Challenge
31-Day Planking Challenge
Holding your body roughly parallel to the ground by balancing on your forearms and toes--an exercise commonly known as planking--is great for strengthening abdominal muscles, back muscles, and the muscles surrounding the pelvis. These muscle groups are known as the core, because they provide stability for the entire body. Strengthening the core can make it easier to perform a number of activities, and promotes optimal posture and can help to reduce back pain.
If you’re not familiar with planking, it’s a core-strengthening exercise that provides an excellent foundation for numerous types of physical fitness training. A strong core is essential for maintaining balance, supporting optimal posture, reducing back pain and joint dysfunction, building endurance, and promoting the success of overall strength training.
Planking can be done quickly and relies on gravity and body mass to create resistance, so it requires no special equipment and only a minimal time commitment. That means that planking can be integrated into even the busiest scheduling with relative ease.
The table below outlines the protocol for the 31-Day Planking Challenge, which is designed to allow beginners to build their core strength and endurance over time. To ensure that you’re planking safely and effectively, scroll down to watch a helpful instructional video before you begin the challenge.
