Static Plank

Static Prone Plank:

• Start the Static Prone Plank by lying down onto your stomach with your arms directly under your shoulders and your feet in the ready position on the balls of the feet.
• Focus on pulling your stomach in towards your spine, engage your glutes, and lift your body up until you have a relatively straight line between your feet and shoulders.
• Hold this position for a 10 second count before lowering your body back down to the starting position, while you are maintaining the “up position”, focus on regular breathing, don’t hold your breath in and try to maintain a straight back ( one reason I  don’t suggest that you hold this position for as long as possible is that as you get more fatigued your lower back will start to sag and this will put your lower back at risk).
• This exercise will never get “easy”, but it will get “easier”. I would suggest that you perform 10 reps for 10 seconds 2 or 3 times a week. As the exercise becomes easier, hold each rep for a little bit longer, 12 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, etc.,..This way you have time for your body to adapt to exercise and will be able to perform this exercise without compensating for weak muscles.
• Become competent with this exercise before you try the higher intensity variations below.

 

Static Prone Plank with 1 leg up in the air:

• Start the Static Prone Plank by lying down onto your stomach with your arms directly under your shoulders and your feet in the ready position on the balls of the feet.
• Focus on pulling your stomach in towards your spine, engage your glutes, and lift your body up until you have a relatively straight line between your feet and shoulders.
• After you have gotten your body in the “up position” , raise one leg up in the air, but not so far in the air that you start to compromise the position of the spine.
• Hold this position for a 1o second count before lowering your body back down to the starting position and then lifting back into the “up position” and lifting your opposite leg this time and again holding for a 10 second hold.
• Keep alternating between legs until you become to fatigued to hold a proper plank position without compromising form, in the beginning I would shoot for 10 reps.

 

Static Prone Plank with 1 arm up in the air:

• Start the Static Prone Plank by lying down onto your stomach with your arms directly under your shoulders and your feet in the ready position on the balls of the feet.
• Focus on pulling your stomach in towards your spine, engage your glutes, and lift your body up until you have a relatively straight line between your feet and shoulders.
• After you have gotten your body in the “up position” , raise one arm straight out in front of you, do not compromise the position of your spine in order to get your arm out in front of you, if you can’t do it without compromising then your not strong enough for this exercise yet.
• Hold this position for a 1o second count before lowering your body back down to the starting position and then lifting back into the “up position” and lifting your opposite arm this time and again holding for a 10 second hold.
• Keep alternating between arms until you become to fatigued to hold a proper plank position without compromising form, in the beginning I would shoot for 10 reps.

 

Static Prone Plank with 1leg and 1 arm up in the air held in a cross pattern:

• Start the Static Prone Plank by lying down onto your stomach with your arms directly under your shoulders and your feet in the ready position on the balls of the feet.
• Focus on pulling your stomach in towards your spine, engage your glutes, and lift your body up until you have a relatively straight line between your feet and shoulders.
• After you have gotten your body in the “up position” , raise one arm straight out in front of you while at the same time raising the opposite leg up as well so that you form a cross pattern, do not compromise the position of your spine in order to get your arm or leg up, if you can’t do it without compromising then your not strong enough for this exercise yet.
• Hold this position for a 1o second count before lowering your body back down to the starting position and then lifting back into the “up position” and switching the cross pattern, lifting the opposite leg and arm and again holding for a 10 second hold.
• Keep alternating between arms and legs until you become to fatigued to hold a proper plank position without compromising form, in the beginning I would shoot for 10 reps.