What is the Plank Exercise?
A plank is a simple and effective core exercise that helps build strength and stability focusing on the entire body. It can also help improve flexibility. The plank is conducted in different methods, but the main process of the plank exercise is to keep your body perpendicular to the ground, stomach facing towards the ground and moving your chest up mainly with elbows or with hands.
Getting into the plank position is simple, but holding it for a few seconds or minutes matters the most. It is one of the popular yoga poses and is taught in almost all classes.
Health Benefits of Plank Exercise:
1. Helps Improve Your Posture
Plank exercises are all about adjusting and aligning your body and making it look perpendicular towards the ground. This way your back, chest, shoulders, abs and neck are in one line and this helps to improve your posture and also make them strong and healthy.
2. Might Provide Flexibility
Plank exercise stretches your shoulders, collarbone, and other muscles which helps improve their flexibility and strengthens the core. Include a side plank in your daily routine which can help improve overall flexibility.
3. Helps Reduce Belly Fat
Losing belly fat or visceral fat is the hardest part of any weight loss regime. Many routines can work on your abs and every abs exercise does have plank exercise included. A plank can hold four abdominal muscle groups together and this also boosts your metabolism. The longer you stay in plank position, it helps improve the core, provides flexibility and provides a tighter tummy.
4. It Can Help Strengthen Your Core
Plank Exercises works on four muscle groups in the stomach together which helps in building the strength of the core. And for this reason, always consider plank exercise when you plan to work on your cores.
5. Can Help Reduce Joint and Especially Back Pain
As your abdominal muscles become stronger, the body becomes more dependent on stomach muscles and puts less pressure on the back muscles. Also, during plank posture, your spinal cord is in a straight position which helps make them stronger and resistant to joint pain.
6. It Can Help Improve Metabolism
One of the most important functions of plank exercise is to help boost metabolism. It looks simple but it is very difficult than trying sit-ups and crunches as it challenges your entire body. It helps burn more calories than sit-ups and crunches. Practising plank even 10 times a day, for just 1 minute, can boost your metabolism and keeps it high throughout the day.
