SIDE PLANK

The ONE and ONLY exercise performed on your SIDE Let's gooooooo

1. Start on your side, bending your elbow and resting on your forearm, bringing your body into the air.

2. Your other arm should help you stay balanced and in position - by either being straight up, or with your hand on your hip.

3. Back should be "straight" and head should be facing forward. (Keep that spine aligned!)

4. Feet should be resting on top of one another.

5. *To switch to the next side, take the arm that's straight up and slide it underneath your chest.

6. *Then bend that arm's elbow and position your other arm to help you stay balanced.

7. Hold each Side Plank position for at least 10 seconds.

Tips

*Be sure to keep your back "straight" and your head facing forward to get the most out of this exercise.

*Your "other" arm can be positioned however you like, as long as it helps you stay balanced and in Side Plank position.

*You should be feeling this exercise in your chest and back.

The Side Plank is another variation of the Plank exercise that targets your "side" abdominals, in addition to just the centre of your chest and back. It also greatly helps fix/manage your posture, making you feel taller and more confident when you stand up! Because of the rotation, whenever you feel tired of holding one Side, you can always just switch to the other to relieve yourself temporarily!

Let's start with the Chest. Right dead in the centre of your chest, you have your RECTUS ABDOMINIS muscle, or your "Six Pack" muscle. The muscles that are on either side of your RECTUS ABDOMINIS are called your OBLIQUES. Your OBLIQUES also help out your RECTUS ABDOMINIS, but they mostly contract every time you "rotate" to the next Side in this exercise, as you twist your torso/chest slightly. Both the RECTUS ABDOMINIS and OBLIQUES contract "isometrically" ("shakiness" contraction) to hold you in the Side Plank position.

In your Back, you have your MAJOR spine muscle group called your ERECTOR SPINAE GROUP. This is a group of three muscles called ILIOCOSTALIS, LONGISSIMUS and SPINALIS that run the entire length of your spine from your head to your butt. Your ERECTOR SPINAE GROUP contracts at the same time as your ABS and OBLIQUES to hold you in "Side Plank" position, and also to assist every time your "rotate" to the next Side in this exercise, as you twist your torso/chest slightly.

THE MUSCLE BREAKDOWN:

Rectus Abdominis "Six Pack" Muscle 

- Spine Flexion (Contracts "isometrically" to hold you in "Plank" positon - causes the "shakiness" you feel in this exercise.)

Erector Spinae Group "Giant Muscles" running along your back/spine

- Spine Extension (Contracts "isometrically" to hold you in "Plank" position - causes the "shakiness" you feel in this exercise)

- Spine Rotation (Contracts as you "rotate" to the next Side in this exercise - assists the Obliques in your chest)

Obliques (sits RIGHT beside your "Six Pack")

- Spine Flexion (Contracts "isometrically" to hold you in "Plank" positon - causes the "shakiness" you feel in this exercise.)

- Spine Rotation (Contracts as you "rotate" to the next Side in this exercise - assists the Spine Muscles in your back)