I noticed this challenge on Facebook a while back (do I actually LIVE on Facebook? Yes.)
(No not really, I have children. But I do hide there sometimes.)
ANYWAY, I noticed this “event” on Facebook with millions of people joined up to do this stupid abdominal challenge to get people ready for the summer. This is what you do: sit ups, crunches, leg raises (where you lie on the floor and raise your legs) and then plank. Every day with a rest every fourth day. W.T.F.
It is ridiculous. You know that right? I’m not judging anyone who signed up for it, I’m judging the person who created it. This person is not trying to help you, but preying on your ignorance. Unless you already have low body fat and you’ve been working out, doing squats and push ups and all that but for some reason neglecting your core, this is pointless.
But don’t take my word for it, listen to Lisa Wolfe of Lisa Wolfe Health and Fitness, a friend of mine:
“My take on it is that everyone wants a quick fix. The best you will get out of it is possibly a little stronger and MAYBE some ab definition IF you are already lean. The worst you will get is an injury, especially an out of shape person. The crunches, sit-ups and leg lifts could really hurt someone. Many of my new clients could not do those without hurting themselves. It’s not as bad as the squat challenge in terms of injury potential, but there’s also no sensible progression. The progression from plank, for instance, would be increasingly complex variations. The leg lift starts with a very difficult procedure, especially for people with weak abs and messed up lumbars, which is most people. And what’s the point? There’s no such thing as fixing just one area of the body. It’s not like someone who is 30 pounds overweight is going to see any difference at all doing all those un-weighted exercises on one area of the body.”
I know that it’s the abs that everyone wants but seriously, though you should be working on your core muscles, that’s not ALL you should work on. I assume that getting ready for the summer means trying to lose a few pounds and tone up right? Squats are such a good exercise because they work a huge range of muscles which help you burn fat. And don’t neglect the upper body, like me. I am such a wuss on top. I still can’t do push ups. Still. A lot of us have to work on this don’t we?
This is why I’m going to host my own summer workout challenge: The 30 Day Full Body Challenge. I’m going to use this workout from Nerdfitness.com. I haven’t read a lot of his stuff but what I’ve seen seems ok so far and the workout looks decent.
20 body weight squats
10 push ups
20 walking lunges
10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug)
15 second plank
30 Jumping Jacks
I suggest you go look at the link because he has a video where he shows you exactly what to do. Then join my challenge here!
It starts the 15th of June. That’s right, if you’re going to do something don’t wait, just do it! I’m only giving us a bit of time to get people to join in then we’re going for it!
Invite your friends too!
Glitter, Guts & Glory 