Planks or Push ups

Sophiegirl2005

Which is better? Planks or Push ups? And what if despite your best efforts BOTH are difficult for you (me, lol) ?

rybo

What are you trying to accomplish?

Unknown

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Sued0nim

Dynamic beats static

if you're a complete beginner then planks are useful for core .. but once you can hold it for 60 seconds add weight, make them dynamic

I couldn't do push-ups at all this time last year .. now I do sets of a whole range of different versions (legs elevated / weights / off a bench one side and then the other) and am working on the jump into a clap one ... start on your knees you'll get there

but then again what's your goal?

_lyndseybrooke_

Why does it have to be one or the other? And better for what? Do both. As for being difficult - yeah, they should be hard. Nothing easy is worth doing. You get better at it by doing it more often.

Holly_Roman_Empire

rabbitjb wrote: »

Dynamic beats static

if you're a complete beginner then planks are useful for core .. but once you can hold it for 60 seconds add weight, make them dynamic

I couldn't do push-ups at all this time last year .. now I do sets of a whole range of different versions (legs elevated / weights / off a bench one side and then the other) and am working on the jump into a clap one ... start on your knees you'll get there

but then again what's your goal?

This.

Sophiegirl2005

My goal is to just get in better shape but since planks AND push ups are both hard for me I'd just thought I'd get a few opinions on them.....

Thanks everyone for your input!

MKEgal

They target different muscles, so do both.
And of course they're both hard... you're out of shape, right? Just starting to exercise?
That's natural.
Do what you can. Do it again. After a while, do more.
Increase gradually, either time (planks) or number (pushups), or difficulty (pushup variations).

LKArgh

They serve different purposes, so both.

lavrn03

MKEgal wrote: »

They target different muscles, so do both.
And of course they're both hard... you're out of shape, right? Just starting to exercise?
That's natural.
Do what you can. Do it again. After a while, do more.
Increase gradually, either time (planks) or number (pushups), or difficulty (pushup variations).

I agree with the above comments!

I incorporated doing planks and push ups at end of workout routine. I couldn't do them at all at first. I'm still in the beginnings of doing this but after a few weeks I can do 30 secs hold for a plank and 12 push ups. I figured I will add a few seconds and reps each week and see how far I go.

Sophiegirl2005

MKEgal wrote: »

They target different muscles, so do both.
And of course they're both hard... you're out of shape, right? Just starting to exercise?
That's natural.
Do what you can. Do it again. After a while, do more.
Increase gradually, either time (planks) or number (pushups), or difficulty (pushup variations).

LOL! No, make no mistake. I am not new to exercise. I do interval training and strength training 6 days a week along with a stretch routine afterwards. I do everything BUT planks and push ups because when I do them they hurt my shoulders too much. Could be because I was a cosmetologist for almost 20 yrs and have some tendon or ligament weakness from my arms being in the air blow drying, perming, and coloring hair......

mpdurkin

Sophiegirl2005 wrote: »

Which is better? Planks or Push ups? And what if despite your best efforts BOTH are difficult for you (me, lol) ?

Sophiegirl2005, that is a loaded question, but I'll bite. Really, it depends on how well you do push-ups and how long you hold a plank. In my experience, planking is good for a little while, but eventually there isn't much to be gained from it. You can always change up the plank by adding in other movements, but then it really isn't a plank anymore. For me, push-ups are one of the best overall exercises you can do, if you do them properly. They work a-lot of muscles, even the core that the planks target, but offer a whole lot more muscle toning and variation. You can also switch them up, move your hands around, elevate your feet etc to achieve different muscle groups.

I have been doing push-ups for years and I have never gotten to the point where they don't do anything for me. I do tend to switch up my arms to make sure I am working different muscles, do clapping push-ups etc, but my favorite is a very slow push-up with a strong and steady core (you have to know the right core alignment- which I got from my Pilates instructor). You have to hold your core properly throughout or you will hurt your lower back, not to mention miss the core strengthening part of it. When I do those, I can feel my core engaged deep in my ab's and by the time I am done, my arms are burning. They have helped me with body control. I have about the same control I had 20 years ago when I was a second degree black belt and worked out 7 days a week.

capaul42

I can't do pushups due to injury. Planks however are a great exercise. And there is far more variations than have been mentioned. Feet elevated, side planks (my personal fav), high Planks, low planks (on forearms)...