Your Six Pack Workout
Want a strong core – What’s the Secret?
Just about everyone wants to have a great looking set of abs right? Well, great looking abs don’t always necessarily equal a strong core!
Your core is constantly at work, so it is actually a pretty strong muscle already, but if you want to do more than just breathe and sit up right, you need to put some focused effort into strengthening up your entire core, not just your abs!
Say Hello to the Plank!
The plank exercise is such a versatile one and requires no equipment if you are just getting started and can be used in any six pack workout. However, it is also one of the most effective core exercises because, when done properly is engages your ENTIRE core, whereas some of the other more common “ab exercises” will only focus on a single portion of your core. While those exercises, have their place (you would get pretty bored just hanging out in plank position for 10 minutes), they don’t always combine everything that the plank does.
Here are 3 of the most basic forms of the plank position to get your six pack workout started.
Six Pack Workout – Move 1 – Plank
- Low Plank
- Modified Low Plank
- High Plank
- Perform Low Plank or Modified Plank and then High Plank in a circuit, holding each position for 30 seconds and resting for 30 seconds in between each position.
- If you can’t hold each position for 30 seconds, hold for as long as you are able and work your way up to that 30 second duration.
- Repeat the entire circuit 3 times for a warm-up to your six pack workout.
Six Pack Workout – Move 2 – Advanced Plank
Here are some additional plank exercises to work into your six pack workout- these are a little more advanced and require some balance. If you don’t get these the first time around, don’t fret – keep trying and as your core gets stronger, you’ll find these to be no trouble at all. With any plank position, you’ll want to ensure that your shoulder are directly inline with your elbows as much as possible to reduce strain on the shoulder.
- Elevated Plank – You’ll need a chair, a bench or something to put your feet on, shouldn’t be more than 15-20 inches off the ground.
- Single-Leg Elevate Plank – In elevated plank, you’ll raise one leg at a time and hold – 15-30 seconds.
- Wide-Stance w/Arm & Leg Lift – Drop into a standard low plank position and widen out your feet, slightly wider than shoulder width. Raise one arm and the opposite leg – without opening up your hips. Hold for 15-30 seconds and then repeat with the opposite arm and leg.
A Summary of your Six Pack Workout
Plank is a great exercise for getting your core stronger and is one of the more basic exercises in a six pack workout. Give this workout a try a few times a week until you feel like it has become too easy at which point you will want to move on to a more advanced six pack workout, which I will be providing in some upcoming posts – stay tuned.
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