Autumn/Winter Core and general strength challenge discussion forum

T runner

I managed to get my 3 sessions in this week. TBH only for teh challeneg this week would have been where my annual attempt at strenght faltered. The only reason i did more than one was the peer pressure.

I am starting to feel a little stronger,a little more solid in my runs. Going to lenghten the duration of the sessions to keep the pressure on.

Planning on entering Rotterdam. Ive always promised myself an all out marathon attempt. If i keep the strenght up this could be the oppurtunity.

Slogger Jogger

Borrowing this link from RQs training log. A pretty good session all in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1bUFj1a44&feature=player_embedded

RoyMcC

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Borrowing this link from RQs training log. A pretty good session all in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1bUFj1a44&feature=player_embedded

I am light years away from doing this - I'm back to vid #1 :pac:

huskerdu

Here is an example of good core strength for us all to aspire to.

http://photos.independent.ie/gallery/Irish_rugby_team_go_whitewater_rafting_/slideshow/Philip_Morrow_and_Brian_O%27Driscoll/0c2udYB0GV3lg

huskerdu

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Borrowing this link from RQs training log. A pretty good session all in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1bUFj1a44&feature=player_embedded

I did this last night. Interesting to know what other peoples opinions are.

I find the one hand, one leg one difficult, I'm all wobbly but all the ones on straight arms
are too easy, or am I doing them wrong. I find they don't engage my core much.

I know this has come up before, but does anyone have an opinion on how long
a plank should be held for maximum effectiveness.

I can do 2 minutes with some leg lifts, but after that my back starts to hurt.

My physio is a fan of dynamic planks.
6 * 10 seconds with only 1 second in between.

shotgunmcos

huskerdu wrote: »

I can do 2 minutes with some leg lifts, but after that my back starts to hurt.

My physio is a fan of dynamic planks.
6 * 10 seconds with only 1 second in between.

Vary it. The dynamic planks are good too.

My fav is an 6 minute plank!
2 mins on my elbows,
1 min on left side with right arm and leg raised (I aim for a stright line between my wrists and lift the leg as high as I can keeping it straight),
1 min on right side same as above,
2 mins in push up position doing supermans (raise left arm and right leg straight up slowly and do same other side)
30 secs back on left side in the sideways star position
30 secs on right side...

No rest. You stay in the plank for the 6 minutes and just move slowly into positions. I'm usually sweating and shaking by the end but by focusing on the line of your body and keeping it as straight as you can, you will certainly feel the core worked.

If you know Yoga, do a few 12-16 move salutations afterwards.

That plus 50-100 push ups and 50-100 sit ups is the bones of my 10-20 minute core routine

TFBubendorfer

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Vary it. The dynamic planks are good too.

My fav is an 6 minute plank!
2 mins on my elbows,
1 min on left side with right arm and leg raised (I aim for a stright line between my wrists and lift the leg as high as I can keeping it straight),
1 min on right side same as above,
2 mins in push up position doing supermans (raise left arm and right leg straight up slowly and do same other side)
30 secs back on left side in the sideways star position
30 secs on right side...

No rest. You stay in the plank for the 6 minutes and just move slowly into positions. I'm usually sweating and shaking by the end but by focusing on the line of your body and keeping it as straight as you can, you will certainly feel the core worked.

If you know Yoga, do a few 12-16 move salutations afterwards.

That plus 50-100 push ups and 50-100 sit ups is the bones of my 10-20 minute core routine

That's a very good planks session, except that it's missing the "back" position. I'd add that in as well, and I don't do push-ups. That's mostly working on the triceps, and I do not see the value in that for me as a runner. I've been warened not to do sit ups, btw, as that can be bad for your back.

GoHardOrGoHome

Missed all three mandatory sessions this week. Boo.

I like the look of RQ's video. I'll give it a try next week.

T runner

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Missed all three mandatory sessions this week. Boo.

I like the look of RQ's video. I'll give it a try next week.

A missed week will make no odds if you are being generally consistent till Xmas. Will try taht one too. Looks very tough

shotgunmcos

I might make some progress with this core work if I can just stop eating cake :rolleyes:

TFB - a 6 min rotated plank engages your lower back plenty without having to isolate it. The supermans also target it as do the yoga salutations. I find that if I do a specific lower back exercise that I overload and always get DOMS in that area

TFBubendorfer

shotgunmcos wrote: »

TFB - a 6 min rotated plank engages your lower back plenty without having to isolate it. The supermans also target it as do the yoga salutations. I find that if I do a specific lower back exercise that I overload and always get DOMS in that area

Funnily enough, I tried your session on Saturday and could not pull it off without rest. The supermans were especially tough. There's still some work to be done.

