The 60 Day Plank Challenge kicks off today! We are taking our planks from 10 seconds to 10 minutes in 60 days!! Wahoo- Here we go!!
Every day I will post options for the ‘basic’ road to the 10 minute plank, as well as an ‘overachiever’ option. Notice it says ‘overachiever’ and not ‘advanced’. And ‘basic’ doesn’t mean ‘easy’ either. It just means less work. If you decide to take the ‘overachiever’ route, you are more likely to make it to the 10 minute plank. It’s all up to you.
The first week, in my opinion, is set up to be relatively easy to accomplish. BUT, after that- things will get tough VERY quickly. I recommend the ‘overachiever’ route to insure success. That’s what I’ll be doing as well.
The first task, which hopefully you have already done, is to find out what your personal record is before you even start. Time yourself in a plank- either from forearms or hands (the forearm version is more challenging), and post your progress in two places:
1- Your own personal notebook where you’ll be keeping track of everything you do in this challenge &
2- On the facebook page where you can interact and see what everyone is up to: www.facebook.com/mirzukfitness
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I have received a ton of questions about which way to do the planks and what the proper form is. Here’s a short vid that will show you want you need to know:
[youtube]91aaV_IVYI0[/youtube]
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BASIC:
Since we are taking our planks from 10 seconds to 10 minutes, it makes sense that today, the first day, we will plank for 10 seconds. Do it, and then record it in your notebook. Make sure to keep track of everything core/plank/this program related in your notebook.
OVERACHIEVER:
I suggest trying to do 2 minutes with me in the above vid. It’s ok if it’s a stretch and you get a little sore. Tomorrow’s BASIC plank isn’t that much more than todays. We are going to work our way up.
See you tomorrow for Day TWO!
Your Fitness Coach,
Miranda Zukowski
Hi Miranda,
I have a (another) friend that wants to join the challenge but, says her knees hurt when in plank. Do you have any suggestions/corrections for her? Thanks!
Hi Cathy,
It sounds like the muscles are firing properly, which suggests overall weakness. Working the core is one of the best ways to start to build up overall strength, as it works the transverse abdominus (without which you couldn’t stand up), and isometrically works most everything else, including the legs. The adductor muscles (inner thighs) should feel like they are wrapping in and up onto the backs of the legs. They spiral in to maintain the position. If they don’t fire properly, all sorts of weird things happen (and most of this is stuff the average person isn’t even aware of, to be honest). SO- your friend needs to take a few steps back and start to retrain her legs. I suggest that she lay on her back, bend one knee and have the other one out. Lift the one that is out with a flexed foot and hold for 10 seconds. Bring it down and repeat the whole thing 10x. Keep the hips still and pressing down.
I don’t know your friend, so this is all hypothetical, just going off of one brief sentence that you wrote here. I would venture to say that doing the planks is still a great way to get these muscles working, but to do only short amounts of time. 10 seconds here, 20 seconds there. No need to push it til everything is up and running properly.
Thanks, I’ll pass it on!