If You Can Hold a Forearm Plank This Long After 55, Your Core Strength Is Elite

A forearm plank, also known as a low plank, works your entire body. It involves holding a position in straight alignment, maintaining proper form from the bottom of your heels to the top of your head, all while resting on your toes and forearms. This movement is an extraordinary way to build solid core strength, because it involves contracting your deep core muscles, which include your obliques, transverse abdominals, and rectus abdominus while simultaneously engaging the back, glutes, and shoulders.

If you don’t perform forearm planks in your routine, you may want to consider adding them. We spoke with an expert and learned that, if you can hold a forearm plank this long after 55, your core strength is considered elite.

Why is the forearm plank such a productive measure of strength?

“The forearm plank demands prolonged muscle contraction without movement, which reveals true postural stability that translates ...