Drawing up an exercise routine that may help you reach the body that you always hankered after is a tricky job. You need to take into consideration your lifestyle, your fitness level and the nutrition you get. Though an exercise routine should be done to brace the body, it doesn't hurt if an exercise plan targets your problem areas so helping you to dump stomach fat or thunder upper legs.
If you would like to have a flat belly then there isn't any better exercises than crunches and plank exercises. When both these exercises are done in association with a good cardiovascular routine, it will help you to sculpt your middle and achieve a toned body. Crunches are regarded as one of the finest exercise to strengthen the core and whittle your stomach. Planks too are very good for reinforcing the core and making a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each of these target different muscle groups in your abdominal area.
Method Concerned
Before we argument about crunches vs plank exercises, we should know how each one of these exercise forms are performed. To do crunches, you want to lie down on your back, with your knees bend keeping your shoulders relaxed. With your fingers lightly touching the sides of your head, you want to exhale, contract your stomach and raise your shoulders and chest forward. Hold this position for 1 or 2 seconds, inhale and lower your body to the ground. This is a basic crunches exercise which targets the Rectus Abdominis which is a long muscle that extends all along the stomach.
To do a plank exercise, you want to lie face downwards on the floor with your elbows tucked beneath your shoulders. Exhale and support your upper body weight by resting on your forearms and toes. Your body should form a straight line and your abdomen should be taut. Hold this position for one or two seconds and lower body back to the starting position. Doing a plank exercise, targets the Cross Abdominis which are the deep abdominal muscles that lies just underneath the oblique muscles. As you can clearly see, both these exercises involve a different technique for its execution and it targets different muscle groupings in your abdomen.
Muscle Contraction
Both plank exercise and crunches are isometric exercises but their main difference lies in the way in which the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles occur because you are holding this position for a specified time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, so strengthening it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles happen when you lower your chest and shoulders to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your chest and shoulders off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercising is in the way it impacts heaviliy on the body. Doing basic crunches can over time , strain the neck muscles. Due to the method concerned in doing crunches, it strengthens bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded upper back ), which can cause spinal issues and upper back stiffness. In a plank exercise, you have to make sure that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back should not sag while doing the exercise and there shouldn't be disproportionate pelvic tilt. If you're not careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you might hurt your back and spine.
Both crunches and plank exercises are excellent exercises for bracing the core and accomplishing a flat tummy. Nonetheless doing these exercises alone without a correct total body workout that includes cardiovascular coaching won't help with reducing waist fat. There are many variations of the classic crunches and plank pose and incorporating these in your workout regime will help you to achieve a healthy and fit body.
If you would like to have a flat belly then there isn't any better exercises than crunches and plank exercises. When both these exercises are done in association with a good cardiovascular routine, it will help you to sculpt your middle and achieve a toned body. Crunches are regarded as one of the finest exercise to strengthen the core and whittle your stomach. Planks too are very good for reinforcing the core and making a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each of these target different muscle groups in your abdominal area.
Method Concerned
Before we argument about crunches vs plank exercises, we should know how each one of these exercise forms are performed. To do crunches, you want to lie down on your back, with your knees bend keeping your shoulders relaxed. With your fingers lightly touching the sides of your head, you want to exhale, contract your stomach and raise your shoulders and chest forward. Hold this position for 1 or 2 seconds, inhale and lower your body to the ground. This is a basic crunches exercise which targets the Rectus Abdominis which is a long muscle that extends all along the stomach.
To do a plank exercise, you want to lie face downwards on the floor with your elbows tucked beneath your shoulders. Exhale and support your upper body weight by resting on your forearms and toes. Your body should form a straight line and your abdomen should be taut. Hold this position for one or two seconds and lower body back to the starting position. Doing a plank exercise, targets the Cross Abdominis which are the deep abdominal muscles that lies just underneath the oblique muscles. As you can clearly see, both these exercises involve a different technique for its execution and it targets different muscle groupings in your abdomen.
Muscle Contraction
Both plank exercise and crunches are isometric exercises but their main difference lies in the way in which the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles occur because you are holding this position for a specified time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, so strengthening it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles happen when you lower your chest and shoulders to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your chest and shoulders off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercising is in the way it impacts heaviliy on the body. Doing basic crunches can over time , strain the neck muscles. Due to the method concerned in doing crunches, it strengthens bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded upper back ), which can cause spinal issues and upper back stiffness. In a plank exercise, you have to make sure that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back should not sag while doing the exercise and there shouldn't be disproportionate pelvic tilt. If you're not careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you might hurt your back and spine.
Both crunches and plank exercises are excellent exercises for bracing the core and accomplishing a flat tummy. Nonetheless doing these exercises alone without a correct total body workout that includes cardiovascular coaching won't help with reducing waist fat. There are many variations of the classic crunches and plank pose and incorporating these in your workout regime will help you to achieve a healthy and fit body.
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New to working out? Here are some solid routines for beginners to get you started. Learn why these muscle building exercises are so effective.
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