carieoates wrote: Unfortunately I read an article which showed that too much planking has been proven to do damage to some. Namely disturbed neck muscles and ribs. Can't remember where it was but it definitely wasn't a slate all exercise or red top newspaper.
But as with all Heath warnings its is only to be applied to some people so of course carry on if all is ok.
Ahh, but going to extremes with planks isn't the point.
Since starting 5:2, I discovered that planks are extremely useful in two different ways. We'll ignore the first one for now.
The second, and more important 5:2 related point here is as a belief-inducing mechanism where you demonstrate to your brain that a bit of added effort - those last few seconds in a plank, or say, extending the run portion a bit longer before a walk break - won't cause any harm. How? Each time you push the envelope a little bit beyond your current expectations, your brain recognizes that it accomplished something that seemed risky and guess what? You survived it. So it moves its limits a bit farther out for next time. Little nudges like these accumulate.
Your brain always endeavors to keep you safe, unless of course some saber-tooth tiger on his feast day actually does jump out from the bushes (or your kitchen) looking for his next pudgy, slow-person snack. At that point you'll suddenly have access to energies far greater than you thought possible. So where did that energy come from? Weren't you dead-tired and ready to drop just a moment ago? Your body has capabilities that your brain holds in reserve.
Don't we always feel seriously out of breath nearing the end of the run portion of a run/walk sequence? Want to prove to yourself beyond a shadow of a doubt that you had breathing reserve that you weren't using? The next time you're out of breath and feel as though you might faint, I want you stop and check your heart rate. That's right. Put a finger on a wrist or along the side of your throat and count heart beats for 10 seconds. Now multiply by 6. Sorry, but the result you obtained, while interesting, is unimportant here - another subterfuge. What did you do while you were counting? You held your breath so that you could actually feel your pulse in order to count it! How did you do that when mere moments ago you weren't completely sure you'd even get another breath?
So, to make my now much delayed point: just like another dusty thread - couch-to-5K, planks are a simple teaching mechanism that prove you can tap reserves that you currently can't imagine.
So that's why I suggested that we resurrect the plank thread. That's why I suggest the mental misdirection trick when doing planks. And that's why I further suggest adding 5 more seconds to your current plank time target (or say, 60 seconds more during a run) at the very end when you're ready to drop. Yes it can be momentarily miserable, but you'll reveal something amazing about your own preconceived limits when you do it.
So. Back to fasting. You're starving and can't wait one more minute to eat that sugary mid-morning snack on your fast day? Sure you can - try 60 seconds. Now add 5 more seconds like you did in the plank earlier today. Did you survive? I dare you to go for 5 more minutes.
Pssst! Hey. Don't you have something much more important to do this morning than stopwatch your grouchy stomach? Go do that and leave the munchies alone.
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