What is it with our fascination with abs? Why are we as a nation so fixated on six packs, on shredded cores and defined torsos, on the lean and gorgeous P90X workout effect that having a well defined six pack has on our figure? While having a strong and powerful core is crucial to our health and athletic potential, there is no need to obsess with revealing those muscles, with reducing our bodies to less than 10% body fat so that they can be seen with such definition. When it comes to strength, power, and health, having a shredded six pack is not necessary, but man does it look good. So we here at Extreme Fitness Results asked ourselves: what is the single best exercise to help you work on your core? See if you agree with us, and if you have a personal favorite, give us a shout and let us know in the comments!
Alright, without further ado, here is the fundamental ab/core exercise that we think is the best: the plank. Sorry guys, perhaps you were expecting some form of madness, something that involved hanging inverted from one foot with a porcupine in each hand as you did reverse transplanar curls or something, but no. The basic plank for our money is the best all round ab/core workout.
If you’re not familiar with it, this is how you do it: get into a push-up position, and then lower yourself so that you are resting your weight on your forearms, palms down, upper arms perpendicular with the ground. Look at the ground, and make sure to keep your hips in line with your body, neither raising them too high so that you form a pyramid, or letting them sag toward the ground. You then hold this position for as long as you can, trying for a full minute, and do it three times, aiming to do three full minutes total.
A fantastic variation you can do is the side plank, where you turn your body onto its side, forming a triangle between your body, arm and the ground. Keep your hips in line with your body so that it forms a straight line from your head to your feet, and if your balance is good you should extend your arm directly overhead, pointing at the ceiling.
The plank is the best because it works out your entire core, from the abdominal wall to the obliques to your back. When it comes to picking just one single exercise for your abs outside of the many options offered at Extreme Fitness Results this is the one with the best bang for your buck. What do you guys think?
Great article, I agree with you! Everbody loves a six pack, but they don’t relize there is 29 muscles that make up the core. So doing ab work alone wont cut it the plank is a great one to throw into the mix!
Thanks for tip. Doing the plank is a great workout and it’s pretty quick. Thanks for sharing! BTW I LOVE the p90x ab workout!! It is my favorite ab video to do at home.