In Home Personal Training, Blog – 3rd Exercise
Robert Foster again,
After speaking on the Push-up – another body weight exercise, we are now going to cover the 3rd and final exercise of this series you can do in the comfort of your own home. All of my Franchisees agree that this final exercise is the finishing touch for getting that complete full body workout.
The Plank
is mostly used as a core exercise using primarily the rectus abdominal, the transverse abdominal and lastly the erector spinae. The secondary muscles being worked are the shoulders, chest and legs.
Start by placing your forearms and elbows on the ground in front of you – parallel with the body. The body should be parallel with ground completely tight and straight, flexing your core muscles tight down towards your knees. Keep the lower back up but not too high. You should be up on your toes.
The variations for this exercise are as follows;
-Reps/Duration, depending on your strength level try a duration time for 30 secs to 1 minute. Seeing how this is a hold movement, obviously repetitions will not be suitable for this exercise. Once fatigue sets in to your muscles and your form starts to sacrifice, you will want to try the low impact version.
-Tempo, none needed as discussed, because this is a hold movement.
-Plyometrics, for those who are advanced, try to jump your legs wide and narrow again.
-Surface/Plane, For a challenge, try raising 1 foot up in the air (obviously switch legs to even out the workload). To perform this exercise a little easier, let your knees drop to the ground. Keep 1 imaginary line from your knees to the back of your head.
More series of exercises will follow. New videos/pictures too.
May 16th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Great exercises Rob. It’s Tereza here – the Trainers On Site franchisee
for North York. When I was overweight and out of shape I started doing these exercises combined with our Truestar meal planning software and
supplements which led me to drop 40lbs!!! The way I see it, is if I can do it, anyone can. Here is a before and after photo, can you believe that was actually me? I used to eat everything I wanted without even thinking about the consequences. The next thing I knew, I weighed 172 lbs. The Truestar Plan really does work. Not only has it changed the way I look and feel, but it changed my perception of myself as a person. I have more energy and drive, and I feel like I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.