(PLUS-“Get Out of Planks Free” Card)
Here’s yet another interesting, fun, and challenging plank variation: Inchworm Plank
If you or someone you know is addicted to and afflicted with the burden of doing longer and longer static planks, the time to act is now. Every second wasted doing more of something basic that you have already mastered is a second wasted in not progressing and getting better.
Use the handy “Get Out of Planks Free” card anytime someone is trying to make you do a plank longer than 30 seconds.
You wouldn’t keep learning the alphabet over and over. Once you know the alphabet, you use it to build words, compose sentences, and write blogs!
Countless times when using one of the endless fun and more beneficial Funtensity-based plank variations introduced over the years, clients are thankful that I am not having them do static planks.
The Inchworm Plank is inspired by the popular inchworm exercise (which is one that many people have problems with too because of wrist and forearm issues.)
How to do the Inchworm Plank: (see video below for demonstration)
- Start on your elbows and knees (but it would be perfectly fine to do it on your hands too.)
- Lift your knees off the floor so you are on your toes and elbows.
- Walk your arms forward until you finish in a traditional plank position.
- Walk your arms backward to return to the start position.
- Walk your feet backward until you finish in a traditional plank position.
- Walk your feet forward to return to the start position.
- Repeat for reps or time, alternating arms and legs
- (Options: if you are a trainer or have a partner, make it reactive by calling out arms or legs or using odd/even numbers to represent arms/legs)
When I first wrote about the scourge of long static planks the world record was just over 3 hours. It is now nearly 10 hours.
Wake up, pee, have breakfast and coffee, plank (and pee in a catheter all day – I’m not making this up), brush your teeth, and go to sleep.
That sounds like a nightmare of a day. “What did you do all day?” ANSWER: “Planks.”
A long static plank isn’t going to hurt you, it’s just not the best use of your training time. It just isn’t. We live life doing things involving movement. Getting better at not moving for longer stretches of time is not helping you move.
Give the Inchworm plank a try. And scroll through Funtensity social media for videos of more moving plank options.
If you’re curious to see a few of my historically (obviously ineffective) efforts to rail against the overuse of planks – they rode to fame by the fad of trashing crunches that became popular a little over a decade ago – then see the links below.
When Pigs Crunch: Common Sense Ab Training
Plank School Video