How to Do a Plank
Choose a position where you can lay your whole body out flat. Using an exercise mat will give you enough padding to be comfortable on all fours. You can choose whether to perform a plank on your palms or your forearms, as shown in the video.
- Begin in the plank position, face down with your forearms and toes on the floor. Your elbows are directly under your shoulders and your forearms are facing forward. Your head is relaxed and you should be looking at the floor.
- Engage your abdominal muscles, drawing your navel toward your spine. Keep your torso straight and rigid and your body in a straight line from your ears to your toes with no sagging or bending. This is the neutral spine position. Ensure your shoulders are down, not creeping up toward your ears. Your heels should be over the balls of your feet.
- Hold this position for 10 seconds. Release to floor.
- Over time work up to 30, 45, or 60 seconds.
Benefits of The Plank
It is important to strengthen your core as part of any workout regimen. A strong and solid core not only looks and feels good, but it also helps to stabilize, balance, and power the body during just about every other activity.
Having strong core muscles is important for being able to do coordinated and powerful movements. It can also help reduce the amount of stress on your joints and improve your posture.
The plank can also help to build core muscle strength and stability. It is more of a strength-building exercise than a cardio exercise, but by engaging a range of muscles it can also help to boost your calorie burn.
Common Mistakes
To avoid injuring yourself while exercising, or putting too much strain on your body, avoid making these common mistakes.
- Arching your back: If you arch your back, you are not engaging your abdominals sufficiently and you are putting more of the weight onto your arms. Check to be sure you are keeping your shoulders down and wide.
- Sagging your hips: Your hips will start sinking once your abs have reached their fatigue limit. That's a sign it's time to end your plank. If it seems your hips are sagging from the beginning, try separating your feet a bit wider and focus on engaging your abs.
- Tilting your head up: Your neck should be in line with your body, not tilted up, which could strain the neck. Keep your gaze down at the floor.
Safety and Precautions
If you have a shoulder injury, you should not do planks. If you feel shoulder pain, end the exercise. In pregnancy, planks are considered safe for most people, though there may be a concern for placing stress on the abdominal wall.4 It may be best to modify the plank and do a side plank or incline plank. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to see if this is an appropriate exercise.
What Are The Benefits Of A 30-Day Plank Challenge For Beginners?
If you are not sure if you should commit yourself to the 30-day plank challenge for women beginners and men, here are some benefits of this exercise that might change your mind and make you hop on the bandwagon:
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Abs
While having a six-pack may not be everyone's goal, it is certainly something that many people strive for. Even if you do not end up with a six-pack at the end of your 30 day challenge, you will have built and strengthened your core muscles, and will be well on your way to this goal. These exercises are great for developing abs because they work all the muscles in your core, including the rectus abdominis (the “six-pack muscles” that are visible), transverse abdominis (your deepest abs muscles), internal and external obliques (the muscles on the sides), hips, and back muscle, all of which are part of your core.
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It Is A Full-Body Workout
This workout exercises more than just your core. It also works your biceps, shoulders, and arms, making them more toned and developed. If you hold the correct posture, you can also work and build the muscles in your neck, glutes, and thighs. This makes the 30-day plank challenge a full body workout for beginners.
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Strengthens Your Spine And Back Muscles
Some popular workouts like squats, pushups, glute bridges, lunges, and pull-ups can cause back injuries if done incorrectly. Exercises that target the muscles in your back and hips can help strengthen the support base for these activities.
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Boosts Your Metabolism
The 30-day plank challenge for beginners helps you burn calories during the workout by challenging your body and muscles. But the benefits don't stop there. Planking also engages and helps build muscle, which boosts your Basal Metabolic Rate so you continue burning calories even at rest.
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Helps Improve Your Posture
This workout strengthens your back, chest, shoulders, neck, and abs, making it easier to keep good posture.
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Improves Your Balance
### This challenge will help improve your posture and work your core muscles. A strong core and good posture help your body to carry its own weight and stay in balance.
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Can Have A Positive Impact On Your Mental Health
Though the benefits of regular exercise are vast, a 2018 study found that it also does wonders for mental health. The research showed that those who exercised regularly had 43.2% fewer days of poor mental health in the month prior to the study than those who didn't exercise.
How Long Should I Plank?
The answer varies from one person to another.
One spine specialist believes that you should only hold a plank for 10-second intervals because holding the position for too long could lead to back and spinal injuries. However, some people believe that you should try holding the position for 30 seconds to a minute, and others say that the maximum show of fitness is being able to hold the position for no more than two minutes in one go.
