How long can you PLANK for?

RonW956

I do 3 sets of 2 minute planks with 1 min rest in between daily, my personal best last time I tried was 4 min 17 secs.

Look up George Hood on you tube.... world record plank holder @ 3+ hrs

ShibaEars

The longest I've held is just over 2 minutes, that was earlier this year.

I do side planks with dips (touch hip down to floor and back up), and high planks as well. I do some form of plank several times a week.

Linli_Anne

I just successfully completed 3 sets of 90 seconds each 2 days ago. I tack this on the end of my Stronglifts Workout A.

Next Workout A I will be attempting 3 sets of 105 seconds (1 minute 45 seconds). It's killer, and I LOVE how I feel when I do them!

angieroo2

15 seconds on my forearms with my feet touching. I need to work on increasing the duration.

BumbleBean86

Im currently on 240secs with 5 second breather at half way. I SUCK at side plank. I have dodgy shoulders so plank is a real challenge for me. I do it every day and have a rest day every 7 days. It give me something to look forward to!

Plank is soool boring its like mental endurance as well as physical. I put my phone between my elbows and watch a film or do that with a book :-)

paullynch1

I did the 5 minute plank challenge in May. Since then I do a 4 minute plank at every gym session which is about 3 times a week. I do it midway during a 2.5 hour training session so I have not tried going over the 4 minutes again but I am sure I could if I tried it on a non-gym day. I have to have two motivational songs playing when I do it.

I try and keep good form and make sure it's my abs doing the work.

karencercone1

I have a Love/Hate relationship with planking. I love the results- and like the challenge of Up/Down planks, but hate doing them! I can only last for about 2 min on a great day! Great exercise though.

UpEarly

I do a couple 4 minute planks a day.

bradsbaby1996

I can plank for 5 minutes.... When I first started, I could barely hold out for 10 seconds....

doctorsookie

my record is 7 minutes...straight arm plank.

scottacular

I planked for five minutes once.

contingencyplan

I am limited my how long I can hold my breath because I can't breathe while in a plank position.

MityMax96

For me, when working abs...
I do standard plank 90 seconds, roll to side plank 30 sec, roll to other side 30 sec, back to standard plank 60 seconds.
rest, then repeat 2 or 3 more times.

BZAH10

For me, when working abs...
I do standard plank 90 seconds, roll to side plank 30 sec, roll to other side 30 sec, back to standard plank 60 seconds.
rest, then repeat 2 or 3 more times.

I do this (or similar) as well: 90 sec. standard plank, 60 sec. on each side and I do 3 sets of those each workout. I love them (well, the effects of them) because that's all I have to do to work my core. I do not do any crunches.

Sweetvirgo63

I can hold the plank form for a 1-2 minutes but I rarely do it at this point. It's just not something I can do after I've had anything to eat or drink; I put it in the same category as yoga; gotta do it on an empty stomach.

MityMax96

For me, when working abs...
I do standard plank 90 seconds, roll to side plank 30 sec, roll to other side 30 sec, back to standard plank 60 seconds.
rest, then repeat 2 or 3 more times.

I do this (or similar) as well: 90 sec. standard plank, 60 sec. on each side and I do 3 sets of those each workout. I love them (well, the effects of them) because that's all I have to do to work my core. I do not do any crunches.

also do 3 - 4 sets of L-sits....
about 30 sec....sometimes on a good day 45 seconds....working to 60 seconds

ninerbuff

While one might build initial strength when starting planking, being able to hold a plank for a long time works more on MUSCLE ENDURANCE and not strength. One could plank for 5 minutes, but suck badly at doing hanging leg lifts or any other exercise that involves using core for resistance training (such as squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, etc.)
Not downplaying that planks aren't useful, just saying that if the goal is increasing core STRENGTH, then do strength training exercise rather than endurance training exercises.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

TeamKovacs

About a minute, but it's never the easiest task to hold that long.

jal92475

Yikes, there's some serious plankers on here. I started at 2 sets of 20 about a month ago and I am now at 2 sets of 30. I'm proud of my progress. It's taking time but I'm getting better!

contingencyplan

While one might build initial strength when starting planking, being able to hold a plank for a long time works more on MUSCLE ENDURANCE and not strength. One could plank for 5 minutes, but suck badly at doing hanging leg lifts or any other exercise that involves using core for resistance training (such as squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, etc.)
Not downplaying that planks aren't useful, just saying that if the goal is increasing core STRENGTH, then do strength training exercise rather than endurance training exercises.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Pretty much this. Once you get to a point where you can hold a plank for about a minute, you're not really accomplishing anything at all by continuing to do it for longer duration other than training endurance--and being very inefficient about how you go about it in the process. If you want to continue to strengthen it beyond that point, you have to do exercises that are so difficult you hit muscle fatigue in only a few reps. And as you continue to grow stronger, you have to keep on focusing on exercises that are so difficult you can never exceed that rep range.