Workout Wednesday

“Planking! You either love it or hate it”

You will be jumping for joy when you put to practice these amazing tips for improving your plank time 👯‍♀️
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Planking is a full body exercise. It's more than just a core exercise. It's strengthens your back, chest, shoulders, deep abs, glutes, hamstrings and quads! Winning 👏👏
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👉 Step 1 - Positon your elbows directly under your shoulders (not forward or behind this point)
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👉 Step 2 - Press your elbows and forearms firmly on the ground and imagine you are trying to separate the floor with them. This will engage your lats (back muscles) and take the load off the shoulders
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👉 Step 3 - Pull your chest up away from the floor slightly seperating your shoulder blades (do not over round your upper back)
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👉 Step 4 - Drop your bottom down and tuck your hips to your ribs, scooping your ribs together and away from the floor. Avoid having your bum in the air like a down dog as you will affect your shoulder/elbow position
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👉 Step 5 - Contract your bum, quads and hamstring muscles to assist with the holding position. Really activate your legs so they don't sag to the floor
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👉 Step 6 - Imagine your waist like a corset, draw in front, back and sides of your waist towards your spine really focusing on your lower belly between your hip bones pulling in
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👉 Step 7 - Finally, remember to breathe and keep scanning through the steps so your are on top of area's that may be letting you down
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Give it a go today and let us know how you go? Did it help? Have you improved your time?
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Note - Although it is a great exercise, this variation is not recommended for a post natal mums with Diastisis (muscle separation of your abdominals) as it puts too much load on your rectus abdominus 🙅🏼‍♀️
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Happy hump day 🐪
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Dani
xx