Plank exercise question

slieber

I have pretty strong abs. When I do plank, I don't feel it so much in the stomach but I DO have extreme pain in my shoulders and across the upper back, which keeps me from staying up longer. I can just barely manage a minute before I have to stop because of upper back pain.

What is the correct position and will this pain ever ease? Should I tough it out and see what happens?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

JLEC77

Are you making sure you're a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles? If not, that could be the source of your pain...

neclar

for sure, correct position is everything. if your not doing any exercise correctly you'll be in major pain. If you can do a proper push-up i.e. keeping your back straight, thats how your body should be in a plank position. That is also another form of plank, so maybe try that.

Hope that helps

slieber

Possibly. I can do a push up with no problem in the back, but plank is painful across the upper back and shoulders.

I spoke to one of the trainers at LA Fitness today to ask about this, and he recommended I get a bone density test since doing the plank shouldn't hurt in that area. I am in an age range that COULD signify this, but with all my working out that I've been doing over the year, could this really be the issue?

Is there a photo anywhere of how to position the arms, et. al. to make sure I'm doing it right?

Thanks again!
S.

foxyforce

planks could mess up your spine, i would do some googling for the correc position

thumper44

slieber

That's what I'm going to try - the straight arm plank for now. Thanks!