Most experts advise that during a 30-day plank challenge, women beginners should hold each plank position for 20 to 30 seconds, while men should try for 30 seconds. If this feels too tiring, you can reduce it to 10 seconds per interval and gradually increase your time to challenge yourself more.
What Is The Easiest Plank For Beginners?
When we think about starting this challenge, many of us will automatically try the basic variation either on our elbows or stretched arms with the legs straightened out behind us. If you have tried either of these versions and find yourself struggling, try the version below that is considered easier:
Kneeling Plank
- Begin in a prone position supporting yourself on bent knees and palms with extended arms and soft elbows (don’t lock the elbows).
- Slightly shift your weight forward and ensure that your body is in a straight line from your ears to your knees.
- Remember to breath and keep your core engaged by pulling your navel to your spine.
- Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.
It is said that this variation is not only good for beginners, but also for people who may have some back problems, as it puts less stress on your lower back.
How To Do A Plank Properly?
If you have already mastered the kneeling variation or you feel that it is a little too easy for you, then you can switch to the standard plank, also known as the push-up or high plank. Here is how to do it:
- Start down on all fours, making sure that your hands are fully extended and slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
- Extend at the kegs and come up to your toes as though you are about to do a push-up. Ground your toes into the ground and squeeze your glutes for better stability.
- Engage your core and ensure that your body is in a straight line from your neck to your heels. Do not sag at the midsection, lift your butt into an arch, or look straight down at the floor – try looking at a spot about a foot from where your hands are.
- Keep breathing and hold this basic position for about 20 to 30 seconds.
Other Plank Variations To Add To Your 30-Day Plank Challenge For Beginners
Low Plank
This is also known as the elbow plank. To do this, get in the same position as the high or standard variation, but balance yourself on your elbows and forearms instead of your outstretched hands.
Side Plank
- Begin by lying on your right side, with the legs extended and stacked from hip to feet.
- Place your right elbow directly under your shoulder and ensure your head is directly in line with your spine. Keep your left arm aligned along the left side of your body.
- Engage your abdominal muscles, drawing your navel toward your spine and keep breathing.
- On an exhale, slowly and steadily lift your hips and knees from the mat. Stop once your torso is straight in line with no sagging or bending.
- Hold this position for 10, 20, or 30 seconds – or as long as you can before returning to the start position on the mat.
- Change sides and do the same on the other side.
If you want to make this exercise more challenging, you can lift the arm that is not holding you up to the ceiling.
Elbow Planks With Knee Tap
- Begin in a low plank position with your hands directly below your shoulders, your core engaged and your body in a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Slowly lower and tap your left knee to the ground without moving your hips. Lift your left knee back up, returning to the starting position.
- Repeat the same movement with the right leg. This one rep.
- Do this for 10 reps or set an alarm and do as many as you can in 20 to 30 seconds.
Planks With Shoulder Taps
- Begin in the standard position – with arms shoulder-width apart and outstretched beneath you, core engaged, and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Keeping your hips square and in position, working hard not to let them sway side to side, lift your right hand to tap your left shoulder. Bring it down and then lift your left hand to tap your right shoulder.
- Make sure that you are well balanced so you do not fall over while lifting one hand.
Knee To Elbow Plank
- Begin in the top of a push-up position with hands directly beneath your shoulders.
- Tighten your core and bring the right knee to the outside of the right elbow. Pause here for a moment before straightening the leg back behind you.
- Switch to the left knee and repeat the movement. Do this for 20 to 30 seconds. You can push it for a minute if you feel able.
Plank Hip Dips
- Begin in a low/elbow plank position. Slowly rotate the spine to lower your left hip to just above the floor – about 1 or two inches above the floor. Hold this position for a minute and then rotate back to the starting position.
- Rotate your spine again and now lower your right hip. Get back to the starting position and repeat the whole process all over again.
- Do this for 20 to 30 seconds.
Plank Up Downs
- Begin in a standard high plank/push-up position. Lower your right elbow to the mat and then your left, coming into an elbow plank.
- Put your right hand on the mat, and straighten your right elbow. Do the same on the left to return to a full plank.
- Continue doing this for up to 30 seconds – or more depending on how winded you are.
The Bottom Line
The 30-day plank challenge for beginners can help you strengthen your core, but is not enough to help you lose weight or get abs. You must also improve your diet and add more exercises to your routine. Do some cardio and include more body weight or weighted workouts in your everyday workout plans.
