Benefits of Plank Exercises: How Plank Exercises Help You Get Stronger
What is a plank exercise?
Plank exercises are bodyweight exercises aimed at strengthening your core muscles.
A core is a foundation for the body’s movement and non-movements too. Let me explain.
Think about the basic movements of the body. Like walking or jogging or bending to pick up something from the ground.
In all of these movements, you’re engaging your core muscles in different ways.
Even when you’re not moving and just standing, your core muscles are recruited to give your spine stability and good posture.
In this article, we will some of these benefits in detail.
What are the benefits of plank exercises
Plank exercises offer so many benefits. These benefits help us to achieve basic activities like putting on a shoe to complex activities like jiu-jitsu.
Here are some of the benefits:
1. Improves balance and stability
Plank exercises strengthen our core by recruiting the major core muscle groups.
These muscle groups include transverse abdominus, the rectus abdominus, the external oblique muscle, and the glutes.
In this sense, it works multiple muscles just like full-body workouts.
A stronger core helps to create a good balance and stabilize your body.
It helps when you’re trying to stand at a narrow spot, riding a bike, or walking on bumpy terrain, a stronger core goes a long way.
A stronger core minimizes the risk of falling.
2. Improves good posture
Slouching is often the result of weak core muscles. By doing plank exercises, you develop a stronger core.
A stronger core supports your spine and provides a healthy posture.
Having a stronger core improves your posture and boost your confidence. It helps to avoid wear and tear on the spine and core muscles.
3. Prevents back pain and injury
One reason for back pain after a workout is that we overstimulate or strain certain back muscles.
This is because those muscles are not strong enough to support the intensity of exercise.
Because plank exercises help to develop the glutes and other back muscles, you’re less likely to vulnerable and injure yourself.
Plank exercise builds the muscles at your back so you can not only avoid back injury but also recover faster after a workout.
4. Boosts your fitness and performance
Can you think of a sport or game or exercise routine that you can do safely and effectively without the support of your back and core? I’ll wait.
The point is, to perform at our very best in athletic sports we need a stronger back and core muscle.
Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate or a pro, plank exercises are critical.
In most sports, the base power is generated by the core. And without having a strong core, you’ll be more prone to injuries and poor performance.
Stronger core not only boost your performance but also helps to avoid many sports injuries.
Do you have to do plank exercises every day?
While maintaining a strong core is vital, there are some misconceptions among the fitness industry about how to strengthen your core.
Like any other muscles of your body, core muscles work the same way.
It is a common myth that you need core training each day to develop a stronger core and abdominal muscles.
You should do core training with a gap day in-between; this way, you’ll offer enough recovery time to your muscles.