The Plank

When I had P.E. as a freshman, we would always had to do a plank for our warm-ups. Even more, the time to be in plank would slowly become longer and longer until it became a full minute. And I sucked at this. Practice did not make me better. At each plank I either struggled to maintain it, or I cheated by laying on the floor when my teacher wasn't looking. But this problem was solved when I read Hot Body Year-Round by Cassey Ho.

The first step in fixing this was to learn what the plank encompasses in Pilates. Ho says that one of the best Pop Pilates practices is to be aware of what muscles are being used in a move to understand why I would want those to be worked and to create a connection between my mind and body (Ho 39). This simple lesson helped me learned that the plank represents the very focus of Pilates, "In Pilates, the core is a big focus, as it is the center of your balance and where all of your strength emanates from" (Ho 21).  With this new found of knowledge, I applied it to my plank and all other Pilate moves. Knowing the purpose behind it really helped me because now no longer, did I see the plank as something I can just imitate and get over with. An imitation only means I'm incorrectly doing the move and ruining the purpose behind it. Sadly, not even knowing if it's an imitation means I'm setting myself to struggle and end up in failure. Like last year during the P.E. summative. 

Now to contradict myself, I do admit that imitating can help you lead to having the right form and especially if it looks like the move is named after. "Your body should look like the wooden plank that pirates used to make their victims walk- firm with tailbone and pelvis tucked in. There should be no dip in the lower back and the butt should be in line with the back and the legs" (Ho 21). Now this was another game-changer. Similes are used as comparisons so you will have a clearer grasp on the thing being described. That visualization was a key for me to put it into the context of the move. A useful tip is to have a mirror at the side so you can really see if the form's right or someone to spot you. Now everything just clicked. I didn't feel the usual hinging pressure on my shoulders nor the drooping weight of my lower body. I felt uniformly strong throughout my body and stable. My core was being used and I looked like the plank! I was THE PLANK. Next semester I'll have P.E., and I'll nail that plank down. 

Have you ever thought about why you chose certain moves when you workout? Also, what are your tips and tricks to getting the best out of your workout? 

P.S. Did you get the joke?

Ho, Cassey. Cassey Ho's Hot Body Year-Round: The POP Pilates Plan to Get Slim, Eat Clean, and Live Happy Through Every Season. First ed. New York: Harmony, 2015. Print.