The plank is one of the most common core and ab exercises performed every day in ab workouts. The problem is, there are a lot of mistruths about the exercise that simply are not to be believed. In this video, I break down the truth about planks so you can separate the fact from the fiction when it comes to what this exercise is actually good for.
We start with the claim that this is a great core stability exercise. While the plank certainly is an exercise that requires you have stability from the multiple muscles of the core (not just the abs) it is only challenging that stability in one plane – the sagittal plane. I would argue that what is much more important is that you have the ability to prevent and control motion in the rotational plane than front to back. Therefore, there are better options for core exercises that you can do to promote this rotational stability while at the same time getting on your feet. It is well accepted that training on your feet has much more athletic carryover and is something that should be a goal during your ab workouts.
Next, some will say that the plank is great for developing and strengthening the glutes. This is simply not the case, on multiple levels actually. Firstly, there is no progressive overload (or significant load of any kind for that matter) on the glutes during the plank. In fact, directly the opposite is true. If you were to relax your body at the top of a plank you would find that your body comes crashing down to the floor. This is due to a deactivation of the hip flexors, not the hip extensors or glutes. Actually, if you were to contract your glutes while laying on the floor, your hips would be driven even further into the floor rather than lifting them back up to the top.
What really happens is that your hip flexors contract through the contact points of your toes on the floor to lift your body up into the plank position. This is an antagonistic muscle action to glute activation and something that actually sets you up for more problems down the road as I’ll discuss in a minute. Some will say that you can squeeze your glutes hard at the top of the movement and really feel it. Squeezing is contracting but contracting under load is a whole new challenge. The contraction that occurs at the top of a plank is not contraction under load.
When the hip flexors become overreliant or dominant over time from this imbalance, it tends to have implications on the lower back. We know that overly tight hip flexors in the presence of weak glutes will not be good for long term low back health. The exercise that you are doing that is supposed to be fortifying your lower back could actually be doing more harm than good when this is realized.
Finally, people will say that the plank exercise is great for posture. Somehow, performing this core exercise is going to promote good posture of your upper back and shoulders. You are told that you want to tighten up your torso and create stability through the scapula by squeezing them together. Once again, this is an artificial tightness that is nothing more than a contraction of the rhomboids and traps without the presence of significant load.
Now, you can address each of the flaws of the plank and perform them under a progressively overloadable resistance by flipping the plank over into a reverse plank. I demonstrate the importance of the movement and how it can be scaled from rank beginner (by performing it over the top of a bench) to more advanced (performed straight out on the floor) depending on your strength. If you were performing the plank because your core was weak however, be prepared to be shocked at how much weaker your posterior chain is than even that. We simply do not train this side of our body enough.
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30 comments
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5:55 is the alternative exercise to do everyday for a minute… but watch the entire video to know why. Awesome info to know. Thx
Hi Jeff, side plank is what?
Wow thank you so much for the laying on the back planks I’ve been doing them and really wow my back pain is subsiding thanks for the tip
A plank is only 20 secs a few times.
Coming from a near total beginner here. The only actual workout I've ever done was a basic calisthenic one from a women's health site, which included a 30 second plank, and a 15 second side plank on each side. I haven't done it in a while, but I'm planning to start again with the new year. Do you think I should add a reverse plank? Or replace the regular one? If add, how long should I make it? (I figure whatever you recommend I'll have to work up to it.)
Are you supporting yourself on your elbows?
i thought planks were for your abs
Sometimes it seems Jeff doesn’t like any exercise.
Jeff's next video: "why push ups, pulls ups and squats are bad for you"
Thanks Jeff, this made a lot of sense.
Mang shut the fuck you fucking clown. Ill do planks if I fucking want
I come only for the comments.
if there is a article saying you must squeeze your glutes to keep the correct form, it doesnt mean its a glute excersice, pls man can u even read the articles before giving an comment about it
Wow! Thank you Jeff. You have given me something to think about! I appreciate your candor.
Thank you for explaining it
The plank is good for the lower back on the long run because it revereses the anterior pelvic tilt.
okay. so. I'll do the plank first and then do the Reverse Plank and im all good then? ^^ just asking
This video is bad. If you're going to refute stuff please provide evidence beyond your own jacked body. Reference studies with multiple body types, show more alternatives as you go vs waiting until the for the algorithm. This feels like a bad clickbait video. I've seen just as many videos addressing your concerns with form tweeks that you don't mention. It doesn't address people starting from poor fitness well or different body types. Sad we can't see how much this has been downvoted anymore. Doesn't matter as people will listen to anyone with a jacked body who is shirtless.
But isn't it still good for your core though and defining abs.
Maybe u could be right…but that doesn't mean planks are not a good excercise
Have you ever seen anyone hold a plank for seven minutes? It won a local competition. Just wondering if that's good?
I appreciate the fact that if you believe a formula is incorrect you challenge it. This is how we discover new better ways for everything
I don't agree with almost all of this.
Plank on people!
I don't care . I like the plank. It doesn't mean that this is the only exercise I do.
Me : drinks water
Jeff: I'm gonna argue NO!
The plank works for me!
Thank you!
Are these points relevant to the “hollow body” technique as well ?
I'm so damn sick of conflicting information.
It totally wrecks my mindset and i question everything I'm doing, try something new and then bam apparently it's a terrible thing