Master the Ultimate Core Challenge: Plank Your Way to Elite Strength After 50!

A lifestyle coach shares the plank endurance standard that indicates exceptional core strength for those over 50.

The plank is a top-tier exercise for core stabilization, widely utilized by physical therapists to enhance neuromuscular coordination. The core encompasses several muscle groups, including the back, abdominals, pelvic floor, and glutes. A weak core significantly increases the risk of issues related to the neck, shoulders, posture, hips, and knees.

Curious about the strength of your core? Here’s a simple assessment to find out. As per Terry Tateossian, the Founder and Certified Lifestyle Medicine Coach, Trainer, and Nutritionist for Women 40+ at THOR – The House of Rose, achieving a specific plank duration post-50 signifies superior core strength, placing you ahead of 90% of your contemporaries.

Opinions on planks tend to be polarized; you either embrace them or dread them, with no middle ground, according to Tateossian.

What Makes the Plank an Effective Indicator of Core Strength and Fitness?

When it comes to planks, you either love them or hate them. Tateossian says there’s no in-between phase.

“They are one of those exercises that make 30 seconds feel like 3 hours,” she says, noting, “They reflect our core endurance, spine stability and overall ability to control our entire body. In other words, they require a full body activation. These qualities protect us as we age.”

The Ideal Plank Hold Benchmark for Those 50+

According to Tateossian, if you’re able to hold a weighted plank with solid form—a weight plate is placed over your back as you hold the position without your midsection collapsing—for more than two minutes, you’re considered “top-tier” among your age group.

“It signals functional strength in the core, shoulders, glutes, quads and deep core,” she tells us.

If Your Plank Fitness Is Lacking, Here’s What To Do

If your plank performance can use some improvement, there are a few exercises you can do in order to strengthen your holds. These include dead bugs, bird dogs, modified (knee) planks, and glute bridges.

Dead Bugs

1. Lie flat on your back, arms extended toward the sky and knees lifted in a tabletop position.
2. Press your lower back into the floor and engage your core.
3. Lower one arm and the opposite leg.
4. Hover for a moment without allowing your arm or leg to touch the ground.
5. Return to the start position.
6. Repeat on the other side, and continue to alternate

Bird Dogs

1. Start on all fours.
2. Extend your left arm and right leg, keeping your core braced.
3. Hold for a moment before returning to the start position.
4. Switch sides, continuing to alternate.

Glute Bridges

1. Begin by lying flat on your back with bent knees and feet hip-width apart on the floor, arms at your sides with palms pressing into the ground.
2. Press through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
3. Squeeze your buttocks, holding at the top for a moment.
4. Lower your hips back to the start position.

“The goal is to keep progressing in core strength over time. So maybe on day one, you can only hold a full-body weight plank for 10 seconds, but by day 60, you have worked your way to a two-minute full-body plank, and by day 120, you are holding a 24-lb plate on your back and holding a two-minute plank without breaking form,” Tateossian says.