REVEALED: The ONE exercise that strengthens ALL your muscle groups and you only have to do it for less than 10 minutes to see a difference

Do you want to become healthier with as little effort as possible?

According to experts, there is one exercise that meets both criteria.

Forget about the treadmill or the challenges of intense boot camp classes: fitness pros say all you have to do is hold one position for two minutes.

Experts have found that holding a plank for a short period of time every day for two weeks can improve balance, strengthen all muscle groups and even low blood pressure.

According to a large study of nearly 16,000 people, performing four sets of the exercise for two minutes for two weeks is enough to provide significant benefits.

Planking for two minutes has been proven to strengthen muscle groups and improve balance.

Researchers suggest that plank or wall sit exercises are better at controlling hypertension than more intense exercises such as HIIT.

The plank involves keeping your body horizontal, tensing your abs, and pressing your back toward the ground.

To perform a plank, get down on all fours and place your hands on the floor under your shoulders.

With your hands under your shoulders, extend your right leg behind you and rise onto your toes. Then extend your left leg and place your hands on the floor to maintain balance.

Keep your eyes slightly ahead of your hands and tighten your core muscles.

However, make sure that your back is not raised up, otherwise the muscles will relax.

India Bailey, personal trainer at TechnoGym, tells the story. Stylist UK that the plank is an “extremely effective exercise” that works “the hips and lower back, as well as the pectoral muscles (chest), arms, quads, glutes, and traps and rhomboids (upper back).”

The review, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analyzed 270 studies conducted between 1990 and 2023, involving almost 16,000 participants.

The team found that those who did static exercises, such as planks, for a total of eight minutes a day for two weeks had lower blood pressure than those who did more intense exercises, such as aerobic training and high-intensity exercise. interval training (HIIT).

The researchers observed a decrease in both systolic blood pressure (the pressure in the arteries when the heart is beating) and diastolic blood pressure (the pressure when the heart is resting between beats).

“Overall, isometric exercise is the most effective method for lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure,” wrote the team from Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK.

Planks can be done for two minutes at a time, although you can work on this by holding shorter intervals.

Researchers at Harvard University believe that 10 to 30 seconds is enough to see benefits.

Eric L’Italien, a physical therapist at Spalding University Rehabilitation Center, said, “Focus on doing multiple sets in less time.”

“Two minutes is often considered the maximum, and after that you won’t get much benefit.”

Ms. Bailey recommended starting by holding the position for as long as possible and then adding 10 to 15 seconds each time.

By this metric, if you exercise five days a week, you should reach 10 minutes in two weeks.