Planks at a high weight

healthieryear · March 2014

Hi,

Today I did my first plank (full plank not elbow). I have worked with other people doing them, even assisted with proper form, but never been capable of doing one myself. I was going to start on my knees, but I have a lot of knee pain and even with a pillow under them it was just too painful, so I decided I'd at least give the full plank a go.

Anyway, at first I managed 31 seconds, but when I got my husband to come and check my form he corrected me (no mirror so I couldn't easily correct my own body position) and tried again, then I could only do 14 seconds, and wow could I feel the difference in my abs in regards to the workout! I made a goal of 20 seconds and did it again later in the night and did do 20 seconds with proper form. The 20 seconds was a huge struggle.

My questions are: I wasn't able to hold myself up to do the elbow plank, will this come quickly if I perform the full plank daily? Currently I weigh 298lbs (and I'm female) which is probably relevant. How fast should I expect my planking abilities to improve at this weight? Is it reasonable to make a goal of 30 seconds by the end of next week? Are there any injuries I should watch out for when doing the plank at such a high weight? I really enjoy this exercise so I'm hoping its okay to continue.

Thanks in advance!

steve0820 · March 2014

If you're not experiencing any pain or discomfort, should be no issues. Are the full planks your mentioning, in a push up start position, since you're mentioning no elbow?

I wouldn't worry to much on extending the time. In my experiencing, holding a plank for minutes at a time wasn't anymore beneficial, as oppose to 30 secs.

You could work in as sets. 30 sec plank, 30 sec rest. Or something a little shorter, like a Tabata routine (20w/10r). So, 20 sec planks, followed by 10 sec rest, for 8 sets = 4 mins.

Ready2Rock206 · March 2014

Just keep doing them - you'll be able to go longer and longer before you know it. 20 seconds is good for starting! And absolutely great if you're using correct form.

I actually find the elbow plank a little easier that the straight arm plank - but that could just be me!

healthieryear · March 2014

Thanks.

This is an example of the plank I did: http://media1.onsugar.com/files/2013/03/12/4/192/1922729/5db5091b3dcb3c1b_Creepy_Crawley_1.preview.jpg

The start position is the same as if you were going to do the elbow plank except your arms are out-stretched.

I am REALLY sore today, my lower abs and stomach are sore in a way I"ve never experienced from a workout ever....so I guess thats good. Only problem is my elbow joint hurts today, and did last night after I did another plank. Not like a workout sore type of hurting, but like a strain/sprain type hurting. I broke my humerus a few years ago and its now pretty crooked cause I didn't op for the surgery. So I'm not sure if its related to do that or the sheer amount of weight I'm holding up on a out stretched arm. Or even a combination of both. I was okay with the first few times, I may have just over done it with not having worked up to it.

Today I did manage to do the elbow plank (example: http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/pics/elbow-plank2.jpg) for 10 seconds, so I'm thinking I may do that as an alternative to the outstretched arm due to the joint pain. I didn't think I could do it yesterday but I really didn't want to not do one at all today...actually I did both today despite pain but only 10 seconds for each because I don't want to cause injury to the elbow, after the 10 second full plank (out stretched arm) it hurt a lot more than before, but it seems to be okay with the elbow plank. I think I find the elbow plank harder because I don't have much upper arm strength...not sure, it seems harder to hold up my body with it, but I did manage it today barely haha.

Thanks for the advice (from both of you). I like the idea of doing short reps. Even if I start with 10 second ones I can move up to more gradually.

Planks at a high weight

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