Workout Inspiration: Plank Variations for a New Challenge

By Susie Crossland-Dwyer

 

Or watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqnQI_YqbSg 

The Challenge:
Build up to a 5:00 min. plank hold (forearm or straight-arm).
The Method:
-Use these dynamic plank variations to help improve your core strength and pelvic stability while preventing boredom of simply holding plank.
Practice these variations 2-3 times per week.
Perform as few repetitions of each exercise as you need to in order to keep correct form. 
Please note that any of these variations can also be performed starting from your forearm plank (if you have wrist or elbow issues).
-In addition, find a 5:00 min. song you like to test your progress in your plank hold. Each time you practice your plank hold, play the song and try to get 5-10 seconds further into. Before you know it, you will have conquered a MEGA 5:00 plank!

The Basics: Straight-Arm & Forearm Plank  (& modified) 
I'm often asked which one of these planks is better for you or harder to do. Try both and see what you think. Forearm plank tends to focus on more core strength but straight-arm plank is especially good for women to develop more upper body strength.

                                                                       Straight-Arm

                                                                       Forearm Plank

 Modified Plank

 Positioning: 
-In all variations, shoulders should be stacked on top of wrist or elbow (for forearm plank).
-If you drew a line from the top of your head to your heels, it should be almost straight. To maintain this position and protect the back, the navel should be pulled into the spine at all times.
-Pay attention to the position of the head. Tuck the chin slightly to create length on the back of the neck. 
-The closer together the feet are, the harder the plank becomes.
Common Mistakes: Position of the pelvis is too high (butt in the air) or too low (back is arched), head is lifted too high

Variation #1=Toe-to-Heel Shifting Plank 

Positioning/Progression:
-Start in a straight-arm plank.
-Shift the body weight forward onto the toes momentarily (shoulders will come forward of the wrists) and then shift back, pressing into the heels (shoulders will come behind the wrists).
Do both of these movements without changing the position of the pelvis. 
-Shift for as many full breaths as you can--starting with the goal of 10 inhale/exhales.
Inhale as you go forward onto the toes, exhale as you press back through the heels. 
Visualization: Picture a hot cup of coffee resting on your back. As you shift to the toes and back into the heels, you want to visualize keeping the cup level and not spilling it.

Common Mistake: lifting the butt up as you shift back into the heels

 

Variation #2=Plank Single-Leg Knee Tuck   

     Option #1 Flat Back Knee Tuck

    Option #2 Round Back Knee Tuck 

Positioning/Progression:
-Start in a straight-arm plank.
-Drive one knee toward the same elbow while either a) keeping the pelvis level or b) rounding through the back and pulling the core in (navel to spine).
-Lengthen the leg back out without setting it down on the floor.
-Keep the upper body still as the knee drives in and lengthens back out.
-Repeat x10 on each side, focusing on one side at a time.
Common Mistakes: Shifting the upper body forward with the movement of the leg or arching the back too much as the leg lengthens back out


Variation #3=Plank Knee 90

Positioning/Progression:
-Start in a straight-arm plank.
-Lift one leg and drive the knee toward the elbow.
-Keep the knee bent and rotate the shin perpendicular to your torso.
-Shift the leg even deeper across the body (away from starting position). 
-Perform up to 10-15 shifts across the body before releasing the leg back to the floor. 
Visualization: Picture you are threading a needle as you take the leg across the body.

Common Mistake: Letting the rest of the body shift as the leg shifts


Variation #4=Plank Leg Pull



Positioning/Progression:
-Start in a straight-arm plank.
-Lift one leg off of the floor without changing the position of the pelvis (by engaging through the abdominals). Keep the leg straight as you point through the foot and then flex through the foot.
-Set the foot back down and repeat on the same side.
-Repeat x10-15 each side.

Common Mistakes: Lowering through the pelvis as the leg lifts, lifting the leg too high


Variation #5=Transitional Plank 




 

































 Positioning/Progression:
-Start in straight-arm plank.
-Hold for 10 seconds.
-Lift your right arm first to lower you down to forearm plank (without dropping to the knees).
-Hold 10 seconds.
-Press back up to straight-arm plank lifting the right arm first.
-Repeat the same method but switch to lifting the left arm first.
-Complete as many full transitions as possible--starting with the goal of four. 
Common Mistake: Rocking the pelvis side-to-side when lowering and lifting

Sparks Flying: The Gifts of a Teacher

By Susie Crossland-Dwyer

"Without inspiration the best power of the mind remain dormant. 

There is a fuel within us that needs to be ignited with sparks." 

-Johan Gottfried Van Herder

This week I was ignited with sparks from the "Spark Seeker"  himself, Matisyahu. Not only did he create my personal theme song of 2012 (Live Like a Warrior), that got me through a lot of hard days manifesting my dreams, he is also a genius of a human. After venturing to the Taft Theatre for a live performance, he captured my full attention and I intend to keep him as one of my teachers. He is a shining example of the way I want to embrace life and spirit.

