"If you can't hold a plank for 120 seconds, you're either a) too fat; b) too weak; or c) doing something wrong in your workouts." How true is this?
- Thread starter zondaar39
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seamuskaxen
New member
@zondaar39 A. Task specificity is the most important. Not only from a neurological standpoint, but also to promote cellular physiology that supports a certain activity. Aim for 60 minutes of planks in a week and you will see improvements in your plank short term. Stop that goal, and down go the plank times. Use it and improve it or don't use it and lose it.
Examples: Resistance exercise specific to jumping, helps jumping https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00124278-200805000-00017. Shoulder muscle activity depends on the task https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20452282
B. The plank is not solely dependent on your core strength, but your shoulder stabilizer endurance. Hence why you probably see people fidgeting with your arms. You might also see people quickly sagging between their shoulders with their shoulder blades shooting towards the sky as the clock ticks on. The taller you are, the longer the mechanical lever on both your core and your shoulders. There is a demand on internal and external rotators, pushers/pullers, protactors/retractors to maintain that lovely isometric balance around the shoulder joint. Even more demand on the shoulder muscular balance in side planks and side plankthread-the-needles. In fact, planks are an exercise we work up to in shoulder rehab for athletes and non-athletes post surgery.
TL;DR There needs to be an option D - "If you can't hold for 120 seconds, then practice planks to improve planks" because of task specificity in isometric strength/endurance for both core AND shoulders.
Examples: Resistance exercise specific to jumping, helps jumping https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00124278-200805000-00017. Shoulder muscle activity depends on the task https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20452282
B. The plank is not solely dependent on your core strength, but your shoulder stabilizer endurance. Hence why you probably see people fidgeting with your arms. You might also see people quickly sagging between their shoulders with their shoulder blades shooting towards the sky as the clock ticks on. The taller you are, the longer the mechanical lever on both your core and your shoulders. There is a demand on internal and external rotators, pushers/pullers, protactors/retractors to maintain that lovely isometric balance around the shoulder joint. Even more demand on the shoulder muscular balance in side planks and side plankthread-the-needles. In fact, planks are an exercise we work up to in shoulder rehab for athletes and non-athletes post surgery.
TL;DR There needs to be an option D - "If you can't hold for 120 seconds, then practice planks to improve planks" because of task specificity in isometric strength/endurance for both core AND shoulders.
daniel67817
New member
@zondaar39 I was always of the impression that holding a plank for more than 1 minute was useless anyways. That is, the gains from longer planking are easily superceded by simply changing your plank form to a harder progression. Kind of like, if working on pullups and you get to 10 or 15 in a row. Sure you can continue working to get 20 or more, or you can work on L-Sit pullups/weighted pullups/super high pullups.
maymcflurry
New member
@zondaar39 I would say if you ARE holding a plank for 120 seconds you're doing something wrong in your workout, as a working set of 2 minutes is not an effective way to build strength or have that much carryover outside of specific plank endurance (unless endurance capacity in that exercise in itself is a personal goal for whatever reason). Not saying the plank itself is a bad exercise, but it can probably be programmed more effectively than just overly long holds to fatigue.
@zondaar39 Also depends when you do it. A plank at the end of my workout might be a 1.5 minute struggle, where at the beginning, 3-4 minutes or even 5 are really out of the range of possibility.
@zondaar39 I'm just a lurker, haven't started a proper diet and none of the progressions, never went to a gym in my life, never did any workouts in my life. I play streetball once or twice a week for an hour since 20 years. Am 204cm, weight 98kg.
I just saw the thumbnail and thought "huh? that looks easy, I could do that for hours".
So I tried. I'm sure my form wasn't perfect, my body shook a little bit the entire time, and after 60secs it started to feel quite uncomfortable but I knew I would be able to get to end by sheer willpower - and I did. Didn't want to see how much longer I could do, it felt like I might be able to add 20 more secs if my life depended on it but who knows, it seemed to get exponentially more difficult with every added second near the end.
Now my arms are jelly
But yeah, if an office worker and couch potato like me who never tried this before can do this, maybe the headline has some merit.
I just saw the thumbnail and thought "huh? that looks easy, I could do that for hours".
So I tried. I'm sure my form wasn't perfect, my body shook a little bit the entire time, and after 60secs it started to feel quite uncomfortable but I knew I would be able to get to end by sheer willpower - and I did. Didn't want to see how much longer I could do, it felt like I might be able to add 20 more secs if my life depended on it but who knows, it seemed to get exponentially more difficult with every added second near the end.
Now my arms are jelly
But yeah, if an office worker and couch potato like me who never tried this before can do this, maybe the headline has some merit.
@zondaar39 Everyones core strengrh is different along with body types
@zondaar39 As someone who subs to bwf but doesn't practice, can confirm. I am both too weak and too fat. That's science at work right there.
@zondaar39 I can plank until my forearms go numb.
@zondaar39 " John is also clear about the value of going beyond two minutes: There is none. "Enough is enough," he says. "It's just a plank. More is not better. "
how true is that
how true is that
@zondaar39 Was a used to be filling ughe fat guy. I never understood why people couldn’t plank for 10-20 minutes. Granted I couldn’t run more than 150 feet without b coming exhausted... but I had the back muscles of a god, apparently from carrying all of my weight around.
@zondaar39 I don’t workout so I’m fat and weak and can hold it for 120 seconds
@zondaar39 Basically BS, train for it, you can do it... simple.
peacejoyhope007
New member
@zondaar39 d) you get super bored halfway in
nelsonscutt
New member
@zondaar39 100% but only for pedantic reasons. I mean, if you cannot hold an exercise you can almost always say its because the person is too weak.
"If you cannot squat 1400 kg then you must be either a) too fat; b) too weak; or c) doing something wrong in your workouts."
No one can squat 1400 kilograms. So everyone is technically too weak to do it.
"If you cannot squat 1400 kg then you must be either a) too fat; b) too weak; or c) doing something wrong in your workouts."
No one can squat 1400 kilograms. So everyone is technically too weak to do it.
@nelsonscutt Well, I think you are saying “too weak” to mean something else. The article writer seems to mean “too weak to live a healthy life” or something closer to that. While what you say is just a factual definition, that isn’t helpful in this particular case.
@zondaar39 I’ve practices this through various stages of weight and could do it. Because, you know, practice.
@zondaar39 I just did 120 seconds!! So that’s my workout for the week
I was violently shaking by 20 seconds in, but by 80 seconds, I was deep breathing and holding still. At 112 seconds my dog came back inside and at 116 she started licking my face and nudging me. At 120 exactly I collapsed onto the floor, where I currently lie writing this comment.
Edit: oh, and by the way, I disagree with the 120 seconds of planking meaning anything, other than that you can plank for 2 minutes. I’m not in good shape.
I was violently shaking by 20 seconds in, but by 80 seconds, I was deep breathing and holding still. At 112 seconds my dog came back inside and at 116 she started licking my face and nudging me. At 120 exactly I collapsed onto the floor, where I currently lie writing this comment.
Edit: oh, and by the way, I disagree with the 120 seconds of planking meaning anything, other than that you can plank for 2 minutes. I’m not in good shape.
@zondaar39 Active.com is full of shit like 90% of the time. Don't take advice from random articles on the internet.