Anyone who has trained with me for rehab purposes should know by now that I thoroughly enjoy making my clients do a side plank! Now, this isn’t a traditional side plank, this is (what most people see as) an ‘EASY’ version. If you have trained at The Better Body Group, whether it be for a long, or short period of time, you will all realise that we don’t make things EASY. We may strategically regress exercises in order to make them more suitable to your stage of fitness and strength, but never do we make them EASY!
After all, you come to see us for one very specific reason – to improve your physical and mental well-being in one way or another. Now how would you achieve that if your exercise plan were to be too easy for you?
I will explain exactly how to complete this ‘magic’ version of a side plank, but first we need to understand how the body should work. The classification of the joints should be stable feet, knees, lower back, neck and shoulder blades with mobile ankles, hips, thoracic spine and shoulder joints. Through injury, poor posture or a variety of other reasons the joint classifications can be altered over time and cause a devastating chain reaction throughout the body.
To decrease pain and improve functional movement, basically, what we need to do is reset the body to its original and intended state! Simple, right?
One very good starting point is performing a side plank, I know I keep coming back to it, but it is SO exciting!
The purpose of a side plank is traditionally for ‘core’ strength and setting up in this way, with the hips as high as possible and pushing the weight through the elbow and feet, does have its benefits in certain situations. This alternate version however can give you so much more. It is an amazing exercise and can benefit you in a number of ways if it is done properly. We can target the hip complex in a lot more specific detail which will increase stability and mobility around the joint, in particular internal and external hip rotation. It has been proven that, if we re-stabilise the hips, it will, in turn increase flexibility. It is also practical knowledge that a side plank performed in the correct position can make an INSTANT change, and provide a prolonged effect, to hip stability and mobility all in one go. I defy anyone to tell me that is not cool!
How do I do this side plank you might ask, well let me explain:
- Bring the weight through the lower knee and elbow,
- Make sure the spine is in a straight line,
- Ensure the hips are stacked on top of each other,
- Check the pelvis is tucked under,
- Squeeze the bottom as tight as possible.
It is a rather long list of specific positional information. But don’t worry, that is what we are here for, to make sure you are doing it right.
By doing a side plank in this way you will notice a whole range of benefits, starting with increased hip stability and mobility. Naturally a re-stabilised and re-mobilised hip joint will cause a great effect over the rest of the body. If the hips regain mobility and stability they will enable the lower back and knees to re-stabilise and so the chain reaction is set into motion again but this time with a positive spin. If you also pay some attention to thoracic spine mobilisation then the lower back has an even greater chance of re-stabilising and you haven’t even done any specific strength work to that area yet.
So, people that will find they benefit from this ‘magic’ trick, is everyone, but more specifically:
- Post-natal women who have had months of poor spinal posture followed by a complete shift in pelvis position
- Office workers who sit for the majority of their adulthood
- Anyone who suffers from chronic injury or pain
- Sports people who are involved in a fairly single sided sport
- People who have undergone musculoskeletal surgery
Give it a try and enjoy practicing, I hope this will give you some benefit. There are plenty more corrective exercises that can and should be done, specific to each individual. If you would like to find out more visit the Exercise Prescription link on our website – www.betterbodygroup.co.uk – or pop into our Sevenoaks gym to talk to one of the team.
EVERYONE SHOULD BE PAIN FREE AND FUNCTIONAL – THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE! If you have pain, listen to your body and make a positive change to whatever it is that you are doing.
Christina
Better Body Group, Sevenoaks
