Plank

The Plank is a great exercise to help protect your low back from injury when you are bending and lifting.  Like all exercise it needs to be done correctly to get the benefit and prevent further injury to the area you are trying to protect.

To do the Plank:

1. Start by lying on your front, on the floor will be best.
2. Get the feet into a position “like you are doing a push up”.
3. Prop yourself up on your elbows
4. Lift butt up so you have straight line between shoulders and ankles
5. Lift butt a little higher and tuck hips under-you should feel belly button pull into spine and butt muscles tighten.
6. Hold for 60 sec.

For most people holding this position for 60 sec is impossible.  As this is lift and hold exercise for building endurance, it’s OK to “cheat”.

What I mean by that is, you can drop to your knees like the “lady’s push up position”.  That will decrease the load you need to lift.  It will also decrease the leverage and allow you to hold longer.  Remember to hold a straight line from shoulders to ankles and keep “hips tucked under”.

Over time with practice you will hold on your toes for 60 secs.  For most people this is a great level of strength and endurance to protect the low back when you lift and bend (together with good lifting form of course)

Problems and pitfalls:

1. lifting butt too high-the goal is to keep a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
2. letting low back sag and feeling pressure in the low back
3. dropping head down and looking toward the feet-keep your head in position so you are looking straight ahead.

Planks build static core stability, which translates to better posture and spinal protection.

For golfers more consistent swing mechanics can be expected.  When your core is solid, you can load your backswing without swaying and rotate through the ball with control—a strong core will help to support that!

Consistency is key to improving performance.  Practice the Plank daily for improved support and protection for you low back.