Me: I have a hard time holding plank on my elbows. It's easier when up on my hands (like in push-up position), but I'm trying to work up to 2:00 elbow plank. I feel it in my lower back first, however... that starts hurting so much that I have to drop down around 1:15. Is that because my lower back isn't strong enough, or does it maybe have something to do with my form? I try to make sure my back and hips are flat - not piked, not arched, not sagging - but I'm not sure if my form is perfect. Any thoughts on why this hurts my BACK way more than my ABS?
Steven Low: This actually gave me idea for a pretty long writeup (below is gonna be a summary of stuff I want to cover. I'll keep you updated as I go... maybe send for proofreading or something.
In any case, what your problem here is that you're engaging too much of the hip flexors compared to the abs. The psoas/iliopsoas runs from the lumbar spine to the femur. The abs run from the sternum to the pelvis. In a plank, if your abs aren't burning and your lower back is hurting that means your psoas/iliopsoas (hip flexors) are engaged. This can either mean weak abdominals or you're getting tired such that the hip flexors are taking over. Whatever the case, it's bad.
Here's one exercise to help correct this. Do a hollow hold (like this picture, from CrossFit Eastside).
Actively FORCE the lower part of your back into the ground. Then lower your feet almost all the way to the ground (1-2 inches above) and put your arms overhead. If you can do this WHILE keeping your lower back tight to the ground, you're in the minority. 99% of the people I know CANNOT do this. As the arms go overhead the abs are made weaker because they get lengthened (distance form the sternum to pelvis increases). Similarly as the feet lower, the abs also weaken. Since the hip flexors bridge the gap from the femur to the lower abs they tend to get engaged in this position. BUT if you're able to force the lower back to the ground, the abs take over. This is because the origin of the psoas (from the lumbar spine) is pulled farther away from the femur and is thus lengthened and weakened.
In any case, what you need to do in plank is really focus on a rounded back (hollow position) during the exercise and ACTIVELY engage your abs - think squeezing them just as you would tell someone to squeeze their glutes finishing a DL or a squat. (Interjection - my trainer always talks about trying to "bring the elbows and feet together" or "contract the ribs down towards the hips"- same concept, different cues.) This will help activate them and get them working correctly. Also, static stretching the hip flexors to weaken them beforehand may help with focus on engaging the core.
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And there you have it - tips for those who suck at plank. Like me. I see 2:00 in my future, even if I have to hire Christin-Street-of-the-four-minute-plank to stand over me and hurl taunts until I get there. Everybody say, "Thank you, Steven!"
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Brilliant, I'll try that at TKD tonight - they almost always give us the 'who can do the plank the longest' exercise in the warm-up. I do not win.
Also I hadn't heard that bit about the glutes in DLs and squats - is that to help straighten you out?
Good info! I tend to have more trouble with shoulders and quads during long planks - maybe the same cause?
And yeah, having Christen hurl taunts at you could be an effective motivator.
Very very useful. I tend to have quad ache (and sometimes knee too) w/ the plank. However, I do get lower back pain w/ other ab exercises, such as sit-ups. Have you had lower back pain w/ back extensions? This is a big goat for me. It's gotten better (that is, less pain and ability to do more reps) but it's still way difficult. You?
Jonathan,
At the top of a DL, much like at the top of a KB swing, EVERYTHING should be tight. The glute contraction is what helps you achieve a completely open hip. Try it - stand up straight. Now, stand up straight and squeeze your glutes hard. Feel how that pulls your pelvis from a slight forward tip into horizontal alignment, and opens your hip just an inch more? In the KB swing, the rapid glute contraction is what gives you that "pop", or the explosive opening of the hip.
Jenn,
I would assume that ab weakness (or tiredness) will translate into some part of your body - shoulders, quads, lower back - shifting into incorrect position to compensate for the weight your abs can no longer hold. Makes sense to me.
Melissa, I have my gymnasts do the plank position quite often, I really emphasize the glutes squeezed tight and having them push their upper back (between their shoulder blades) to the ceiling, and trying to pull their ribcage and hips together.
Dan - YES, thank you. That pushing the upper back towards the ceiling thing is like the "push-up plus" position - the active shoulder position when you're horizontal. Good cue - I think I've been forgetting about that one. (Might help you too, Jenn.)
Jenn,
In a plank from the feet, the quads (vastus lateralis, medialis, intermedius and rectus femoris) should be activated to hold the knee straight. Rectus femoris especially since it runs from the knee to the hip.
This is the cramping you are experiencing and is entirely normal. This is similar to the cramping when you try to learn an L-sit or hanging leg raises for the first time.
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Evelyn,
With back extensions (should actually be called hip extensions) you should be rotating from the hip... not actually putting the back in flexion. That's bad for your lumbar vertebrae and akin to rounding your back during a squat or DL. If the back is rigid and solid, it should just be an isometric movement for it while you rotate at the hips.
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Jonathan,
Squeezing the glutes during squats and DLs is to get them active. For most of us that sit down too much during the day (for work or whatever reason) we tend to have weak inactivated glutes. The glutes should DOMINATE hip extension and hyperextension which is involved with pretty much any athletic movement.
Pretty much what Melissa said.
Great tips all around! Thank you for posting this Melissa, and thank you Steven for your valuable insight. :)
Thanks, Steven and Melissa, that makes sense.
I'm blaming the planks and leg raises I did yesterday for the crippling case of DOMS I have in my quads right now. :p
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