#plank challenge – 1 month on

So 4 weeks ago today I decided to start the #plankchallenge. Did I manage to complete it … and if so what has happened between then and now?

So yes I DID it! Admittedly I had a couple of days off whilst on a mini-break to Italy, but other than that I have stuck at this day in day out.

I’m not going to lie to you, it’s hard work but the benefits that I have seen have been absolutely worth it.

Before starting this, I was doing a plank once a week at my pilates class so I did have a bit of a head start. But every week I found it so tough and would dread that bit of the class.

I find that doing the plank first thing in the morning is the best time for me, usually just after I get up. Using the timer on your phone is great to accurately measure your time.

During the month not only have I seen an amazing improvement in the time that I can hold a plank, but most importantly has been the improvement that I can feel in my core. As the days have gone by, the length of time that I have been able to hold has increased.

The plank is one of the few exercises that you can do that will exercise most muscles in the body at the same time. There are also quite a few other benefits of the plank. Click here to read my blog on ‘6 benefits of doing planks every day’.

In addition to the daily plank, I have also been doing full leg press ups and crunches each morning, so I cannot say that the plank has been responsible for all of the improvements, suffice to say that if I hadn’t been doing the plank I wouldn’t have been doing the other exercises.

So this morning was the big finale of the #plankchallenge and it was the best by far. Look what happened!

So, the big question, will I continue with the #plank challenge. Absolutely yes! A friend told me a couple of weeks ago that someone we knew could hold a plank for 9 mins, so that’s my new target (in my dreams!).

If you’ve not done the #plankchallenge then I recommend that you give it a try. Even if you can only manage 10 secs to start with, each day you will start to see progress. Good luck.