What is the purpose of weight training?

Sheathing is the must-have exercise for a flat stomach, but not the only one. Also known as the plank, planking or planking, it has a reputation for being difficult to perform. Indeed, it is an exercise that calls upon both the mind and the body, while requiring you to keep an eye on your watch. Done incorrectly, it will not only be ineffective but can also lead to considerable back pain. Let's find out together this great exercise to build up the stomach and how to perform it properly.

Who invented sleeving?

This muscle strengthening exercise was invented in the 1920s by Joseph PilatesThe origin of the sport of the same name. Contrary to some preconceived ideas, pilates aims to work on strength and not endurance. The idea is not to hold as long as possible, but to perform many repetitions over a short period of time. From this principle was born the gainage.

The practice gained further popularity after the work of Dr. Stuart McGill, who had a long interest in low back pain. But it was after the publication of book " 101 tests of evaluation for the athletes ". by Brian MacKenzie that planking really became popular. This book presented a variety of physical tests for the general public, including planking.

Today, the world record for planking is held by Mao Weidong. This Chinese police officer managed in 2016 to hold the planking position for 8hrs 1min and 1s.

Why should I do bodyweight training?

The sheathing will not allow you to have the coveted chocolate bars. It does, however, have many benefits benefits in bodybuilding. Cladding strengthens and stabilizes the trunk and spineThis prevents possible injuries and back pain, which are becoming more and more common. It also improves posture.

It also allows a transfer of force between the upper and lower body. This transfer is used when performing exercises such as the squat or deadlift.

The other major health benefit of weight training is that it allows you to strengthen and stabilize the transverse muscles. This allows a good maintenance of the organs and viscera, thus allowing to have the famous flat belly and to improve breathing.

It is also used to optimize the crawl for a swimmer and the stride for a runner.

Find this exercise in the following program:

Which muscles are involved in girdling?

Bodyweight training is commonly used to slim the waistline and get a flat stomach. However, it allows both the anterior and posterior muscle chains to be worked, which makes it particularly interesting as an exercise. In other words, it allows to work both the abdominal and back areas.

For the abdominal area, the sheathing will make work the superficial muscles (large right of the abdomen, oblique muscles) and deep (transverses). It is the same for the back. The paravertebral and spinal muscles are used during the exercise. They are responsible for stabilizing and protecting the spine.

When should it be practiced?

Let's first look at the time of work when we are doing bodybuilding. Many sports and health professionals advise to perform short work with many repetitions. It is thus preferable to make 20 seconds to 1 minute of gainage, with 3 to 5 series, by respecting the same time of pause between each series. It is necessary to take care to work the 3 dimensions, namely frontal, dorsal and lateral, to keep a good muscular balance.

Regarding the frequency, you should not exceed the 3 times a week. It is important to be regular in order to benefit from all the advantages that this exercise brings. You can dedicate sessions to the sheathing or do it after a weight training session (or other sports).

A few exercises to improve your posture

There are different types of exercises, such as frontal claddingThis is the basic form of this exercise. Once you've mastered it, you can move on to more advanced variations for a complete workout of the back and abdominal muscles.

These include the lateral claddingThis variation is ideal for those who want to get rid of their love handles. This variation is ideal for those who want to get rid of their love handles. To carry out this exercise, it is necessary to lie down on the side while taking support on the forearm, with the angle of the elbow forming 90° and by taking off the hips of the ground. The segments must be well aligned and the abdominal muscles well contracted, while breathing slowly. When the time is up, switch sides to work on the right and left obliques.

To complete the work, you can also do some back braceThe bridge exercise is used to recruit the spinal and paravertebral muscles, the buttocks, the legs and the abdominals. The starting position consists of lying on the ground, spreading the feet and raising the pelvis, with the palms of the hands placed on the ground. The thighs and the pelvis must be perfectly aligned. The glutes and abs should be squeezed tightly, sucking in the belly button during the exercise.

You can combine these three exercises very well. There are other more complex variations. There are for example :

• the RKC (Russian Kettlebel Challenge)
• backbend with rotation
• weighted belly wrap
• the superman planking
• the planking jack
• the mountain climber
• the stir the pot
• the board to pump
• the vacuum

Gainage for beginners

Bodyweight training is one of the isometric exercises. Isometry is the art of building muscle without moving. It is an isometric effort and not a dynamic one.

The basic cladding consists in facing the ground while stretching the legs backwards, compacting the thighs and keeping the buttocks and abdominal muscles contracted for a few seconds. The weight of the body will be concentrated on the tips of the feet and the forearm and the back must remain straight.

Maintain the position by keeping the head in line with the spineLook straight ahead. The hip should not be too high so as not to bend the back. It is necessary to resist the desire to raise the neck or to let the head collapse completely. It is also important to pull in the stomach during the exercise and to suck in the navel, to work the transverse muscles. During the exercise, keep your breathing slow and deep.

By following these guidelines, your body should be perfectly straight, from head to ankles.

Gainage for experienced practitioners

If the basic version of the sit-up has become too easy for you, there's no need to increase the duration of the exercise. Instead, opt for a slightly more complex version. For example, you can choose to raise the support points by placing your legs on a bench.

You can also take turns lifting the right and left leg, alternating for 10 seconds each, while keeping the pelvis stable. This will make the exercise more complex, and will use the stabilizing muscles.

Another technique for make it a little more difficult Elbows in front of the shoulders to increase the tension. There are still many techniques to increase the difficulty: by reducing the points of support, by making dynamic sheathing, by adding load or by creating instability.

In conclusion, the sheathing is a great exercise of musculation of the belly, allowing to draw important aesthetic benefits but also of global strength. It can be done anywhere and requires no equipment. So you have no excuse to do without it!

Need to build up your muscles?

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