Is it correct, if perhaps an oversimplification, to say you used planks to train your mind to tolerate or ignore signals from your mind to stop before your body had reached its limit? (i’m wondering if this could be a technique to train yourself to maintain higher levels of exertion during a race of some sort, in my case, cross country skiing)
Did you suffer any physical injury to your shoulders or any other part of your body during this process?
And if I may ask a third question, how much time did you did you give yourself for recovery between plank sessions?
I mainly perform planks at the end of workouts for whatever amount of time and then do my big prolonged plank challenge on “rest” days where that is the only intentional exercise I do
1. Absolutely. I use planks and other isometric holds primarily to train my mind. Body says tired but mind can override it. Physical urge control. There’s obviously a point when we all need to break but it can be progressively extended acutely with the will and progressively through consistent training and plasticity.
2. No injuries of any kind. My recent shoulder surgery is tied to a jiu jitsu injury from a year and a half ago. Planks were actually one of the recommendations from my physical therapist following my first surgery during recovery as an excellent first strength and stability routine following regaining of my mobility. Recent surgery was just to remove the hardware in my shoulder.
3. Answer will vary based on how adapted you are and how long you hold. I could easily do a prolonged plank every day but that would interfere with my other training priorities during those valuable hours or minutes I can set aside time. A great way to grease the groove and begin to condition the skill of planking is rounds though. 15 sec on/45 sec off for however many minutes. When that becomes easier 30/30. When that becomes easier 45/15 and/or increase total minutes. Then you can start doing minute or more rounds with whatever rest periods you want in between.
Forget the age of the man but a retired marine had the Guinness world record for a plank hold for quite a while. Want to say it was in the 8 hour range when he had it and he finished the hold with 75 pushups haha. Think it’s over 10 hours now.
My best is 41 min. Haven’t gone for more than 20 in a while but exceeding an hour is a future challenge I’ll take on at some point.
Thanks for your very comprehensive reply. I can do 5 minutes but never considered the value of extending the plank time for mental training. My girlfriend can maintain a HR in excess of 170 for over an hour. My max is 163 and holding that for 5 min is all I can do. I’m not sure maintaining an HR that high for an extended period of time is healthy but I’d like to have the grit to do it periodically.
5 min is more than most can do! I’ve never measured my heart rate but it would be interesting to see if u could slow it down overtime while holding a plank. Very similar to what people do during deliberate cold exposure with intentional breathing. Slow down the stress response despite constant presence of the stressor. You are giving me some ideas to play with!
Love a good plank challenge! Also love a good workout mantra (haha and a good sports training montage). I always used to use "Get Back Up" but now I have a new one from Toy Story "Combat Carl doesn't give up, Combat Carl finds a way" (though, of course, I use my own name!). Another excellent post!
Appreciate the feedback! Love planks for so many reasons but the mental benefit is my favorite. Using it with other isometrics holds now like horse pose, balancing on one foot, or wall sits.
Fascinating post Kyle. Two questions if I may.
Is it correct, if perhaps an oversimplification, to say you used planks to train your mind to tolerate or ignore signals from your mind to stop before your body had reached its limit? (i’m wondering if this could be a technique to train yourself to maintain higher levels of exertion during a race of some sort, in my case, cross country skiing)
Did you suffer any physical injury to your shoulders or any other part of your body during this process?
And if I may ask a third question, how much time did you did you give yourself for recovery between plank sessions?
I mainly perform planks at the end of workouts for whatever amount of time and then do my big prolonged plank challenge on “rest” days where that is the only intentional exercise I do
All great questions!
1. Absolutely. I use planks and other isometric holds primarily to train my mind. Body says tired but mind can override it. Physical urge control. There’s obviously a point when we all need to break but it can be progressively extended acutely with the will and progressively through consistent training and plasticity.
2. No injuries of any kind. My recent shoulder surgery is tied to a jiu jitsu injury from a year and a half ago. Planks were actually one of the recommendations from my physical therapist following my first surgery during recovery as an excellent first strength and stability routine following regaining of my mobility. Recent surgery was just to remove the hardware in my shoulder.
3. Answer will vary based on how adapted you are and how long you hold. I could easily do a prolonged plank every day but that would interfere with my other training priorities during those valuable hours or minutes I can set aside time. A great way to grease the groove and begin to condition the skill of planking is rounds though. 15 sec on/45 sec off for however many minutes. When that becomes easier 30/30. When that becomes easier 45/15 and/or increase total minutes. Then you can start doing minute or more rounds with whatever rest periods you want in between.
Forget the age of the man but a retired marine had the Guinness world record for a plank hold for quite a while. Want to say it was in the 8 hour range when he had it and he finished the hold with 75 pushups haha. Think it’s over 10 hours now.
My best is 41 min. Haven’t gone for more than 20 in a while but exceeding an hour is a future challenge I’ll take on at some point.
Thanks for your very comprehensive reply. I can do 5 minutes but never considered the value of extending the plank time for mental training. My girlfriend can maintain a HR in excess of 170 for over an hour. My max is 163 and holding that for 5 min is all I can do. I’m not sure maintaining an HR that high for an extended period of time is healthy but I’d like to have the grit to do it periodically.
5 min is more than most can do! I’ve never measured my heart rate but it would be interesting to see if u could slow it down overtime while holding a plank. Very similar to what people do during deliberate cold exposure with intentional breathing. Slow down the stress response despite constant presence of the stressor. You are giving me some ideas to play with!
To be clear, her heart rate, and my heart rate get that high while running or cross country skiing, not doing planks
That’s what I figured but I would imagine heart rate could go up and down during a plank.
Cross country skiing is an excellent way to stay in shape while connecting with loved ones by the way. Very cool you guys do that
Isometric holds and slow core exercises are my favourite! They challenge my stability and focus and make me feel so strong.
Same! Mental and physical strength simultaneously.
Love a good plank challenge! Also love a good workout mantra (haha and a good sports training montage). I always used to use "Get Back Up" but now I have a new one from Toy Story "Combat Carl doesn't give up, Combat Carl finds a way" (though, of course, I use my own name!). Another excellent post!
Haha my kids watch the Halloween Toy Story short all the time!
Great read—planks have been part of my workouts for a long time, and this was a super useful perspective on them.
Appreciate the feedback! Love planks for so many reasons but the mental benefit is my favorite. Using it with other isometrics holds now like horse pose, balancing on one foot, or wall sits.
I like balancing poses! They engage my mind more than others 🙌