JJJJNR

Only got one hour and 30 min in last week, with the marathon coming up in a couple of weeks finding having a semi-good core fitness is really helping my training.

JJJJNR

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Vary it. The dynamic planks are good too.

My fav is an 6 minute plank!
2 mins on my elbows,
1 min on left side with right arm and leg raised (I aim for a stright line between my wrists and lift the leg as high as I can keeping it straight),
1 min on right side same as above,
2 mins in push up position doing supermans (raise left arm and right leg straight up slowly and do same other side)
30 secs back on left side in the sideways star position
30 secs on right side...

No rest. You stay in the plank for the 6 minutes and just move slowly into positions. I'm usually sweating and shaking by the end but by focusing on the line of your body and keeping it as straight as you can, you will certainly feel the core worked.

If you know Yoga, do a few 12-16 move salutations afterwards.

That plus 50-100 push ups and 50-100 sit ups is the bones of my 10-20 minute core routine

This is one of my favs also but I can't balance on the one where you put your arm under one side and then extend toward the ceiling always end up falling to the side... the core needs a bit more work to lower the centre of gravity..

TFBubendorfer

That was the strangest core session ever. My only chance to get it done before dinner was to do it while the dinner was cooking, which meant I had to break in the middle to stir the pot. :rolleyes:

To make it more challenging, I also had to somehow accommodate a boisterous 3-year old who insisted on doing the exercise together with Daddy. Ah yes, the glamorous live of the amateur runner with 4 young kids.

Slogger Jogger

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

That was the strangest core session ever. My only chance to get it done before dinner was to do it while the dinner was cooking, which meant I had to break in the middle to stir the pot. :rolleyes:

To make it more challenging, I also had to somehow accommodate a boisterous 3-year old who insisted on doing the exercise together with Daddy. Ah yes, the glamorous live of the amateur runner with 4 young kids.

You can soon progress to doing plank exercises with the children sitting on your back then sides. I hope they are light

huskerdu

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

You can soon progress to doing plank exercises with the children sitting on your back then sides. I hope they are light

The combination of core exercises and housework is a regular occurance in our house. I have tried the plank with a 3 year old bouncing on my back. It was not a success.

shotgunmcos

JJJJNR wrote: »

This is one of my favs also but I can't balance on the one where you put your arm under one side and then extend toward the ceiling always end up falling to the side... the core needs a bit more work to lower the centre of gravity..

By the way its actually a 7min plank I posted sorry TFB et al

I only added the last 2*30 secs side planks last time I did it for some extra sadism.

JJJJNR - You can start the side plank by resting on your elbow/forearm and having both legs on the ground and your other arm straight by your side. If you can balance with that then progress to balancing on your hand instead of elbow. Then lift the leg, raise the other arm etc.. Find the position you can hold for a minute first. There are alway ways to make it more challenging

TFBubendorfer

shotgunmcos wrote: »

By the way its actually a 7min plank I posted sorry TFB et al

I only added the last 2*30 secs side planks last time I did it for some extra sadism.

You bastard! :mad:

Actually, since I did not have a printout of the session in front of me at the time, I did 2x2*60 seconds of side planks, and only 1 minute of supermans (which was already enough to get super wobbly). But with a stir-the-risotto break in the middle.

Bugsy2000

Off the road for a while so this challenge is keeping me sane. I'm following a mixture of the Running Times vids & RQ's vid (20 plank positions held for 30secs each). Lateral leg swings etc.

My physio has told me I have a weak ass which is leading to my groin & hamstring problems so I have to strengthen up the glutes, so I'm doing single leg squats (30 x 5 reps each leg), hip dominant squats (keep lower leg straight & squat as if you are sitting down but there is no chair there) hold for 30 sec, then 30 x 1sec squats.

Don't know the name of this one but you balance your feet on a swiss ball, shoulders flat on ground & raise your hips an inch off floor. Thrust your hips up & down without hips touching ground. 30 x 5 reps. If you don't have a ball a soft couch will do, its just to give a little instability under your feet to make your core work harder.

Lunges (15 x 5 reps - each leg) Again for instability a pillow under the lead foot (the point where you lunge too) will increase the work load.

30 x sit ups. 30 x push ups (useless at these) Also do some push ups with the foam roller under the hands or under the feet for instability.

