4 minutes 4 seconds

That is where I stand now on my 90 day plank challenge. I started with a max of 3:05 and my max out last night was 4:04. My goal is to get to a 10 minute plank. So this week, my plank workouts will be three (3) 2 minute planks. This week I have found the secret to doing a good plank, one that will make you feel the burn and make strides is to wear the right shoes. There is no way I could do planks barefooted cause it hurts me toes! So I have to have on my running shoes to guarantee that I do not slide around while trying to bang out a plank. I think it also helps to begin your plank at the start of a commercial while watching TV. We all know commercials run about 2 minutes, and nothing makes it harder for me than to stare at the stopwatch watching the time. So I either look away or make sure the watch is not in my line of sight. So seven days down, only 83 more days to plank! I also realized that I do not need to do 5 days of planking to get gains, so I have skipped a day in the week, but I can seriously see myself hitting a 10 minutes plank in the future.

As far as my other workouts, well, if you have seen a weather map, or if you have been on FaceBook, then you know it has been cold. It got down to 7 degrees here in Memphis and that's not normal. It is not suppose to get that cold here. So needless to say, that made it difficult for me to get out. Not only was the outside cold, but everywhere you went INSIDE was also cold. I do not think we build frigid proof houses here like maybe they do in Minnesota or Wisconsin. I don't know, but I had no desire to get outside unless I had to and that only meant going to work, going to church or going outside to get some firewood!

So now that the Holiday season is over, my wife and I thought we should do something crazy, so we decided that now is the perfect time to put our house on the market and try to sell it! We simply need more room and we have been putting it off for awhile now, so we decided to go for it. It should officially be on the market this week, which honestly, scares the crap out of me. I mean, what if someone does buy it, then we have to find a new house! We are waiting to even look at new houses because I do not want to find a house we love and then be stuck because ours has not sold yet, but I think once that ball starts rolling, it will roll fast! I would love to find a house that I can have a workout room or "man cave" I could setup my bike and get a treadmill and some weights and turn it into a PAIN CAVE! I am sure we will find the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood in the perfect time, but it is still a little scary....Wait, I have to find all new running routes!!!!

It's Time...

Time to get off my butt and get to training.

This morning started my 18 week Goosepond Half Ironman Training plan. I started with a 1000 yd swim and tonight I have a 20 mile ride (good thing 24 is back on). I had really forgotten how tired swimming makes me. Now granted, it has been about a month or so since I have been in the pool, but about 2 PM, I was feeling it!

I can also tell that my core is so much stronger than ever before. I could really feel it in the water and I am so glad my trainer had me doing all the planks, crunches and other ab work. I just feel stronger and that is a good thing. Here are the 2 current ab workouts I have been doing if interested:

Torture 1: 1 minute plank, 100 crunches 2 minute plank, 200 crunches, 3 minute plank 300 crunches 4 minute plank 400 crunches (I have never made it through the 4 minute plank yet)

Torture 2: 100 crunches, 100 leg raises, 100 in/outs, 100 bicycles, 100 long lever crunches, 100 v-sits w/twist, 100 crunches, 100 reverse crunches, 100 bicycles, 100 straight leg crunches= 1,000 crunches! BOOM!!!!

This is the first time all season, or all year that I have started getting excited about racing. I still have a HIM goal of 5:45, which would be an A+ for me, but if I go sub 6 hours, at this point (Day 1) I would be thrilled! I know it is totally doable, my last HIM was 6:09 and I fell apart on the run. So yeah, it's time to shake off the cobwebs and time to get focused. Time to Warrior up!

This Time is For Real! I Mean it!

I am serious this time. I have started mentoring a group on BeginnerTriathlete.com with Bradleyd3 from Brad's Ironman Journey. The group has been really cool and we have all levels of triathletes that have joined, so it will be great encouraging, answering questions and watching them hit their goals for the race season. So we decided as a group to have a group challenge for February. Several ideas were kicked around, but we came up with a core/ab challenge for February.

So what does that mean? It means that I (along with the others member of the group) will be selecting either a number of crunches we will commit do doing in the month of February, or we will commit to a certain numbers of minutes spent planking! Simple enough right? Well the hard part is coming up with that number or that time goal! So that is my struggle right now.

