Planking seemed to have taken the world by storm at one point and many may think that planking was just a fad and an opportunity to take a crazy picture like the one above. But planking correctly is actually a very good work out as it works the entire core including the upper and lower body muscles. There are a couple of ways to “plank” some may say that the best way is to lay face down (preferably on a flat surface, not a tiger!), hands by your side pointing towards your feet and have your legs straightened with feet pointing away from your head. From here you should contract your abdominal muscles whilst also tensing your legs and upper core – this will cause most of your body weight to shift to your midsection and start to feel the burn of the workout.
The traditional, and what I believe to be the correct way of doing this simple exercise is by initially laying down on your stomach, lifting your body off the floor with your forearms and toes (similar to a push-up position but instead using your elbows). From here you want to keep your body straight, isolating the muscles in your abdomen and working hard to contract the core muscle group without arching your back. Beginners should aim to do this for 10 seconds maybe in between other abdominal workouts. It may look easy but try doing this for 10 minutes! and for some added difficulty try lifting one foot or arm in the air and alternating to get a real good core workout!
Hello, thank you for the info and inspiration.