Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
I want to qualify this first to say I don't intend to feed the troll above at all in this topic, but "plank" is almost a meme level visual of semi-serious racers all the way up to pros for keeping a strong core. Lots of folks do "meme" like pics of them stopping mid-ride in the middle of a climb or route planking randomly.
Good core, more power to pedals, less wasted motion.
It's an exception for most people, as not many TT, but if you're going to do stuff like setup a TT bike for time trial and not long course triathlon you may find more of your forearms on the pads than the tips of your elbows. Meaning, any amount of lasting core strength you have can be handy as you're reaching.
I feel 100% better in my TT position recently after taking up some daily plank and pushups.
YMMV.
I agree with this 100%.
But, this isn't what that cube guy was saying. He's talking about climbing a 20% gradient while seated and implying that the limiting factor was his maximum strength rather than his ability to hold a position comfortably over an extended period of time. Or at least, that was my understanding.