60 Minutes per Month Plank Challenge - January 2017

Spliner1969

January 1, None, Nada, Bumpkiss, Resting today.
January 2, 2 x 3 min mixed planks (6 min)
January 3, 1 x 6 min mixed plank (6 min) (There's a first time for everything!)

Total for the month 12 minutes, 108 minutes left to goal.

Spliner1969

teicu1 wrote: »

"Spliner1969 wrote: »

Always take rest days. No matter what kind of training you are doing, your body needs down time to repair and build muscle. I take 2 rest days a week normally.

Thanks. I should be safe doing a 3 on/1 off rotation, then?

Yup whatever works for you. I take Mondays and Thursdays off. So that's 2 days, then 3 for me each week. Sometimes I change out Monday for Sunday if I need a day off on the weekend. But I try to stick to that schedule. I rarely take weekends off unless it's a holiday because I have more time to exercise those days and don't have to get up at 4:45 in the morning to get it done. Tue, Wed, Fridays I have to get up at 4:45am, and I work out from 5:30am to 7:00am. Somewhere in the middle of that I do my planks, the rest is a warmup with an elliptical-like machine and circuit training.

OWDad

I'm a few days late, but we'll give this a go

abbezen

I'm late to the party, as usual. I'm just starting so I will start with .30 seconds and work up. Thanks for the challenge!

Jan 3: .30

alipsie19

Sorry, bad math!!

Jan 1: 7:00 Mixed
Jan 2: 9:00 Mixed
Jan 3: 2x :30 reverse, 2x 1:00 side, 2x 2:00 SA & leg raise (1x:20, 3x :45 SA)
Total: 23:00 (33:00)
@Spliner1969 Alright!!
@abbezen & @OWDad Welcome!

Spliner1969

@alipsie19 I was pretty sure the 6 minute plank was going to kill me. I found though that switching from side to side allows me to keep it going longer. Obliques need more work anyway. ;P

alipsie19

@Spliner1969 Amen to that! My sides are killing me right from doing them the last two days

OWDad

I'm pretty out of shape so I'll be starting with the standard elbow plank. Shooting for 1 minute (2 x 30 seconds) tonight. I'll keep y'all posted

teicu1

1/1 = 4x30sec forearm plank; 1/2 = 4x30sec forearm plank; 1/3 = 4x60sec forearm plank; definitely a rest day tomorrow.

Minor elbow carpet burns today = a newbie lesson learned. No more planking on carpet with bare arms. Starting Thursday, it’ll be with elbow protection and on top of the closed cell ground pad from my camping gear.

Spliner1969

teicu1 wrote: »

1/1 = 4x30sec forearm plank; 1/2 = 4x30sec forearm plank; 1/3 = 4x60sec forearm plank; definitely a rest day tomorrow.

Minor elbow carpet burns today = a newbie lesson learned. No more planking on carpet with bare arms. Starting Thursday, it’ll be with elbow protection and on top of the closed cell ground pad from my camping gear.

I started throwing down a soft towel on which to do workouts on the floor. Carpet was trying to erase me I think. Even with the towel I've managed to give myself burns some days though. I figure the elbows will toughen up eventually. It's all par for the course.

Serenade_N

Jan 2: 2x 30secs.
Jan 3: 2x30secs basic plank

Elbow skin definitely toughens up after initial soreness.

lennoncpa

Planks
Jan 1: 2 minutes + 45 seconds forearm=2.75 min
Jan 2: 3x:45/side Side plank=4.5 min
Jan 3: 3x1 minute high plank=3 min

Total for the month=10-1/4 minutes

lbenson2006

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-sweat/common-plank-mistakes/

Happened to have a link to this article in my email today and thought it was quite fitting to receive at the beginning of this challenge. Sharing in case anyone else wants to read.

