Benefits of plank exercise
Plank is considered to be one of the best body weight exercises that engages muscles from our whole body. The reason of popularity of plank is its simplicity and effectiveness.
As by investing a few minutes a day in practicing the plank, one can gain enormous results in a short period of time. In this article, we will look through the benefits of doing a plank.
Benefits of Plank – Strengthened Muscles
Planks help to improve the condition of our core as all the major muscles in stomach are involved in holding the plank posture. By enhancing the condition of our core, we will be able to perform better in different sport activities. For instance, strong core muscles enable us to jump higher. Moreover, additional core strength allows us to lift more weights.
Apart from muscles in core of our body, muscles in our shoulder, legs and in our chest also take part in holding a plank. Thus, it can be stated that, plank can be included to our workout routine as a full body workout exercise.
Benefits of Plank – Improved Flexibility
By doing planks on a regular basis, we enhance the flexibility of several muscle groups of our back – shoulder blades, shoulders, and also collarbone. Apart from that, by keeping the plank posture we will stretch muscles in our leg – hamstrings, arches, and toes.
Additional muscle groups can be stretched by mixing the several types of planks during the workout. For instance, side planks give us an opportunity to condition our side muscles – external oblique.
Benefits of Plank – Reduced Risk of Back Injuries
As stated above, plank strengthens and increases the flexibility of muscles in our body, especially our core. Strong and flexed core enables us to reduce the pressure that is put to our spine or to our hips. As a result, we feel less pain in our back during our daily workouts and the risk of getting injuries decreases. Hence, if you have a sedentary lifestyle that can have a negative impact on your spine, think about practicing plank.
Enhanced Balance and Coordination
Another benefit of the plank is that, regular training improves the ability to keep coordination and balance. For instance, if you are familiar with yoga poses such as “half-moon” and “warrior three”, you probably know that keeping the required posture and catch the balance is not easy for beginners. Because, you need to be standing on one leg in both of the poses.
If you struggle in keeping the balance on one leg, you should develop your core muscles. Consistent plank training may help you to strengthen the required muscles, and improve your balance. The ability of keeping the balance comes handy on variety of sport activities.
Benefits of Plank – Better Mood
As we have stated in one of articles, regular exercises help to overcome stress. Thus, frequent practice of plank can help to deal with anxiety and enhance our mood.
When we keep a plank posture, we are able the relieve the tension in our body by stretching different muscle groups mentioned above. After good stretching, muscles can relax and rest, hence improve our mood.
Benefits of Plank – Better Posture
The plank exercise strengthens muscles in our core, shoulders and chest. Strong core and shoulders enable us to maintain a good posture. Good posture gives us a healthy look, and may increase our confidence. Moreover, it is essential to keep good, appropriate posture to prevent back injuries.
Enhanced Metabolism
As the whole body and all muscles engage in a plank exercise, daily practice of the pose results in burning good deal of calories. As a result of full body engagement and high rate of energy expenditure we may boost metabolism. Good rate of metabolism in turn, allows you lose body weight. Thus, if you facing one or more signs of slow metabolism, you should include few minutes of plank practice in your daily routine.
There are several forms of plank that may help you to address different muscles in your body such as front, side and reverse planks.
You can take a look at the following video to learn about proper technique of doing plank:
