Planks are a fantastic core exercise, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to abdominal training. While planks effectively target your entire core, including your rectus abdominis (the “six-pack”), obliques, and transverse abdominis (deep core muscles that provide stability), there are other exercises that can emphasize specific areas and challenge your core in different ways.
Here’s a breakdown of how planks fit into a well-rounded ab routine, along with some complementary exercises:
Planks and Core Strength: Planks are a bodyweight exercise that requires isometric holds, meaning your muscles engage without shortening or lengthening. This makes them excellent for building core strength and endurance. They also have the benefit of engaging multiple muscle groups at once, making them a time-efficient exercise.
Complementary Exercises: To target different areas of your abs and challenge your core in new ways, consider incorporating exercises like:
- Russian twists: These target your obliques, the muscles on the sides of your waist, with a rotational movement.
- Seated leg raises: These isolate your lower abs and hip flexors, requiring precise control over leg movement.
- Cable crunches: These add resistance to the traditional crunch motion, allowing you to target your upper abs with more intensity.
By combining planks with exercises that focus on different core regions and movement patterns, you’ll create a more comprehensive ab workout routine that strengthens and defines your entire midsection.
Ab exercises to do at home.
♡ Plank with oblique crunch 4 sets x 12 reps each side
♡ Front plank x 60 seconds
♡ Side plank dips 3 sets x 12 reps each side
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