It's been awhile since my last plank update, I was going strong and ready to do a max test after hitting a 7 minute plank in my living room - and then I had a fluke accident and badly sprained my ankle. So I started working back at it again. One thing that you may not (or may if you've attempted something like this before) realize is how mental this exercise is. I've found that if I set a realistic goal in my head, I'm usually able to hit it.
So coming back I was thinking, this is going to be hard again, and I started with a few 2-3 minute holds and they did feel hard. I shifted my perspective, and remembered I have been putting in the work, but had to take a break and that made a huge difference. My last 7 minute hold in my living room was in front on my family - while the boys were playing and I was telling them to distract me. It's amazing how much faster time passes when you're being distracted and thinking about anything other than how long you've been holding a plank ;)
I started doing some more plank ladders, holding 3, 4, 5, 6 minutes in some different combinations with a minute rest in between - so cumulatively holding 11 - 15 minutes at a time - helping me get the mental confidence that I can do a long hold. Just like doing a run and taking a few breaks, the miles still count and add up. A few weeks ago I decided to just see how long I could go -I was planning to hit maybe 8 minutes and then go pick up the boys from childwatch at the Y. This was post workout, so I was already a little fatigued, wasn't expecting to set any records....and guess what I did!
Completely unexpected I started my plank, and was watching a personal training session, listening to a message on voxer, and then realized I had hit 8 minutes already. So I kept going - I was going to hold while that person finished their next set, I was still going. I made it to a little over 13 minutes, 13:16.92 to be exact, and then the mental doubt creeped in and I was done!
I am proud of that number and haven't kept up as regular the plank work, but I think that this is something that is great to sprinkle into my workouts and will plan to do going forward. Have you tried a plank challenge or any other kind of exercise challenge? What would you like to try?