True40 has (at least) two plank series in every class to offer loads of benefits to the body, delivered in a bodyweight exercise!  As a total body exercise, plank pose can: 

• Raise heart rate/respiratory rate
• Strengthen wrists and hands 
• Strengthen the neck: There are 18 muscles surrounding the cervical spine. The spinalis group and the top of the trapezius are strengthened as you pull your neck up and back to elongate the spine.
• Improve core strength 
• Lengthen the spine to counteract compressional activities (think sitting, driving, texting)
• Helps to train proper posture (trains the body to keep shoulders pulled down, and lower back neutral through the day), in part by strengthening spinal extensors.  Strong spinal extensors can help alleviate low back pain! 
• Tone the glutes: maintain neutral hip extension and pelvis position to counteract a heavy pelvis bone/sagging due to gravity (a heavy pelvis could lead to low back pain) 
• Lengthen hamstrings and arches of the feet 

How to Effectively Cue a Traditional Plank

• Place your palms down. Lengthen toes back behind you.
• Press the palms into the mat.  Point the first fingers in front of you and middle fingers to the top corners of the mat, spreading hands wide to provide a stable base for the body.
• Align the wrists with the shoulders.  The upper arm (humerus) should be properly aligned with the glenoid fossa (shoulder socket).   
• Point the elbows toward the ribs, squeezing them within the frame of the body, without intentionally moving them to activate the triceps and rotator cuff.
• Melt the shoulders out of the ears, opening through the heart.  Some “yogis” may say to “make your collarbone smile” to open through the chest 🙂 
• Lift up and out of the ribcage, expanding the space between the shoulder blades, as if you are reaching the spine skyward.
• Engage the core as you draw the belly button to spine, making sure the low back is neutral, with no arch or sway.
• Ensure the frontal hip bones are rotated towards the mat.  Envision sewing your lateral aspects of the lower body together, like you have a drawstring around the hips, tugging the rope tighter as you hold the pose.  This will also activate into the deep layers of the core, e.g., the rectus abdominis.
• Make sure the quads are activated, lengthening the legs long behind you.
• Press energy down into the balls of your feet, thinking of the body as one long line from head to toe.
• Focus on your breath as you take intentional inhales and exhales.
• Remember to offer clients to come to their elbows, knees, or the barre as their body leads! 

Potential Corrections

Planks are a wonderful full body exercise that can strengthen the body to alleviate discomfort over time, but only if done correctly! 

• Make sure the client’s wrists are directly under the shoulders.  Clients who say their wrists hurt during a plank often may have their weight shifted too far behind them (shoulder pushed behind the wrist).  Encourage the client to shift their weight forward (as if shrugging shoulders while keeping body pulled back).  
• Clients who experience elbow discomfort may be locking out their elbows.  This is a good touch point to make sure they stay soft! 
• The arguably most common correction to offer in a plank is to correct lumbar arch (when hips are dipping down towards the mat).  Encourage the client to draw the belly button to the spine and lift out of the ribcage, reaching the spine skyward.

If you find the client’s spine is too high (looks like a teepee), have the client shift their weight forward, lowering and lengthening through the hips, stepping the feet back as needed.