We have been doing planks with a few kids recently. There are lots of ways to work on them to make them harder or easier. We show you a few in the video but we will also talk about a few other ways as well.
Using hands and toes is more challenging than using hands and knees. But both can be challenging depending on the child. We have also found that putting a child’s lower legs on top of a small bench is sometimes easier than doing hands and knees. It requires a little less coordination. Also it allows you to give tactile cues so that they are engaging their core and weight bearing equally in both arms.
To make it more challenging if you are supporting the legs, you can support them on a peanut ball or a therapy ball. Peanut ball is easier than a therapy ball because it only moves forward and backwards as opposed to moving in all directions. If they need a little bit of help you can give some stabilization to the ball or peanut.
You can also adjust what their hands are on. If you use a stability disc or a balance board or a Bosu, it is going to be more challenging. The Bosu will probably be the most challenging but that can also vary with each child.
Now, you can also move your body. You can lift one leg at a time, or bring your knee in to your chest or out to the side towards your elbow. This is easiest if your hands and feet are on a flat surface but feel free to make it more challenging by using any of the above mentioned surfaces to challenge your child even more!
Maybe get your workout in too and challenge your child to a plank competition!