Weakness to Plan in a Matter of Minutes by Coach Stephanie

I might be able to run for miles, but I have many weaknesses... and a big one is core work.  Engaging in core workouts and core strengthening behaviors is not my strength.  Therefore, core is a weak area for me.

Knowing this information is one thing.  Great.  Knowledge is power.  Will that help me with my core weakness?  Nope.  Yet, a plan and taking action will!

During a recent run, I discussed my weakness and concerns with some fantastic running friends.  Talk about strengh in numbers and a solid group contingency.  Itwas present in full force!  It turns out that I am not the lone ranger on this weakness.  In fact, my running friends were experiencing some of the same laments about core work as I experience!

So, right then and there, I oulined a plan.  I didn't reinvent the wheel.  I took what I know, input and ideas from my group of like-minded-weak-core-runners, and created a plan.  The plan works like this:
Follow the day of the month and do that many of your core exercise of choice.   This gives us a guideline for how many core exercises, what the expectation is for the workout, a reminder and improvement category, and plenty of freedom/choices for the less-than-fun task.  Just to add fuel to the momentum fire, I added something to deter for missing days:  If you miss a day, you'll make up for it the next day by adding the previous day to it.  This adds a level of keeping to the routine and not skipping out.  It will also help to train yourself to get the daily routinne in before missing days later in the month (yikes, that is a lot of plank time).

Example: Today is July 12th.  Do 12 crunches/planks/toe-to-bars/whatever.  If I forgot about it yesterday, I would complete 11 AND 12 core exercises for a total of 23 today.  If I forget about it today,  when I do my exercises tomorrow, I add 12 AND 13 for a total of 25.

See?  I did not create something that you couldn't create yourself.  Your program is probably even better than mine!  Additionally, it could be matching other core programs out there that have helped people achieve their goals.  I have completed similar "challenges" (using burpees, pushups, etc.) and used what worked for those programs to target the current weakness/goal area. For me, it just made sense to our group and to keep ourselves accountable in a way that was useful, stategic, and supportive.

So, what is your weakess?  And, what is your plan?  If you need help, we are here to support you!

Now, excuse me while I get those 12 10-second planks in before I forget and have to do more tomorrow.