I did 90 commando planks every day for a week — here’s my results

Tom’s Guide did a lot of plank challenges. If there’s a plank variation, one of us he jumped on it for a fitness challenge. But one of his planks I hadn’t conquered yet was Command Plank, so he added 90 repetitions to his daily routine for just one week.

Admittedly, I love the plank exercise. Whether it’s weight training or bodyweight workouts, the plank seems to be a good fit for both. Although primarily known for its ability to strengthen the core, this exercise basically targets and strengthens the entire body, including the shoulders, chest, back, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps.

do this using isometric contraction (opens in new tab) — Keep your muscles in tension without stretching or squeezing (bending or stretching) your muscles. It’s one way to activate your muscles in a low-impact state, but there are many variations of the plank that use movement to make your muscles more active. Find out what happened when I challenged his 90 Commando Daily to Plank and why he probably won’t do it again. And these are the best yoga mats for doing planks.

How to command plank

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To do a command plank, move from a high plank position to a forearm plank and back again.

how:

Begin in a plank position on the mat with elbows extended, shoulders over wrists, hips in line with shoulders (here’s how to do a plank).
Tighten your stomach and lower your left elbow to the mat under your left shoulder, followed by your right elbow.
Pause in a plank position on your elbows and push your left palm back into the mat, followed by your right hand.

Switch your forearms each time to evenly move your body and keep your hips square to the mat without swinging your torso. This movement is about slow and controlled movements.

Unlike the regular plank, the command plank or “military plank” gets your chest, arms (including triceps), and shoulders working more and your heart rate up. Strengthening your lower back, glutes, and hamstring muscles supports better posture and protects your spine. Developing a strong core also allows you to lift heavier weights, run faster, reduce the chance of injury and improve function.

I ran 90 command planks every day for a week. The results are as follows.

Command Plank is a full body burner. If you are a beginner, practice holding the plank for a long time beforehand. You can also use your knees to adapt to the movement pattern. To get the exercise going, wear a weight-hit vest or try balancing on one leg.

First day

I like to approach commando planks like peeling off a Band-Aid. I program commando planks regularly for clients, so I’m used to demonstrating and running them myself, but I probably can’t do 90 iterations at a time.

My approach on the first day was to go head-on with little rest and move consistently. I decided to add a 45 second break in the middle for that.

2nd and 3rd day

After the second day, my arm was feeling it, but not anywhere else, so I added a weighted vest to spice it up. It is recommended to use a vest. It is great for making body weight resistance exercises harder, but puts extra strain on your joints, especially during aerobic exercise. A vest may not be suitable.

Personally, it helped me increase my intensity and increase my heart rate and muscle engagement. bottom.

Days 4 and 5

90 reps of anything is a good number of reps and encourages high reps in your workout, but while many classes employ a high reps endurance strategy or max reps to time cap, I Do it for one move every day for a week.

I’ve been lifting weights for years, but I still need to tweak myself from time to time to keep my core active. It is very painful.

By day five, it’s time to reset your form every 30 reps and focus on reusing your core. I heard He repeatedly stressed the importance of compound contractions – contracting all muscles, including the back, abdomen and buttocks at the same time.

He adds that this helps you focus on the larger muscle groups while “unconsciously contracting all the smaller supporting muscles.” Robinson says.

photo of woman doing plank exercise

(Image credit: Getty/:FreshSplash)

6th day

With one day left and 450 reps down, I was sore. Repeated loads on one shoulder put the weak left shoulder muscles to the test.

Day 7

Finally, the day has come. I honed my whippet’s speed and a more energetic final rep and reflected on what I had learned.

It hurt, my left shoulder was sensitive, and my upper body felt like I was doing endless pushups, but overall it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In parallel with his daily cooldown, he adds five shoulder stretches for the next week or so to release stiff shoulders and practice hanging from the bar.

A little left field, but the dead hang (see below) is great for stretching your upper body. research (opens in new tab) It has also been shown to improve forearm and grip strength. It’s the perfect preparation for your next fitness challenge.

Woman hanging with her legs up from a bar between two trees

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

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