5 Health Benefits of Doing Plank Exercise Everyday

Are you a fitness freak?

Don't miss out on the Plank exercise. Plank exercise's do not require you to go to the gym, no accessories are required and you can do it anywhere you like. It looks quite easy but it requires quite strength to do the planks. Many people just miss or avoid doing planks thinking it is quite easy and will have no influence on their fitness in a major way. But the fact is that they are wrong. Plank is a great workout for the whole body.

Health benefits of Plank Exercise daily

How to do basic Plank exercise?

1. As you see in the photo start the plank exercise by placing your forearms and toes on the floor.

2. Keep your torso straight and rigid.

3. Your body should be in a straight line that is your whole body from the ears to the toes should be in a straight line. There should be no bend.

4. Keep your head relaxed and your eyes should focus on the ground or floor.

5. Hold the position for 10 seconds to start with.

6. Gradually with time and experience increase the duration and the number of sets.

This is the most simple and basic version of the planks. There are many other variations and modifications in the plank for fitness of different body parts. You can try them step by step.

5 Health benefits of doing Planks everyday

1. Planking everyday helps to burn down the calories

As a normal human being we think that calories are burnt only when we do cardiovascular exercises or exercises which result in sweating. But that's not all true. Planking will help you to burn calories without losing any sweat. Just doing a session of 30 seconds or 1 minute of planking will not achieve this. You have to start doing 1 minute duration of planking in the sets of 10 to 12 whichever is comfortable to you. Believe me it's not as easy as it sounds to complete the 10 sets.

2. Planking everyday strengthens your core

Planking strengthens your whole body core which includes muscles, bones, joints that link your upper body and lower body. Doing planks everyday will help to stabilize your shoulders and hips, tighten the muscles of your back and stomach, help to shape your obliques and strengthen your glutes. With increased core strengthen you can easily lift heavy weights, perform complex movements, bend and twist more efficiently without injuring yourself and experience a better posture.

3. Planking everyday improves your body posture

As planking covers your entire core, it has a great effect on the overall balance of your shoulders, chest, back and neck. The stronger abdominal muscles and the stable lower back help you to stand up or sit straighter. The strengthened glutes will help to counteract the effect of tight hip flexors. We all sit but some people sit more than others. Professions such as driving, working on computers, ticket-counter operators and many other jobs require you to sit for most part of the day.

This affects your posture badly. You feel tight hip flexures, lower back pain and stress, weak glutes and much more. Planking everyday will counter all this effects and give you a correct posture.

4. Planking everyday improves your mental strength and focus

Planking improves your overall mood. For instance staying in the planking position requires much focus and concentration. It thus tests your mental strength. For planking it requires more mental concentration than physical strength. These exercises have a particular effect on your nerves which in turn are responsible for improving your mood. Planking helps in the release of endorphins and relaxes your mind.

With constantly sitting the muscles get tightened and tensions in the joints increases. It stresses the functioning of your nerves and muscles. Planking releases all the stresses in the muscles and joints and gives you a feeling of calmness and also helps in the treatment of anxiety and depression.

5. Planking everyday will give you a flat and toned tummy

You may have thought doing crunches is the right choice for a flat and toned stomach. But you are wrong, crunches are not that efficient. The traditional method of doing sit-ups tends to cause injuries to the lower back. On the contrary Planks provide 100% activation of the muscles of the six-packs whereas crunches only engage 64% of them. This study was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning.

Other health benefits of doing plank exercise daily are -

1. You will have a strong spine.

2. Your metabolism will be boosted.

3. Your body will have more flexibility and hence will lower the risk of injuries.

4. Your energy levels will be boosted and you will be able to do the daily tasks more easily.

These are only some major health benefits of doing planks daily. So why wait just start the plank exercise today. Hope this article "health benefits of doing plank exercise everyday" was helpful to you. Do not shy to share it with your friends.