Planking – Healthy Exercise Or Dangerous Hobby?
Planking is the latest exercise that was made popular via the internet. It can be best described as a cross between yoga and a pilate form. The difference is the enthusiasts snap a picture of themselves and post it on the internet. It is a position where the body is completely strait in a horizontal position, usually on top of something smaller than the body. This is considered a type of exercise because every muscle is being used to keep the body in a horizontal position without using the floor to rest on. Plankers use all sorts of objects to plank on. Some have even showed off their skills by planking on objects high in the sky such as telephone poles. Modern day plankers not only plank for health, but they consider it an art form. Now the real question is, is it healthy? Yes, planking is healthy. It takes great endurance and strength to be able to plank. Every muscle in the abdomen is used and the core is strengthened. Plankers are always fit and trim which gives them the ability to form such poses on inanimate objects such as stair rails, small desks, and even the walls of empty hallways. It has become such a rave that plankers are finding themselves in very dangerous positions in order to take that one outrageous photo.
One women trying to pose for a planking photo in her kitchen, positioning herself on a counter top and her stove, collapsed and smashed her face and received several stitches from the incident. In another incident, man man in Australia had been planking all the way home, snapping photos, and decided to plank on a balcony where he ended up falling to his death. Sometimes these plankers take the balancing act a bit too far, as one did in Ohio where he decided to plank in the middle of a busy highway. Another planker in Florida was arrested for attempting to plank on a farmers two cows. So yes, planking is a dangerous hobby to an extent. That means, planking in places that can harm yourself or others is risky, however it take a great deal of strength and stamina to complete a balancing act of this nature. Planking is certainly a fun exercise, and it has proven to be addictive as well as catchy. It is just important to do it in a safe manner because that one photo snap shot just might just be one from inside the jail house.
