Yahoo News Why you should try plank jacks to strengthen your core
What’s the best exercise for strengthening your abs? Ab crunches? Plank? Bicycle crunches? A combination of all three? Whatever form of torture you prefer, building a strong core – which includes your abdominals, as well as your hips, back, pelvis and glutes – is essential for runners. Why? Runners need a stable trunk to help keep their torsos upright and therefore maintain good posture. This ensures you run efficiently (as you don't sway from side to side) and reduces strain on other areas of the body. For example, a stable core will prevent your hip collapsing when your stance leg hits the ground, ensuring your knees stay in proper alignment.
For those of you who have been incorporating planks into your strength training sessions for some time – and feel confident holding the original plank move – then why not consider switching it up with a slight variation? Enter: plank jacks.
What are plank jacks?
‘The plank jack is a similar exercise to the press up and front plank in that it requires loading and control of the core in a lengthened position and involves using the arms and shoulders to stabilise the spine and pelvis while the legs split out and in,’ explains Graeme Woodward, a UK Athletics Level 3 performance coach, UKSCA accredited S&C coach and We Run coach for West Yorkshire.
‘The added advantage of this exercise is that the core is shock loaded each time the legs split and land in and out, and this is just like in running when the core stabilises the body at every ground contact for a brief moment in time. This exercise also has secondary benefits in that it recruits the abductor and adductor muscles to split and return the legs.’
How to do plank jacks
Start in a press-up position, shoulders over your wrists and feet together.
Keeping your core braced and hips as low to the ground as possible, jump both legs out to the sides.
Jump back to starting position. That’s one rep.
Sets/reps: One set of 15-20 reps.
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