The Six-Pack Workout Plan II – Plank Workout Plan
Behind an effective workout plan, there must be a well-structured, functioning system. Nothing stands on its own; everything is interconnected, just as in the human body, the kidneys do not function without the beating of the heart, the operation of our brain, or our blood circulation.
The butt-shaping program didn't become insanely effective due to mindless squats, but because there was a system behind it. Behind it were exercises that didn't focus on the glutes, but to maximize your glutes' performance, exercises strengthening your back and so-called CORE muscles were necessary.
Now you're saying that this leaves you absolutely cold, you don't want to understand the basics, you don't give a damn about technical texts, and you're already scrolling down to the workout plan because that's all you need.
But body shaping, unfortunately, is not like installing a program where you press the "ok" button like crazy, thinking "come on, let's go," and "of course, I accept the terms, just let me use what I want." If you don't understand why you're doing something, you're just following someone else's instructions and moving your body mindlessly because someone told you to do it.
Conscious living doesn't end with checking food labels and then thinking you're incredibly health-conscious. Conscious living continues with analyzing your movements just as consciously, and more importantly, expertly. Exactly as you would analyze the ingredient list on food items.
Protein, carbohydrate, fat ratios, how much sugar is in it, what preservatives, what E-numbers it contains, and what they mean, what coloring content the food has, and then you decide whether that food is healthy or not. If someone knows this and shops this way, then they are a conscious consumer, right, who pays attention to everything and can't be fooled. But if this conscious person, after their conscious shopping for the day, wanders into the gym, then their knowledge stops there.
Now you're saying you have a personal trainer. That's fantastic. And how do you know what system that trainer is using to drag you around the gym? How do you know that workout plan isn't a random plan they apply to you, to the woman 30 years older, or to the obese woman 20 kilos heavier than you? Because in a large percentage of cases, most personal trainers don't care at all and make you do whatever comes to mind, or send you to machines that are closest because they don't feel like getting up. There are plenty of such trainers, and I could say, "with all due respect to the exceptions," but I don't give a damn about exceptions when this is the case 80% of the time.
I can so clearly picture you thinking of yourself as someone leading a very conscious life, and then three times a week, or worse, 4-5 times, you're a performing monkey in the hands of a trainer who drags you around for, at best, 3500 forints an hour, as shamelessly as possible. And the best part is that they can easily do it because you have no idea what constitutes a proper workout, or how the progression of exercises will shape your body. After arm day, you do a bit of shoulder, then back, and what else was there, uh, then maybe some triceps too, but only because you're already asking how to get rid of the arm fat and how much it bothers you.
But this is not your fault. You go to the gym, approach a trainer who has sneakers on, and if they have "trainer" written on their back, that's even better in your eyes, and you trust them because you think they know what they're doing. But if you were to ask them a few probing questions, like, "Okay, thanks, you've known me for 3 minutes, you don't even know my name, but you handed me a workout plan that was fortunately already printed out, but how exactly is this workout plan structured? On what basis did you put these exercises together? If I have this problematic body part, what exercises will we do to eliminate it, in addition to following a diet? And speaking of diet, what should I eat to kickstart the processes in my body? What do you think about my body type? And if you do think something, are you sure that this damned 50-minute cardio you suggested will be good for me, an ectomorph? I'm a 38-year-old woman with 20 extra kilos. Do I really need to do the same thing as that 20-year-old girl who doesn't even have 3 extra kilos? You understand, man. We did the same thing."
Most trainers would start spewing some BS after a lot of stammering, about muscle attachments, and how weight training speeds up metabolism, and that he knows best because he learned it in a 3-day course, and whatever else comes to his mind. Seriously, just for a test, ask your trainer these questions and watch his eyes. If his eyes widen, he has no idea about anything.
It's already common knowledge that there are asshole taxi drivers, that you have to be really careful with real estate agents, that we don't screw with waiters because who knows what they'll mess with our food, so a certain caution has developed towards certain professions, and it's high time this caution factor developed towards personal trainers too. But to know who's BS-ing you, you need to acquire some basic knowledge yourself. You need to know how to judge who is professionally sound and who should rather be asked to show their tickets and passes for inspection.
But what do we expect in the land of "don't eat after 6" assholes? I'm already genuinely happy if someone doesn't consider Túró Rudi (a chocolate-covered curd snack) healthy eating just because curd is good. At least that's what they read somewhere, or maybe heard it from a colleague, who is a great sportsman because he goes to the gym with a damned Fanta in his hand, because he read somewhere how important fluid intake is during exercise.
LOL
Alright. Let's stop here, because I'll just get angry again, and then nothing will come of this workout plan post.
The point is.
