# The plank



## mic8310 (Sep 30, 2013)

Anyone do it?! Someone at work mentioned it earlier. It looks easy but after almost a minute I couldn't keep it up :lol:


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## johnnya (Mar 28, 2013)

good for core strength but i would rather just do crunches and leg raises at end of my workout tbh


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## latblaster (Oct 26, 2013)

I do a form of it with the TRX....it's great!!

Fvking hard to go above 50 secs though.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

side planks are awesome probably one of the best core exercises , add in cable crunches and hanging leg/knee raises and you`ll boost squat and deadlift


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## latblaster (Oct 26, 2013)

I've seen a guy down the gym do Side Planks, then raise his arm holding a Kettlebell also.

The guy is not me. :lol:


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## DiscSupps (Oct 26, 2012)

mic8310 said:


> Anyone do it?! Someone at work mentioned it earlier. It looks easy but after almost a minute I couldn't keep it up :lol:


Great core exercise... 1 minute is a good time straight from the off. You can build up to longer and also trying it with just one leg on the ground or one arm to make it more challenging. Scott


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## Boshlop (Apr 1, 2012)

side planks are amazing done properly, not a fan of the flat plank though


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## DanishM (Dec 15, 2013)

Idk if I just have a weak core, or if it's my bad back messing up, but I get some bad pain by planking in the lower back. So it's not for me...


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## mrssalvatore (Apr 13, 2013)

DanishM said:


> Idk if I just have a weak core, or if it's my bad back messing up, but I get some bad pain by planking in the lower back. So it's not for me...


Stretch your arms further out when doing them if I do it to hunched it hurts my back as well ( already got a bad back )


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## Ken Hutchinson (May 29, 2009)

I just suck my gut in for a count of 20 when i am on the bog, think i might just give the plank a go as you dont seem to have to move much


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## DanishM (Dec 15, 2013)

mrssalvatore said:


> Stretch your arms further out when doing them if I do it to hunched it hurts my back as well ( already got a bad back )


I'll give that a go next time. Thanks!


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## mrssalvatore (Apr 13, 2013)

DanishM said:


> I'll give that a go next time. Thanks!


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

ewen said:


> side planks are awesome probably one of the best core exercises , add in cable crunches and hanging leg/knee raises and you`ll boost squat and deadlift


We've got a Roman chair at the gym, same effect as hanging raises?


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Smitch said:


> We've got a Roman chair at the gym, same effect as hanging raises?


yeah pretty much , they good for traps aswell , just make sure its slow controlled then hold at top and lower not just throw legs up lol


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

ewen said:


> yeah pretty much , they good for traps aswell , just make sure its slow controlled then hold at top and lower not just throw legs up lol


Never done any core stuff, might have a go.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Smitch said:


> Never done any core stuff, might have a go.


do those but knee raise style at first to get stronger at them rather than go into straight leg raises .

cable crunches

side planks atleast 1 min each side

ab wheel roll outs but keep an arch in back on these , lats/delts/triceps will get hit aswell

3 sets of 10 (1 min each side on planks)

this is what i`ll be doing when my injury allows me to train/rehab , you really cant have a strong enough core it will help every other lift you do .


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## Wheyman (Sep 6, 2011)

yes great for core!


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

ewen said:


> do those but knee raise style at first to get stronger at them rather than go into straight leg raises .
> 
> cable crunches
> 
> ...


CHeers for that mate.

I always just assumed that squats and deads was all i needed, i see a lot of the MMA guys down the gym doing those roll outs using an Oly bar with bumper plates and they look pretty tough.


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## A-BOMB (May 4, 2012)

been doing weighted planks for a while and its a killer just got to the 2min mark with 10kg on my back. going to try 15kg next time and see what happens. has helped quite alot with my squat!


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Smitch said:


> CHeers for that mate.
> 
> I always just assumed that squats and deads was all i needed, i see a lot of the MMA guys down the gym doing those roll outs using an Oly bar with bumper plates and they look pretty tough.


yeah those are like doing ab wheel roll outs , squats and deads alone will build a strong core but no harm in doing extra core work


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## latblaster (Oct 26, 2013)

Thanks for suggesting these exercises Ewen...I'll try them when I go to the gym next on Thurs.

I've been doing these as it removes stress from my lower back. Been getting some Sciatic type sensations when I do crunches.

