Buzz
For a short time, planks became a viral sensation as everyone started attempting to 'plank' on the most ridiculous surfaces. In the fitness world, planks are a solid ab exercise, but they're far from the ultimate 'one-size-fits-all' ab workout. Push-ups, in fact, might be the more effective choice as they're essentially planks with an added upper-body challenge.
Planks are great for activating your core muscles and improving stability, but fitness expert Adam Bornstein from Born Fitness calls out the overhyped exercise: He agrees with many coaches that if your goal is six-pack abs, planks alone won’t get you there. Often, they're included in workouts for the wrong reasons.
Strength coach Martin Rooney also weighed in, suggesting that planks might not be as effective or challenging as some might believe. He emphasized that the exercise could use more intensity and challenge.
Wherever I go, when I have people do push-ups — which are basically a plank but with more upper-body muscle engagement — I often see people sagging at the waist, not using their own bodies to their full potential.
Instead of mindlessly holding a plank for minutes, why not spend that time doing push-ups instead? You'll engage your core just as much while also building strength, burning more calories, boosting mental toughness, and gaining confidence in the process.
In other words, the push-up offers better value: it works your core and helps you build upper body strength simultaneously.
Image by CCFoodTravel.com.
