Own YOUR PLANK with this Band Assisted Plank Workout
The thing about a plank workout is there are literally 100’s of variations you can add in. With this plank workout, I will bring in a few options that hopefully will get your creative juices flowing.
Why Develop a Strong Plank??
Your ability to isometrically activate quickly and develop a strong core (specifically the abdominal muscles) will neurologically allow the body to recruit more primary muscle fibers. Better muscle recruitment leads to enhanced strength, power, muscle definition and muscle size.
Traditional training says that you have to lift heavy weights and large rep volumes to build muscle that leads to increased strength, power and definition. However, as the body ages and individuals reach their 30’s or more, tendons and joints can no longer tolerate frequent training using heavy weights and large rep volumes. As a result, they may move away from exercising completely.
What needs to be understood is that heavy weight and high rep volumes also create a higher need for isometric core stabilization. Knowing this, it is also possible to develop better muscle recruitment and with that, many of the same benefits of heavy weight training by developing a strong, highly activate core stabilization mechanism which starts with “owning your plank”.
The stronger our abs are at stabilizing, the more efficiently all our muscles will recruit.
Obviously the key to owning your isometric plank is having enough strength to overcome gravity. With band assisted plank training you can decrease the influence of gravity and make it easier for the core to do its job and not be overloaded which leads to muscles being inhibited or substitution of the wrong muscles occurring.
For the most part, owning your plank will be determined by how strong your abs are at holding up against gravity. However, if they are able to do their job, the glutes and scapular muscles will be more than willing to provide additional assistance since they take their neurological feedback from the abs.
However, it all starts with the abs so a majority of the mental focus should be on them and control of the low back.
Remember, the role of the abs is to make sure your center of gravity remains stable regardless where your base of support ends up. Therefore, once you are able to own your plank in an isometric, perfect aligned posture, the next step is to see if you can own your plank while on the move.
Plank Workout using Bands as an Assist
Your 8 Plank Workout Exercises
- Prone Plank
- Side Plank
- Mt Climber
- Hand Walking
- T-Rotation
- See Saw
- Renegade
- Inchworm
Plank Workout Design
30 Seconds On – 15 Second Transition x 8 Exercises
Repeat for 4 total rounds
What is Your Favorite Plank Workout Variation?
Feel free to tell me your favorite plank workout variations by commenting below. Also, learn more about the Core Chaos 28-Day Program if you are looking for core strength and 6-pack abs.
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