<p>2 miles yesterday with daughter on the Perkiomen Trail. Gloomy and windy, but we did it. This morning it was 32 and sunny- gorgeous fall day. We celebrated life with 6 miles. Her legs are still really tired from the marathon- and I’m just tired! It was really nice. Though. H was with us for 2 miles and then he turned back for his 4.</p>
<p>The streak lives on! :)</p>
<p>TRX class yesterday. Tried a new studio that opened near my house. It’s a studio that offers TRX, pilates mat and reformer, and barre classes. Almost everything in the class, I could do and have done with my trainer. I’m thinking I might start taking this class once a week since I pay extra for the trainer at my health club anyway. Might try the barre class–anyone ever done that?</p>
<p>Also walked yesterday–3 miles. Did a walk this morning with a group of friends. We did 6.2 miles (route that’s used for a local charity race). Plan on going to yoga with my youngest daughter this afternoon, who’s here for a few days.</p>
<p>It’s confusing terminology, but a front plank while pulling on a band (or cable pulley handle) is called a “plank pulldown” because the arm motion is the same as a “lat pulldown”.</p>
<p>[Underground</a> Fitness Revolution: Plank Pulldown - YouTube](<a href=“Underground Fitness Revolution: Plank Pulldown - YouTube”>Underground Fitness Revolution: Plank Pulldown - YouTube)</p>
<p>The side plank version is called a side plank row, because the arm motion is like a row:</p>
<p>[Underground</a> Fitness Revolution: Side Plank and Row - YouTube](<a href=“Underground Fitness Revolution: Side Plank and Row - YouTube”>Underground Fitness Revolution: Side Plank and Row - YouTube)</p>
<p>I find that the front plank version is really, really hard and very tiring. Don’t try to use much resistance or you’ll flop around all over the place. The side plank version is not too bad.</p>
<p>These are fantastic exercises with a cable pulley at the gym, if you don’t mind looking like a complete dweeb doing planks on the floor next to the machines.</p>
<p>3.25 mi treadmill run, inverted rows, etc.</p>
<p>Ran 3.5 miles last night. Tonight is a core night, I will try Debora’s “menu”. :)</p>
<p>Want to try those planks–I can hold a plank for a minute, but haven’t tried it with one hand or using the elastic bands. Those look challenging!</p>
<p>Bromfield:</p>
<p>Your TRX class sounds like a winner.</p>
<p>The plank with pulldown are one step harder than planks with one arm raised. You not only have an arm raised, but you are pulling with that arm. It is really hard to keep the hips square and level. Planks with one arm and the opposite leg raised are also really tough.</p>
<p>No workout for me today. Had to go get blood drawn and ended up at Wally World nearby and I had a time-consuming dinner to cook – my grandmother’s fried chicken. I’m sick of chicken breasts so I fried up a big batch of thighs. Did it the way my grandmother always did it… in lard. Now I know why she snickered and said, “well…”, when I told her I fried mine in canola oil.</p>
<p>Today’s workout consisted of dealing with what one could call the aftermath of a plumbing problem. Our water is now off and the emergency plumber arrives at 8:30. It could have been much worse. The house gods must know I’m done paying tuition.</p>
<p>^good grief, Sabaray…never let the house gods know you’re finished paying tuition 
Just keep writing checks at home then gleefully shred them at the office!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info on the plank pull down. While I’ve started to experiment with one arm, etc., that move might be a little advanced for me I have this vision of toppling a chair over me and trashing the glass sculpture table were I to try it where I do the “dinner cooking” routine. In the pool house, I do have a post that I could anchor a band to. We shall see.</p>
<p>Had a lovely dinner out with friends and substituted grand marnier for dessert. But since it was twice the size of steak I might usually order and the Pinot Grigio flowed free, I expect I decimated the caloric budget and will need to kick it up a notch on the exercise front today! It’s raining, so its not likely to be in the form of a long kayak row, but maybe it will clear! Or maybe I’ll do the full kb video that came with my kb since I might survive it now :)</p>
<p>Got to the funeral home where we were having my mother’s service and my daughter and I found an extra floral arrangement besides the two that had been prepared for the altar. I opened the card and we found that it was from the wonderful women in our internet running group (Ladies Locker Room on Running Ahead). We both burst into tears and we hadn’t even STARTED. Running has really brought me so many gifts. 3 of the ladies attended the service since they live in the area. It all went well.</p>
<p>Got up at 4:30 today. H drove daughter to the airport while I ran 3 miles. Cold and dark but lots of stars. We are going with a group of my hs classmates to Gettysburg today for a private tour by one of the classmates who is a historian. By the way, since this iS
CC- he was a terrible student in high school, but somewhere along the way developed a passion for history and has a real gift.</p>
<p>That’s a blessing MOWC - friends near and far, and even dear friends virtually. </p>
<p>Walk with doggie this morning - full on fall - brisk, windy, cold!!! Pulled out the fleece and fleece/knitted headband for the first time this year. Started a 30 day plank challenge - did a minute last night- about died!!!</p>
<p>Sign of a true plank, Abasket.</p>
<p>The first night I only held the plank for 30ish seconds. Last night I told my daughter she had to time me and let me know as each 10 seconds passed so I could keep motivated - apparently she didn’t hear me say that and around 30secs she stopped giving me updates - I was ready to clobber her! I was like , “omg this is the longest 10 secs of my life!!”</p>
<p>So should my goal be to do a few planks at one “sitting”???</p>
<p>Abasket, I don’t know what’s recommended, but I started off doing two or three sets of core exercises. That means I would do one set of 4 or 5 different core exercises (those exercises would include a plank and usually a side plank on each side), and I would follow this with another set and sometimes a third. Not always a third because I’d do other exercises as well and there’s only so much time out of a workout I wanted to invest in this part. So, might be more fun to split it up with some other exercise between planks if you want to do more than one.</p>
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<p>I think you are better off doing a few repetitions of shorter planks. Say 10 or 15 second holds, rather than just trying to gut out 45 or 60 seconds. What I find is that the real quality is early in each hold and, if you go for endurance, you end up with all kinds of compensations and cheats. I’m not sure there’s much benefit in that. Plus, holding a plank for 60 seconds or longer has got to be the most boring thing imaginable.</p>
<p>Once you can hold a good plank for 30 to 45 seconds, move on to the myriad of advanced versions.</p>
<p>This approach fits with the way we use core stability/bracing in the real world. It’s almost always short term stiffening – milliseconds or seconds, not minutes.</p>
<p>I don’t think trying for endurance records is bad. It’s just probably not necessary. The goal is to, over time, reach the point where stiffening all the core muscles (glutes, abs, obliques, etc.) is a natural and automatic response, for example, when you pick up a heavy shopping bag from the trunk of the car.</p>
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<p>When I was a big ol’ fat guy dripping buckets of sweat doing planks, I always had iPod nazi in the headphones counting out the time and urging me on to greater glory!</p>
<p>Now, I do them with an interval timer that beeps at me, usually a 3 minute circuit:</p>
<p>30 seconds front plank
15 seconds rest
30 seconds side plank
15 seconds rest
30 seconds side plank (2nd side)
15 seconds rest
30 seconds front plank</p>
<p>Good advice - thanks!</p>
<p>Abasket, I like how you come up with the creative monthly goals. I need to choose my next race or come up with another short term goal soon. Love doing the 5Ks but this time of year it sure would be nice to have a crystal ball for predicting the rain-free event days.</p>
<p>Home workout today.</p>
<p>idad, thanks for giving me permission to do more interesting planks for less time! I just cannot bring myself to do 60 sec planks regularly.</p>