Friday, Saturday, GOAL!

This is it! Friday, Saturday, and December 19th

I thought you might need some inspiration. Because tomorrow is the last day to practice before you do your longest plank ever on Sunday, December 19th.

I’ve been doing mini plank challenges with my classes all week long.

The Danscenter group in Stockholm has actually not been in the challenge for all seven weeks, so we set a goal for 3 minutes and 15 seconds. It was a huge accomplishment for everyone involved.

Here it is! (“Bra!” means “good!” in Swedish).

If you have a video of your longest plank ever, e-mail us: plankchallenge@gmail.com, and we’ll let you know how to publish it here.

If you have pictures, send them in.  GOOD LUCK!

Friday check-in: make it look easy.

Advanced Plank Option:  smile!

It’s not easy to make the hard stuff look easy and fun.  That’s where grace comes in.  So for those of you who love a challenge, this is for you:  see if you can smile, laugh, and make your plank appear effortless and full of ease.

Share plank with a friend.

We’ve talked about planking with friends here and here.  And check this out:   willPower & grace® Teacher Trainer, Jennifer DeLuccia and graceful Jodi Vuolo exemplify friendship and teamwork.   They took time to plank while celebrating Jodi’s bachelorette party at The Pool Bar in Atlantic City.  Jennifer provided a strong foundation, and Jodi got to take her plank to new heights!

If you take your plank somewhere fun this weekend, send a photo to plank@willpowermethod.com.

Then look for your plank pix at the World Plank photo gallery.

Stay strong!

Let’s do this!

I could have spent five minutes doing the dishes, or doing something with my hair, or putting on proper clothes, or unpacking yesterday’s gym bag still full of sweaty clothes.

Instead, I spent five minutes doing my plank.

My previous record was 4 minutes and 1 second, so it was a pretty big leap, and felt much more satisfying than having a clean kitchen or being pretty today. Here’s the video to prove it:

Let’s do this! There’s still plenty of time to work towards your goal. My challenge to you for the weekend: take a picture or a film of your weekend plank. Send your pictures to plank@willPowerMethod.com, and then log on to www.worldplank.com. Let us know if you have a video to share and we can tell you how to upload it.

Have an amazing weekend you can be proud of.

Friday check-in – Stay committed!

I know it’s Thanksgiving weekend over there, and I want you all to know that I’m thinking of you, paying a little extra attention to everything I’m thankful for. (We’re celebrating tomorrow with some other American friends here). But I wanted to talk about today.

For me, it’s just another Friday, and to be honest, important things didn’t really go quite the way I had hoped today, and it felt like lots of other things went wrong at the same time.

I had ten minutes to present the best of myself and despite careful preparation, I did only ok. My dog hurt his paw and needed a trip to the vet. It turned out I couldn’t make a return unless it was to the same store where I bought it (200 miles away). There’s a weird weather pattern over the Nordic countries which means that we are experiencing an unusually cold and icy November. And I got a rush job at 5 pm that needed to be done by 8pm. I came home hungry, freezing, and sad that I wasn’t celebrating an amazing presentation.

paw pain

The last thing I wanted to do was the plank.

But guess what. I did it anyway. 2 minutes.

Friday plank - 2 tough minutes

Later I took the dogs out and noticed that the snowflakes were huge and feathery. I picked up a handful and blew it out into the darkness and noticed that it sparkled and that everything was quiet. I thought about Thanksgiving (and  Planksgiving!), and began to feel relieved that my presentation had not been a catastrophe, that my dog had only a minor injury, that I finished my urgent assignment, and that the arctic winds had turned my yard into the kind of landscape I once thought only existed in department store windows.

Do your plank this weekend and keep us posted. Send us some Thanksgiving planks!

Go outside and play(nk).

It’s Friday!  How’s your plank?

The weather in San Francisco has been gorgeous the last few days.  Perfect for a hike!  Which is what Dawn Schurman was doing when she decided to hold plank:

Mt. Tamalpais plank.

Have a great weekend! 

Wherever you decide to play, plank.  Then take a picture and send it to us at plankchallenge (at ) gmail.com, so we can share it here.

Don’t wait! Grab a friend and get down

A whole lot easier to do with a friend!

After an intense spinning class today I was just about to postpone doing my plank until I caught sight of Linda. I already know that Linda can hold at least a 5-minute plank, so I thought she would make an inspiring plank partner, and she did!

I can’t say we broke any records, but it was a motivating experience. For this weekend, my tip to you is to find a friend or a stranger and challenge them to a plank. Set the timer, drop to the floor, and just do it. It’s amazing how much energy you gain by having someone at your side.

 

Friday check-in. Take your plank along for the weekend.

The plank is an exercise that travels well.

It doesn’t take up much space, or require any accessories, and it’s suitable in most settings.

It’s not obtrusive or flashy enough to disturb anyone, but there’s still something a little shocking about the purposefulness of dropping to the ground and doing the plank in a busy public area.

Because doing the plank means you claim a space, and you intentionally fill it with your determination. You can’t pretend you’re just being silly, joking our jumping around. For anyone who wonders, the only reasonable response is, “Yes, I’m doing the plank. Here.”

It’s not about being defiant. It’s about being ready to do what you need to do regardless of what other people think. Maybe it’s about being BRAVE.

I’ve been working in Barcelona this week, and I’ve taken the opportunity to assert my purpose on top of one of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Plank on top of Casa Batlló in Barcelona

And since I work in the fitness industry, I have also been busy checking out Barcelona’s health clubs, and making sure to get my plank in, even though I’m away from home.

No lazy days! Plank with Bosu at DIR Gracia, Barcelona

So I hope your first week has gone well, and that you’re busy being impressed over the fact that you can do this any time and anywhere!

It’s Friday! 3 minute recipe for an amazing weekend

I’ve realized by now that I’m not going to reach my goal of holding a 6 minute plank by December 19th unless I start practicing NOW.  I’ve also been quite LOUD and BOASTFUL to EVERYONE about my goal, so there’s not going to be any quiet downward revision to 5 minutes, or 4 minutes (which I’ve already held once). Plus, I get so enthusiastic about it when I talk to people that I keep trivializing minutes and increasing my goal.

“If you can hold it 6 minutes, then you can hold it 8 minutes,” my trainer told me. This sounded perfectly logical. “Your’re right,” I agreed lightheartedly, and it was only later when I was really sweating and shaking at about 3 minutes that I regretted thinking that one or two minutes here or there was no big deal.

ONE MINUTE IS A BIG DEAL. So do it before you sit back to relax for the evening. Do it tomorrow and on Sunday. That means that you have three minutes of pure power to charge you up for Monday, and you can be confident about day one on your plank tracker card.

Here’s a look back at my week:

On Tuesday:

Tuesday 9 pm plank - 3 minutes

 

On Wednesday:

Wednesday 7.45 pm - 1 minute

 

On Friday:

Friday 5 pm (Swedish time) class plank! Will be exciting to see all the improvements in form as the weeks go on!

You’ll just have to trust me about Monday and Thursday.

Friday Check-In

Monday, November 1st, is the official start date of the 2010 Plank Challenge.

That’s just one week away.

Of course, the good news is that you can start working on plank any time you want.  You don’t need to wait for us — go ahead and start practicing right now.  We’ll wait.

(Still waiting. . .)

This also means that you can decide to take on the Challenge after November 1st.  But we think it’s more fun to start this thing together.

There is strength in numbers, and who knows what might come of the synchronized, positive intention of so many people?

We’d like to find out.

So let’s start with a quick check-in.

How did your plank go?  Are you game to take on the Challenge?