Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods. ~ Confucius
In case you were inspired by last week’s article, I thought I’d take a short detour from our travel series to pass along my “power of three” core workout. You can do it while you’re on the road or as part of your morning routine. At most, it will take six minutes, so if you set a goal of five days a week, we’re only talking about 30 minutes total*.
Step 1: Pick three different core exercises, one from each of these groups:
- A crunch type exercise. Lots of options here – don’t just do sit-ups.
- A horizontal “plank” type exercise. Don’t just do static planks – lots of options to do planks that involve some sort of motion. Either way, make sure to use good form (e.g., don’t let your back droop).
- An exercise that activates the obliques.
Use care when selecting (and doing) exercises to avoid injury to your back. The “Russian twist,” for example, is often touted as an excellent exercise for the obliques but, because it places a significant load on the spine, can result in injury (Men’s Health).
Step 2: Do round one – the series of three exercises you selected.
Based on your ability, you’ll do each exercise for a prescribed amount of “work” time (guidelines follow) followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- If you’re just getting started, try for 20 seconds of work (followed by 10 seconds of rest).
- As you improve, gradually increase the work time but keep the rest interval at 10 seconds.
- Work towards 50 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- If you’re doing exercises like side planks, split the work portion in half so you hit both sides during a single work session.
Step 3: Do another round.
Without taking additional rest after completing the first round you’ll jump right into the second round but:
- Reduce the work time by 10 seconds.
- Increase the rest time by 10 seconds.
Simple example:
Round 1:
20 seconds of sit ups
10 seconds rest
20 seconds static horizontal plank
10 seconds rest
10 seconds right side plank
10 seconds left side plank
10 seconds rest
Round 2:
10 seconds of sit ups
20 seconds rest
10 seconds static horizontal plank
20 seconds rest
5 seconds right side plank
5 seconds left side plank
20 seconds rest
Well, that’s it, my no-excuses, go-to core workout that doesn’t take a lot of time. Although it’s super simple, knowing the second round will involve less work and more rest encourages me to do another round. In any case, if you end up giving it a try let me know how it went!
On that note, so I have some time to do this workout before I head to work, I need to check out for the week. Before I do though, how about a song for our ever-expanding and eclectic Spotify playlist?
Today seems like a great day to introduce you to the LA indie electro/pop artist, Billie Eilish. A reader of this blog turned me on to some electro music a few years back. As I explored the genre on Soundcloud, I came across Eilish and thoroughly enjoyed her inventive music. Here then, in a nod to today’s topic, is her song “Bellyache.” If you like it as much as I do, consider listening to it while doing a power of three core workout!
Until next week…cheers…xian
* Ah yes, the obligatory fine print…do consult your doctor before starting any type of exercise routine.
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