Variations of Plank Workout

The fitness-friendly readers of Anika’s blog will agree that plank is one of the most effective and useful exercise in many aspects that helps many areas with minimal load: abdominal, lower back, shoulders, arms, buttocks, back and legs. Today we’ll introduce several variations of plank workout, which can help to work with different areas in women and men.

Standard plank: lean on the hands; have out-stretched legs at shoulder width and lean on the floor with toes. The arms should be shoulder-width as well. Squeeze abdomen as if breathing in; rise on the toes and straighten your back. Try maintaining the position for at least 60 seconds.

Plank lifting position – on toes and a straight back again. Rise up from the position of standing on all four, lean on the arms stretched at shoulder width, squeeze abdomen and hold your body straight. 60 seconds are minimum here as well.

Famous fitness instructor Tracy Anderson performed a super effective plank. Stretch out one hand and the opposite leg aside, lean only on the other hand and leg. In this case, we train the upper part of the back, abdomen, sides, chest and buttocks at the same time.

In the lateral plank, we stretch the lower abdominal muscles and try to hold the position for at least 60 seconds. Then return to the original plank, and do the same on the other side. Recommendation is to repeat it 3 times.

Jillian Michaels, the Americans’ favorite fitness instructor, offers a variation of the plank that ideally trains the abdomen and sides of the body. It is recommended to repeat the exercise on both sides 10 times.

Dolphin Plank is ideal for training your back, abdomen and shoulders.

Combination of the plank and lifting exercise – hands are positioned on the floor wider than shoulders, the back and legs are straight. Move to the side position with the help of the body weight and lean on the left hand, while the right one is spread aside.