10 Things That Happen When You Do Planks Every Day

Although planking looks easy, it’s anything but! This incredibly popular exercise – which should be part of everyone’s workout routine – can seriously boost your fitness levels.

The basic plank requires no equipment, can be done virtually anywhere, engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously and benefits the whole body in a multitude of ways.

Keep reading to find out all the incredible things that will happen when you add planks to your daily regimen.

1. Your Core Strength Will Improve

One of the top benefits of doing planks regularly is that they strengthen the core – those muscles, bones, and joints that link the upper and lower body. Because we engage the core constantly during everyday life – when we lift, turn, reach and bend – it’s probably the most important area of the body to work on.

Successfully holding the plank position requires that you squeeze and engage all the main core muscle groups – the transverse abdominus, the rectus abdominus, the external oblique muscle, and the glutes. When core strength improves, everyday tasks become easier, we feel stronger and our athletic ability improves.

2. You’ll Tone Up That Tummy

Forget counting crunches every day – they aren’t all that efficient when it comes to getting a flat and toned stomach anyway. A recent editorial in Navy Times, an independent publication that covers the U.S. Navy, also referred to sit-ups ‘an outdated exercise today viewed as a key cause of lower back injuries’.

Instead, planks are the way to go! A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning found that the plank provides 100% activation of your six-pack muscles whereas crunches only engage 64%.

Regular plank practice means your abdominal muscles will become stronger, and will tighten up. Plus, you’ll be toning other areas of your body too, giving you more bang for your buck.

3. You’ll Strengthen Your Back

While some exercises to work the core can actually weaken and potentially injure the back (such as sit-ups or crunches), the plank will actually help to strengthen it. In particular, the upper back muscles become stronger.

What’s more, the plank is carried out whilst maintaining a neutral spine, eliminating the constant strain caused by flexing and extending of the spinal column.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE) “because the plank exercise requires minimal movement while contracting all layers of the abdominal fascia, it is an excellent way to strengthen the core, which, in turn, helps reduce low-back pain”.

4. You May Enjoy Increased Metabolism and Fat Burn

While doing a quick plank or two won’t burn as much fat as cardiovascular exercises, it’s a more efficient way of burning fat. When you engage in strength training, your metabolic rate increases even after you’ve stopped exercising…something that doesn’t happen with cardiovascular activity.

For every pound of muscle you gain, your body burns around 50 calories more per day. So, if you gain 10 pounds of muscle, you can burn up to 500 more calories per day than you did when you were weaker.