Exercise of the Week - Front Plank
Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
I've discussed the front plank here previously as a way to demonstrate the mistakes many people will make when performing 'core' exercises. The most basic mistake is allowing too much lumbar extension (excessive inward curve of the spine). In this position, the spinal joints are compressed and providing the stability. This is a great way to hurt your back over time!
In that post I wrote about achieving a more neutral spine position by trying to pull the belly button to your nose. This activates the abdominals and rotates the pelvis backward slightly bringing the spinal curve to a more neutral position. Check out the examples below.
You can see in the second picture that a straight line could be drawn from her hips through her spine to her shoulders. That straight line should also extend through the neck to the ear, but I'll talk more about that in a moment. The neutral spine position is the first correction that must be made, but once you've mastered that here are a few other techniques to get the most possible benefit from the front plank exercise:
For the rest of the article, click Here
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