Recently, “plank” seems to have become a synonym for fashion sports. It is known as the “most practical action to lose weight”, and it is claimed that it can help you eliminate fat in just a few minutes every day. Pan Shiyi, a famous real estate developer, and many other celebrities have also “posted” their achievements on Weibo. Under such temptation, more and more people have joined the “tablet group”. How should the flat support be done? Does it really have such magical effects?
Plate support is one of the most commonly used methods to train core muscle strength. Its movement is very simple: lie prone, open both elbows the same width as the shoulders, support the elbow joint on the ground, and keep the upper arm and trunk at 90 ° as far as possible. The two toes are joined together to reduce the support area. The neck is naturally straightened, the eyes look forward and downward, the chest is straightened, the head, shoulder, hip, lower limbs and other parts are kept in the same plane, and the abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles are tightened, so that the spine is in a natural physiological bending shape. Breathe naturally. Do not hold your breath. Your hip joint cannot fall or lean to both sides of your body.
This action seems simple, but it can make the muscles in the back, abdomen, lower back, hip and other places, as well as the core muscles such as adductor and diaphragm, get some exercise. Almost all movements will use the core muscle group, including eating, walking, sneezing and so on. Having a strong core muscle group can make our daily actions more relaxed, agile and vigorous, and is also the basis for doing other sports to achieve better results.
However, the argument that “a few minutes of flat support every day can have a miraculous effect on weight loss” is somewhat exaggerated. Compared with aerobic exercise such as jogging and fast walking, the energy consumption of flat support is obviously insufficient. Only through long-term aerobic exercise and reducing energy intake can fat be fully consumed. There is no scientific basis for trying to achieve local fat reduction through local exercise. This kind of strength exercise of flat support can improve the basic metabolic rate of the human body, and it may as well be used as an auxiliary exercise for weight loss.
The key to doing flat support is to standardize actions, act according to your ability and move step by step. Beginners must master the intensity well. When the movement of support starts to deform, they should stop in time. Don’t support hard. After mastering the essentials of action, they can gradually extend the time. It can also be divided into 4-6 groups, each group practicing for 20-30 seconds, with an interval of no more than 20 seconds. The time does not need to be too long. Generally speaking, adults can basically reach the standard if they persist for more than 1 minute.
What needs to be reminded is that when many people do flat support, their actions are not standard enough, such as hip warping or sinking, upper arm and forearm not being at a vertical angle, head excessive backward or forward bending, body skewing, etc., which not only has poor fitness effect, but also may cause cervical or lumbar injuries. Therefore, you must keep your hips in line with your waist and legs. In addition, it is best to warm up for 10-15 minutes before doing flat support. The middle-aged and old people can appropriately reduce the difficulty of movement, and change it to landing at the knee joint and bending the leg backward by 90 °. People with lumbar disc herniation had better do it under the guidance of doctors to prevent aggravation of the disease.
Those who want to improve the difficulty of training may as well try the “eight step abdominal bridge”: 1. Flat support, hold for 30 seconds; 2. On this basis, lift your right hand and stretch it forward for 15 seconds; 3. Change your left hand and keep it for 15 seconds; 4. Support with both elbows, lift the right leg and hold for 15 seconds; 5. Change the left leg for 15 seconds; 6. Lift the left hand and right leg at the same time, and support with the right elbow and left leg for 15 seconds; 7. Lift the right hand and left leg, and support with the left elbow and right leg for 15 seconds; 8. Return to the flat support and hold for 30 seconds.
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