Question about plank pose

ahmommy

I'm 5 weeks postpartum and ready to start strengthening my core again. I'm interested in doing planks because they're low impact but effective (or so I've been told). I'm just not sure where I should start and what my goal should be. So how long should I hold position and how many times should I do it a day to ease into it, and what should I work my way up to?

Thanks!

seekingstrengthX2

Do it until your arms collapse and you can't hold yourself up anymore.

:-)

I'm serious. It might be 10 seconds the fist time, but will progress quickly. I'd try for 3x's/day.

A full minute is a good goal.

Meliklotz

Do it until your arms collapse and you can't hold yourself up anymore.

:-)

I'm serious. It might be 10 seconds the fist time, but will progress quickly. I'd try for 3x's/day.

A full minute is a good goal.

^
This
yes it is 100% accurate. When you start (if your form is correct--) your body especially your core will shake and you will feel it immediately. My personal trainer is always reminding me to line my arms with my shoulders and DROP YOUR hips...LOL

allegram

Please, do anything but planks. They wreak havoc on your lower back and SI joint. Pilates or yoga will tighten up your core soon enough.

ahmommy

Thanks! I've done it twice today, 20 seconds each, but could have gone a little longer. I'll keep it up.

jaymek92

just keep your butt down and hold it as long as you can!

BAMFMeredith

Please, do anything but planks. They wreak havoc on your lower back and SI joint. Pilates or yoga will tighten up your core soon enough.

While I LOVE me a good plank, when I was 5 weeks post partum, I definitely didn't do them. I got the Windsor Pilates dvds right after I had my son, and seriously in a few months I was down like 40 lbs and my stomach was very trim.

Of course, I gained half of that back after a while because I stopped being so diligent, which is why I'm here now (my son is 5 now), but pilates was an awesome low impact way to tighten and strengthen my core soon after having a baby.

lwoods34

Start them very slowly because if you collapse your arms from doing a plank pose, you can injure yourself. Start with 10 seconds with a 20-30 second break in between and do that a few times. Once you feel more comfortable with, then you can increase your time in plank pose while decreasing your recovery time. Eventually you will be able to hold plank pose for 1 minute.

If you do the plank pose incorrectly, yes it can mess up your back. You want to push your belly button into your spine in order to keep your abs engaged. If your back sinks down/bows in, then you will feel too much pressure in your back.

To build your abs muscle back, Gabrielle Reese has an excellent pre-natal/post natal workout DVD. My son is almost 18months and I did her video while pregnant as well as after and it really helped bring everything back. Maybe you could try that. each workout is about 15-20 minutes and is a total body workout.

yarmiah

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^
This
yes it is 100% accurate. When you start (if your form is correct--) your body especially your core will shake and you will feel it immediately. My personal trainer is always reminding me to line my arms with my shoulders and DROP YOUR hips...LOL
[//quote]

I can hear my trainer in my ear . . ."BUTT DOWN!" lol