When it comes to exercising from home, it’s good to focus on exercises that give you the most bang for your buck. We’re talking about bodyweight exercises that target more than one area of the body while getting your heart rate up. An exercise that does just this is the up and down plank, also known as the moving plank. Ready for a challenge? Keep reading to know more.
An up and down plank targets the arm muscles and core. As you move up and down, you’ll work your triceps and shoulders, as well as your abs and lower back. Leaning into the movement of the plank also forces you to engage your quads and glutes. It’s a difficult move, but it can be done from almost anywhere, using just an exercise mat and your body weight.
As one of the best ab exercises out there, the good news is that you don’t I need to hold a table for that long to see results., so you won’t need to do endless reps to really engage your arms and core when practicing moving planks. Ready to start? Read on to find out how to make moveable planks the right way and the modifications you should try.
Looking for more exercise inspiration? we have found the best abdominal workouts you can do for free, a exercise that is better than squats to strengthen the glutes, and one of the best abdominal exercises when it comes to sculpting a slimmer waist.
How to do up and down planks
To do a plank up and down, get into a plank position on an exercise mat (if you don’t have one, we’ve found the best yoga mats that double as exercise mats here). Keep your palms flat on the floor, arms straight. Think about keeping your hands below your shoulders.
Brace your core as you drop your left elbow to the ground, followed by your right. You should still be in a plank position, with your weight on your elbows. Pause here, then press your left palm into the floor and come back up into a high plank position. That is a repetition. Aim for five reps on each side, swapping your lead arm midway through.
During this exercise, it is important to keep the movement slow and controlled. As tempting as it is to power up the reps to do them, you’ll work harder if you move slower. It’s also important to keep your core engaged throughout the movement and avoid rocking your pelvis from side to side as you move.
What are the benefits of up-down planks?
Since up and down planks target different muscle groups in your body, they’re likely to get your heart rate up more than, say, a traditional plank. This means that the exercise is likely to burn more calories than other abdominal exercises.
As a bodyweight exercise for the entire body, the up and down plank works the arms and core. A stronger core has a number of benefits that aren’t just cosmetic, like lifting heavier, running faster, and having better posture. Working your arms helps sculpt more visible muscles, but it also reduces your risk of injury in the gym, improves your posture, and helps you run faster.
Best Top Down Plank Mods to Try
If the up and down planks are too difficult right now, start by building your strength on a regular high plank. Once you’ve mastered that move, try holding a plank for a minute, but after 30 seconds, go from a high plank to an elbow plank; this will get him used to the movement. Of course, you can also start with fewer reps: aim for two planks up and down on each arm and build up from there.
If ten planks up and down are now easy, add more reps to your workout to really blast your arms and core. If you’re looking for harder plank mods, you can also add weights to the move.
Instead of going down to an elbow plank, add a row to the move; To do this, get into an elbow plank position, with a dumbbell in each hand, or if this is too much for your wrists, place a dumbbell in each hand. . Starting with your left hand, reach for the dumbbell and perform a row, bending at the elbow. Return the dumbbell to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side. You can then finish with a push-up to really up the ante. Beginners, try to complete five repetitions.
