Remember Planking?

The internet meme from circa 2010.

“Planking is a photo fad which involves lying face down with arms to the sides in unusual public spaces, photographing the scene and sharing the image online. In form, it bears striking resemblance to the Lying Down Game, a similar photo fad that became popular among UK Facebook users in 2010.” –Know Your Meme

Yeah, well, neither does anyone else.

But it happened.

Basically, what you did was lay, face down, flat as a board, on something.

Got it on Flickr from Pat Hayes

That was “Planking”.

Yes, its pretty different from a Plank exercise, but not really.

8 Hours, 1 Minute

As far as I can tell that’s the World Record for the Longest Plank Held.

Mao Weidong held a plank for the length of a work day.

But did he really?

Was Mao really “tight” for 8 hours?

I mean, when I get super tight, like when I do or coach, a plank, I don’t know ANYONE who could do one for a full minute, let alone 8 hours.

Or was my boy Mao just doing what most folks do…

Hanging Off the Low Back

Stressing the sh@t out of the lumbar/pelvic junction and kinda bullshitting their way through the movement.

*this isn’t a knock at Mao Weidong, and his record. He played to win and won. When you’re setting world records it’s about wining, not style points.

This is mostly about planks, extended time planks, and the craptastic way most folks do them.

So, What’s Wrong With Your Plank?

There’s No TENSION

You’re just hanging out, stressing the low back.

Not bracing the core.

A good plank is about:

CREATING TENSION

Not waiting for some arbitrary time to pass.

Instead of wasting your time, try a better, more tension producing, core building, plank…

The Russian Kettlebell Challenge Plank (RKC).

Done properly is a total fu#king nightmare for your whole god damn body core.

The RKC Plank is NOT about TIME

It is about,

TENSION

Lots and lots of body crushing TENSION.

Checklist:

• Elbows slightly in front of the shoulders.
• Thoracic spine slightly flexed/ rounded “down/ over”.
• Pelvis slightly rolled towards the chin (posteriorly tilted).
• Toes Dug into the ground
• Find core tension, then PRESS the elbows back towards the toes and toes forward towards the elbows.

Try to CRUSH your whole body.

Bro Tips:

• Nothing should move EVER.
• Have some “base” at the feet. YES, you can keep the legs together and press them into each other. But I’ve found that having a little bit of space between the feet allows the hips to be in the correct spot and you can create more tension.
• GET TIGHTER.
• Pressing the scapula/ shoulders into the ribcage “down” hard increases tension too, if you can, do that.

You’re not doing this for a minute.

The best reps of the RKC Plank are usually only about 5-10 seconds AT BEST.

Remember, this IS NOT ABOUT TIME.

It’s about TENSION.