It’s common to see people doing exercises at the gym to get a well-toned body and to lose stomach fat. To reach this goal lots of people stress on crunches and sit-ups for a flat tummy. What they don’t realize is that even doing one hour of crunches won’t give you the benefit of a ten-minute plank workout.
Do you feel like doing 500 crunches every workout is a waste? Well not entirely. Crunches do work but not that well they only target the front and sides of your abdomen. A plank on the other hand targets all of your core muscles. So to help you in getting a flat stomach in just a month WPBUZZLAB brings you the guide to the complete plank workout.
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To make this easy to follow we’ve divided it into three levels with four basic level exercises: 3 Intermediate and 2 Advanced level ones.
Follow this approach to lose stomach fat in no time and replace it with well toned abs.
3 Intermediate levels of exercises to rid of a fat stomach
1. Level one: basic plank exercise to lose stomach fat
To get well-defined abs in a flat stomach working out your core is very important. Planks burn more calories than any other stomach targeted exercises as they target more muscles.
Start by doing each basic level of exercise for at least 30 seconds. Once you’re able to hold that for at least a minute start increasing the number of sets.
Level one of this plank workout plan will help you stabilize your core, spine, and pelvis muscles. We’ll start with the basic exercises and go on to increase the level of difficulty. let’s dive in.
1. A traditional plank
Get into a push-up position and bend your elbows. Keep your body in a straight line and rest your weight on your forearms instead of your hands. Imagine someone is getting ready to punch you right in the gut.
To brace yourself tighten your core. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds. You can deeply while doing it.
This plank works on the core muscles and the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and internal and external obliques. These are the muscles responsible for giving you that externally visible six-pack and that’s what we all want right.
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2. Leg lifts plank exercise to lose stomach fat
Leg lifts planks are effective in strengthening your core and toning your entire body. It also improves posture and burns down body fat quickly by accelerating metabolism.
To start first get into plank position you should be on your forearms and have your abs tight, tighten your glutes and lift a foot a few inches hold it in position for a few seconds. Your foot staying flexed all this while.
Perform 10 lifts with each leg.
3. Side plank exercise
There is a simple yet effective exercise for your obliques. Side planks are called a unilateral exercise. In simpler terms, they target one side of your body at a time. Your whole body weight in a side plank is just supported by two points.
Instead of four in the case of a regular plank. This makes it more challenging than a traditional plank. To understand better let’s look at the technique.
To perform a side plank start by lying on your left side. With your knees straight lift and balance your body just on your forearm and elbow. Keep your feet together, now slowly raise your hips.
And then Keep going until your entire body is in a straight line. Keep holding this position for 30 seconds and then relax. Ready for the next one?
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4. Arm lifts side plank
Let’s take it a step higher. For this one start with the side plank position we just taught you. Feet stacked with elbow below your shoulder. Got it.
Now lift your right hand as high as you can. Keep your core and foot flexed with toes pointed down slightly, once you have it lift your arm to the maximum. Lower it slowly.
Repeat this 10 times with both arms. Once you start doing these exercises on a daily basis you’ll feel the need to eat better.
It’s important to stick to these exercises until you feel ready for the next level. Make sure you’re able to do all four of them with one minute of holding time in one go. Once you’ve built up the stamina it’s time for the next level.
2. Level two: Intermediate plank exercises to lose stomach fat
Exercises in this category bring in multiple benefits. Apart from strengthening your core they also work on your arms and legs. By giving you a better balance and concentration they’ll help your forearm be on point.
The next three exercises have to be incorporated into your workout plan after you’ve perfected the first four basic exercises.
5. Straight arm plank exercise
Straight arm plank can be called the mother of all planks. This is basically all about holding a position for a longer duration. Being an isometric exercise there’s no actual muscle movement involved here. It’s great for improving your posture, tightening your midsection, and reversing postural deficiencies.
So how do we start? With a push-up position, with hands on the floor set your feet together put your weight on your toes while keeping your body form straight.
Don’t forget to keep your body engaged and squeeze your glutes. Hold this plank for about 30 seconds.
6. Straight arm plank with shoulder touch
If you suffer from back pain and want to increase your flexibility these exercises for you. It tightens your midsection while making your glutes arms and shoulders stronger.
To perform a straight arm plank with shoulder touch start again in a push-up position while keeping the posture straight.
With weight on your toes drops your shoulder blades down, now lift your right hand slowly and give your left shoulder a tap. Make sure you keep your lower body still.
If your hips don’t lie while doing it then you need to practice balancing your bottom more. After the tap brings your right hand back to the starting position and repeats the same with the left hand.
Keep alternating for 30 to 40 seconds.
7. Straight arm plank and raise
For this exercise on number seven, you have to go a step higher. In a push-up position like number six with arms straight and weight on the toes raise and straighten your right leg. Hold this position for 10 seconds before switching legs, keep alternating legs until you feel tired.
It’s a multifunctional exercise with a prime focus on increasing spinal stability. It also improves shoulder strength along with core and back muscles. Sounds cool right? So keep practicing these basic and intermediate level exercises until you’re able to hold each one for at least a minute in one session.
With that stamina you can take your workout to the next level.
3. Level three: Advanced level exercises to lose stomach fat in a month
Do you feel you have good control, balance, strength and stamina to take your flat stomach goals to a step higher? if yes then incorporate these two advanced level exercises in your workout plan.
8. Walk out from push-up position
This advanced-level exercise incorporates resistance to strengthen muscles. With full-body movement using arms and legs it’ll make your core more robust. To get the benefits the correct technique is important.
Start in a push-up position, keep your hands a little wider than your shoulders reach as far as you can. Walking your hands out and then walk back. Do about 10 to 12 reps of this exercise.
It’s a dynamic motor exercise which gives you better lumbopelvic control and spinal stability. Try it and you’ll realize why it’s an advanced level exercise.
9. Alligator drag exercise to get rid of stomach fat
This exercise is as strong as its name you can call it the boss of all plank workouts. It clubs the best every type of plank has to offer: cardio, stability, strength training, and additional calories burn it offers all together fastens your fat loss drastically.
Here’s how to do it. You need a good amount of space for it to find a 10 to 20 yard long stretch of floor. According to what your floor is made up of grab anything that would slide on it easily.
For the wooden floor, a towel would work the best and a plastic bag would be suitable for the carpeted floor. Once you have it start by keeping your feet on what you chose. Say a towel take a push-up position and walk yourself forward by using just your hands, nope no forward movement allowed walk at least 8 to 10 yards and rest for 60 to 90 seconds.
You can take more time if you need it. Now go back to the starting position and do the same alligator walk. This was one set. Repeat it once again.
Now keep practicing, no matter how tempting it might look like to jump straight to the ninth pick start with number one and climb your way up this way you won’t overstrain your muscles.
Stick to this regimen for a month and come back here and tell us your results. We promise that this workout won’t disappoint you. So what do you think about home workouts? Do you think they work if you have enough dedication or hitting the gym with equipment is necessary? Let us know in the comments section below.
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