28-day plank exercise challenge to tone and tighten your tummy

Our metabolism, our genetic predispositions and hormones cause us to store fat in some places and not in others. When the fat is stored in the belly, it lets appear rolls, or even a buoy which takes pleasure in displaying itself proudly, even under our clothes.

 Discover this challenge of the plank to take up for 28 days to gain your belly and tone it.

 The belly is the target area that many people would dream of firming and sheathing.

Why do we store belly fat?

There are several factors that explain the location of fat in the belly

Inheritance: Sometimes our genes do not give us gifts. If you see your parents or family members with bulges or a belly buoy, you might not be spared.

Unbalanced diet: A diet high in saturated fats and fast sugars leads to spikes in blood sugar. Insulin is then released to absorb this excess and maintain a normal level of this sugar. Except that insulin transforms this excess sugar into fat that is stored. This is why to avoid gaining fat mass, it is necessary to favor foods with a low glycemic index (GI). The GI is an indicator that gives an idea of ​​the ability of a food to increase glycemia, that is to say the level of sugar in the blood.

Stress: Periods of stress that we can experience lead to the secretion of cortisol, which is a hormone that promotes the storage of fat in the abdomen.

Lack of physical activity: A sedentary lifestyle promotes weight gain, because our body does not burn the excess calories it receives, and when we consume more calories than our body needs, we gain weight. weight for sure. Doing sports regularly allows us in the long term to increase our basic metabolism, that is to say that our body manages to consume more calories at rest.

It is true that it is difficult to localize the loss of fat mass, because when we lose weight, we generally lose weight in all areas of our body, and not only in the desired area. However, it is possible to opt for targeted exercises to better work the stomach and tone it, such as the plank exercise.

The plank, a sheathing exercise

To do this exercise, lie on your stomach and lean on your elbows. Place your hands on the floor, keeping them in line with your elbows. Your pelvis should be slightly raised to keep it aligned with your shoulders. Lift your knees and keep only your toes on the floor. Contract your butt and stomach muscles, and keep your back straight. To do this, direct your gaze downward to keep your spine straight. Be careful not to lift your butt too high. These should stay in line with your back, so your body looks like a plank.

The 28 day challenge

If you're a beginner, you'll struggle to stay in this plank position for long, so this beginner's planner will get you off to a slow start so you can hold on for 240 seconds without giving up by the end of the last day.

Day 1-2: 20 seconds

Day 3-4: 30 seconds

Day 5: 40 seconds

Day 6: Rest

Day 7-8: 45 seconds

Day 9-10-11: 60 seconds

Day 12: 90 seconds

Day 13: Rest

Day 14-15: 90 seconds

Day 16-17: 120 seconds

Day 18: 150 seconds

Day 19: Rest

Day 20-21: 150 seconds

Day 22-23: 180 seconds

Day 24: 210 seconds

Day 25: Rest

Day 26: 210 seconds

Day 27: 240 seconds

Day 28: Perform this exercise until you are tired

You will see that after the 28th day, you will lose more fat and your belly will be firmer.

The benefits of plank exercise

The plank is known for its ability to strengthen the abdominals, and this by soliciting different muscles of the abdominal group, such as the transverse muscle of the abdomen, responsible for the flat stomach, the obliques, or the rectus muscle, but it also has other benefits on the body. Indeed, this exercise allows you to:

Increase basal metabolism: The plank is certainly a static exercise, but it requires a lot of energy and therefore burns more calories than other abdominal exercises. Practicing this exercise daily will therefore increase the basic metabolism.

Improve posture and balance: When the abdominal muscles are strengthened, they allow us to keep our balance, but also to easily maintain an upright posture.

Relieve stress: The plank allows you to stretch the muscles and therefore to evacuate the stress and tensions of the body, due to the fact of sitting all day.

In addition to your sports activity, it is also important to adopt a balanced and healthy diet to prevent this abdominal fat from growing and becoming visceral fat, that is to say fat located between the muscles and the organs. abs. This can also lead to cardiovascular disease, as shown in the study published by Lipids in Health and Disease.