Momentum Monday 1: CORE STRENGTH

Hey guys,

Welcome to the first full week of 2015! I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to tackle it head on.

For my current training, I am still in the restoration phase coming back from my stress fractures and easing back from my off season so I am light on the cardio, miles and heavier on the strength building. It was a bit of an unusual week because of holidays, but here is what I was working with:

Monday: 30 minute run – 6 KM and a 5 minute ab session
Tuesday : 1 hour spin class and a 5 minute ab session
Wednesday: 1 hour cycle, 30 minute elliptical session, 30 minute strength session.
Thursday: 10 KM trail run in Hamilton with friends for New Years Day! So much fun to get out on the trails again.
Friday: REST
Saturday: 90 minute cycle, 30 minute elliptical, 15 minute weight session.
Sunday: Ran 40 minutes. 30 minute weight session.

I’m sitting at about 9 hours of training and I am developing my training plan for Boston this week with my coach and ramping up my base building. I will also be throwing in a regular muay thai session for explosive cardio movements. As an endurance athlete, it is important to vary your movements when possible because SO much of what we do is repetitive.

Something that has been vital for me in my off season is core work. For the month of December, my coach had challenged my team and I to try to do a minimum of 5 minutes of core work a day for the entire month and log it in a facebook group. I even wrote about it on my blog for Canadian Running.

I wish I would have taken before and after pictures because even with my holiday feasting, my body composition changed just by doing simple core exercises for 5 or more minutes a day. I was so pleased with the outcome that I have committed to make it a regular part of my training. In fact, my blogger buddy, Ange has created an ab challenge for January that I am doing! You can check it out here.

Some of my favourite ab moves this week are:

The Earthquake:

 

Sit down on the ground with your legs flat on the ground. Keep your upper body straight but begin to lean back at the waist. Lean back a little further every 10 seconds for up to a minute. Repeat 3 x.

Side plank dips:

Come into a right side plank position with your hips stacked and core engaged. Dip your right hip towards the ground and return to starting position. Repeat 10 x. Repeat the same exercise on the left side. THEN repeat 3 x.

Caterpillar:

Start in a standing position and walk your hands down to push up position. Do one pushup and walk your feet towards your hands. When they meet, walk your hands out to plank position and do another push up. Continue to muscle failure. Repeat 3 x.

Now, to announce the winner of the 5 Peaks Trail Race giveaway! The lucky winner is:

 

Taylor! Send me an email at lacesandlattes[a]gmail.com and I will hook you up with your prize. Looking forward to sharing the trails with you this summer. 

One more quick announcement: I am sending out my newsletter tomorrow and it features some exclusive content, including some special discounts from Goodness Me!, Janji, 5 Peaks and Nuun hydration. Sign up here to get them delivered to your inbox tomorrow. 

What exercise are you loving this week?