How to Safely Perform a Plank

Charlotte Hellhoff: Hi, this is Charlotte and Michelle from Performance Private Training in Colombia, Maryland. Today, we are going to talk about core training. Your core muscles consists of your abdominals, your lower back, and your glutes. What Michelle is going to show you today is how to perform a plank. The first thing we are going to talk about is how to perform a plank safely. So Michele here is laying on the mat. She is going to come up in a modified plank position on her knees. It is important that she is keeping her abs tight because that also flattens out her lower back. If she arches her lower back, it is much easier to get her that way. So that again flatten your abs. Your elbows are positioned right below your shoulders. Very good Michele, how does that feel? Michele: Feels good. Charlotte: Feels good? Alright, now you are going to push yourself up on your toes. This is a plank, this is a regular plank. Again, keep your abs tight, so that you don't hurt your lower back. If she pushes up like this, like a lot of people do before they are used to performing a plank the right way. She is no longer using her core muscles the way I want her to. So take yourself down and hold. Make sure you are keeping those abs tight.

If you feel like your lower back feels a little weak at a time, you can bend your knees slightly, making sure you are keeping those abdominals tight. What happens if you don't keep your abs tight? Michele can you show that? Your back is arching, it is easy to get injured. So bring yourself back up again, very good. You can hold this plank for, if you are a beginner, maybe for 20 seconds, add it up 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 to a minute and do these planks for three sets. You will see definitely an increase in your core strength. Now you can release. Thank you. I am going to talk in our next segment about how to perform this plank in one-legged position which will make it more challenging. Stay fit.