Benefits of Planks for Runners?

Planks benefit your abs (re: Rectus Abdominus and Obliques), which support your spine while moving.

The primary aspect this helps with is in maintaining good form (running "tall"), and the associated benefits (e.g. your hips are in proper position to utilize more of the force they generate, and your diaphragm is in better position to open your lungs more).

Oh? wrote:

Planks benefit your abs (re: Rectus Abdominus and Obliques), which support your spine while moving.

The primary aspect this helps with is in maintaining good form (running "tall"), and the associated benefits (e.g. your hips are in proper position to utilize more of the force they generate, and your diaphragm is in better position to open your lungs more).

Actually, scratch that: got the process reversed (it is the Lumbar muscles that keep your chest high/back). Obliques do concern rotational spinal movement, though, which still means maintaining a stable posture while running.

markschultz25 wrote:

Ever since I started doing longer plank holds, I noticed my push ups performance increased as well as being able to do one armed push ups for the first time inn my life.

What are some benefits, which I suspect are only for form and efficiency, can a runner expect to get out of doing planks long and often?

SMH...

Are you running 90 miles per week or more? No? Then forget this nonsense and get thee to running. THAT will benefit your running 100x more than any amount of planking you could possibly do

Planks do nothing for your running, and frankly, the ability to do one armed pushups adds nothing to your running as well.

This is letsrun, not letsplank or letsfiddlefartaroundwithmeaninglessexercisesfornogoodreason. Get your head straight.

I am Dathan Ritzenhein, but my ruse is so good that none of you will believe me. You'll just keep wondering...

Bond. James Bond. wrote:

markschultz25 wrote:

Ever since I started doing longer plank holds, I noticed my push ups performance increased as well as being able to do one armed push ups for the first time inn my life.

What are some benefits, which I suspect are only for form and efficiency, can a runner expect to get out of doing planks long and often?

SMH...

Are you running 90 miles per week or more? No? Then forget this nonsense and get thee to running. THAT will benefit your running 100x more than any amount of planking you could possibly do

Planks do nothing for your running, and frankly, the ability to do one armed pushups adds nothing to your running as well.

This is letsrun, not letsplank or letsfiddlefartaroundwithmeaninglessexercisesfornogoodreason. Get your head straight.

You're right, up to a point. But age is a factor. At age 58, I'm here to testify to that.

I was recently forced to abort my fall season after two races, due to a back injury, sudden onset sciatica, and a bit of foot drop on my right side which had catastrophic effects on my stride. (I felt something like a car with one flat front tire.) I didn't run a step for 5 weeks. An MRI finally revealed the problem to be a bulging/herniated L4 disc.

I'm much better now, about 5 1/2 weeks in. But after avoiding core work for pretty much my entire life, I've been doing planks, which come in several varieties (side planks and front planks work entirely different muscles), along with crunches.

It wasn't until I finally busted a disc, something that other back pains and injuries hadn't actually given me, that I suddenly appreciated the value of core work--and the dangers of avoiding it entirely, as I had.

There just isn't much of a margin of error as you age. Your spine can only do so much. If you lift heavy suitcases full of musical gear (50 lbs.), as I sometimes do; or if you even do stupid things, like reach onto high shelves and yank to hard (as I did this time), and especially if you spend long hours in a chair and don't sit the right way, you're a slipped disc waiting to happen.

Not the young guys, but the older guys.

Front planks strengthen all your back muscles; they give your lumbar vertebrae and discs some help. Side planks strengthen the muscles you use when you lift heavy suitcases or guitar amps. I don't want to do them, but I now GET, in an entirely different way, why I need to do them. Get a pinched nerve. You'll understand.

Older runners need this stuff. Younger runners surely benefit, especially if they're talented enough to want to address every single issues that might notch them a few extra seconds. You're right: for those younger runners, ROI is higher on another 15-20 mpw.

But older runners really NEED planks.

good to see that someone else get's it. To optimize your running, your bodies muscles kneed to work in perfect harmony, all of them.

I bet elites do a lot of core work.

Bond. James Bond. wrote:

markschultz25 wrote:

Ever since I started doing longer plank holds, I noticed my push ups performance increased as well as being able to do one armed push ups for the first time inn my life.

What are some benefits, which I suspect are only for form and efficiency, can a runner expect to get out of doing planks long and often?

SMH...

Are you running 90 miles per week or more? No? Then forget this nonsense and get thee to running. THAT will benefit your running 100x more than any amount of planking you could possibly do

Planks do nothing for your running, and frankly, the ability to do one armed pushups adds nothing to your running as well.

