[quote]CHALLENGES...who is up for a ten minute plank? Nobody will take me on here...and I don’t even know if I can make it for 5 minutes. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and felt I would have the most success with peer support/suffering. Also, 50 burpee pullups. If you can’t even do one pullup then start with 50 burpees b/c that is going to be hard enough! See how long it takes you...it might even take an hour, who knows?! But I guarantee next time you’ll do it faster. [/quote]
So the very next day I attempted a 10 minute plank and failed at just over 3 minutes. I haven't been doing much core work or strength training before then so for the next couple of weeks I started adding push ups and crunches as part of my post-run routine as well as on two other non-running days. Then this evening, just two weeks later, and on Holly's birthday, I gave it another shot and this time I had much different results.The first 3 minutes were definitively the toughest and I ended up having to "rest" a few times. (A "rest" is simply a few seconds in the downward dog position). As I approached 5 minutes I begin to realize I'm half way there and started believing a 10 minute plank was possible. The "rests" became more frequent and as I rounded out 6 minutes, that's when things started to get really painful, but I told myself, just complete 1 more minute! My arms begin shaking and my hips kept wanting to drop and it took every bit of energy and willpower I had left to stay in proper form at this point. It was getting harder and harder after each passing second. Once I hit 7 minutes and knew I had just 3 minutes to go, it became mostly mind games after that. I then became aware that my tank top was soaked and that sweat was dripping off my forehand and it became apparent of just how much energy I was expending! At 9 minutes I almost couldn't believe I was actually going to do this and make the full 10 minutes! 4...3...2...1, my timer went off and challenge completed! It felt good and the moment I put my knees down, I was like, that wasn't so bad. Oh how quickly we forget the pain and suffering when we feel victorious after completing something we are not sure we can do.
8/11 - Post-morning follow-up: Not as sore as I would of expected but I'm sure that will change as I approach 24 hours and enter into DOMS (delayed on-set muscle soreness). This morning I feel some soreness in my abs, shoulders and hips.
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