PLANKS TEACH US WHAT IT MEANS TO HOLD OUR TORSO STILL

The basic idea is that most of us, including myself, move too much through our spine & not enough through our other joints like hips, knees & ankles when doing things in life, especially things that involve lifting or moving a load of some sort that feels heavy. The way our bodies are designed is to behave in the opposite way- for our spine to stay relatively still & to move a lot through our hips & knees & ankles.

Planks are one of the first steps in reversing the way we’ve been moving our bodies. In a plank, the goal is to hold our spine & torso as still as possible, in a position where it’s hard - where gravity is pulling on us making it feel much easier to let our spine arch or round.

Since planks do not involve moving any body parts, that lets us focus on waking up these muscles of the core- helping us to learn to feel what muscles should be turned on, what it feels like to hold the spine still in a neutral spine when it’s challenging to do so, & gradually increase the endurance of these muscles to stay in such a position. When something is new to us, it’s important to not have too many things to focus on at once, like moving a bunch of body parts.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF STRENGTH & FOCUS

This is an important first step for the vast majority of us ladies. When I first began doing any neutral spine core exercises, I had VERY little strength or ability. Despite the fact that I’d been “working out” - with heavy weights even, for over a decade. I really had to start SUPER basic in order to do core exercises with proper form. But it’s worth it because you’ll be building a new foundation for body movement- one that has longevity to it!

You will be amazed at how quickly your ability improves with these types of core exercises.

CHOOSE CORE EXERCISES BASED ON HOW WE USE CORE MUSCLES IN LIFE

The internet is full of creative ways to exercise the core. In order to figure out which exercises you should be doing, it is helpful to think about how the core works. One of the most important jobs of the spine is to hold the body up as the arms and legs move. When you lift objects, like kids or groceries, you can only safely lift as much as the spine can support. Think about what happens when you try to lift a really heavy object - you cannot straighten up your spine, and you could strain your back.

The spine is made up of 24 vertebrae, and each pair of vertebrae is connected by three small joints. These joints only have a tiny amount of movement. The spine is also supported by the discs, ligaments, tendons, and layers of muscles attached to the vertebrae. The spine is designed to be stable. On the flip side, the hip and shoulder joints are designed for movement. The end of the upper arm bone and the thigh bone are shaped like balls making up one side of the joint, the other side of the joint is a surface shaped like a small disc or shallow bowl. The best exercises to do are exercises that work the body the way that it is designed to work. A very functional way to strengthen the core muscles is to hold the spine in its healthiest position while moving the arms and legs.

It is true that the spine moves, and moving the spine is good for it. When you move your spine, a little bit of motion comes from a lot of different joints. For example, when you bend forward, the total distance the spine can bend forward is pretty far. But the flexibility of the spine is made up of a little bit of movement at many different vertebrae, and also movement at the pelvis and hips. Unfortunately what commonly happens is that the hips and upper back do not move very much and the low back makes up for the lack of motion by moving more than it should. This is the most common cause of low back pain, too much movement in a small section of the low back. Moving this small section over and over again or when lifting or moving weight, will increase the pressure on just a few discs, and stretch out the support structures at that part of the spine. When the support structures are stretched or the discs are damaged, that section of the spine will move even more. This is known as spinal instability - that part of the spine is no longer stable. Too much movement in the spine can lead to injury or damage to the joints of the spine, bones, or the nerves that exit between the vertebrae. You may know someone that has had surgery for spinal fusion. This is when the surgeon inserts hardware into the spine to try to make it more stable.

The main function of the muscles of the torso is to protect the spine from damage by holding the spine in a healthy position and preventing excessive movement. These muscles work any time we are in an upright position, even standing, and sitting.

When you do planks, a lot of the body’s weight is on the arms with either the forearm or hands in contact with the ground. Bearing weight through joints activates the proprioceptors, which are sensory receptors that send messages to the brain about where the arms or legs are. Proprioception (the body’s knowledge of where it is in space) is needed for motor control, balance, and stability. Weight-bearing through bones also stimulates bone growth which is why weight-bearing exercises are great for preventing and treating osteopenia and osteoporosis.