assist you in lifting bigger weights. First, because planks assist strengthen the "corset" muscle, the transverse abdominis, as well as the spine's stabilizers, exercises that need core engagement and a stable spine, like heavy squats or dumbbells shoulder presses, may become easier as your core strength develops. Second, the plank is a posture that can aid in the development of baseline strength in the shoulders, hips, glutes, and core in preparation for other common exercises.
Consider the plank a "foundational move," one that will help you build strength from the ground up. Pushups, renegade rows, mountain climbers, and kettlebell swings are all plank-adjacent routines that essentially incorporate plank form into more dynamic exercises after your plank feels strong and steady.
Planking every day will boost your metabolism (a little bit)
The plank isn't at the top of the list when it comes to metabolism-boosting exercises. If you truly want to get your internal flames burning those extra calories, you should focus on dynamic workouts like burpees, jump rope, squat presses, or mountain climbers. A daily plank challenge, on the other hand, will not harm your metabolism and can even offer you a boost if you focus on utilizing all of your major muscle groups while executing the plank.
Planking every day will improve your running time
Running is an excellent example of an activity that requires a strong core and effective power transfer between the upper and lower parts. To achieve an efficient arm swing when running, your shoulders must engage, and the arms swing must be coordinated with your leg swing, which starts from the hips. What's the link between the shoulders and the hips? All of your core muscles.
Planks help you build the strength in your trunk that allows you to run with a stiffer trunk, which helps your legs move. When your core is braced, your spine is solid, and you're able to recruit the proper muscles at the right time, you're in good shape. As a result, it's almost certain that your running will improve.
You don't have to spend a lot of time planning to achieve these outcomes.
Most people can maintain a resilient torso by maintaining a plank for one minute at a time. However, if you have a history of back pain, hold for 10-second increments to lower your risk of back pain triggers.
Doing planks every day may just boost your self-esteem
If you're looking for a way to beat the blues or feel better about yourself, don't overlook the power of strength training. While most people connect strength training with a full-fledged weight room routine (which it certainly is), it's important to realize that daily plank practice is also a form of strength training. While it won't give you the same results as a more hard workout, it's perfect for when you're low on energy or motivation — and it might be all you need (and all you're capable of) for a mental health boost.
Your stomach might feel flatter after doing planks every day, but that's not a guarantee
Many people begin to incorporate ab workouts such as planks into their regular routines to help chisel a more slender, flat tummy. However, ab exercises and planks may not be enough to achieve the shrunken midsection you desire. That isn't to imply you won't notice some outcomes. According to one 30-day plank competitor, her stomach was flatter at the end of the 30 days than it was at the beginning.
This could be related to improved posture or increased core muscular engagement, but planks are unlikely to raise metabolism enough to result in considerable weight reduction after 30 days.
If you want to lose weight and flatten your stomach, you'll need to take a multi-pronged approach, including changing your diet and adding full-body strength and cardio to enhance your metabolism. If you're doing all of these things, what's the point? Planks can surely aid in the development of abdominal muscle tone.
Related article: Best Plank Variation You Should Try During Your Workout
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