Last winter, hours before dawn, I would get into my cold car each morning and let his lyrics envelope me and fill me with strength. "Today, today live like you wanna ..." (Matisyahu). Through his powerful words, he reminded me day-by-day that I COULD do it. I COULD create the life I wanted, the life I had dreamed about for so long. In my many low moments, I was determined to remember. "We all got dreams that we can't let go, we wanna be brave, don't be afraid.""It's your life to live, I can't live it for you." "Search heaven and the seven seas, the answer lies inside you. You know it won't come easy, you've got to find your own truth."

But, it wasn't until seeing him perform live and hearing his real words that I've begun to understand the power of having a teacher. For over two hours, I sat frozen in my seat, captured with absolute awe and completely in the moment. There was no time and space, there was just music--beautiful, powerful music. The lyrics were expertly performed, very real and seemingly directed at my very needs.

Three quarters of the way through the concert, the accompanying band exited the stage and left Matisyahu seated behind a single microphone. Suddenly, another mic appeared in the audience. This was our chance, an opportunity to ask him anything. I froze and stayed grounded in my red velvet theatre seat. But, as others asked away, it became clear--Matisyahu has walked his talk. His lyrics have been plucked directly from his own life experience.

For those that don't know him, part of his musical fame stemmed from the unique blend of his styles--reggae, pop, rap and beat-boxing--as well as the fact that he was an orthodox Jew. But, let the emphasis rest on was an orthodox Jew.

This from Wikipedia:
"On December 13, 2011, Matisyahu posted a beardless picture of himself on Twitter, explaining on his website:

'No more Chassidic reggae superstar. Sorry folks, all you get is me ... no alias. When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process.  It was my choice.  My journey: to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality—not through books but through real life.  At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity ... to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth.  I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart.  I am reclaiming myself.  Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.

Get ready for an amazing year filled with music of rebirth.  And for those concerned with my naked face, don’t worry... you haven’t seen the last of my facial hair.' "

He has not let his history affect the possibility of who he wants to be now and in the future. He has refused to be boxed-in by the way people know him. He has decided, instead, to be true to himself.

For much of my adult life I've resisted the idea of having a guru, a mentor, a teacher. But, after my encounter with Matisyahu, I've begun to ask, "why?" Perhaps, it is my independent streak, my need for control. Or, maybe it's my belief in my ability to carve my own path, not to follow in someone else's. But, what I really think is that I was envisioning what I thought a teacher should look like, not what my teacher could look like. Today, I realize I have many teachers that speak to different pieces of who I am and who I want to be. I see a South African woman on a Spinning bike pumping a room with love and inspiration; a beloved parent with a veracious intellect and a heart of gold who would do anything for me; a middle aged guy with curly hair running into the mountains with a copy of Emerson on his hip; or, in this case, a man with Middle Eastern heritage beat-boxing his heart out on a stage.

I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet this amazing human. We waited for over an hour by his tour bus until he came out of the Taft. One hug, several words later, I was giddy and filled with inspiration.

So, I've decided to take Matisyahu's advice and "... let go of what [I] know ..." because "... all I've got is my life..." You see, in the pursuit of my recent goals, I've come to realize I'm not an independent entity and I can't do it alone. Dream-crafting is tough business and I need help. I need inspiration. I need to see that what I'm aiming to create is possible. I need to surround myself with people who value a similar vision of the world and who will feed me. I need to know that it's okay to be free of who I used to be so that I can be who I'm meant to be.

Thank you, Matisyahu (and all of my teachers of the present and the future). From one spark, there is now a fire burning brightly within me.

Passion > Talent

"You can never be great at anything unless you love it."

-Maya Angelou

 Snow was falling as I performed hills repeats in Alms Park today. 

The silence, breathing of cold air and rhythmic motion of running all "whispered" to me that there is no other place I'm supposed to be but here and now.

Or watch on YouTube: http://youtu.be/1qGhZM0myO4

Putting the "S" in Smoothie

This video is 3:27. If you have 3:27, you have a smoothie. I challenge you...can you make this smoothie in the length of time it takes to watch the video?

Or watch on YouTube:http://youtu.be/goiJRm01X6o

One Susie Smoothie Serving
3 bananas (ripe!--brown & spotted) If the bananas aren't truly ripe the recipe will be too bitter/chalky. 
1/2 cup(ish) frozen or fresh organic blueberries
3 large kale leaves (stems removed) or handful of shredded/curled kale
sprinkling of raw cashews (or any other nut)
sprinkling of raw unsweetened organic coconut
1 cup almond milk (regular or vanilla) I use the Almond Breeze brand but any almond milk works.
water for preferred texture

Workout Inspiration: Hip Strengthening

By Susie Crossland-Dwyer

During my time as an endurance athlete--training for marathons, an ultra-marathon and Ironman--I've been completely injury-free (minus my freak cycling accident that wasn't my fault). I train six days a week for 11 months of the year and have another month that is light training/ full of rest. I credit my success not only to a smart, slowly-building training plan, but also to an ongoing strengthening routine for my core and hips.

