You may be surprised at what the one of the best tummy toning exercise is. Most people think it’s a crunch or sit up of some sort.
Oddly enough, one of the best tummy toning exercise doesn’t involve any type movement and is actually quite static in nature. The best tummy toning exercise is an isometric contraction, or pose.
Are you curious?
Yep, this is it. The best tummy toning exercise out there is called the plank.
The plank is simple and straight forward in it’s pose and while it may LOOK easy it is not as easy as it looks. Maybe the simplicity of it is what throws most. How can this be one of the best tummy toning exercise?
Well, let me explain it to you…
Your abdominal wall consists of four muscles on two sides. The one that’s the most neglected is called the transverse abdominus. This is a “shy muscle” that runs horizontally:
The transverse abdominus provides support sort of like those kidney belts that you see the people at Home Depot wearing. This muscle supports the core from the front, side and back. I say it’s a “shy muscle”, because the other ab muscles tend to take over in any abdominal movement unless you learn to engage this muscle.
If you’ve had any sort of abdominal trauma or surgery (yes, a C-section is both traumatic and a surgical procedure!), you likely don’t know how to engage the shy little transverse abdominus. The body is brilliant in that it actually stops firing this muscle to protect you in the case of trauma or surgery so that you don’t further injure yourself. The trouble is that once the trauma has past, the muscle will not fire on it’s own unless you specifically get it trained to. The plank is a brilliant exercise to help you get that muscle turned on again.
The key to doing a plank correctly is to hold it for as long a period of time as you can (I usually make my clients hold for a minute or longer) and pull your abdominal muscles away from the floor. Ideally you want to keep your back flat and not stick your butt in the air. However, if your lower back is weak this may not work for you at first, so you can stick your butt up a little higher if necessary until you strengthen your lower back.
Happy Planking! Kathie 
I’m with you, Kathie!
The plank and it’s numerous variations are hands down the best overall abdominal strengthening exercises. My particular favorite is the one arm, one legged plank – a true core killer!