by Weight loss is a task that you must undertake every day to be successful. But with so many diet and exercise options, it can be challenging to know what’s best for you. However, when it comes to working out, no one can miss the ever-popular planks and squats. Both are extremely effective exercises that can be performed anywhere without any equipment. When you perform any of them, you exercise your entire core and strengthen your muscles. But when it comes to squats or planks, which exercise is more effective for weight loss? Let’s find out.
What is a plank?
A plank is an isometric exercise that develops core strength. It requires holding a position similar to a push-up for as long as possible. It’s a simple yet challenging exercise that targets your core muscles, including your abdomen, back, and hips. These are some of its benefits:
Core Strength: Plank involves holding a stationary position. This helps strengthen your core muscles, including your rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, and obliques.
Improved Posture: Plank can help improve posture by strengthening the muscles that support the spine.
Greater flexibility: Plank can help increase flexibility in the shoulders, hamstrings, and arches of the feet.
Better balance: A board can improve balance by engaging your core muscles and stabilizing your shoulder and hip muscles.
Reduced risk of back pain: Plank can help reduce the risk of back pain by strengthening the muscles that support the spine.
What are squats?
A squat is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers the hip from a standing position and then comes back up. It targets multiple muscle groups, including the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core. Here are some of the benefits of squats:
Lower Body Strength: Squats are one of the best exercises to strengthen the lower body. They target the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps, helping to build strength and muscle mass.
Improved mobility: Squats can help improve mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles.
Increased Calorie Burn: Squats are a compound exercise that uses multiple muscle groups, which can help burn more calories than isolated exercises.
Best posture: Squats can help improve posture by strengthening the muscles in your core and back.
Reduced risk of injury: Squats can help reduce the risk of injury by strengthening the muscles that support the joints and improving balance and stability.
Squats vs Plank: Which is better to lose weight?
Now we understand the advantages of each exercise separately. Now it’s time for the million dollar question: which exercise is best for losing weight? To find out this, Health Shots spoke to Delhi-based fitness trainer Meenakshi Mohanty, who promotes holistic and healthy lifestyles.
According to the physical trainer, both planks and squats are excellent exercises to lose weight and strengthen the core. However, a functional exercise like the squat carries more overall benefits than the plank, which is an isometric exercise. “With squats, people can build lower body strength and endurance and still work to build muscle. This exercise targets the abdominal muscles and can burn calories. Additionally, squats can greatly improve posture and drastically reduce the risk of injury. Squatting also increases overall strength and improves general conditioning.”
Also read: Doing a squat is an art. This is how you can do it correctly.
So squats are certainly more effective, and for the right reasons. However, this does not imply that you should stop drawing. Exercises like planks can help you improve your posture and core strength, both of which are crucial when trying to lose weight.
Before choosing any exercise, decide on your goal, and then add a new exercise to your workout routine!