Since doing these I've not had any real issues.


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## tns (Dec 24, 2013)

mic8310 said:


> Anyone do it?! Someone at work mentioned it earlier. It looks easy but after almost a minute I couldn't keep it up :lol:


mate a full minute on plank is hardcore..... i get my abs killing me in about 30seconds


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

Smitch said:


> CHeers for that mate.
> 
> I always just assumed that squats and deads was all i needed, i see a lot of the MMA guys down the gym doing those roll outs using an Oly bar with bumper plates and they look pretty tough.


I do a little bit of core work every day, partly as assistance to my lifting and partly to rehab my dodgy back. You can never have a core that is too strong.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

latblaster said:


> Thanks for suggesting these exercises Ewen...I'll try them when I go to the gym next on Thurs.
> 
> I've been doing these as it removes stress from my lower back. Been getting some Sciatic type sensations when I do crunches.
> 
> Since doing these I've not had any real issues.


first time i slipped a disc i hit core hard and it paid off quickly i was back squatting and deadlifting within months .

@mrssalvatore knows a lot on core exercises due to her spinal issues , the `cat` stretch helps with my sciatica in general .


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## mrssalvatore (Apr 13, 2013)

ewen said:


> first time i slipped a disc i hit core hard and it paid off quickly i was back squatting and deadlifting within months .
> 
> @mrssalvatore knows a lot on core exercises due to her spinal issues , the `cat` stretch helps with my sciatica in general .


Told you it's the learning position lol


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## A-BOMB (May 4, 2012)

ewen said:


> first time i slipped a disc i hit core hard and it paid off quickly i was back squatting and deadlifting within months .
> 
> @mrssalvatore knows a lot on core exercises due to her spinal issues , the `cat` stretch helps with my sciatica in general .


can back this up too i did them after breaking my back before i started to gym again and helped alot with the pain.

also on a separate occasion i lost my footing log pressing and nearly snapped in two. that hurt! was back to it in two weeks after doing bw planks everyday.


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## staffs_lad (Mar 10, 2013)

I find it's a great exercise up to a point. Used to hit a 5 min plank after core workouts in my boxing days. Solid as you like but i saw no reason to keep that up when i wasn't planning on being hit in the gut regularly.

Still use them from time to time but after you hit a 3 min plank i personally see little to be gained when there are moments like roll outs, russian twists etc

Side planks however are brutal for the obliques!


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## Bear2012 (Jan 19, 2012)

lateral planks and planks are great for the core I also use "sit up to hip heist" which totally bashes your core if you look at the vid below at around 30.00mins you will see it performed

http://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=gsp+The+Fight+Conditioning+Workout&vid=08ff74e70d8f3c4e499178d97481cd1e&l=32%3A02&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608048626225842395%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDFy2j6ocqqA&tit=gsp+fight+conditioning+workout&c=0&sigr=11auiehul&sigt=10ujo9f5d&ct=p&age=0&fr=yfp-t-903&tt=b

That whole routine is good if you want a good cardio workout


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

ewen said:


> first time i slipped a disc i hit core hard and it paid off quickly i was back squatting and deadlifting within months .
> 
> @mrssalvatore knows a lot on core exercises due to her spinal issues , the `cat` stretch helps with my sciatica in general .


My back keeps playing up, pulling the same muscle, giving me sciatica etc. I will do core work every day from now on after reading these replies.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Cactus87 said:


> My back keeps playing up, pulling the same muscle, giving me sciatica etc. I will do core work every day from now on after reading these replies.


try a different core exercise after each session so its not chore , 3 sets of side planks day 1 , 3 sets of roll outs day 2 , 3 sets of leg/knee raises day 3 , 3 sets of hypers day 4 , small and consistent also add weight or reps and sets if needed .

i would treat it same as normal gym exercise so it gives the same progressive overload , start small and light and build over time :thumbup1:


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## kuju (Sep 15, 2010)

Love planks - if i'm focusing on core i'll superset ab roll outs with 1 minute planks, varying flat and side. Then do pull ups to L sits.

Then I usually have to sit down for a bit and have a word with myself not to try doing something so damn stupid again.....

Until the following week anyway. 

I prefer dynamic plank work to static though. I can hold a flat plank for two minutes but it seems pointless going much past that (could be very wrong though!). Plus dynamic stuff is more useful for climbing.

