“When I plank my body shakes”: Tips and tricks from a PT
Planks are one of my favorite exercises to incorporate in my personal workout routine because they are challenging to the entire body. You can modify a plank to challenge your arms, abs, or legs….depending on what you add to the exercise! Plank variations are great to add into your repertoire to keep your body healthy long term. Be sure to check out our free resources for more advice on staying active and pain-free.
Now, the top reason why I love planks personally is they require the shoulders to be in a weight bearing position. Weight bearing through your arms requires a lot of “scapular” strength (shoulder blades). Scapular strength is important for posture and injury prevention of the shoulder. The shoulder is the most mobile (and injury-prone) joint in the body.
“When I plank I feel it in my arms.”
Then you’re doing something right! For good plank form, you want your shoulders to be directly over your wrists. If your wrists hurt in this position, you can form a fist or hold onto dumbbells to offload the wrists.
Here are a couple of my top favorite plank exercises that challenge the shoulder joint
Shoulder Push-Ups
These are different than normal pushups. Keep your elbows straight, try to dip down at your shoulder blades, then punch your body straight up into the air!
Plank-To-Push Up
Start out in a plank position. Come down on your forearms and then push back up onto your hands. Keep your back straight.
Plank w/ Cup Stacking
Get yourself into a plank position and set up 3 cups placed on one side. Weight shift to the opposite arm completely and use the non-weight-bearing arm to lift the cups and stack them on the other side.
Side Plank Airplane with Abduction
Get into a side plank position (with your forearm directly under your shoulder.) When you come up into position, use a small weight (In this video I used 3 lbs) to bring my arm directly out to the side. Make sure you aren’t letting your entire torso roll forward during this exercise.
If you’re looking for an awesome local gym to workout in….I choose Sausalito Fitness Club. The fitness studio is always open when the classes aren’t running..which gives me plenty of open space to practice my planks! 😉
If you are having consistent shoulder pain in your plank workout routine, you may not be ready for these quite yet. Come speak to one of our physical therapists and we can get you on the right track!