Do you know why your head hurts when you do planks? It’s because your body is trying to balance on two points instead of one. But because we’re used to having one point of balance, our bodies try to maintain that balance by favouring one side of the plank over the other. This causes discomfort and pain in the neck and head. Here’s why your head hurts when you do planks.
To do a plank correctly, you should use three points of support. When you focus on the floor and keep your back straight, your body should balance on four points: your shoulder, your neck, and your feet.
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Contents
What Are Planks?

Planks are a type of exercise that help improve balance and coordination. Planks are typically done with a therapist’s help, but you can do them self-taught. To do a plank correctly, you should use three points of support: your shoulder, your neck, and your feet.
What Is the Planking Exercise?
The planking exercise is done in a push-up position on the ground. This exercise is meant to strengthen your back, abs, and core muscles by putting pressure on those specific areas of your body.
This exercise is recommended for individuals who are looking to tone their bodies. Still, it is also used by those who want to build strength and muscle. It can be done by anyone as long as they have the necessary equipment and basic knowledge of how to do the exercise.
You can wear the VORCY sauna vest while doing planks. This sauna vest can elevate body temperatures to boost sweating.
How Do You Do A Plank?
To do a plank correctly, you should use three points of support: your shoulder, your neck, and your feet. But because we’re used to having one point of balance, our bodies try to maintain that balance by favouring one side of the plank over the other. This causes discomfort and pain in the neck and head. To fix this, start by focusing on the floor and keeping your back straight. You should then use four points of support: your shoulder, your neck, your elbow, and your foot.
Why Your Head Hurts When You Do Planks
The top five causes of head hurts when you do planks are:
1) You’re using too much weight on one side of the plank, which can cause pain in the neck and head.
2) You’re not stretching your body enough before you start the plank.
3) You’re using a wrong grip – use a strong hand instead of a weak one.
4) Your body is trying to maintain the balance by favouring one side of the plank over the other.
5) You’re doing the plank too quickly or too slowly.
How to Avoid Head Hurts When You Do Planks
To prevent head hurts when you do planks, try to use four points of support: your shoulder, your neck, your feet, and your back. Your body should balance on these four points during the plank. If you’re using too much pressure on one side of the plank, you’ll cause discomfort and pain in that side of the neck and head.
Why is it important to use the four points of support when doing planks?
When you use the four points of support, your body will be more stable and will be able to do the plank correctly. This is beneficial because it allows you to better balance yourself and get the most out of your plank. Additionally, using a four-point support also helps to prevent pain in the neck and head.

Common Planks Mistakes To Avoid
Failure to Warm Up Your Muscles
You need to make sure you are working out in a safe, healthy way before adding planks into your workout routine. By warming up your muscles, you can avoid injuries and soreness later on during the day. The best way to do this is by doing a light jog for about 10 minutes or spending 5 minutes on a stationary bike or rowing machine.
Failure to Get the Right Amount of Support
A plank can be done with little or no weight, meaning you do not need any sort of extra support. However, if you want to maximize your plank time and build strength while getting a good cardio workout, it is highly recommended that you use some type of support underneath your hands and feet.
Proper support will prevent you from injuring yourself when lifting them off the ground. You can use anything from towels to foam rollers and dumbbells as supports.
Another option is using a yoga mat under your hands and feet, which will provide additional cushioning but still allow for maximum movement in these areas.
Protecting the knees and elbows is critical, even as one works out. Check out the Top 10 Best Thick Yoga Mats for Bad Knees.
Improper Breathing Patterns
While holding planks, be sure not to take shallow breaths and hold them for too long without exhaling deeply enough through your nose or mouth. This will cause unnecessary strain on your neck and back muscles.
It is recommended that you take deep breaths into the belly instead of the chest area when breathing during plank exercises. In this case, you will be taking in more oxygen at a deeper level instead of just at the surface. It is also a good idea to exhale fully through the mouth or nose and then inhale immediately after. This will help get rid of all the carbon dioxide build-up in your lungs and muscles.

Is there a difference between a push-up and a plank?
Push-ups are usually done with your hands on the ground. In contrast, planks involve holding the body in an upright position. While both push-ups and planks can be done using the same floor exercises, they are different in terms of the number of repetitions to be done and the amount of time to be spent on each. A push-up is typically done with 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, while a plank is usually done with 3 sets of 30 seconds to one minute.
What muscles do doing planks work?
Planks work the entire core muscles, including the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, gluteus Maximus, quadriceps, and hamstrings. They also work the lower back muscles, such as the lower and middle fibers of the erector spinae. When you do planks in your workout routine, try to incorporate them into your exercises at least 3 times a week. Doing planks regularly can help you build up strength in your core muscles and improve your posture. Doing planks on a regular basis can also help you improve your balance and flexibility in your hips, knees, and ankles.
What can I do to avoid pain while doing planks?
If you are doing planks as part of your workout routine, try to avoid doing them on the same day that you do push-ups or crunches. This is because when you do push-ups and crunches, your muscles are already stretched out and in a weakened condition. By doing planks on the same day, you may cause more harm than good. If you are doing planks as a warm-up, try to do them slowly. Move at a slow pace that prevents your body from shaking and preventing you from losing control of your muscles.
Resistance bands are a good alternative for doing planks. Resistance bands can be used during a plank to provide support while strengthening the muscles in your core and arms. To do planks with resistance bands, start with holding them at shoulder width apart (see example). Next place one foot on each band and then place your hands on top of both bands (see example). Keeping these positions, lift yourself up into a plank position as shown in this image:
The resistance bands will provide enough support to hold you up into a plank without causing pain in your wrists or shoulders. Additionally, using resistance bands during planks helps to strengthen the muscles in your core that are used when doing
Frequently asked questions
1) Why is it important to balance on your shoulder and neck?
Your body will be able to do the plank more efficiently if you use these points of support.
2) Why is it important to keep your neck straight?
If you keep your neck straight, the muscles in your neck are not being strained. This helps reduce pain in the head and neck.
3) Why is it important to keep your hips level?
Keeping your hips level during a plank will help you do a more balanced plank and prevent pain in the hips.
4) Why is it important to keep the knees at a 90 degree angle?
When you keep the knees at a 90 degree angle, this prevents strain on the knee joints which can cause pain in them. This also helps prevent knee pains when doing planks.
5) Can planks be done with weights or resistance bands? What about resistance bands for planks? If so, how do you use them?
If you do planks with weights on your shoulders, the weight will cause too much pressure on your neck and shoulders. This can cause pain in the neck and shoulders. If you try to do planks with weights, you may also experience pain in your wrists because of the weight.
Conclusion
Planks are an excellent way to improve your balance and coordination, and they can also help relieve any pain and tension in the upper body. However, there are a few key things to keep in mind when doing planks, and that’s why it’s so important to use the four points of support (hips, knees, shoulders and arms).
REFERENCES
- Why Do I Get a Headache After Exercising?
https://www.healthline.com/health/headache-after-exercise
- Headaches during push-ups and planks? https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/864473/headaches-during-pushups-and-planks
- Why You Get Exercise Headaches When You Work Out
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/self-why-you-get-exercise-headaches-when-you-work-out/