By stiffly holding your body in a plank position, you strengthen your core, which are the muscles that connect your lower and upper body. Plank exercises also help tone the abdomen, legs, arms, and hips, and improve posture and balance.
If you are new to using planks, it is important to start this exercise in short periods of time and take longer breaks afterward. The most important thing is to keep working every day to ensure the best result.
We prepared a series of exercises for a period of 21 days (3 weeks). Each week has a detailed explanation with a plan of exercises of the plank. Join us and improve your body and your health!
The action plan is simple: do a plank every week, increase your time, and alternate with other exercises. If it’s too difficult at first, be sure to get some rest and don’t overload your body. Remember that each day you do the exercises, step by step, you will progress.
Tighten Your Belly in 21 Days with the Plank Challenge
Plan for week 1: start with 20 seconds and work your way up to 60 seconds.
Plan for week 2: gradually increase the time from 60 to 90 seconds.
Plan for week 3: gradually increase the time from 90 to 120 seconds.
Week 1
Start your first few days with a forearm plank. Place your forearms on the yoga mat and align your elbows under your shoulders. Your arms should be parallel to your body, approximately shoulder level.
You can shake hands for convenience. Fix your neck and spine by looking at a point on the floor about one foot before your hands. Pay attention that your head is aligned with your back. Hold for 20 seconds.
As you get more comfortable with the forearm plank, it’s time to switch to a single-leg plank. By lifting one leg to the sky (as far as you feel comfortable), you will increase the load on your core. Switch legs. At the end of the first week, gradually increase your plank time by up to 30 seconds.
Important: Do not overload and rest when necessary, lowering your knees to the ground for a few seconds.
Week 2
Start your second week with a standard plank. Place your hands directly under your shoulders, place your toes on the floor, and squeeze your glutes to stabilize your body. Fixes the neck and spine.
Pay attention that your head is aligned with your back. Hold for 10 seconds. Then bend your right elbow and place it on the floor. Do the same with your left elbow. Then return to the starting position, unbending your arms one by one.
This week, gradually increase the default dash time from 60 seconds to 90 seconds.
Week 3
In the last week, alternate the forearm plank with the dolphin plank. This exercise is inspired by yoga; Completely strengthens and tones the core, abdomen, and shoulders. Start on a forearm plank and lift your hips toward the ceiling in a “V” shape and return to the forearm position. Repeat 15 times.
As for the forearm plank alone, start with 90 seconds and gradually increase the time to 120 seconds through day 21.
Have you ever done ironing exercises? What plank exercise is your favorite? Are you willing to try this 21-day challenge? Share your opinion with us in the comments!
