Plank: make it the one resolution you follow this year

Ritesh Bawri

02 Jan 2026 — 2 min read

Did you make New Year's resolutions? Most resolutions fail because they demand too much change at once.

But what if one exercise, requiring no equipment and less than two minutes daily, could transform how your body functions?

Allow me to explain.

Your core is not your abs. It’s a cylinder of muscles wrapping around your midsection. Front, back and sides, that stabilizes everything you do. Every time you reach, lift, twist, or simply stand, this cylinder activates first.

When it’s weak, your spine compensates. Over time, that compensation becomes chronic back pain, poor posture, and movement patterns that increase wear on your joints.

The plank trains this entire system simultaneously. Unlike crunches, which isolate a single muscle through repetitive motion, the plank demands isometric contraction.

Your muscles work without moving.

This mimics how your core actually functions in real life. Here’s what happens when you hold a plank. Your deepest abdominal muscle, cinches around your spine like a natural brace.

Your obliques fire to prevent rotation. Your glutes engage to maintain hip alignment. Even your diaphragm learns to function against resistance, improving breathing mechanics under load.

This isn’t about aesthetics.

It’s about building a foundation that makes every other physical task easier and safer. A strong core protects your lower back when you sit for hours.

It transfers power efficiently when you play sports. It keeps you upright as you age, when falls become genuinely dangerous. The beauty of the plank is its simplicity.

Sixty seconds each morning. No gym, no complexity, no excuses.

If you’re going to commit to one thing in 2026, make it this. Teach your body to stabilize properly. Everything else, strength, endurance, injury resilience, will only add to this foundation.

One exercise. One minute. No fad. No excuses. One resolution worth keeping.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain

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