To the Plank With You… Arrrrrrrrrrr!

It seems like I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day by a few weeks, but I am not Orthodox Pirate either and so who really cares? Here I am two weeks after the last post and needing to fill this space with something new, although there is not a whole heck of a lot of news to report.

After the milestone of completing my first 5K road course, I ran for a few more days until I could not anymore. My left knee was not doing well and so I figured some rest would be the best thing for it, and it looks like I was right. Today’s run was great, equaling my time from the Army Run. I forgot how nice it was to have two healthy legs under me to run with, something that hasn’t happened in quite a while.

However, my week layoff was not all fun and games – I did manage to get something healthy involved. The cold weather is coming quickly, much too quickly, and so soon it will be time to abandon these runs outside for some indoor training at the gym. The goal with the running was an initial weight loss, which I am glad to say is working (29 pounds lighter as of today). The next goal was to start weight training to build some core strength, as well as to start converting some fat into muscle. With that in mind, I have started a nightly push-up routine so that I have a bit of a base for when I do make it to the weights. Combined with the push-ups, I stumbled upon the exercise called The Plank. Now, it may not be new to you but it is to me, and I rather like it. I can really feel the core ab muscles having to work to hold the position, even just seconds into it. I am using it as a substitute for sit-ups as I don’t really have anywhere to do them and they can put strain on the back and neck. Maybe I will be able to follow my progress using the 100 Push Ups application for the iPhone.

What was that? Oh, ya. It looks like the iPhone cult has a better marketing strategy than I initially thought. They have gotten their claws in me and I am looking to swap my Blackberry Curve out for an iPhone 3G. More on that to come in a following post.

Tags: core strength, fitness, iPhone, push ups, running, the plank