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Firstly, apologies, I was drawn to an article featured on Metro.
How long can you plank for? How long for your age should you be able to? The article says:
20-39: 45-60 seconds.
40-59: 30-45 seconds.
60+: 15-30 seconds.
At 50, I do a 70s plank as part of my warm up three times a week. Followed by two 45s side planks (within which I raise one leg for 20s). It's not easy keeping myself braced, and it makes me sweat by the time I'm finished. Not fussed about planning for longer, maybe 90s at most.
At times I can do a 10s L-sit, need to be feeling fresh though.
Only with a chainsaw! 😂
(I thought the thread title was a typo...I is disappoint)
I'm 44 and can hold a plank with good form for 2+ minutes but do 6 lots of 1 minute 3-4 times a week. I also do 40 seconds of side planks at the same time.
i never do any plank type stuff, or any other external training but at 53 i can do 2+ mins
How long can you plank for? How long for your age should you be able to? The article says:
20-39: 45-60 seconds.
40-59: 30-45 seconds.
60+: 15-30 seconds.
Thanks for posting that, I now feel awesome for my age. 🤣 🤣
High 5s weeksy
😉
These figures always seem to be designed to flatter the reader - or to be so intentionally wildly off in order just to cause discussion.
My regular bodyweight routines include a couple of 60s planks or a couple of 60s full press-up planks with alternate shoulder taps.
I'm 67 next month. Mrs S is 61 and does the same.
65, just tried having checked what a plank is. Chose the hands rather than elbows variety. At 2:10 I thought I'll probably regret this unusual exercise tomorrow so stopped. No idea how long I could hold but I know I'll swim better tomorow for having stopped so soon.
I'm 58, never timed it, but often do them in gym classes (Warrior Fit type of classes). I reckon I can comfortably do over one minute.
Chose the hands rather than elbows variety
Oh - good topic for discussion: which do folk find easier? I reckon full press-up planks are easier. Maybe geometry says that more of your weight is taken through your feet and legs that way? Elbow planks seem to require more core/abs.
Not a natural planker - 1 min is ok but 2 mins feels like life and death. 51yo
Been recommended Copenhagen planks a few times for an adductor issue but never got into doing them regularly. They're awkward on top of being hard, but you certainly feel them.
I joined a 'challenge' plan a year or two back, promoted by work, on our intranet, which was running side by side with daily step counts and such like. After about 3 weeks of effort at it, I was comfortably hitting 5 mins, some days 6 mins. That was pressup planks rather than elbows. I've not bothered since, but suspect I could get back to similar if I put a bit of effort in again. Was 62 at the time
I do a minute a night (elbows) as part of my pre-bed stretches. Never really tried to see how long I can actually hold it though. Might give it a go.
46. Although I just typed 44.
I can do a minute plus on days when I particularly hate myself.
These days I don't bother holding a plank for X amount of time. Without movement there is no motivation to 'hold it' for me.
So it's either shoulder taps or arm stretches and then I seem to be able to go on for a while.
upper 40s
These figures always seem to be designed to flatter the reader - or to be so intentionally wildly off in order just to cause discussion.
You would think so. If you are 60 years old and you can only manage a 15 second plank I reckon that you are ****ed.
Without movement there is no motivation to 'hold it' for me.
Isometric exercises don't recieve the recognition that they deserve. They are the best for lowering blood pressure.
From what I've seen, the dynamic variations come with higher recommendation for improving mobility. Though with the regular isometric plank I'm constantly tweaking my form to find where needs to be braced, just subtle tweaks can change how it feels, and make it feel demanding to me by the 60s mark. Did 45s while wearing 13kg in a backpack the other day, that was interesting, with the added benefit of being over quicker too 🙂
Edit: 1m56s plank just now. Feeling that. Couldn't see time during otherwise might have tried for two minutes.
Also - don't forget to engage your core (in simple terms, imagine how you'd brace yourself before being punched in the gut).
Are those times for the average bloke on the street who has never done a plank before in his life? If so sounds about right.
Anyone who does them as part of an exercise regime should be able to do far better than that. Back in my gym days when I was around 33 I'd do a couple of sets of 3 min planks.
Last year, at 48 I'd do 2 or 3 sets of a minute.
I reckon having not done one for about 18 months I'd be between 30 -45 sec, aligning to the article. But they hurt as I remember, so no intention to find out.
That said, I read an article in same paper about how long your average bloke coukd balance on one leg with their eyes closed..about 10 sec. Clearly absolute bollocks
Mid 50s - I've done 2 min elbow planks 4 times a week (alongside other exercises) for the last 5+ years. I also do weighted side planks twice a week (1.5 min each side). My initial motivation was to improve core strength as I was getting back pain. Now it's just become a normal part of my routine which I'll continue as long as I'm able.
That said, I read an article in same paper about how long your average bloke coukd balance on one leg with their eyes closed..about 10 sec. Clearly absolute bollocks
The thing is, people's ability is wildly different, even between relatively fit people. So is the above bollocks because it's easy to do much longer or bollocks because it's difficult and there's no way the average bloke could do ten seconds? Personally, I find balancing on one leg with my eyes shut very difficult. Managed 25s wobbling all over the place on my right foot (left is easier). Eyesight plays a very big part in proprioception. But I've no idea about the capabilities of the average man on the street. Was there a gym or running track nearby to the street?
