Why planks suck

     Ever been at the gym wrapping up a workout racking your brain on what to do for abs? Going through the mental checklist.... did cables yesterday, did leg raises the day before......you know what I'll do some planks. I'll put on a video, and the time will fly by. You get down into the plank position then it hits you.... these suck.... YouTube distracts for 30 seconds before your core starts shaking like a stripper. You make it to a min (feels like 30 min) collapse then call it a day. Yep, those are planks. Forget water boarding planks are true torture. 

    What do these things do anyway? Your core hurts so it must work that.... right?

    To a degree they do. Planks isolate the core without upper body or lower body movements. Planks work the deep muscles along the Anatomical core or in laymen's terms the muscles that originate the axial skeleton. The core itself is responsible for generating forces during concentric muscle actions and to resist motion during eccentric and isometric movements. Any integrated kinetic chain movements that aid in transferring torque. Movement s such as kicking or throwing utilize these forces. A strong, stable core can theoretically generate more force.

    Since planks work the core, they have to improve force production, right? Not so fast. Planks are best suited for spinal stability and to reduce injuries.... not to produce a strong core. A more effective way to generate force and core stability are ground based free weight exercises. Thats right exercises such as squats, deadlifts, standing shoulder presses, and farmers walks are better for core stability. Additionally, ground based free weight exercises have a direct application to sport improvement. Due to heavy weight creating instability your core has to work hard to stabilize your body during the lift or movement. Truck rotations using a cable or Pallof presses are also good for core activation and have sports applications. 

    Next time you're at the gym looking for a core workout think ground-based free weight exercises over planks. 

The lack of sport applications is why planks suck.