Does planking every day help you get a flat stomach? kovaciclea / Getty Images
The sports challenge will allow you to get a flatter and more muscular stomach by practicing the holster pose every day for a month. What is it really worth?
The success of the “plank challenge” in social networks does not seem to dry up. The hashtag of the same name now has 3 billion views on TikTok. Launched by American trainer Anna Kaiser in 2015, this challenge consists of doing the plank, the famous plank exercise, almost every day (we give ourselves one day off a week) for a month, gradually increasing the duration of the holding pose. The challenge promises a smoother, more muscular stomach in just four weeks. If there are several versions of the challenge, the most common one suggests starting with a 20-second plank and reaching 300 seconds or five minutes on the 30th day. But does exercise give you those results that quickly? Answers of sports coach and sports doctor.
In the video: the resumption of sports. after how long can we see the results?
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Poor aesthetic results
According to sports doctor Victoria Tchaikovsky, the aesthetic results of the plank challenge are very limited, and that’s for a simple reason. “The surface muscles of the wood that give the ‘chocolate bar’ look are hardly needed in a board,” he comments. According to the doctor, repeating the exercise may eventually lead to a slight reduction in waist circumference due to the toning of the transversus muscles, but it will not be enough to get the “stretched muscles” effect.
What about the flat stomach aspect? According to the doctor, the challenge would be insufficient. “Covering is isometric. you maintain the contraction rather than doing a few reps. This is not enough to provide cardiovascular effort and lose fat mass.
Deep work to be done without moderation
Practicing Planck regularly, however, remains an interesting exercise. “This helps effectively tone the transverse, obliques and pelvic floor,” says sports trainer Anouk Hamel. Ultimately, these toned areas will improve posture and prevent back pain. “The stronger our abs are, the more they help support our weight. This limits the risk of inflammation and especially low back pain,” supports sports doctor Victoria Tchaikovsky.
In addition, the exercise does not pose any danger to the internal organs of the pelvis, unlike, for example, “crunches”. “The board is said to be hypopressive, because it does not exert any pressure on the perineum,” clarifies the sports trainer. The last advantage. without spinal movement, the risk of back injury is also minimal or non-existent.
To complete training
The moral of the story. the plank challenge is a beneficial but insufficient workout. To see visible results on the stomach, Anouk Hamel recommends combining this challenge with muscle-strengthening exercises as well as cardiovascular training, which will burn calories and fat. For example, he suggests taking Pilates classes to build muscle and walking 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day.
The sports doctor also reminds the importance of the role of diet in achieving visible results. And he clarifies. “In order to lose fat in a few weeks, we need to be in a caloric deficit. so we need to burn more calories than we take in.”
In the video: Jessica Alba’s very sharp sports routine
Source: Le Figaro
