Fitter Food’s Matt Whitmore offers expert advice about training, nutrition and fat loss.
Improve your midsection and reduce back pain with this daily combo of plank exercises.
The good old plank is a great way to work the core muscles and support the lower back muscles. It’s best to mix up the variations of plank exercises and gradually increase the sets and duration.
Here is a really simple drill for you to try:
Complete 3 sets of the following planks back to back, rest 1 minute and then repeat for 3 sets with the view of progressing to 5 sets of 60 secs on each.
- Side plank right 30 secs
- Side plank left 30 secs
- Full plank 30 secs
Side Plank Technique
Keep the elbow on the floor in line with the shoulder and keep the body nice and tall without letting the upper shoulder round forward, push the hips up nice and high, squeeze the glutes as hard as possible and brace the midsection.
Plank Technique
Keep the elbows in line with the shoulders, retract the shoulder blades and engage the lats, tilt your pelvis forward, brace the abs as if you were anticipating a kick to the stomach and squeeze the glutes for dear life. Ensure your body remains flatish so your bum is not sticking in the air or the hips sagging low.
A regression for both variations is to perform them with the upper body elevated on a step box or sofa or with your knees on the floor.
