Plank Challenge Week 3, Day 1 {Slider Knee Tuck w/ Pushup Option}

Happy Sunday everyone! Today is a special day in our household, though someone doesn't really want to celebrate so I suppose I'll leave him nameless. 😁 In case he changes his mind and I am away from my computer tending to his birthday wishes, I am so happy to have jumped on the @steempeak bandwagon to be able to start drafting posts ahead of time and scheduling them. I know there are other ways to do it, but I am quite happy with the whole interface they have provided so far!

Anyway, this week marks a new theme to my plank variations to keep you all trying some new things. I am also throwing out some love for the @runningproject community as my group of the week! Core strength is key to good running form. The tool I am utilizing this week are the sliders! They are really fun to be able to do a whole host of exercise variations with. The good thing about them is you can easily replicate the movement even if you don't have the specific workout ones. They basically look and work like furniture sliders, so if you have some of those pop them out from underneath the couch and put them to use in your workouts. If you have hard flooring you can also totally use a couple of dish towels or old t-shirts to get the same sliding effect. I may give bonus points for a really ingenious way of performing the exercises with an everyday household item. 😉

To kick off the week I am demonstrating a Slider Knee Tuck. Like some of the other plank variations, this one is a great move to throw in a pushup if you want some extra upper body work. If you don't feel ready for that, just keep it to the first part of the move with the tuck and save the pushups for another day!

Cues:

1. The sliders do make planks more challenging, so you really want to focus on squeezing your abs and keeping your hips locked underneath you so that you don't let your back sway.
2. As you tuck your knees in underneath your torso make sure to pull in your belly button and contract your abdominal muscles to get the most out of the movement.
3. It may feel unsteady at first, but keep control of your feet on the sliders the whole way through for a controlled movement.
4. Maintain good form on the pushup and discontinue if you start to lose form.
5. Have I mentioned breathing lately? Make sure you are remembering to do that, too.

Beginner: Perform for 30 seconds

Intermediate: Perform for 45 seconds

Advanced: Perform for 60 seconds

Since we did repetitions the last week, I am opting for timed rounds again this week. There is benefit to both timed rounds and specific repetition schemes, so it is nice to switch between the two. As always, make sure to modify where needed or challenge yourself to the harder version if you feel ready. Like the previous weeks feel free to perform each move daily, stack them up as the week goes on, or wait until the end of the week to do one full core workout with all of the exercises together. Let me know if you have any questions!

Instead of re-typing, I'll throw it back to the Week 2, Day 1 Post for the guidelines on entering the challenge. Make sure to resteem this post to help spread the word for a new week! Looking forward to seeing some of my fit running pals join in on this week, but as usual anyone is welcome to join in to continue the fun.

Happy Planking!

*Make sure to consult your health professional if you have any current or prior medical issues that may prohibit starting a new exercise program.

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