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The painful plank Anonymous
Hi /fit/
I've been doing the plank exercise for a while now, and I've noticed it hurts my shoulders. The pain can be very distracting, and I can't go on as long as my abs could go. I think I'm doing it right, but why does it hurt? Is it normal? Will it end after I've done this for a while? Tell me please
>> Anonymous
>>123802
Are you just sitting there and letting your body shape hold you up, or are you actively pushing up on your shoulders a bit? Basically wondering if you're letting gravity drag your shoulders down in the socket, if you get what I'm saying.
>> Anonymous
>>123823
>Basically wondering if you're letting gravity drag your shoulders down in the socket, if you get what I'm saying.

And would that be wrong or right? (It sounds rather wrong)
>> Anonymous
>>123842
Wrong. Push up a bit. Letting anything shear a joint is bad, think about it.
>> Anonymous
do it so your arms aren't perpendicular to the floor, so the elbows are infront of the shoulders. This should help, and it will also make it a lot harder
>> Anonymous
My lower back hurts when I do planks. Feels like my vertebrae are getting squished together. How do I resolve this?
>> Anonymous
First, if you are doing planks for your abs, then I believe a good "YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG" is in order.

From http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=46787560&tid=2592342709108829700

(next post)
>> Anonymous
Exercises
Pre-stretch crunch -- the function of the abdominus rectus (abs) is to adduct (bring closer) the ribs towards the pelvis. A parallel example to this would be bicep curls; the function of the biceps is to bring the wrist closer to the shoulder. When you do sit ups, the abs only contract the ribs toward the pelvis for part of the movement. The rest of the movement, with you sitting the rest of the way up, shows little or no further movement between your ribs and pelvis, meaning the abs are only involved in a static contraction for this time. It would be like doing a barbell curl, and once the barbell is at the top, you lift your elbows out in front of you. This doesn't assist your biceps, and does more to take stress off them than anything else.

Now imagine you're doing a basic floor crunch. You lay back as normal, and "crunch" upward, squeezing your ribs and pelvis together, then laying back again. This is similar to doing a bicep curl where you hold the bar with your arms bent at a 90 degree angle, lift up, then return to a 90 degree angle, and repeat. You're not using a full range of motion.

This is a bad thing because if you dont lift a weight through a full ROM (range of motion), you wont get stronger through the range of which you didn't travel. In the above example with bicep curls, you wouldn't get stronger in the first half of the curl, since you're only working through the second half. Those who do bench presses by bringing the bar down only half way will one day have the bar come crashing down on them should they every go 1 inch lower than what they're used to, simply because strength was never developed through this range.
>> Anonymous
pre-stretch crunch (2) -- Therefore, doing a full ROM with crunches is important, but its virtually impossible without this modification.

Take a broom stick or barbell without weights on it, and wrap a towel around it very tightly. After this, take another towel, fold it up many times, and lay it on top of the stick with the towel around it. Now lay back on this make-shift pad. It should be pressing at the top of your lumbar spine, just below rib-level. You should see how much farther apart your ribs and pelvis will be from each other. In this stretched position, try doing a crunch. As you do so, think of how you're pulling your ribs towards your pelvis through a 100% greater ROM. Now you're getting stronger throughout every part of the flexion, increasing your stroke volume and TUT for each rep, and increasing the general effectiveness of each rep. There is no reason to do any other kind of crunch!

If you find your hips coming off the floor when you crunch upwards, move the pad a little upwards on your back. If your shoulders have trouble resting comfortably on the floor, move the pad a little downwards. If you feel like you could be stretched a little more, add some padding. If you've been doing regular crunches until now, you should find it extremely difficult to do more than a few of these, as you have not been exercising through this new ROM, and will be weak through it. If the movement ever gets too easy, and you can do more than 15 reps, try holding your hands directly above your head. Clasp your hands over your headso that your left hand is on the right side, your right hand is on the left side, and they're clasped together. This should trap your head between your biceps, giving you support. Like this - and without swinging your arms up to help - try to squeeze out 15 reps. If you can, try holding a weight over the top of your head (not in front of your face), and come up without swinging it forward.
>> Anonymous
pre-stretch crunch (3) -- Here are some common questions.

"Wouldn't decline crunches work just the same?"

? No. These crunches may be a little harder than normal crunches due to the angle of pull, but they are just as limited in their ROM as regular crunches. Other than slightly more resistance from the angle of pull, they are not more effective.

"Could I do prestretch crunches on a decline bench?"

? Completely unnecessary. Besides, you'd have a hell of a time getting the pad to stay where it is and not roll off the bench as you come up.

"The pad/bar keeps rolling backward as I come up at the top of the crunch. What can I do?"

? Take 2 dumbbells (like Manish and BigLee) and set each one at the end of the bar behind you on either side. The bar will be blocked from rolling back by the dumbbells. I often place the bar in front of the squat rack, with the bar touching the rack. Then I lay down on it facing away from the squat rack. When I come up, the rack stops the bar from rolling back.

"Couldn't I just do this on a beach ball?"

? No. A beach ball makes you stretch back, but the stretch is distributed throughout your entire body. Your shoulders, clavicle, lats, ribs, abs, pelvis, and legs are all involved in stretching back, meaning your abs get very little benefit from this, as only part of the stretch and resistance will involve them. Doing a prestretch crunch puts 100% of the stretch in the abs and only the abs.

"What other ab work should I do?"

? None. Besides for reverse PS crunches, this is the only exercise you will EVER need. For variation, change the reps, sets, volume, intensity, frequency, or the order in which you do reverse or regular prestretch crunches. There is no reason to ever do any other type of direct ab work unless you have a sports specific reason to do so (which is rare).