Great exercise though


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

kuju said:


> Love planks - if i'm focusing on core i'll superset ab roll outs with 1 minute planks, varying flat and side. Then do pull ups to L sits.
> 
> Then I usually have to sit down for a bit and have a word with myself not to try doing something so damn stupid again.....
> 
> ...


side plank times are good if your hitting 5 mins or atleast thats what i read on some yoga forum (not that ive ever done yoga:whistling


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## kuju (Sep 15, 2010)

ewen said:


> side plank times are good if your hitting 5 mins or atleast thats what i read on some yoga forum (not that ive ever done yoga:whistling


Hmm....yeah I think I may be a while away from that yet! There's a lad at my climbign wall that comfortably holds flags for 3-4 minutes and L sits for up to 2 mins - whilst hanging one handed of a hold and with a weight in the other hand.

Mind you he also does a bunch of other stuff normal people can't.......but still!


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

kuju said:


> Hmm....yeah I think I may be a while away from that yet! There's a lad at my climbign wall that comfortably holds flags for 3-4 minutes and L sits for up to 2 mins - whilst hanging one handed of a hold and with a weight in the other hand.
> 
> Mind you he also does a bunch of other stuff normal people can't.......but still!


dragon flags are good as are the pole style flags , not sure id try it with my weight :lol:


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## kuju (Sep 15, 2010)

ewen said:


> dragon flags are good as are the pole style flags , not sure id try it with my weight :lol:


Dragon flags are one of my goals.....

....way...way...WAY off in teh future! Might get there by the time i'm 60


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

ewen said:


> try a different core exercise after each session so its not chore , 3 sets of side planks day 1 , 3 sets of roll outs day 2 , 3 sets of leg/knee raises day 3 , 3 sets of hypers day 4 , small and consistent also add weight or reps and sets if needed .
> 
> i would treat it same as normal gym exercise so it gives the same progressive overload , start small and light and build over time :thumbup1:


Cheers mate. It's so frustrating tkaing it easy for a month so my back feels fine and then a month later it goes again. So frustrating.


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## a.notherguy (Nov 17, 2008)

dont know if its just becasue im a short ar5e with a strong core from mountain biking all my life but i find planks to be a boring, innefective exercises. ab roller is where its at for core.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Cactus87 said:


> Cheers mate. It's so frustrating tkaing it easy for a month so my back feels fine and then a month later it goes again. So frustrating.


i havent trained in 3 weeks and probably wont be able to train properly for a few more weeks so i know only to well how you feel .


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

ewen said:


> i havent trained in 3 weeks and probably wont be able to train properly for a few more weeks so i know only to well how you feel .


Sad times mate :sad: Stretched and foam rolled my back, quads and hammies last night, and then stretched and foam rolled and planked this morning and no pain or being twisted to the side. Although i`m sure sitting in this office all day will make me stiff and achey, not rubbing it in just impressed with how it really has helped. This will have to be an everyday occurrence from now on i think.


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## jonyhunter (Oct 25, 2013)

I don't really do any core training. I try to keep my waist as small as possible. Call it bro science but it works for me.


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

jonyhunter said:


> I don't really do any core training. I try to keep my waist as small as possible. Call it bro science but it works for me.


What do you do to keep it small?


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## jonyhunter (Oct 25, 2013)

Cactus87 said:


> What do you do to keep it small?


Nothing really. I'm genetically blessed in that respect (Not much else though  )

I do stick twists once a week if at all.


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

jonyhunter said:


> Nothing really. I'm genetically blessed in that respect (Not much else though  )
> 
> I do stick twists once a week if at all.


Damn you!


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## jonyhunter (Oct 25, 2013)

Cactus87 said:


> Damn you!


Haha! 28 inches when I diet, which isn't that small really but my shoulders are 37 around.  Get big shoulders and lats. Create the illusion.


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## Cactus87 (Mar 30, 2009)

jonyhunter said:


> Haha! 28 inches when I diet, which isn't that small really but my shoulders are 37 around.  Get big shoulders and lats. Create the illusion.


I`m a 32-34 waist... Need bigger lats...


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## jonyhunter (Oct 25, 2013)

Cactus87 said:


> I`m a 32-34 waist... Need bigger lats...


You can never have lats that are too big brother.


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