The 10 Minute Ab workout Anyone Can Try

People love to prove that they can hold a plank for a really long time. In fact, the plank record is more than five hours, set just last week.

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This is incredibly impressive, but most fitness experts agree that holding a plank beyond a minute or two does no good. If you go longer than that, the plank becomes more of an exercise in mental fortitude than anything else. Find out why in The Truth about Extreme Planking.

Studies show that repeated bouts of shorter isometric holds can provide better quality muscular contractions, promote better form, and enhance performance.

Enter the 10-minute plank flow. It’s quite simple: You continually go from one plank variation to another for 10 minutes straight. Flowing from one plank to another every 5 to 10 seconds works different muscle groups and trains your body in multiple planes of movement.

So you might go from a front plank to a side plank to a back plank. You can also add arm and leg movements, regress to a bear crawl position, or mix up if you’re on your hands or forearms.

The options are endless and the time will pass a lot faster than if you just held a standard plank the whole time. Have fun with it. The end result is 10 minutes of time under tension for your core, shoulder, and hip muscles.

                                           
This post originally appeared on Men's Health
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