28 Day Plank Challenge

Welcome to the 28 Day Plank Challenge, this challenge is the sister challenge of the January Plank challenge, a simple yet effective daily challenge that will improve your core strength and endurance that can be started at any time.

Add this challenge into the mix for daily inspiration and a challenge to keep you focused. This challenge only takes a short time each day, furthermore, my challenges are designed not only to challenge you but to create healthy and active habits that you can continue. You’ll soon learn you don’t need to invest vast amounts of time into exercise however you do need to be consistent.

This challenge is staggered & progressively increases in time throughout the month. there are 3 levels to choose from together with three different plank variations.

What is a plank

The plank is an excellent isometric exercise, it requires core stabilizers to fire to maintain body & spinal alignment. A staple of fitness and often used during fitness tests and assessments.

Often also referred to as a prone bridge it is a simple static exercise that will work every part of your core and your whole body as you maintain a rigid position.

Visually the plank is a bridge supported on your toes and forearms, a straight line from your heels to your shoulders. As a result, It looks so simple that you’d think it was easy, it is not. Consequently, you’ll find the plank in almost any fitness programme and that is because it is highly effective and works a fundamental muscle group, your core.

Plank Fitness Test

The January Plank challenge is progressive and you should notice some gains throughout the month. To start off you should test your current core strength with a Plank test. This simple test will give you an idea of where you are now, this can be compared when conducting the same test at the end of the challenge. The result of the test will help you choose the plank variation to do during the challenge.

To conduct the test:

• Have a stopwatch ready or a friend with a stopwatch.
• Get into the plank position.
• Hold the plank for as long as you can.
• Stop the test when you fail or you reach 2 minutes.

Choose the Plank variation based on your initial Plank Test result

• Under 30 seconds – Choose the Beginner variation (Half Plank).
• 30 seconds up to 1 minute 30 seconds – Choose the Regular plank on forearms or with straight arms.
• 1 minute 30 seconds and above – Choose the Plank/Up Down variation for a dynamic plank. Alternatively, you could use an unstable platform such as a BOSU, Balance Pod or Fitness Ball and place your feet upon them creating a more demanding static Plank exercise.

Test your progress with a follow-up Plank Test at the end of the month

After a month of regular planking, you should be feeling stronger with more endurance in your core and stabilizing muscles. To find out how you have improved, repeat the test you conducted at the start of the month. The test should be exactly the same conditions, same plank variation etc. 

Plank Challenge Target Guide #Plankawaychallenge

Scoring the Plank Challenge

The challenge is split into 3 levels for which you can score your progress, you don’t need to keep to one level, You can mix & match and go up or down a level. Each level has a score associated with it, use the free-scoring sheet available for download below to track your progress and tally your total score for the month

28 Day Plank Challenge Scoring Sheet 76.03 KB 29 downloads

The scoring sheet to be used with the 28 Day Plank Challenge    …

Download

Programme Design

I have designed this challenge as a progressive ascending pyramid, in simple turns, each day is equal or harder than the last. The challenge progresses at small steps enabling you to become stronger as you go through the month. The challenge has two-day steps where we keep to the same target for two days (we can call this acclimatization if you like). It’s all to get you up to your target time at the end of the month, in a safe, effective and progressive manner.

The Plank Exercise

There are 3 variations of the plank designed for the beginner, intermediate and advanced level of fitness.

• Beginner – Half Plank
• Intermediate – Forearm or Straight Arm Plank
• Advanced – Plank Up Downs

Want more? Check out my 28 Plank Variations

Key Points

• Keep neutral spine alignment
• Maintain a straight line through shoulders, hips, knees & ankles
• Maintain abdominal tension
• Remember to breath

Beginner – Half Plank (from knees) 

Regular – Forearm Plank or Straight Arm Plank

Plank Up Downs