This idea came to me when my bride said her trainer challenged her to do 1000 crunches by their next session, which will be Monday. That works out to 250 crunches a day. That's a lot of crunches, but my bride can totally do it, so that has definitely influenced my choice between the two options.

Another blog I read always talks about doing core work. The author is a marathon runner, fast marathon runner that also does a huge focus on core work. I know that a strong core will really help me when I S/B/R. According to their blog, they do a ton of planking and crunches to strengthen their core and help them run better. So I have been really thinking over my goal for February in regards to the group, and based on the challenge my bride accepted, I think know I can get her to join me, so I really have some accountability going on up here! So with all that, I say this:

My goal is going to be 7,000 crunches in the month of February. That breaks out to 250 a day (which will have to be split up, I can't do all that in one session), or 1750 a week. My plan involves doing 250 in the morning and 250 in the evening, alternating every other day. I have no idea if this is doable or not, but in my head I am totally going to rock this. Regular crunches, side crunches, crunches with a stability ball will all count.

I am also going to photograph my before and after shots to see if I can see any difference! (and I better after 7,000 crunches!) So, I know what you are thinking, but to afraid to ask... I do not know if I will post them on the blog or not. Maybe is all I am ready to commit to at this time.

So throw the cokes out the window, start drinking tons of water, getting plenty of sleep, eating smartly and continuing on my training plan, and I "should" be ready by the time May gets here!

April Abs Update (We're Not Young)

Well, you might have noticed that Daily Trainings has been quiet for a few days. This was due to somethings happening at work that required alot of attention. I am talking about 14 hour days and overnight type of attention, so blogging kind of got lost in the fog I was in. it also really messed up my S/B/R workouts alot. I was so happy to come off a big month for me and had high hopes for April, but what are you gonna do? I have to pay the bills right?

The one thing I was able to keep up with were the ab/core workouts I had planned for April. I made the commitment, wrote it down for all to see, so I had to follow through, and I am glad I did. I have been able to see some gains from doing these extra workouts. I am not seeing the six pack, but there are other things to celebrate!

• Diet- If you remember, I said in my last post that I was not only going to add the workouts, but I also was going to pay close attention to my diet. Normally, my weight ranges from 187 to 193 on a weekly basis. In April, I am ranging now between 182 and 187. I contribute this to my lack of cokes and fast foods. I am totally eating fruits and nuts for snacks, salads and healthier choices for lunch and dinner and cutting out the late night snack/meal. I also contribute this loss to my drinking more water. I have not totally cut out Cokes all together, but I limit myself to one glass a day. I can't really say I am missing everything I cut out, so this might just become a habit for me.
• Core- I am totally feeling gains when I swim due to my core being stronger. I feel I have a more powerful stroke and that I am going just as fast with the same effort as before, and I think it is because my legs are staying up in the water and not dragging behind me once I get tired. I can even feel it when I run, and it feels good!
• Exercises- I have mostly been doing the P90X workout and the hanging leg raises workout. Both are equally tough and the first workout hurt for days!  Not a "man I pulled something" type of hurt, but more of a "I overdid it" type of hurt. I had forgotten how annoying Tony Horton can be! I still can't get through all the DVD, but I am getting closer. I am feeling an upper body benefit when I do the hanging leg raises as well, and that is kind of my favorite workout right now, but it seems to only focus on the upper abs, so I need to make sure I am working them all.
• Tone?- All I know is things are getting better. Like I said, there is no six pack yet, but I can definitely see some progress in the ab region. I know I have my work cut out for me, but April is not over yet. I think the biggest thing for me is to continue the ab specific workouts and my diet. I think the diet is more important that the workouts in a way. Either way, I plan on continuing to see what happens, so it might need to stretch out through May. Pictures might be included in May.

Now, I always like to include pictures on my blog, but I couldn't think of any that really fit this post, so I am including a video. This is a spoof of the song "We Are Young" by Fun. it is a great song and I have it on my iPod. Some group made a parody of it called "We're Not Young" and talks about being in your 30s and such (been there, done that) so enjoy,and listen to the words! Also, please send me any tips you have for ab/core workouts I can incorporate! I know a lot of people said that they may join me on the April Ab challenge, so let me know how it is coming along!