The ONE exercise that strengthens ALL your muscle groups and you only have to do it for less than 10 minutes to see a difference

• Holding a plank for 2 minutes can work all muscle groups, trainers suggest.
• This exercise has been proven to lower blood pressure more than HIIT.
• Read more: Precise training plan that could reduce your risk of early death by 50%

Do you want to become healthier with as little effort as possible?

According to experts, there's one exercise that ticks both boxes.

Forget about hitting the treadmill or toiling through intensive bootcamp classes – fitness experts say all you need to do is hold the same position for two minutes

Experts say that if you do a short plank every day for two weeks, Improve your balance, strengthen all muscle groups, and even lower blood pressure.

A large-scale study of about 16,000 people found that just four rounds of two-minute exercises over two weeks can have significant benefits.

In a plank, keep your body horizontal, tighten your abdominal muscles, and keep your butt low to the ground.

To do a plank, get on your hands and knees and reach your hands to the floor beneath your shoulders.

Place your hands under your shoulders and extend your right leg behind you, standing on your tiptoes. Next, extend your left leg and press your hands into the floor for balance.

Place your eyes slightly in front of your hands and tighten your core muscles.

However, be careful not to let your butt float. Otherwise, the muscles will become relaxed.

India Bailey, personal trainer at TechnoGym, said: stylist uk The plank is a “highly effective exercise” that “strengthens the lower back and lower back, as well as the pectoralis major (chest), arms, quadriceps, glutes, trapezius and rhomboids (upper back).”

The review, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analyzed 270 clinical trials conducted between 1990 and 2023 and involving approximately 16,000 participants.

The researchers found that people who did static exercise such as planks for a total of 8 minutes a day for two weeks had lower blood pressure than those who did more intense exercise such as aerobic exercise or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). discovered.

Researchers saw a reduction in both systolic blood pressure (the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats) and diastolic blood pressure (the pressure when the heart is resting between beats).

“Overall, isometric exercise training is the most effective method for lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure,” the research team from Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK wrote.

You can do planks for two minutes at a time, but you can also work up to your goal by doing them in shorter intervals.

Researchers at Harvard University believe that 10 to 30 seconds is enough time to see an effect.

“Focus on doing multiple sets for short periods of time,” says Eric Litarian, a physical therapist at the university's Spaulding Rehabilitation Center.

“Two minutes is often considered a maximum, beyond which you will not receive any further benefit.”

Bailey recommended starting by holding the position for as long as possible, then adding 10 to 15 seconds each time.

According to this measurement, if you practice 5 days a week, you should reach 10 minutes after 2 weeks.