Drawing up an exercise routine that may help you attain the body that you always hankered after is a troublesome job. You want to take into account your way of life, your fitness level and the nourishment you get. Though an exercise routine should be performed to brace the body, it does not hurt if an exercise schedule targets your trouble spots and helps you to get rid of stomach fat or thunder thighs.
If you'd 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 conjunction with a good cardio routine, it'll help you to sculpt your middle and reach a toned body. Crunches are thought to be one of the finest exercise to bolster the core and whittle your tummy. Planks too are good for fortifying the core and making a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each one of these target different muscle groupings in your abdominal area.
Methodology Involved
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 need to lie face down on the floor with your elbows tucked underneath your shoulders. Breathe out 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 beneath the oblique muscles. As you can clearly see, both these exercises involve a different method for its execution and it targets different muscle groups in your stomach.
Muscle Contraction
Both plank exercise and crunches are isometric exercises but their main difference is in how the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles happen as you are holding this position for a cited time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, thus bolstering it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles occur when you lower your upper body to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your shoulders and chest off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercise is in the way it impacts seriously on the body. Doing basic crunches can over the course of time strain the neck muscles. Because of the method concerned in doing crunches, it reinforces bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded upper back ), which can lead to spinal Problems and higher back pain. In a plank exercise, you need to make sure that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back shouldn't sag while doing the exercise and there should not be excessive pelvic tilt. If you are not very careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you may 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'd 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 conjunction with a good cardio routine, it'll help you to sculpt your middle and reach a toned body. Crunches are thought to be one of the finest exercise to bolster the core and whittle your tummy. Planks too are good for fortifying the core and making a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each one of these target different muscle groupings in your abdominal area.
Methodology Involved
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 need to lie face down on the floor with your elbows tucked underneath your shoulders. Breathe out 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 beneath the oblique muscles. As you can clearly see, both these exercises involve a different method for its execution and it targets different muscle groups in your stomach.
Muscle Contraction
Both plank exercise and crunches are isometric exercises but their main difference is in how the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles happen as you are holding this position for a cited time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, thus bolstering it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles occur when you lower your upper body to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your shoulders and chest off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercise is in the way it impacts seriously on the body. Doing basic crunches can over the course of time strain the neck muscles. Because of the method concerned in doing crunches, it reinforces bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded upper back ), which can lead to spinal Problems and higher back pain. In a plank exercise, you need to make sure that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back shouldn't sag while doing the exercise and there should not be excessive pelvic tilt. If you are not very careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you may 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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