Will definitely try to remember my planks tomorrow, they completely slipped my mind this morning...whoops!! Lol

queequeg9315

Taking a break today. I'm sore in that spot where everyone else has abs

OWDad

First time doing the plank in 10 years....2 x 30 seconds....59 minutes to go smiley:

b3achy

Nice article @lbenson2006 - great points and I was just talking about form being more important than time for a single plank (after all you can do more than one plank to accumulate the time).
Not feeling it today...frankly, feel a bit blarghy - might be all the sugar free seltzer I've been drinking lately. Sometimes the alternate sweeteners do a number on my tummy. Still got a few in...

3 January: 2 minutes (4 x 30 sec - forearm)

Total: 5 of 60 minutes
Left to Goal: 55 minutes

120maggie

2 minutes straight arms 9 total 51 left in challenge.

aubsgg

orearm plank
1/1 :15
1/2 :20 grunting from 8 secs on.
1/3 :20 no grunting

vb4evr

Jan 1: 2x1:00
Jan 2: Forced rest day due to bad knee
Jan 3: 2x1:00 elbow, 1x1:00 Straight arm, 1x1:00 mixed planks with leg motion, 2x:30 side = Owwwwwww!
Ttl: 7/60

LenGray

January 3rd-

Forearm planks(x3) 1:00, :50, :30

Total- 6.4/60

I was really busy today, but I made time to do these in between activities. Glad I did, but I'm definitely looking forward to Sunday(rest day)!

sgmfpac

I'm in too - better late than never.

lbenson2006

Jan. 4th - 2 minutes straight arm, 30 seconds straight arm side planks each side, 1 minute forearm...4 minutes today...6 minutes total...54 (or more) to go!!

prdrivas

I'm in.
Jan 4: 2x1:00 Front, 2x1:00 Left, 2x1:00 Right.
Total: 6 min

Spliner1969

January 1, None, Nada, Bumpkiss, Resting today.
January 2, 2 x 3 min mixed planks (6 min)
January 3, 1 x 6 min mixed plank (6 min) (There's a first time for everything!)
January 4, 1 x 6 min mixed plank (6 min)

Total for the month 18 minutes, 102 minutes left to goal.

Head cold/flu/sore throat crap has me pretty good. Thought my head was going to explode on that plank. It didn't. Resting tomorrow. Thought I avoided the crud that was going around but looks like I may just be the last to get it in my family. Grrrrr.

135terry

Goal 90 min
Jan 1 - 5 min (mixed)
Jan 2 - 5 min (mixed)
Jan 3 - 5 min (mixed)
Jan 4 - 5 min (mixed)
Total for Jan: 20 min

b3achy

I realized that maybe a list of some resources might be helpful for some of the beginners here. Sorry this is on page three...next month, I'll post it at the top of the thread. Know it's a bit long, but wanted to post something that will hopefully be useful no matter your planking level. I might try to come up with an alternate way to link to these so it's not so long in one post. Also, will potentially add more links as people post/find things. Thanks to the plankers from last month and this month for posting a number of good links that were included in this list!

---

Some plank resources for beginners looking for some information on planking or for intermediate/advanced plankers looking to add some variety to your workout routine ~~

General Articles:
Good tips for doing planks - https://www.wellandgood.com/good-sweat/common-plank-mistakes/
Common plank form mistakes - http://pumpsandiron.com/2015/06/03/common-form-mistakes-in-plank/


Different Types of Planks:
There are many varieties of planks and many of the same planks are called by different names. Also, most of the planks can be done with a straight arm / extended arms or on the elbows/forearms. There are a variety of things you can do with positioning your feet and arms too depending on the exercise. And there are a variety of opinions on what is right and wrong form. Here's a sampling of planks for you to use (by no means all-inclusive) in your workouts.

Static Planks:

Forearm Plank Form:


Straight Arm Plank (also known as High Plank or Extended Planks) Form:


Forearm Side Plank (both feet on floor):


Straight Arm / Extended Side Plank (stacked feet; top arm reaching upward):



Dynamic Planks:

Superman/Bird dog planks - Forearm version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjH5xgZgyQ
Superman/Bird dog planks - Straight Arm/Extended version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X09xCvt9UXA

Plank Jacks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR9nHQXCZMo

Dolphin planks (I personally prefer to do these straight/extended arm after rubbing my forearms raw trying them this way):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuDN9-EM-x8


Other Variations:
There are lots of plank variations...these are just a few...

