Planks + Elbows = Discomfort!

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spiritamanic
spiritamanic Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am three days into level two of 30 day shred and I have difficulty with the planks. Visualize this a moment: hold your arms straight in front of you with your palms facing each other... Okay, now the very bottom of the elbow area is what hurts. It doesn't hurt as much during the plank, but it does for a while afterwards. Is this normal? How could I readjust to prevent this pain? (Or are my elbows just not strong enough... ha).

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  • lexington87
    lexington87 Posts: 27 Member
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    Okay I'm not sure if I'm understanding how you are doing the plank for the shred. Generally if you are doing a plank your elbows should be under you (think 90 degrees shoulder/boobs) with your shoulders down and back. Have you been doing planks long? I would suggest starting with proper form on a standard plank first (as described above) when you're doing it keep your hands flat on the ground and try to push your body through your hands into the mat. This will stabilize your muscles starting with arms pushing your shoulders back and down and give you the stim in the ab and back muscles like you want.
  • spiritamanic
    spiritamanic Posts: 20 Member
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    Okay I'm not sure if I'm understanding how you are doing the plank for the shred. Generally if you are doing a plank your elbows should be under you (think 90 degrees shoulder/boobs) with your shoulders down and back. Have you been doing planks long? I would suggest starting with proper form on a standard plank first (as described above) when you're doing it keep your hands flat on the ground and try to push your body through your hands into the mat. This will stabilize your muscles starting with arms pushing your shoulders back and down and give you the stim in the ab and back muscles like you want.

    Ha, okay... that isn't how I do a plank, I just made that description so that people would know what area of the elbow is hurting. Ha. I've done planks many times before, but it hasn't been for a while. Do I keep my elbows turned toward each other or forward... or what?
  • tacguy
    tacguy Posts: 196
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    Hi,
    I am doing P90X2, and core work is a BIG part of it. In my program, you do plank as follows:
    Elbows directly under your shoulders.
    Plams flat on the floor, or facing you.
    On your toes, driving your heels back.
    Drive the backs of your knees up.
    Flex the quads.
    Tilt the pelvis down slighty to fully engage the core.
    Do not "dump" in the middle. Stay straight as an arrow!!!
    You can use a mat under your arms if the surface is too hard on your elbows.

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