If you are into doing bodyweight exercises then probably you are familiar with the plank exercise. Doing planks is a great way to strengthen your core muscles.
Persons with different fitness levels can do a plank for 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 2 minutes and a small percentage of people can do the plank for 5 minutes. Plank challenges can be useful to challenge yourself and test your endurance.
But is being able to do a two-minute plank impressive?
The short answer is yes. If you can do a two-minute plank with the right form then it’s impressive and you are way better than most people who are doing planks as a part of their workout routine. Being able to hold a plank for two minutes means you have strong core strength and endurance.
In this article I will cover in detail about – is a 2-minute plank good and what it means if you can do a 2-minute plank.
So, without further ado, let’s find out whether being able to do a two-minute plank is impressive or not.
What is a Two-Minute Plank?
The plank is a bodyweight exercise that is performed in a prone position. The basic plank is done by holding the body in a straight line, supported by the forearms and toes, with the elbows positioned directly under the shoulders. Also, there are different plank variations like side planks, reverse planks, single-arm planks etc.
A two-minute plank involves holding your body in the plank position for a total of two minutes without breaking the form.
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Is being able to do a two-minute plank impressive?
Before you read whether being able to do a two-minute plank is impressive or not you should know about some of the benchmarks about the plank exercise.
A beginner and someone who has been doing planks for some weeks can do planks for 20-30 seconds max and could do 2-3 sets of planks.
But most people who do planks more often as a part of their abs workout generally do planks for 40-60 seconds.
Many people could do a 1-minute plank and on some days could do the plank for 1 minute and additional 10-15 seconds.
Someone who is considered fit and does workout 3-4 days a week should be able to do planks for 40-60 seconds.
But if you could do plank for 2 minutes then you have a strong core and you will be considered to be at the advanced level doing planks.
So, to answer your question – is doing 2-minute planks impressive? The answer is yes. If you could do a 2-minute plank then it’s really impressive because most people can only do plank for 40-60 seconds.
The plank is an excellent exercise if you want to build your endurance and stability in the core muscles. However, for better results, you need to do other exercises and avoid only doing the plank for a long time.
To build core and lower back strength you can do exercises like crunches, sit-ups, leg raises and Russian twists. These exercises target the abs, obliques and back muscles which are all essential for having a strong core.
For advanced bodyweight exercisers when your body gets used to your workout routine and you can hold planks for long without feeling the tension in your muscle groups then you can try adding weights when you are doing planks or other exercises to increase the resistance and challenge your muscles.
Thus being able to hold a two-minute plank is impressive but if you want to build or improve your core strength you should also do other exercises and you should not only try to do plank alone for 2 minutes or more to improve your body fitness.
The plank is an excellent exercise for building endurance and stability, but it’s only one ab exercise out of several others. So, do planks to build your body but don’t overdo this exercise and especially don’t ignore other exercises to train your core.
Related: 1 Minute Plank Is Equivalent To How Many Push-ups
Is a 2-minute plank exercise good
Doing planks is a good idea if you want to strengthen the core and improve your overall fitness. But during training, you might want to know if a 2-minute plank good or not.
The thing is if you could do a 2-minute plank then it’s most likely your core is strong.
However, it’s equally important that you have the right body posture or you maintain the right plank form to get the benefits of planks and increase the effectiveness of planks.
With the right posture if you could do a 2-minute plank then that’s good.
But should you stop after doing a plank for 2 minutes?
It’s found that the effectiveness of the plank gets reduced once you do the plank for 2 minutes straight. But still holding planks for more than 2 minutes will help your burn more calories which will ultimately help you lose weight.
But for best results, you should use some additional weights to make your planks a little more challenging if you could do planks for 2 minutes. You can use a bag filled with some books to make planks more challenging.
Some pro athletes around the world can also do the plank for 5 minutes. But only a small percentage of people can hold planks for more than 7 minutes or more.
So if you can do plank for a minute or two then that’s good but you can also improve it.
Related: This Is Why I Started Exercising 3 Hours In A Week
What does it mean if I can hold a plank for 2 minutes
If you can do a 2-minute plank then it means you have a strong core strength and endurance and you also have a certain level of mental toughness. Also if you were to do push-up then it will be easier for you to do more pushups.
Doing planks for 2 minutes also means it will help you have better body posture, balance and athletic performance.
In real-life situations, having a strong core can be beneficial in many ways.
For example, if you are into running then a strong core can help you maintain proper body posture and form while running and reduce your risk of injury.
If you are a weightlifter then a strong core can help you lift heavier weights and avoid back pain.
And if you are only looking to improve your overall fitness, a strong core can help you perform everyday activities, such as carrying groceries, picking up something from the floor or playing with kids, with ease.
How long to hold a plank to improve core strength?
To improve your core strength it’s recommended that you should do planks for at least 30 seconds. The general idea is you should do planks long enough so that your abdominal muscles get engaged and it will result in better core strength.
For most people, it is recommended that they need to hold a plank for 40-60 seconds.
On the other hand pro bodyweight exercisers can do planks for up to 5 minutes.
If your body gets used to bodyweight planks then to improve your core strength further you can try weighted planks.
If you’re looking to get 6-pack abs then make sure you’re doing different type of plank-like forearm plank, high plank, reverse plank, plank with a leg lift etc. In a 30-day time period, you should train your core for 20+ days.
Related: The benefits of home workouts.
The world record for holding the longest perfect plank
9 hr 30 min 01 sec that is the world record for holding the longest plank. This plank world record was achieved in 2021 by Daniel Scali from Australia.
The previous record was held by ex-marine George Hood (USA) in February 2020. He did plank for 8 hours 15 minutes and 15 seconds.
Conclusion
Without any doubt, if you could hold a plank for two-minute then it’s really impressive. Those who can do 2 minute plank are better than average exercisers. It also means you have a strong core strength and core stability.
Advanced-level exercisers can increase the difficulty of the plank by performing harder variations of planks or taking the help of extra weights while performing planks.
Planks should be performed with proper form. And to increase plank time you should not sacrifice your posture.
Doing plank for 2 minutes is a great fitness goal to strive for. But you should know that doing planks is only a part of the puzzle to improve your core strength and there are other core exercises that should be a part of your fitness routine along with planks.
Holding a plank for 10 seconds – 40 seconds can give your great results if your body finds it challenging. Always challenge your body with your workouts so you can achieve better workout goals.
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