30 Day Plank Challenge

Throughout December I’ve been doing the #30dayplankchallenge. You just lay on the floor, that’s all… but slightly off the floor. Got it?

An image is worth a blah blah…

Only the forearms and toes are in contact with the floor, the rest of the body is straight… like a plank.

It starts easy, plank for 20 seconds… but as the days go by, the plank time increases and it starts to hurt…

There are occasional rest days…

And some silly days…

But in all seriousness, it’s actually a great core workout and I’ve really felt the benefits of doing it. It’s definitely something I’ll be incorporating into my daily routines from now on.

Follow my progress on Instagram.

Questions from Joe Baker on Twitter

How have you found it?

Really beneficial for all round core strength. It starts off quite slowly (20 secs) so I didn’t feel like I’d done anything in the first week but then as the duration ramps up it becomes quite a challenge to hold it. I really started to notice it in the abs when it hit 3 minutes. I’m definitely going to continue with it beyond the 30 days as part of a range of core workout exercises I’ve been doing.

What made you start?

I’ve been following a barefoot runner called Terry Orsi, he did a 30 day squat challenge in November which I spotted too late, he went on to do the 30 day plank challenge this December so I joined in… I’ve been taking the timings from his Instagram posts.

I started because I realised core strength is vital to good barefoot running form.

Have you had any help/coaching to do it?

No. I didn’t really know what planking was so I looked at some images and copied.

Used an app?

Just the countdown timer on my iPhone.

I did an second 5 minute plank which I videoed on the last day…

Want to do the 30 day plank challenge?

Take the timings from Barefoot Terry’s Instagram post.

And do this… you don’t have to do your plank on planks if you don’t want to…

Experiment with your feet up against a vertical surface for additional stability… thanks for this tip by awesome, amazing Vic!

And most of all, have fun!