Prone bridge AKA the plank
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So supposedly this is an exercise thats pretty good for core stability and all of that nonsense. WHat is a good time for these ? They are pretty boring and definitely mind over matter, I managed to hold the position for 3:40 last night, is that any good ? <br />
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For those who have no idea what I'm talking about have a gander at this....<br />
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They reckon if you can hold it for two minutes you have really good core strength. I can't hold it for over a minute yet
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[quote name='Hooroo']They reckon if you can hold it for two minutes you have really good core strength. I can't hold it for over a minute yet[/QUOTE]<br />
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Are you sure Hooroo ? I'm not exactly obese but by the same token I'm certainly not a mid 90s Peter Andre ! -
That is what I have heard from at least two PT's
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my flatmates and I had a drunken competition doing these on the weekend, I suprised myself with 4minutes. Used to do them a lot a year back wiht my previous best being about 2 minutes, have since moved on to vertical situps using medicine balls and rolling planks on the swiss ball, really must be doing the job with that sort of improvement...just a shame nothings visible for my upcoming beach holiday...
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Super effort Rembrandt especially considering you were on the hammer at the time ! <br />
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Like any sort of exercise doing something else will often benefit something you couldn't do so well before. 4 minutes is obviously my next goal so gonna grit the teeth, block out the pain and all of that shit next time I give it a go.... -
I do them for 1 minute holds. I think they're one of the best ab exercises you can do. Doing them for 2 minutes would be extremely tough. Perhaps I'll set that as a target.
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I just gave it a shot, got bored and stopped after 2 minutes. Will go for 5 minutes or more next time. Key is just to relax and breathe patiently. Abs are already sore due to my regular workouts, could feel a strain but it's manageable.
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Son of a bitch! I've just been reading on the world record for a plank and up until December last year the record was under 5 minutes!<br />
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THen on December 4th this trainer bloke smashed the record rasing money for Cancer Research UK:<br />
[URL]http://www.stamfordpersonalfitness.co.uk/world-record-abdominal-plank-event.htm[/URL]<br />
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and now perhaps the only world record that I'd actually have a very good shot at is almost certainly out of my reach....<br />
[URL]http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Longest-time-in-an-abdominal-plank-position/71860.htm[/URL] -
[quote name='Rembrandt']Son of a bitch! I've just been reading on the world record for a plank and up until [B]December last year the record was under 5 minutes![/B]<br />
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THen on December 4th this trainer bloke smashed the record rasing money for Cancer Research UK:<br />
[URL]http://www.stamfordpersonalfitness.co.uk/world-record-abdominal-plank-event.htm[/URL]<br />
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and now perhaps the only world record that I'd actually have a very good shot at is almost certainly out of my reach....<br />
[URL]http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Longest-time-in-an-abdominal-plank-position/71860.htm[/URL][/QUOTE]<br />
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Someone is "aving a laugh" with that I'm sure. Did another plank last night and I'm now just 50 odd seconds off the previous record ! <br />
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The new record looks much more realistic, Just 2 seconds off 20 minutes, a Bradman like effort with 20 being his hundred equivalent.....<br />
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When I had my first go I was watching the stopwatch on my phone intently, last night I closed my eyes for ages and only checked every now and again cos I'm sure an increase of 30 seconds isn't normal....good old mind over matter. -
they had me doing them on the ground in my last training schedule, I worked my way up to a minute.<br />
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They changed it now so that I'm balancing my legs on a swiss ball, and my arms on a weights bench. I do 3x 45 secs for that. If it's getting too easy, make sure you don't drop your hips, really make an effort to keep them up.<br />
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I find this is quite a good exercise, and by the third one, it's a bit of an effort. -
shit anyone clocking over 2min is doing really well with these. When I first learnt about them I was told by a trainer that S14 (at that time) players would clock around 4-5min, that seemed VERY far away from the 60-75sec I could manage.
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[quote name='Paekakboyz']shit anyone clocking over 2min is doing really well with these. When I first learnt about them I was told by a trainer that S14 (at that time) players [B]would clock around 4-5min[/B], that seemed VERY far away from the 60-75sec I could manage.[/QUOTE]<br />
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Well in that case I can't help but suspect maybe I'm doing them wrong ? I mean my gut doesn't hang over my belt but by the same token my ab definition is about as visable as Osama Bin Laden. My back starts to bend a bit torwards the end but I still stay on my elbows and toes the whole time, does this count ? -
you need to keep your back as rigid as possible - when learning to do them my trainer said to think about sucking your belly button toward your spine to 'activate' that band of core muscles - if you are bowing/sagging through the midsection at any point then you'd be losing that form. Where you have your elbows positoned can make a difference - further out they are the nastier it is!<br />
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I'm sure Bart will chime in with the accurate info but its crazy how you can actually have really strong abs/core but not see fark all definition, the visibility factor is all about diet! -
chime chime. Sounds too hard!! but yes, visibilty is not about the size / strength of your abs, it's about getting rid of your BF!! Ness (wife) had a weak core, but a wicked six pack, and has been working on the core strength, and has improved, but the 6 pack remains the same.<br />
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I might give this a crack though, sounds pretty cool, although I expect our traininer will have us onto this at some stage anyway, he's into this simple, brutal hard core effective stuff!! -
Aha. Gotcha, will try again and although the midsection does sag a tiny bit I'm doing the sucking in stuff anyway subconciously. Three times a week on this exercise should do methinks !
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I have to do 2 minute planks for the challenge, my best is just over 3 minutes. NO six pack and a lovely (although smaller than before) spare tire
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[quote name='dK']I have to do 2 minute planks for the challenge, my best is just over 3 minutes. NO six pack and a lovely (although smaller than before) spare tire[/QUOTE]<br />
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Nice one dK. Do you do side planks as well? <br />
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I generally do planks and the like at the end of my workouts so when I'm at my weakest so superset planks (45s-1min) with 15x stability ball jacknifes, rest 30 secs and repeat 3 times. -
Asked my young fella about this as I know he does it as part of the fitness measuring for his Sports Programme at school. He does about 3 and a half minutes at the moment but said that it is actually an easy one to get your times up on if you concentrate on abs for a period. He has done over 5 before and says one other kid at school could top 10.<br />
You have to put a lot of ab work in to maintain that level though and once you start spreading your efforts around other aspects of a fitness programme your times will drop back down.
