You know, I wish I had the sports gene activated in my DNA. I don't. I enjoy relaxing in various ways - my favourite being spending time at the beach. I love to feel the sun warming my skin, while I'm getting in a peaceful state of mind, just breathing. I love the sound of waves and the coolness of the sea touching my heated body when I dive in for a swim.
...However, I've reached a point in my life where I feel it's necessary to take better care of my body. For quite a while now I've been content with my personality, as I've achieved a decent level of inner balance, strength and harmony. But then I've begun to feel my body wasn't representing me anymore; I don't know how to properly express this. You know? While feeling strong as a person, I felt my body was in a lousy shape - it felt like wearing old clothes that didn't fit me anymore.
I'm not overweight - I weigh 141 lbs at 5.5, and because of all those years of yoga practice, my body is (curvy yet) rather well shaped. However, the muscles lacked tonus; therefore, at the end of August (this year), I've started doing planks.
My first attempt lasted only 20 seconds. I repeated the exercise later, the same day, again for 20 seconds. I did this everyday afterward, increasing the timespan whenever I felt my body was ready... and I realized I was enjoying myself.
My body was feeling happy after the short workout, although during the exercise itself more often than not I was feeling like "I'm gonna die any second now" :D :D But right after, the endorphins would kick in - and wow! Was I energized and happy? Oh, yeah.
So, I kept doing it. I even have a diary where I write down how much I've done everyday; I also mark down the days I skip working out for some reason. I want to keep track of my efforts so I can see how long it takes until I reach my goal. I'm also trying to do extra workout to make up for the days I've skipped.
Due to some heart issues and high blood pressure, I can't increase the timespan as fast as I'd like to - however, I've noticed perseverance pays. My body is better defined, my muscles feel good. Overall, I feel better.
The fact is, planks are awesome for those of us who don't find the spare time to go to gym. It's quick and effective; you can even do it in your pj's or some old, comfy clothes. All you need is a mat (at least I prefer exercising on the mat, because I'm doing planks with bare feet and like that, I am sure I don't slip).
Right now I'm at 2 mins 20 secs "normal" plank, 40 secs left side, 40 secs right side planks and today I've started reverse plank - I've done 1 minute. Twice a day, it's pretty good, if I say so myself.
I've even managed to get some friends do planks on a daily basis :) We talk about our sore muscles, how good we feel afterwards and we encourage each other.
I've written about it here because I'm thinking it might motivate others to give it a try. One can start at any age and any shape - provided they aren't dealing with serious health issues. It's worth it. It's fun in itself, but if one gets one's friends to join in, it gets even better!
...And a bit of humor:
(image credit: http://www.sparkpeople.com)
(image credit: http://pessoal.sercomtel.com.br)
