Be Creative

5 Ways to pump up your plank

Challenge Yourself
To Change Yourself

While the plank may be one of the best total-body exercises, its benefits begin to decrease as you get better at doing it. Try these five modifications to pump up your traditional plank and keep your body improving!

As with all exercises, the more you practice, the better you get. So if you want to continue seeing results from your workouts, you must continue to challenge yourself.

This is no more evident than with everyone’s favorite core exercise, the plank.

"Your body is designed for movement," Promax Fitness Ambassador Holly Perkins tells SheKnows. "A traditional isometric (non-moving) plank will only get you so far in your efforts toward functional strength."

Perkins, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, says that once we’re comfortable with a traditional plank, we should be trying more dynamic versions to continue building strength and sculpting our bodies.

"Be sure to include various planks that add some kind of movement, rather than simply holding for 30 seconds," says Perkins. "This will challenge the muscles of the core and spine so that they become strong in other movements that you may encounter in life, or in your other workouts."

Ready to pump up your plank? Try our top five plank-perfecting moves:

The leg lift

This is the most basic modification you can make to the traditional plank. Start with both feet planted hip-width apart on your hands or elbows. Lift one leg and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat on the other leg. Alternate for as long as you can hold your plank.

The lizard

Starting in a traditional plank with your hands shoulder width-apart, bring your knee to the outside of your shoulder, turning your head to meet your knee. Repeat on the other side. Aim for two sets of 30 reps per side.

The twister

Start on your hands in a traditional plank. Bring your knee to the opposite elbow, contracting your abdominal muscles as you twist. Repeat on the other side. Aim for two sets, 30 reps.

Want more? Once your knee reaches your elbow, extend your leg.

The rotating plank

You’ll need a 3- to 5-pound weight for this exercise. Start in a traditional plank, with the weight in one hand. Rotate your arm, lifting the weight to a 90 degree angle above your body as you turn into a side plank. Return to the start. Repeat for 15 reps per side, two sets. Make sure to keep your arm straight and your back flat.

The superwoman

Similar to the previous exercise, start in a traditional plank, then lift one leg. Once you have your balance, lift the opposite arm. With your gaze forward, stretch your arm and leg as much as you can. Hold the pose for 15-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Want more? Try bringing your knee to meet your elbow under your body for 15 reps.

Rainbow smoothie pops for healthy on-the-go snacking

Eat A Rainbow Of
Fresh Fruit

Heal your body and soothe your creative soul with these deliciously colorful smoothie pops.

Made with a rainbow of fresh fruits and blended with just a bit of yogurt and almond milk, they're a terrific, healthy addition to any party menu where color is key.

Use a rainbow assortment of five different fruits. I prefer frozen chunks of fruit because it makes the mixtures thicker.

I found these freezer ice-pop bags at Zipzicles.com. They worked perfectly.

It's as easy as blending up a smoothie, but the end result is way more fun!

Who said pastry bags were just for frosting? These make it super easy to fill up the ice-pop bags without all the mess.

Start with the blueberries...

and work your way up the rainbow until you get to strawberry.

Keep them in your freezer for a rainbow-inspired snack whenever the craving hits.

Rainbow smoothie pops recipe

Yields 20

Ingredients and supplies:

2 cups frozen strawberries
2 cups frozen mango
2 cups frozen pineapple
2 cups frozen kiwi
2 cups frozen blueberries
5 cups vanilla yogurt
3-4 cups almond milk
Zipzicle bags
Pastry bags
Rubber bands
Blender

Directions:

In a blender, mix each frozen fruit with 1 cup vanilla yogurt and 1/2 cup almond milk. Add more almond milk if needed to blend, but the smoothies should be fairly thick.
Pour each blended fruit smoothie into a sealed pastry bag and close the tops with rubber bands. You want your smoothies to be fairly thick so that they don't mix together when you squeeze them into the ice-pop bags. If needed, put them in the freezer for about an hour to help stiffen the mixtures.
Place the bags upside down in cups, and cut the tips of the pastry bags off.
Squeeze a small amount (about 1 tablespoon/1 inch) of the blueberry smoothie into the bottoms of the Zipzicle bags. As you fill the bags, you can place them upright inside cups to keep the mixtures from sliding. Next, squeeze the kiwi smoothie on top of the blueberry in all of the bags. Continue this process with the pineapple, mango and strawberry smoothies until all of the bags are full.
Seal the bags closed and freeze for at least 4 hours.