YOU PROBABLY THINK you know how to do a plank. The ab training staple is relatively simple, after all—boiled down to the basics, all you need to do is get down on the ground and hold in place.

Reverse planks target the back of your body (also known as your posterior chain), working muscles like your hamstrings, ...

Begin in plank position with your feet together. Keep your upper body stable and engage your abs. Don't let your lower back arch. Keep your weight in your hands as you draw your navel toward your ...

Assume standard plank, then tighten abs, as if bracing for a punch to the belly. Squeeze butt to make it visibly firm. Create static tension throughout body by imagining you're stuck in dried ...

Ab wheel planks: Benefits Planks build core strength, but they also strengthen muscles in your shoulders, arms, chest, lower back, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors and quads.

A plank requires a strong core, sturdy shoulders, and full body stability. Scaled exercises, like wall planks, can help you hold one for longer. Business Insider ...

Samuel notes that planks only train that one function of the core—bracing—when you could be exposing your abs to even more movements. Plank Alternatives for Better Core Workouts.

The world record for the longest plank is an abs-urd 9 hours and 38 minutes for men, and 4 hours and 30 minutes for women. But you don’t have to hold out that long to see real results. 6.

This plank-free, 10-minute core workout taxes the upper and lower abs, along with your obliques, to help build stronger and more defined muscles.