Again I don't know the name of this but you keep one foot flat down & shoulders flat on ground. Keep hips up & extend one leg straight out keeping a straight line from shoulder to foot. Hold for 30sec. (10 reps each leg) (Important to keep hips level) This one really shows up your weaker leg. Me left leg is wobbling after 10 secs with this whilst my right is solid as a rock for the 30.

I try to get as much of these in each time but usually forget one or two. I'll have to write out the routine like OP. I'm actually beginning to enjoy this too even though it feels kinda sadistic saying that. One downside though was after a couple of sessions trying to strengthen the glutes they actually went dead for a day or two. (Or so it felt, like when someone gives you a knee in the thigh & you get a dead leg). It hurt to sit, it hurt to stand. Hopefully it gets easier. It is working though. In my last appointment the physio told me that my glutes had started firing when I run now where they used to be nearly dormant. (kinda unsettling / kinky[insert your own choice] running on a treadmill with your physio standing behind you watching your ass for movement)

TFBubendorfer

My core strength has definitely increased, the exercises are getting easier, and I can now do 15 minutes in each session, which would have been totally out at the start.

If my running will improve because of it ... well, I have to take that on trust.

Much more importantly, doing the core exercises has by now become a habit. I never managed to get to that stage before, so maybe I'll be able to stick with it for the long term this time round.

Slogger Jogger

Agrh, can't exercise for a few days. Picked up a back pain doing some manual labour on Saturday. No running, no strength exercises. Ho hum. A 3 to 4 day hiatus is all.

T runner

Fell asleep on Sunday and stahherred to bed on waking. Woke up at 3am,sat up swa
eating and screamkd "NOOOOOO!". Had forget to do my session and have had to add a 1 to the missed sessions column.

Bright side is i am getting stronger....am noticing less tension and movement particularly towards the end of long runs.

JJJJNR

going to be taking it very easy for the next three weeks with core work, so won't be updating much till a week after the marathon, keep up the good work everyone, long winter ahead!

GoHardOrGoHome

Missed all three sessions last week. Did my first session last night. Just 5 minutes. I'm determined to do two more over the weekend though!

You might not be able to squeeze in a 45 minute run but you can always squeeze in 5 minutes of plank exercises.

jeffontour

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

You might not be able to squeeze in a 45 minute run

You would if you watched one less episode of Madmen!

huskerdu

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Missed all three sessions last week. Did my first session last night. Just 5 minutes. I'm determined to do two more over the weekend though!

You might not be able to squeeze in a 45 minute run but you can always squeeze in 5 minutes of plank exercises.

True, but I am in the opposite situation.

Due to a few other priorities in life, I am not running as much as I would like at the moment.
I am making sure that I keep up the strength work every day, but I don't want
to fall in the habit of thinking that it is a substitute for running too often.

nerraw1111

I find they're quite easy to fit in given how crap TV is of late. The TV guide has now become my training schedule. 'Right, there's nothing for next hour, a few core exerices and then the pub.'

GoHardOrGoHome

jeffontour wrote: »

You would if you watched one less episode of Madmen!

Shaddup!

huskerdu wrote: »

True, but I am in the opposite situation.

Due to a few other priorities in life, I am not running as much as I would like at the moment.
I am making sure that I keep up the strength work every day, but I don't want
to fall in the habit of thinking that it is a substitute for running too often.

Absolutely agree with you there. It's no substitute for getting out for a run but just because I miss a run doesn't mean I should skip the strength session.

Krusty_Clown

Arriving quite late to the party. I did:
12x2 sets of weights (using dumbbells)
10 x reps of these 15 core exercises
Took me about 30 minutes in total, of which 10 minutes is probably exercise. Should I enter 5 minutes or 10 minutes?

Any thoughts on these two programs? I followed them before (increasing the number of reps every other week) and they served me well for a marathon a couple of years ago, but I got lazy since. Any criticisms?

seanynova

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Arriving quite late to the party. I did:
12x2 sets of weights (using dumbbells)
10 x reps of these 15 core exercises
Took me about 30 minutes in total, of which 10 minutes is probably exercise. Should I enter 5 minutes or 10 minutes?

Any thoughts on these two programs? I followed them before (increasing the number of reps every other week) and they served me well for a marathon a couple of years ago, but I got lazy since. Any criticisms?

a good point to note when doing crunches, is to imagine a tennis ball under your chin...it will keep you looking upwards and stop your chin from curling into your chest(like in the demo)...try it, its harder but makes for a better work out and puts less stress on your back/neck.