20 Plank Variations from Health Magazine: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20813896,00.html/view-all

100 plank variations (17:18 minute video - the cat coach is the real star, IMO ~ I have at least one that does this to me also):
{BTW, I was exhausted by about minute 5 just watching this guy...}
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDNOZCoBFqg
Table of Contents for the Video with Time Hacks for Start Locations:
1-10: Basic Forearm Planks (Some Dynamic) (0:00)
11-20: Additional Dynamic Forearm Planks (1:21)
21-30: Dynamic Straight Arm Planks (2:59)
31-40: Dynamic Full Body Movement (4:40)
41-50: Cardio Planks (6:28)
51-60: Side Elbow/Forearm Planks (8:28)
61-70: Side Straight Arm Planks (9:47)
71-80: Dynamic/Moving Side Planks (11:11)
81-90: Weighted Planks (13:48)
91-100: Advanced Challenges (15:25) (seems more like advanced yoga moves than planks, IMO)


30 Day Plank Challenges:
Some like to have specific planks to do each day. I personally find having to do them on specific days a bit too restrictive, but these are good plans for beginners and advanced plankers that prefer more of a roadmap to build up their times for doing planks. There are also challenges that have a variety of planks that you do each day (you can google for them or join other challenge threads that are using them exclusively).

30 Day Beginner Plank Challenge - builds to a 2 minute plank (total is 26 minutes and 55 seconds for the month, so 33 minutes and 5 seconds short of 60 minutes. Recommend doing multiples earlier in the program when they are shorter to get more minutes for 60):


30 Day Advanced Plank Workout - building to 5 minute planks (total is 53 minutes and 20 seconds for the month, so 6 minutes and 40 seconds short of 60 minutes unless you do multiples earlier in the program):


Here's an Alternate 30 Day Plank Workout (for beginners, intermediate, and advanced) that also builds to 5 minutes of Planks (by doing multiples of no more than 30 sec planks; also 53 minutes and 20 seconds for the month):

For details on the variations, here's the full slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/TodaysFitnessTrainer/30-day-plank-challenge


Intermediate Plank Workouts:
These are intermediate level workouts, good to try once you have a good foundation of standard planks and are looking for something more interesting or with more variety.

3 minute Bowflex Plank Workout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynUw0YsrmSg

Rebecca Louise 5 minute Plank Workout (shows nearly proper form (butt's a little too far in the air, IMO), and modified forms):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Ge7uGpjFY

5 minute Plank Workout:



Advanced Workouts:
Do not try these if you have never done a plank before. These are workouts to build up to once you successfully establish a good foundation of standard planks (and probably only once you've managed to do some of the intermediate workouts).

15 Minute Advanced Plank Workout:

See details in this article ~ http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/plank-abs-workout

FitnessBlender 10 minute Advanced Plank Workout (this looks brutal):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DNN9a5pU2A

Spliner1969

Really nice info @b3achy! Thank you.

lennoncpa

Planks
Jan 1: 2 minutes + 45 seconds forearm=2.75 min
Jan 2: 3x:45/side Side plank=4.5 min
Jan 3: 3x1 minute high plank=3 min
Jan 4: 3x45/side High Side Plank

Total: 14-3/4 minutes for the month

b3achy

Feeling crappy today ~ running a fever, have a headache. Got a few planks done anyway (BTW, superman/bird dog ones are hard!).

4 January: 3 minutes (1 x 60 sec - straight arm alternating sides; 1 x 30 sec - straight arm superman/bird dog; 1 x 30 sec - forearm; 1 x 60 sec - straight arm dolphin/pike)

Total: 8 of 60 minutes
Left to Goal: 52 minutes

reo7875

Starting a bit late, but here goes!

Goal: 60 minutes

January 4th: 2x1 min forearm plank

Total: 2 minutes
Left to Goal: 58 minutes