I Held a Two-Minute Plank Everyday for 40 Days. It Completely Redefined My Core
Whenever you're feeling a little stagnant in your training, taking on a new fitness challenge is the quickest way to snap out of that funk. Maybe you've been out of the gym for a while and need to ease back in, or perhaps you want to test a weak point. No matter the inspiration, committing to a small daily habit helps rebuild both consistency and confidence within yourself.
That's exactly what Jacob Siwicki, founder of Siwicki Fitness, did earlier this year. For Lent, which lasts just over a month, he challenged himself to hold a two-minute plank every single day. By the end, he not only built deep core strength and shoulder strength, but also lost six pounds.
"The most surprising part was how mental it is," Siwicki shares. "After the first week, the plank is barely a physical test; it's a focus test. On the days I showed up with the right motivation, I could hold it well past two minutes without much trouble. On days my head wasn't in it, those same two minutes felt brutal."
Planks always look simple, but once you're staring at that countdown clock, it starts to feel like the slowest minutes of your life. Ready to try the challenge yourself?
How to Do Planks
- Dig your forearms into the ground with elbows under shoulders and forearms parallel on the floor, keeping your legs extended straight behind you.
- Engage your core, squeeze your glutes, and keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Hold the position for 2 minutes while breathing steadily.
What Are the Benefits?
Planks engage the entire body, making them an efficient exercise for full-body endurance and strength, while also emphasizing deep core stability. Planks support better posture and double as a mental toughness challenge, teaching you to stay determined as discomfort kicks in. As Siwicki noted, that became a lesson that now translates into the rest of his training:
"The body almost always has more left than the mind believes," he says. "I completed the whole run, and I've never felt better in my core or my shoulders. I also dropped six pounds over the stretch."
Tips and Progressions
To get the most out of the two-minute daily plank challenge, focus on maintaining full-body engagement from head to heels, keeping glutes tight, core engaged, and shoulders stacked. If you struggle to hold a traditional plank, start by dropping to your knees or elevating your hands on a sturdy surface like a bench or box to reduce the load while you get used to the move.
Once you've mastered the plank, there are tons of ways to add to the challenge. Side planks are a strong next step for targeting the obliques and improving lateral core stability, while single-leg planks increase the demand on your core. You can also try dynamic variations like shoulder taps or toe taps to challenge anti-rotation strength, or rows to build upper-body stability under load.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 12:58 PM.