This is letsrun, not letsplank or letsfiddlefartaroundwithmeaninglessexercisesfornogoodreason. Get your head straight.

Agreed. they may be helpful but very overrated. If you run 90mpw and skip the planks, you'll race better than some 60mpw jack*ss who spends tons of time doing BS core exercises

I mostly agree with what's been said... I remember reading a 'debunking' article years ago that basically said things like hill sprints activate you're core way more.

That said, I think other exercises can help you maintain form longer when tired...I do a handful of prehab things

Planks are good if you routinely faceplant and don't want your junk to slam into the ground. Otherwise you just need to run a lot and run at various speeds over varying terrain.

You never see a Racehorse or a Greyhound doing core work.

You'll never see an elite distance runner dazzling you with core strength or any strength for that matter.

core disbeliefs wrote:

Planks are good if you routinely faceplant and don't want your junk to slam into the ground. Otherwise you just need to run a lot and run at various speeds over varying terrain.

You never see a Racehorse or a Greyhound doing core work.

You'll never see an elite distance runner dazzling you with core strength or any strength for that matter.

er

+1

late 40s here

started lifting at 46 and it's all working better now. Faster, healthier, stronger, more aggressive. I think as you get old you lose muscle mass if you don't use it a lot. So our cores get weak even if we run a lot. Plus, I think lifting/planks increase testosterone, which starts fading at around age 40. But I'm not sure about that part.

on Emma Coburn Bosshard's instagram, she is constantly posting videos of core workouts.

MAGA BIGLY wrote:

on Emma Coburn Bosshard's instagram, she is constantly posting videos of core workouts.

She doesn't have a job or a kid and needs something to do besides run

Planks by themselves are fine, but there's waaaay more going on than just "abdominals" so do more than just a conventional plank. Drop one hip, hold it, then drop the other. Another one is to s-l-o-w-l-y rotate 90 degrees onto one elbow and hold it.

Is it going to revolutionize your running? No. When the form starts falling apart at the end, you'll do a little better. The most important reason is the least you can do to look much better than the typical stick figure is have some abs.

This thread is useless without PR's, current workouts, and kms.

agip wrote:

core disbeliefs wrote:

Planks are good if you routinely faceplant and don't want your junk to slam into the ground. Otherwise you just need to run a lot and run at various speeds over varying terrain.

You never see a Racehorse or a Greyhound doing core work.

You'll never see an elite distance runner dazzling you with core strength or any strength for that matter.

er

https://eat2rundotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/meb-keflezighi-abs.jpg

Those are flags. They are not heavy.

Raccoons in Vacant House wrote:

Bond. James Bond. wrote:

SMH...

Are you running 90 miles per week or more? No? Then forget this nonsense and get thee to running. THAT will benefit your running 100x more than any amount of planking you could possibly do

Planks do nothing for your running, and frankly, the ability to do one armed pushups adds nothing to your running as well.

This is letsrun, not letsplank or letsfiddlefartaroundwithmeaninglessexercisesfornogoodreason. Get your head straight.

Agreed. they may be helpful but very overrated. If you run 90mpw and skip the planks, you'll race better than some 60mpw jack*ss who spends tons of time doing BS core exercises

Why don´t you do 90 mpw and a few minutes of planks every week?

Yeahwhynot wrote:

MAGA BIGLY wrote:

on Emma Coburn Bosshard's instagram, she is constantly posting videos of core workouts.

She doesn't have a job or a kid and needs something to do besides run

If you spend a little less time watching porn and jerking off you will find the time to work on your core too.

This^

Apparently they aren't mutually exclusive.

KudzuRunner wrote:

Bond. James Bond. wrote:

SMH...

Are you running 90 miles per week or more? No? Then forget this nonsense and get thee to running. THAT will benefit your running 100x more than any amount of planking you could possibly do

Planks do nothing for your running, and frankly, the ability to do one armed pushups adds nothing to your running as well.

This is letsrun, not letsplank or letsfiddlefartaroundwithmeaninglessexercisesfornogoodreason. Get your head straight.

You're right: for those younger runners, ROI is higher on another 15-20 mpw.

But older runners really NEED planks.

Come on. 15-20 mpw extra takes 2 hrs extra per week if it's at 7:00 pace roughly. Doing a 5:00 plank + 90 sec of side planks on each side 3x a week takes maybe 30 minutes extra. I would guess that spending 10 minutes planking every other day is about equally beneficial to running 10 minutes extra every other day. Either way, neither is going to make THE DIFFERENCE.