Static Crackle
Sit-ups, crunches, reverse crunches - have you ever wondered if there was another way to a strong midsection without all the bobbing up and down? Well there is, and oddly enough it involves not moving at all. Time to get static.
Moving light things very fast. Or simply moving yourself as fast or slowly as you are able. What tends to be forgotten in all this is the potential strength benefits of not moving at all. Welcome to the wonderful world of isometric exercise.
Most exercises are dynamic, and consist of a force moving an object whether that is a weight, some kind of resistance device or just hauling our own sorry selves around. That makes perfect sense because we are moving beasties and good exercise mimics the tasks we have to do in daily life. Or at least the ones we used to do when daily life involved running after mammoths, fleeing things with big pointy teeth and so on. But movement isn’t the only way to build muscle, and that’s where isometric exercises come in.
Isometrics really mean tensing a muscle without moving anything - either just by contracting it, or by applying a force to something that simply can’t go anywhere. Stand in a doorway and try to push the frame apart Samson style. Nothing is moving (hopefully) but, my, can you feel the squeeze. Because it is seen as better to exercise a muscle through its full range of movement, isometric exercises aren’t usually recommended for fitness fans unless they’ve suffered injury to a joint and want to maintain strength. There is, however, one exception. The plank, with the plank and its sideways-on variants the whole point is to hold the body perfectly still. Because it’s only supported on the ground at a couple of points, however, this requires quite a lot of muscular effort. Unlike crunches, which mainly work the rectus abdominis, the effort of keeping the stomach straight (and off the ground) requires the work of all the muscles including the obliques and the transversus abdominis. which makes for a strong midsection.
Purists argue that this isn’t really isometric exercise because the muscles are resisting something that can move - as you find out when you stop resisting and collapse like a burst balloon - but who has time for nit-picking when there’s gymfun to be had?
The plank
Couldn’t be simpler. Lie face down on a mat and then lift up so you are resting your weight on your forearms and your toes (or your knees if toes proves too hard). Now hold that position absolutely rigidly. Your back should be straight - if your bum is sticking up, pull it back into line. If your hips or belly are sagging, then whip them back into line too. You are straight as a ramrod, and by now probably starting to feel about as stiff. Keep going for as long as you can - time yourself and see if you can get any better.
The side plank
This time you start on your side and raise yourself onto your elbow with your body dead straight so that there is a long wedge of daylight underneath you from your elbow (which should be directly under your shoulder) right down to your feet. This puts more of the stress on the sides (surprise) and thus the obliques. If you want to add a bit of extra interest (go on, you know you want to) then stretch the arm that’s away from the floor up straight out sideways so its sticks up in the air. When you can’t hold it anymore roll over to your other side and repeat the process.