Think of your body as the most intricate, strong and sensitive machine out there. We have about 300 skeletal muscles in our bodies, roughly 60,000 miles of blood vessels (arteries, capillaries, and veins), 10 essential organs, 206 bones, approximately 100 billion neurons operating in our brains and 1 ½ gallons of blood running through us making all of these incredible pieces run like a well oiled machine! Did I just make you queasy after reading this?! It shouldn’t though. It’s important to realize what we are….literally.
So while our brains remind our body to breathe, eat, sleep, react, it’s up to us to maintain this machine. The obvious and wildly important things come to mind – eat healthily, exercise, proper sleep, low stress, great quality of life. All of which we need to focus more on doing and achieving. But again, as I say in many of my blogs, we need to start small. A small change in your course will make those attainable and achievable goals a reality.
Let’s start here. I am asked often, if there was only one exercise we could do to reap the highest reward, what would it be? Of course this is a loaded question…..of course you should have a balanced exercise plan into your everyday comprised of strength conditioning and cardio. But one easy and attainable goal to add to your everyday would be THE PLANK!
You, this well oiled, slightly tired, sometimes cranky, don’t like my hair today, hungry, in need of a spa day and Mexican vacation WITHOUT my kids OR husband, MACHINE, has a trunk/core that needs constant service. Our cores support our whole body. Yes our vital organs are hosted in this section of our bodies, but I’m talking muscles here. Our core muscles – these muscles help operate the body with all of our movements in the Frontal Plane (divides the body back and front, or posterior and anterior), Sagittal Plane (divides the body into left and right) and Transverse Plane (divides the body head and tail). Without strong and well maintained trunks and cores, we can’t operate our bodies to its full capacity. And as Moms, we NEED to be firing on all pistons at ALL TIMES!
So if you only have time today to do just ONE exercise (and NO, im not recommending you just do one), plank. There are many variations of a plank, but let’s just go old school – basic and effective! This exercise can be done just about anywhere.
1. Place your hands directly under the shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder-width apart) like you’re about to do a push-up. If you have sensitive wrists, you can also perform an equally effective plank on your forearms, with your hands separated.
2. Root your toes into the floor and squeeze your glutes to keep your body strong. Your legs should be working here too – full body should be tight and controlled.
3. Your neck and spine should be in a neutral position by looking at a spot on the floor about a foot beyond the hands. Your head should be in line with your back.
4. Hold your plank for at least 30 seconds to begin, breathing as you go; in through the nose, out through the mouth. As you get more comfortable with your plank, hold position for as long as possible without compromising your form or breath.
So for as long as it took you to read this article, you could have done a 2 minute plank! See, small attainable goals to start. You do have the time. You should make the time to keep your machine purring!
Brooke Cracco and team have built Hamptons Fit4Mom into an incredible outlet for families to get fit while having FUN! Stroller Strides is the Nation’s largest stroller based workout program designed for moms with little ones in tow. Hamptons Fit4Mom currently has 5 Stroller Strides classes offered per week and weekly play dates, Moms nights out, family fun days and more! Come join us for your first FREE class!
Brooke Cracco
Owner Hamptons Fit4Mom
www.hamptons.fit4mom.com
www.facebook.com/hamptonsfit4mom
brookecracco@fit4mom.com
