It Only Takes 4 Mins A Day To Change Your Body – Try This For A Month And See ~ Sky Health Blog

Monday 4 July 2016

It Only Takes 4 Mins A Day To Change Your Body – Try This For A Month And See

Summer’s here and you still don’t feel comfortable to put your bikini on. If you’re dealing with a few extra inches on your waistline, you’re in the right place. It may sound unbelievable, but, according to Women Daily Magazine, it takes only 4 minutes to get your body beach-ready. Namely, the magazine has proposed the highly effective 28-day Plank Challenge for body shaping in less than a month.

The Plank Challenge

The workout plan spans 4 weeks and is based on a single exercise – the plank. The idea is that you keep your body in the plank position for different time intervals – starting with 20 seconds on day 1 until reaching 4 minutes on the last day. In this way, you get to gradually build stamina. The workout plan is as follows:

Day 1 – 20 seconds
Day 2 – 20 seconds
Day 3 – 30 seconds
Day 4 – 30 seconds
Day 5 – 40 seconds
Day 6 – rest
Day 7 – 45 seconds
Day 8 – 45 seconds
Day 9 – 60 seconds
Day 10 – 60 seconds
Day 11 – 60 seconds
Day 12 – 90 seconds
Day 13 – rest
Day 14 – 90 seconds
Day 15 – 90 seconds
Day 16 – 120 seconds
Day 17 – 120 seconds
Day 18 – 150 seconds
Day 19 – rest
Day 20 – 150 seconds
Day 21 – 150 seconds
Day 22 – 10 seconds
Day 23 – 180 seconds
Day 24 – 210 seconds;
Day 25 – rest
Day 26 – 210 seconds
Day 27 – 240 seconds
Day 28 – as long as you can

How to plank properly?

To master the plank position, follow these steps:

Distribute your weight properly by positioning your arms just below your shoulders.
Keep your spine straight. Avoid bending it.
Keep the core tightened in order to maximize the exercise.
Extend your legs keeping them slightly Adjust the distance between your feet while adding pressure to the hip area.
With a relaxed body, breathe slowly to keep your core fully engaged.

Why planking?

There are several benefits you get from planking:

As planking uses your core to balance the body, which is quite demanding in terms of physical effort, it effectively tones your abdominal muscles. In fact, your abdominal muscles are fully engaged during the exercise.
By strengthening your core, which is essential for proper posture, planking actually improves your posture helping you to maintain stability and balance. You’ll notice over time that you stand up straight and have a wider range of movement.
Last, but not least, it increases your muscle suppleness. In other words, you become more flexible as a result of the constant work of the back and shoulder muscles in the plank position. You also get a better motion range because your shoulder blades stretch.