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Planks \u2026\u00a0 you are either on board <\/span>(no pun intended)<\/span><\/i> and do them frequently or avoid them at all costs!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Love them or hate them, most people do them from time to time, the question we hope to answer today is \u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n Are basic plank holds effective at sculpting your mid-section?!\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n A while back, we filmed a youtube video where we mentioned that planking is a pretty bad ab exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We think that was a little confusing for some people and<\/span> would like to clarify <\/i><\/b>what we meant.<\/span><\/p>\n Basic plank holds CAN be a great exercise. When done correctly, <\/span>a plank activates way more muscles than a standard crunch.<\/i><\/b> If you plank with bad form, <\/span>it will do NOTHING. <\/i><\/b>No matter your fitness level or the plank variation —<\/span> you are wasting your time and could actually hurt your back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even if your form is perfect, there are still some cases where plank holds<\/span> may not be a great ab exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of those being —\u00a0 <\/span>if you <\/i><\/b>can easily hold a plank for more than 1-minute.<\/b><\/p>\n If you can do that, you probably need to consider doing a different ab workout or perform <\/span>advanced plank variations <\/i><\/b>that are more challenging.<\/span><\/p>\n To help you out, we have a <\/span>5 Minute Plank Ab Workout <\/b>for you to try! You will still perform a basic plank hold in this workout, but it will be for your rest periods!<\/span><\/p>\n If you can hold a plank for 60-seconds, then you have advanced to the point that a basic plank now becomes your \u201cactive\u201d rest!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These movements are advanced but still <\/span>don\u2019t require any equipment. <\/i><\/b>You only need a small space on the floor and a timer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t even need a timer if you choose to <\/span>follow along with us!<\/i><\/b> \u00a0Just find a small space on the floor and <\/span>hit play on the video below!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n NOTE: <\/b>If you are new to working out or have a weak core, this workout isn\u2019t for you. We have plenty of beginner ab workouts on our <\/span>YouTube channel<\/span><\/a> that you should attempt and perfect before you try this one. But if you can hold a plank for one minute \u2026 <\/span>swap out your basic planks for this workout instead!\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n 5 MINUTE ADVANCED PLANK AB WORKOUT<\/b> WORKOUT DESCRIPTION<\/b><\/p>\n This workout is challenging! After all, it is 5 minutes of planking without any rest!<\/span><\/p>\n But it\u2019s not as bad as it sounds because you will be<\/span> changing plank variations every 30 seconds <\/b>.. which keeps things moving!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Start a timer for 5 minutes (or just follow along with us <\/span>HERE<\/span>.) \u2b07\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\n<\/span>But whether or not doing them is beneficial at improving YOUR core depends on a few key factors:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n<\/b>(No Equipment Needed)<\/b><\/p>\n\n