Recently we traveled to Glacier National Park, and decided to go hike the Hidden Lake trail. Wouldn’t you know, the trail was actually built out with boards that made a series of steps and platforms for relatively (this is at 6000’ + feet!) easy travel.
Planks, if you will.
As we were hiking along, I thought, I need to do a plank on a plank!
Have you ever entered a progressive plank challenge, where you start with a ten second plank and add five or ten seconds every day for thirty days? By the time you are done, you’ve reached 300 seconds or 5 minute plank.
Does that sound like fun?
Do you think your form will improve or dissolve the longer you stay?
Well, good on you if you choose to spend your time that way. However, I propose another viable solution.
Just as much can be accomplished in a mere 10 seconds.
In fact, I would argue more can be accomplished!
The trick is to maximally contract almost every muscle in your body for those 10 seconds…Every single muscle that you can get to contract.
Obvious ones are the core itself, then all the quads on the fronts of the thighs, then your glutes, then push up towards your hips from the toes, and pull down with your hands toward your hips into the ground so you’ll get your lats involved… and don’t forget to breathe behind the shield.
Breathe behind the shield? What?
Picture a set of amazing 6 pack abs. If those abs are contracted, then it is hard to breathe diaphragmatically.
Hard….but not impossible, and I throw out this challenge to you.
Lock down that core in your ten second plank, picture those 6 pack abs, and breathe in and out through your nose into your diaphragm without losing the lock!
Can you do it?
Of course you can, you just need to try!
Here is a quick (windy! A little noisy!~) video of planking on a plank.
Caveat: I was in a rush inbetween up and down fellow hikers, and it was cold at altitude at sunrise so I have a skort on underneath my mini dress (I forgot pajamas and we left our campground at 5:20am to get into the park to secure a parking spot). Forgive the outfit 🙂
Let me know in the comments below how breathing behind the shield goes, and shortening up your plank to a powerful 10 seconds!