As a Personal Trainer and Pilates instructor, I've also successfully used these hip strengthening exercises (below) or something similar with many different populations--other athletes, pre and post-natal women, individuals with limited ability to perform leg exercises that involve flexion/extension of the knees, etc. In all cases, including my own, I've witnessed great results. By performing hip strengthening exercises, my clients and I have achieved better balance, less fatigue over long distances, an easier time performing everyday activities, more stability of the pelvis (which means more balance in the body overall=less injury). Don't believe me? Try them and you be the judge.

Or watch on YouTube: http://youtu.be/pL8FSUbr3NA

Hip Strengthening Series = 4 parts (watch video explanation first):
Part 1
-Come onto your side and stack the legs on top of one another. You should be making a straight line with your body and both hips bones should be parallel (not opened up toward the ceiling).
-Your head can rest on the bottom arm or you can be on your forearm for more work in the upper body. You can rest the hand on the floor for more balance or on your hip for less.

-Lift and hold the top leg (feet are pointed or flexed) ~30 seconds or until you feel the muscles (gluteus medius mainly) start to work.

 

Part 2

-Perform foot taps in front of the base leg and behind the base leg without shifting through the hips.
-To make it harder don't actually tap the foot but hover it right above the floor.
-Perform ~20 taps OR one set of 20 taps and one set of 20 hovers.

Part 3

-Keep the top leg at hip height and flex both feet. 

-Take the top leg from hip height and pulse a few inches higher then bring the leg back down to hip height. Perform ~20 reps or until you feel a little bit of a burn. 

Part 4

-Keep the top leg at hip height once more and make a bicycling-type motion with the leg. 

-Minimize any rock in the pelvis as you move the leg. The smaller the motion, the easier it is to control. 

-Perform ~10-20 reps both forward and backwards. 

Then for phase two of my workout today, I had this face (my husband and training partner--Chris Dwyer) alongside of me while I logged a vertical mile on the stair stepper. Partner workouts are always better!

Workout Inspiration: Incline Training

By Susie Crossland-Dwyer

Or watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYo1-vJ61-8

Incline Treadmill Workout:
-Warm-up 10:00 minutes or 1 mile at a slower than your normal pace.
-Keep as much of that slower pace as you are able while you test out each "automatic" incline on the treadmill. My treadmill organizes them in increments of three. So, if you don't have auto buttons on your treadmill, go up three % at a time.
-Let the legs get used to each incline for about 30 seconds. This is you telling the legs and the heart rate they are about to WORK (or what I like to call "priming the pump").
-Come back to a flat and recover the heart rate to about 70% of your Max HR (or until you can easily breathe and talk).
-Take off again up the incline. Complete 5-10 rounds of taking the incline from 0% grade to maximum % grade.
-At maximum incline, sustain for as long as you can--even if it's only a few seconds. For me it was 1:00 at same pace. Sometimes I even had to grab the handles for a few seconds at the end of the 1:00. For the last few rounds I had to drop my original pace even more to complete the full incline--THIS IS OKAY!
- Each round on the way back down, I just let the treadmill ramp down to zero and as soon as I felt it level out I pushed the "30" button again.
-After you've completed 5-10 rounds, cool down by bringing the incline ramp back down completely and walk on the flat for 1-2:00 minutes.
-Stretch and drink water!

I was able to complete EIGHT rounds of 0% to 30% grade incline before I ran out of time. My total calories burned=505 for 45 minutes (not bad for a time-crunched workout). More importantly, I did an activity that my body wasn't used to which means I will have more strength benefits on the adaptation end. 

Using the Pilates Reformer to stretch out my hips and legs post-workout.  Stretching is always a must no matter how little time I have in the day. 

What a 30% grade ramp looks like on the treadmill.

One more fun one for the hips on the Pilates Reformer machine.

Recruiting the Subconscious

What once seemed like a BIG CHANGE--giving up TV--now, a few years later, seems like a way of life that filters out certain messages my subconscious doesn't need.
96% of whether or not you achieve the goals you set is determined by the subconscious.
Do the influences in your life (purposeful or not) and the way you spend your time match up with your goals?

http://youtu.be/xj2JqjTZpm0

Nature's Student

Today Chris said to me, "You know, I think I stopped the habit of getting outside every day when recess ended in 6th grade." Wow, how true and how sad that is. Nature has a lot to teach and we have a lot to learn. So, let's re-institute recess and vow to get outside every day. This may just be the overly simple solution to a lot of life's problems. I know it has been for me in 2012.

Facing the Fear (& doing it anyway)

The Beginning

2013 Training, Day #1