Friday, January 18, 2008

Holy Quest for Six Pack Abs, Batman


I did that stupid stair climber torture device and it still told me I have lower than normal VO2 max. Jerk face. I stuck with him for 30 minutes anyway. I got off and went right into toning and weights. That's when the unbelievable occurred. I positioned myself just so on the mat so I could see the clock.
Plank position commence................................................................
ONE. HUNDRED. TWENTY. SECONDS.
I. AM. STOKED.

53 comments:

Topher said...

Oh my goodness. I'm the first one to leave a comment? That never happens. You usually have like 87 comments by time I see your posts.

I'd seen pictures of people doing this exercise, but it wasn't until you posted your experience at the PT that I tried it. It realy is hard. Who knew something that looks so easy in a picture could cause a macho man like me to want to cry in under 30 seconds?

Wes said...

I got up to fifty-five seconds Monday, and I thought I was about to rip apart. Nice!!!!!

Dan Seifring aka "OBRATS" said...

Funny I did that exercise for the first time Wed night and was able to hold for 45 sec. only.

Robert Barker said...

Awesome job, Nancy. Keep it up.

E said...

Plank for 120 seconds?! YAY!! Doesn't that officially put you in the hard core category? Keep up the great work! My longest is one minute. I'll have to try harder now to catch up to you!

Laura said...

Today is my abs day, so I'm going to give planks a shot tonight. Will let you know how I do!

Deene said...

u da plank master!

Ali said...

you held the plank position for that long ... holy crap ... six pack here you come!

P.O.M. said...

Your new nickname is the Princess of Plank!

My Life said...

Niiiiiice!

Marcy said...

HOLY MOTHER!!! That's A LOT!!! I don't think I could even do 10 sec :-X

Laura N said...

You go, Plank Queen! And apparently you are starting a Plank Revolution. Look at all these suckers trying to do them. holding Plank Challenges and kicking everyone's butts. Have a super weekend, Nancy.

Unknown said...

You are the PLANK QUEEN!!!!

RunToTheFinish said...

HOLY COW...now I realize my ab workouts just don't compare.

Tri+Umph said...

Dang Nancy, YRMFO!

I can usually hold them for a minute now, but am slowly building up. Its the side planks that are killer for me!

Keep up the good work!

J~Mom said...

You totally rock!! I know you had lipstick on while you did it too!

Marathoner in Training said...

That is great.

Viv said...

Nice planking! I did 5 seconds the other day, and thought of you right before I almost ate the floor.

That stair climber thing is torture. I really believe the VO2 feature on it is just broken. Demand to speak with the manager
:-)

Nat said...

Nancy! Well done.

Screw the VO2 thing. Pretty sure mine is well below normal too.

Pat said...

I did a 42 second plank the other day. but, then did a reverse plank for 9 hours.

Pat said...

You should have a plank day, where everyone does a plank and reports back. If you don't do it, I might.

Scott McMurtrey said...

what a jerk!

Unknown said...

You're my inspiration! As you may have read, my goal is to make 2 minutes by the end of the year. I figured if I can add 5 seconds a month, then I'm there! (I also have to try to get my side planks to 1 minute; UGH!)

Bev said...

Hey Nancy, have you checked out the video on the Runners World website, "Beyond Core, The Pedestal"?

It has some variations on the plank that are killer.

You rock my friend!

kate said...

I got inspired by your awesome plank holding abilities so I tried one myself last night...10 seconds was all I got. I am amazed by 120 seconds. That is AWESOME!

Mendy said...

OMG - Nancy! That's amazing!

My husband was JUST reading your blog and then got up abruptly, closed his laptop and said "It's on Nancy". For REALS....

He's doing the plank as I write. I am timing him.

He's so competitive, but you got him off the couch for this.

You should be proud!!

Crap - guess it's my turn.

David said...

Thanks for the inspiration, Nancy. You rock! 2 minutes is no joke, fo sho. I get a hankering to do some plank every once in a while. Not because I like it, but because they are just so good to do. I generally like to do several sets of 30 or 60 seconds.

Laura said...

I attempted a plank tonight for the first time. I did it right after I had done my regular abs, so I could probably do better, but I still did... 1:45!!! Look out Nancy, here I come! :)

Christie said...

2min plank?!?! You rock!!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome - I need to do weights today

RunnerGirl said...

You've inspired me to attempt a plan when I work out later. I'll have to let you know how that goes, but I have a feel it won't be anywhere near 120 seconds!

Jess said...

Holy cats! That's terrific Batman!

Bob A said...

Nancy, you are an inspiration. I had read your earlier post but after reading this one, I had to try a plank. Whoa! Within 20 seconds, I was shaking like a leaf. I managed to hold on for what I assume was a good time, shaking the whole time, but it was HARD, much harder than I expected. My abs were still sore this morning. I guess I'll have to make this a regular part of my routine.

Bob

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

well I did that for 8 hours last night...ummm but I did the upside down plank, butt on the ground and toes up :-) my abs are killing me I been doing that for 41 years straight now every night -lol

J said...

Wow. You've got me beat! Great job, your core strength must be awesome!!

Michelle said...

Awww, Nancy, that stair climber can suck it!!!

Damn! I don't think I could hold a plank for 10 seconds, much less 120 seconds!! Great job!!

akshaye said...

wow.. you're amazing!

sRod said...

The longest I've ever gotten is 60 seconds. Then I just gave up on it since I deemed it more of a mental torture device than a type of exercise.

Gotta Run..... said...

Great job on the plank!!! Keep working hard at all of your goals. We are cheering you on girl!

Shelley said...

Thanks Nancy, you inspired me to do my first plank today. I only did 60 seconds, but I figure that is pretty good for my first one.....and now I have a goal.

Good Job!

Sunshine said...

Well, maybe 30 seconds is a good first shot?!
My back muscles need work.

You are amazing.
More tomorrow....

teacherwoman said...

2 minutes? You rock! I can barely do it for 30 seconds!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. I see six pak abs in your future.mmmmmmmmmmmm Great job.

Robert

jahowie said...

Nice job on the plank!! I've never timed myself, but that seems like a long time to me. Nice work!!

Razz said...

you rock my free world!

Anonymous said...

AWESOME!!!

Lori said...

HOLY MOLY! 120 seconds is crazy talk! You are the Plank Goddess!

Bill Carter said...

I do believe that might be a record! Seriously, you are my hero and I think you do really incredible things. The plank is one big, bad b**ch and you just rocked it.

Amy@RunnersLounge said...

You are a queen. A god sent from above. A hero. A super hero.

How do you do it? Each day when I go to do my plank - a vision of you in your plank contest enters my mind and I dream of the day when I will make it past 30 seconds.

Yet another shot of inspiration - I will do it!

Database Diva said...

I read this post and ran downstairs to try my first ever plank, hoping that rowing and other things had blessed me with sufficient core. At 45 seconds, I stopped caring. You did that for 120? I'm not worthy, and you are hard CORE! Rowing might not be enough. Time to add more CORE stuff to the cross training days. Thanks for the inspiration!

DawnB said...

Thanks Nancy, 30 mins on the stair climber thats pretty outstanding!!
You got that plank nailed nice job, after reading a few comments of how difficult it is!! You totally rock

Pokey said...

OMG, now I have to go try this....

Heyyu said...

OMG. i started out like with 1min plank. 4 months later by working each day, i now do 3 min 30 sec.
planks are key to abs. im only 13 O.o