Sculpt Your Core With The Plank Challenge

Back in January 2015, Daniel Malik, a sports scientist from Austria, put up a post on his Facebook page inviting his friends to take part in a “30-day plank challenge.” The idea went viral, and the final number of participants stood at over half a million. They planked alone at home or together with others in the office or in the gym. The surprising success of this challenge served only to reinforce yet further the plank’s status as a favorite among fitness fanatics.

The benefits of planking

A plank is a bodyweight exercise which stabilizes and strengthens the whole body, and which can be performed anywhere and at any time. By holding yourself up on your forearms, your tone not only your abs, arm, and leg muscles, but also your hip and glute muscles, and in particular the muscles in your lower torso and back. Regular planking is a great way to prevent back problems and makes you less prone to sports injuries because of the stabilizing effect on the entire body, in particular, the torso. Your posture will also improve noticeably.

Work your core correctly: how to plank properly

Form is particularly important when you’re planking. Here’s how you should be doing it. Get into a push-up position, and place your forearms on the floor at shoulder width (elbows in line with your shoulders). Stretch out your legs and balance on your toes. Don’t let your body sag — make sure that it is as strong and straight as a plank. Keep the glutes and abs contracted, and your head in a neutral spine position. Look downwards. Keep your body stable in this position; don’t sink into your back, don’t lift your butt, and don’t raise your head. Hold the position for several seconds.

Motivating and fun: the 30-day plank challenge

The 30-day plank challenge is the perfect introduction to planking for anyone who’d like to try out this trend. Over the course of 30 days, you’ll build up from planking for 20 seconds to holding a plank for four and a half minutes — or even more! Here’s what you should do:

The pluses of the plank challenge

The plank challenge is not a magic fitness bullet, and is not enough on its own to give you a fit and shredded body. But that’s not the point. Instead, the idea is to tackle a small challenge every day. To push beyond your limits on a daily basis, and to get better gradually, step by step. When I tried it out for myself, I found that holding the plank position was incredibly taxing — particularly at the start, when my body was still getting used to it, and towards the end, when I was holding the position for minutes at a time. Yet I also had a blast achieving these daily challenges. Experiencing wins of this kind is good for the soul, and I got to do it for 30 days in a row. It doesn’t get more motivating than that! And it made the short-lived ordeal more than worth it.

Variations for advanced plankers

If you’ve got to the stage that the standard plank is no longer enough of a challenge, you can ratchet up the intensity by trying these variations.

High plank:

The high plank follows the same principle as the low plank. You simply support yourself on your hands in a push-up position rather than lowering yourself to your forearms.

Side plank:

Zero in on your obliques by lying down on your left-hand side, supporting yourself with your left forearm. Rest your right arm on your hip. Contract your abs, legs, and glutes, lift your hips, and position your body in a straight line. Hold, and then swap sides.

Plank rotations:

A dynamic variation on the side plank. Instead of placing your free arm on your hip, start by stretching it straight upwards while planking. In a flowing movement, rotate your upper body towards the floor and “thread the needle” by reaching your top hand through the gap between your body and the floor. Rotate back to the side plank position, and stretch your arm upwards again.

I’ve developed something of an addiction to fitness challenges. Are you a fellow addict? Here are two other 30-day challenges which will force you to dig deeper on a daily basis. Have fun!

The 30-day squat challenge

Squats are particularly good for the legs and glutes.

The 30-day burpee challenge

Burpees (squat, jump back, push-up, jump forward, jump up, repeat) work the entire body.

About Nicole Benke

Nicole Benke (37) is a food journalist who loves good food and whipping up tasty meals from seasonal produce. She doesn’t rate crash diets at all. She believes that clean eating should be fun rather than a chore and that nothing should be off-limits. Banning foods leads to the forbidden fruit effect. And is a guaranteed mood killer.

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