The point is that you need to be just as conscious about your workouts as you think you are when reading labels in Aldi and Lidl.
You need to know how what you're doing is structured. You need to know that to shape your butt, you also need to strengthen your skeletal muscles. You need to know that to get a six-pack, you also need to strengthen your shoulders, arms, and especially your back muscles, not to mention your legs.
It's wonderful to see that if someone wants a nice butt, they start squatting, if they want a six-pack, they start doing crunches. Of course, imitating crunches by yanking their neck. But don't think that only girls at the dick factory can go hard, because a significant portion of men are just as big of idiots as they seem. Bench press until death, and bicep curls, and nowadays, leg day too, because for a while, Facebook was flooded with posts highlighting the importance of leg exercises.
But everyone can show off. Film critics can write about how bad something is, yet none of them could put together even a 30-second watchable home video shot with an iPhone.
I'm yelling at everyone here, but let's see. Let's see what I can do. Let me show you a properly functioning system, not just talk about it.
Well then, let's see.
In the first part of the Six-Pack Workout Plan, I explained that planking will provide the foundation for the workout plan. The plank hold is just the foundation, but I could also say that this is how we start strengthening the entire body. With this and the most diverse variations of the plank.
Of course, there won't just be planking, but also specific core-focused exercises, and even strengthening exercises that can be done at home and are completely independent of the abdominal muscles. It's no accident I mentioned the "we train the whole body, and don't get stuck on one muscle group" theme. But let's not get ahead of ourselves; let's go through the full plank palette, meaning the plank workout exercises for the six-pack program.
Side Plank
If you thought the plank hold was difficult, then welcome to the hell of real torment. The side plank is a particularly nasty exercise, and if we were at a concert, I'd have the audience sing the following: "And now everyone together! What are particularly nasty exercises? Let me hear it, hands in the air, what are they?"
EFFECTIVEEEEE AND YEEEEAAAHHHH
Great audience, I love you all, and at this point, I'd dive into the crowd, damn it.
Ankle, knee, hip, spine straight, back straight, shoulder blades straight, everything straight, and you're not moving your head back and forth, but holding yourself motionless in one pose. Your hip does not fall towards the ground, of course.
Personalization: you measure how long you can hold it. You write it down. You subtract 20% from the resulting time, round it, and do 4 rounds of that. This will be the case for all timed exercises; I won't write it down separately everywhere.
Plank Leg Raise
Simple plank hold with leg lift. That's why we took pictures, so I wouldn't have to over-explain these. The main thing is that when you lift your leg, pay close attention to not letting your torso twist. The leg lift isn't the point; it's the period when your leg is in the air, because that's when your obliques work extra hard. And that's exactly what we need.
4 rounds of 12 reps per side. Right 12, then left 12, and rest. Try to complete all 4 rounds without resting in between.
Side Plank
Look at Bea's arm and shoulder muscles. Do you understand this "we need to train the whole body to train focused" topic now? For every plank exercise, you'll need the rest of your body, but not just to hold yourself up, but to have enough strength to hold yourself in a way that focuses on your abdominal muscles.
Try to lift your knee sideways at least to the level of your stomach, without twisting your body, of course. It's going to be incredibly difficult, which means it's going to be really great.
Oh, breathing. Exhale when you pull up, inhale when you lower it back down.
Plank to chest
You don't bring it to the side, but pull your knee under your body.
Handcuff Plank
Does this exercise remind you of the same thing it reminds me of? I hope so.
You position yourself as shown in the picture, and hold the plank like that, on both sides, of course. Then the usual. Measure, write it down, then 4 rounds per side.
Full support
A casual transition exercise. Resting. Chilling out. Eating, drinking, merrymaking, as long as public safety is good. 4x1 minute, for example. You really don't need more.
Full support lift
Opposite lift. Right leg – left arm, then left leg – right arm. 4x12 per side.
Sprint Plank
We are nearing the end of the plank exercises here. Well, I don't want to lull anyone to sleep, this is going to be really awful. This is an interval cardio exercise, with all the beauty that entails. It's really not going to feel good, especially after the previous exercises, and you'll really get your heart rate up with this one.
Measure how long you can do it with continuous back-and-forth motion. Measure it, write it down, subtract 20%, round it, and do it in 3 rounds.
Half-push-up hold
And just when you thought I couldn't be any nastier, then comes this exercise. I seriously considered whether to include it at the end, but then I thought, just go for it.
Start with a modified push-up (on your knees). From a modified push-up position, lower yourself halfway and hold it there. By "halfway," we mean until your elbows and shoulders are in line. Of course, this is also timed, in the usual way.
We'll continue tomorrow. Or the day after...
