PT Health Life – Plank is a familiar movement in movement chains that helps strengthen core muscles and overall strength. However, how many minutes of plank practice per day is enough?
1. Benefits of practicing plank
Plank is a movement that uses muscles to keep the body balanced in a fixed position, thereby increasing the strength of core muscles. Core muscles play an important role in maintaining stability, balance, strength, helping the body become more flexible and firm.
Practicing planks can help you :
– Improves physique : Plank helps strengthen the back, chest, shoulders, neck and abdominal muscles at the same time, the back shoulders and back are also maintained in a balanced position. At the same time, you will be able to reduce the likelihood of hunching when standing or sitting because of increased core strength.
- Back pain relief : Plank helps relieve back pain and even prevent back pain. In addition, practicing plank will strengthen the abdominal muscles to support the body when standing, helping you avoid standing in the wrong position, leading to back pain.
- Reduce belly fat : Plank affects the abdominal muscles, so practicing plank every day helps effectively eliminate belly fat and helps the body maintain a balanced, healthy figure.
- Boost metabolism: Plank strengthens muscles and speeds up metabolism through burning calories . Therefore, practicing plank every day can help you lose weight and have “flat” abs.
2. Steps to practice plank position
Practicing plank is simple, but you need to perform the following movements correctly :
– Step 1: Lie face down on the carpet or floor.
- Step 2: Lift your body up with your elbows and feet (stand on your toes, soles of your feet facing the ceiling)./span>
- Step 3: Keep your body straight, chin close to your neck, eyes facing forward.
- Step 4: Maintain the position for 10 seconds (for beginners).
- Step 5: Perform the movement 3 times, each time resting about 5-10 seconds.
Note, you need to maintain an upright posture by keeping your body from head to toes in a straight line. Some mistakes when doing planks are that the back is bent and the buttocks are higher than the head, leading to incorrect posture and easy injuries such as back pain and loss of strength.
Beginners should practice planking in front of a mirror or with a supervisor so they can adjust the movement to the best position.
3. How many minutes of plank practice per day is enough?
Just like other sports movements, there is no standard for how many minutes you should practice plank effectively because it depends on your body’s strength, tolerance, and practice time. Therefore, the most effective way to practice plank is to divide it into sets. The time of each round depends on each person’s body endurance. It’s not that the longer you maintain the plank position, the better it will be. Planking for a long time can cause your posture to become distorted, overstretch your muscles and lead to injury.
- For beginners ,try to maintain a minimum practice time of 10 seconds per set. You can practice 3-6 rounds, each set is 10 seconds and rest between sets is 5-10 seconds. This way, your body still gets the same workout effect as if you maintained a 60-second plank at a time.
- For advanced practitioners , the maximum time for each set is 60 seconds, minimum 3 sets or more, rest time for each set is 5-10 seconds. Maintaining a plank for 60 seconds helps the body exercise at a moderate level, avoid injuries and receive optimal results from the plank. You can also increase the challenge for yourself by adding extension movements to the plank such as lifting 1 leg and holding for 1-2 seconds, then switching to the other leg .
Avoid practicing plank when shoulder injury, severe shoulder pain after exercise, pregnant women. ..
Plank is a useful exercise position that helps strengthen the overall strength of the body, especially the core muscles. Therefore, take time to practice plank every day to maintain strength and flexibility. body activity. However, remember that practicing correctly is more important than practicing too much. Maintaining a plank position for a short time can bring you more optimal benefits than planking for a long time but in the wrong position.