Planking for a Stronger Core

One of the most talked about topics these days is health and fitness. With obesity levels and cardiovascular disease on the rise, there is no wonder. As a result, more people are thinking about their health, and ways that they can get into shape. Exercise is one of these ways, but it is not a quick and easy path. In order to have a great looking, healthy body, you have to put in the time and effort. Another misconception is that doing crunches, sit-ups and the like will make belly fat disappear. This is just just plain incorrect. Unfortunately, there is no way to target an area to remove fat from when exercising. We just have to burn more calories than we take in and work hard to rid ourselves of flab. Once that job is complete, however, the Plank is one of the best exercises for building great looking abs.

The Plank is a very easy to do ab exercise that is low impact on your spine and very effective. It has incredible benefits. For one, it is one of the easiest exercises that you will ever do. There is no equipment required and you can do the Plank with minimal space. Furthermore, there is no negative effect on your spine like with crunches and sit-ups. To make this exercise even better, it works out your entire core, rather than just your abs. You end up exercising your core, shoulders, glutes and arms while Planking which helps to improve posture.

In order to do a plank, put yourself in a pushup position, but rest on your elbows rather than your hands. Keep your body straight, and move as little as possible. What you want to do is hold yourself in this position for 30-60 seconds. You can hold it for longer as you get better at it. Each week, increase the amount of time that you hold the position, as well as the number of reps that you do and you will be doing one of the simplest, most effective core exercises possible!