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 is no better exercises than crunches and plank exercises. When both these exercises are done in conjunction with a good cardiovascular routine, it'll help you to sculpt your middle and achieve a toned body. Crunches are considered to be one of the greatest exercise to strengthen the core and whittle your stomach. Planks too are good for fortifying the core and creating a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each one of these target different muscles 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 lies in the way in which the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles occur because you are holding this position for a specified time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, so strengthening it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles happen when you lower your chest and shoulders to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your chest and shoulders off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercise is in the way it impacts heaviliy on the body. Doing basic crunches can over time , strain the neck muscles. Thanks to the method involved in doing crunches, it reinforces bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded higher back ), which can cause spinal issues and upper back trouble. In a plank exercise, you have to make certain that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back should not sag while doing the exercise and there should not be over the top pelvic tilt. If you're not very careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you might hurt your back and spine.
Both crunches and plank exercises are wonderful exercises for bracing the core and achieving a flat stomach. However , doing these exercises alone without a correct total body workout that includes cardiovascular coaching will not help in 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 is no better exercises than crunches and plank exercises. When both these exercises are done in conjunction with a good cardiovascular routine, it'll help you to sculpt your middle and achieve a toned body. Crunches are considered to be one of the greatest exercise to strengthen the core and whittle your stomach. Planks too are good for fortifying the core and creating a tight stomach. But there are basic differences between crunches and planks and each one of these target different muscles 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 lies in the way in which the muscles contract while you perform each exercise. When you do a plank exercise, isometric contraction of the muscles occur because you are holding this position for a specified time. The muscles of your core are exerting maximum force to hold this position, so strengthening it. While doing crunches, eccentric contraction of the muscles happen when you lower your chest and shoulders to the ground and concentric contraction happens when you lift your chest and shoulders off the floor.
Risk Factors
Another difference between crunches and plank exercise is in the way it impacts heaviliy on the body. Doing basic crunches can over time , strain the neck muscles. Thanks to the method involved in doing crunches, it reinforces bad posture ( slumped shoulders and rounded higher back ), which can cause spinal issues and upper back trouble. In a plank exercise, you have to make certain that you align your body in a straight line while holding the plank pose. You back should not sag while doing the exercise and there should not be over the top pelvic tilt. If you're not very careful about maintaining proper posture while doing a plank pose, you might hurt your back and spine.
Both crunches and plank exercises are wonderful exercises for bracing the core and achieving a flat stomach. However , doing these exercises alone without a correct total body workout that includes cardiovascular coaching will not help in 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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Completely new to building muscle? Here are some quality routines for beginners to get you started. Read why these muscle building exercises are so beneficial.
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