NSV: Planks!

So I'm a runner and only recently integrated weights into my workout routine. I'm about halfway through Chalean Extreme (DVD program that is basically "Weights for Beginners!"), and have loved it. I'm using dumbbells that are heavy for me and getting stronger and feel badass and all that good stuff.

Since I'm training for a half marathon, I only do the weights routines from the DVD set; I all but ignore the cardio & abs workouts. I think I've done one 10-minute ab video segment; that was plenty for me. I know we should all pay more attention to our core, but honestly, I just hate crunches and planks and all of those terrible things. I sometimes look at my abdomen and say, "Core, would you like to work out today?" And the reply is always the same: "No thanks, we're good!"

But yesterday a Facebook friend posted one of those 30 day challenge things that happened to be about planks. I don't generally truck with 30 day "this or that" challenges, but when I got home I was curious to see if I could even do a plank. I've tried in the past and it was miserable (see above paragraph). Never made it past 30 seconds.

So I got home and got on the living floor to do some planks. On the first one, I made it to 30 seconds. Surprised, I tried again and made it to 45 seconds. Waited a bit, and then did another 45 seconds. Totally flummoxed, I waited a bit longer and then did one whole minute. I was totally baffled at this point, since I have avoided "ab work" like the plague.

It gets better. That night, hubby and I are sitting around and I'm telling him about these mysterious planks. He idly says, "I wonder who could hold a plank longer, you or me?" Well, you can't let that go unanswered, so we hop to the floor and set the stopwatch on his phone. The winner would receive one kiss.

We're both very stubborn, and I didn't think we'd last past one minute, but we did. At about 1:30, I started pleading with him to just drop to his knees already. I started whining at him that it hurt, and I promised that I wouldn't dress our future puppy in clothes, and that I wouldn't get a chiweenie, anything as long as he would just DROP already. But he didn't. And neither would I. Stubborn to the bitter end....finally at 2:00, I couldn't take it anymore and said, "I'm done." I dropped and hit the stopwatch, and he dropped at the same time. Recriminations flew: "I didn't know you were that strong!" "Well, I didn't know you were that strong either!"

He does planks every week in his Air Force PT, but I had to Google this newfound ability of mine to do planks. Come to find out, working with free weights engages your core -- apparently, a lot.

Viva la planks!

Edited for punctuation.