Skip to content
Mt Airy Exercise

An Ode to Planks

How many plank exercises can you name in 30 seconds?

Star, Front, Forearm, Side, Tripod, Plank Reaches, Plank Jacks, Single-Leg, Elevated.

That was my list! What’s yours? Set a timer on your phone, and let us know. Or maybe I just gave you nine plank exercises that now you can’t get out of your head…(Plus two already had plank in the name!)

Planks are great, because they are universal. They can be done anytime and anyplace.

Planks can also be done by anyone. Young, old, seasoned gym goers, newcomers, and everyone in between – everyone seems to know innately how to plank. (Also note how easily I just turned plank into a verb – another cool plank trick!)

Can you remember when you were specifically taught how to do a traditional front plank?

I don’t recall our middle school softball coach saying, “Okay y’all, we’re going to do this crazy exercise that works our core, glutes, quads, and shoulders all at the same time. I’m going to need you to put your hands under your shoulders and straighten you legs and keep your knees off the ground and hips low.”

She just told us to hold a plank, and we knew what to do!

Planks are also great, because they are scalable. They can be made more challenging or less challenging.

Is a two-arm high plank too easy? Switch to a tripod plank! Too hard – come down to your forearms.

*Disclaimer: The tricky part about planks is that you can put considerable stress on your wrists and shoulders, if you are recovering from an injury in one of those areas. No problem – maybe try a V-Sit hold to stick with an isometric movement. There are so many core exercises to be done that don’t involve being on your hands!

Finally, planks are great, because they provide instant feedback to the exerciser. Maybe you’ve tried to see how long you can hold a plank, or for a week you decided to increase how long you held a plank daily by 30 seconds.

In both scenarios, you can tell immediately if you’ve reached your goal of holding a plank for three minutes, for example. It gives you, the exerciser, something tangible to work towards, as well as to celebrate!

We love planks for all these reasons – and more!

Want to plank with us? Give us a call at 215-248-2130, or send us an email at urbanathletephiladelphia@gmail.com ! 

 

 

 

 

 

Powered by WishList Member - Membership Software