I hated when i turned 40 and i instantly dropped 25% from my plank capacity
I can do it til I get bored basically. It's not that I'm like super strong, it's the opposite- I'm made out of balsa wood and cobwebs so I'm piss weak, but it just hardly takes any effort to keep me up. Can't really do pushups or situps though 😛
4 mins x 4 times per week on elbows - aged 58.
At 41 4 times a week I do 3 x 2 minute planks with good form along with some other bits and bobs like 30 sit ups and 50 squats etc. I used to do 4 minute long ones but found my form slipped the longer I went so switched to more 2 minutes instead. The 2 minutes is really easy to do and I could easily go longer but it's about good form for me.
All this talk of bracing made me wonder if it actually makes any difference. Not really. It happens automatically, that is, I use my abs regardless of everything else. They're my limiting factor. Abs/core are used whatever in plank position. Try raising your hips and lowering them to floor for repetitions while in a plank position.
I sit down a lot.
Another good one is single arm hangs! Every other session (one or twice a week), post warm up, I'm currently doing 2x18s per arm. Grip weaker on one side, shoulder weaker on other. Finding this difficult. Spot the non climber I guess!
Yikes, I had lazily assumed I'd be able to hold 2minutes plus as I do regular mountainclimbers as part of my warm-up, but got distinctly shaky at 1:15s. Weirdly I think I can hold side plank a bit longer...
Isometric exercises don't recieve the recognition that they deserve. They are the best for lowering blood pressure.
Yeah, I'm a big fan (in principle at least) as they feel like the sort of 'Z2' of strength, i.e. you can do them all the time and they condition the muscles for bigger more dynamic movements (load tolerance is the phrase my physio used I think). They also have a sort of analgesic effect and can be useful for certain aches and pains, i.e. my achey right hip always feels better for planks/side plans/side lying leg lift holds/wall sits.
I clearly just don't do them often enough!
It's a rubbish "exercise" for anyone with a reasonable core. If you can do a couple of minutes then doing five minutes is going to do more for you. If you want to get a stronger core you need to work harder, to doing front levers say if you want isometric. Not that I can do proper ones, but the last time I tried a plank I sacked it off after three mins or so as tedious as well as pointless... (I am solidly in the latter age category and only a planner in the rhyming slang sense)
Managed 25s wobbling all over the place on my right foot (left is easier). Eyesight plays a very big part in proprioception. But I've no idea about the capabilities of the average man on the street
Ha, just tried this. Left foot, 53 seconds, basically I got bored and started thinking about other stuff.
Right foot, 7 seconds 😆
This is just one of these bullshit things where the exercise is dead easy if you've practiced it even a little bit but may be hard if you're an unfit bloater who lives on the sofa and has never tried. However if the unfit bloater starts to practice a little bit they will not suddenly be super-fit even if they achieve the fairly simple task outlined.
I randomly came across the two minute plank challenge around '17 or '18 in my mid 40s around the time I began cycling for fitness outside of simply commuting, it took a few weeks or so but I eventually managed it, having initially struggled to do ~30 seconds and a history of weak/damaged lower back muscles for ten years.
More than anything, I put that time of doing the challenge of massively improving my back issues, I went from using my Homedics pc chair shiatsu massage machine ~10 times daily to using it less than ten times over the next five or so years.
Barely done plank in last few years while I've had long covid and I'm back using the Homedics machine numerous times daily.
This is just one of these bullshit things where the exercise is dead easy if you've practiced it even a little bit but may be hard if you're an unfit bloater who lives on the sofa and has never tried. However if the unfit bloater starts to practice a little bit they will not suddenly be super-fit even if they achieve the fairly simple task outlined.
Thanks for providing an excellent demonstration of what the term ablist thinking refers to.
I'm 44 and can do 2mins fairly comfortably, though I'm glad when it's over.
I read somewhere that it is pointless doing any longer than 2mins and it has no benefit. I have of course took this advice to heart so as to avoid ever thinking about extending my 2min plank sessions.
excellent demonstration of what the term ablist thinking refers to.
I guess so. Planks probably have a place in rehab, Pilates to get people into better shape etc. But if you're training for climbing or sports where you need a strong core, once you're past two mins which generally fit people can do without training, then it won't do much. You don't get better at hanging leg raises or front levers, or get more power into your feet on overhangs, or get better looking abs come to that by doing longer and longer planks. What other muscles would you work by putting them under steady tension for five minutes? Would wall sitting make you a stronger cyclist? Maybe a bit for someone who never rides but not for anyone who does.
At the gym so thought I’d time one - 2min 20seconds (I’m 58).
I can honestly say I have never planked.
Not something I’d ever do either. Even if it was part of an exercise routine I was supposed to do I would soon get bored and do something else. Exercise for me has to be enjoyable, with movement or going somewhere. I do have sex quite regularly and that’s sort of like a plank, but with movement (and pleasure! 😂 ) Sometimes lasts more than a minute too!
Planks probably have a place in rehab, Pilates to get people into better shape etc. But if you're training for climbing or sports where you need a strong core, once you're past two mins which generally fit people can do without training, then it won't do much.
Like I said. Warm up. 70s. If that's a stretch for people's endurance of boredom, sigh, I don't know. There's no hope for us.
Workout this morning was five sets of five exercises where the last exercise was a 2 minute plank. Fairly challenging. I found the elbow style easiest, but the hardest part is stopping my feet slipping on a concrete floor.
Also, the further apart your feet are, the harder it is.