Summer Weekly Challenge ~ #5

Are you still with us? 

Summer can either be a great time to get healthy or a time filled with distractions and temptations! 

Which is yours turning out like?

Last week was the perfect week for a water intake challenge. Here on the west coast temperatures were soaring in the 100's. 

This week we are strengthening our CORE!

Week 5 Challenge

• Continue to break a sweat and pump your heart for one hour, five days a week.

• Continue for AT LEAST five days a week have AT LEAST one serving of fruits and/or vegetables at EVERY meal.

• For THREE days this week implement thirty minutes of strength training.

• Drink at least EIGHT glasses of water EVERY DAY.

• Each day that you exercise, spend an additional ten minutes doing CORE STRENGTHENING exercises. 

Need some inspiration on strengthening your core? Here ya go!

Core strength training not only works the muscles in the hips, abdomen and back, it also trains them to all work and function together. It builds coordination between these muscles, and as the Mayo Clinic writes, these muscles working together balances and stabilizes your body.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/103050-benefits-core-strength-training/#ixzz2Xktr29qE

A strong core helps you maintain proper form when running or walking, reducing your risk of injury. When your core doesn’t do its job of stabilizing your trunk, other muscles and joints kick in to make up for the slack. Your back, knees, shoulders and ankles may suffer without core training. Simple movements like stepping off a curb, twisting to close a car door or carrying heavy boxes can cause injury when your core is weak. Source here. 

Core Strengthening Does Not Just Mean Sit-Ups

Yoga Poses

Courtesy of Pinterest

Pilates Style Moves

Source Here.

Now that we are adding another element to our work-outs, the minutes are adding up. Here is an example of my weekly schedule. This is just to help out, yours can be modified to what suits your schedule.

Monday~ Half Marathon training run

                  30 min strength training

                 Core Strengthening (crunches, reverse crunches)

Tuesday ~ Half Marathon training run

                   Core Strengthening (Pilates with fitness ball)

Wednesday~ Cross Training - elliptical, bike, swim

                        30 min strength training

                        Core Strengthening (crunches, reverse crunches)

Thursday~ Half Marathon training run

                    Core Strengthening (Pilates with fitness ball)

Friday ~Cross Training - elliptical, bike, swim

              30 min strength training

              Core Strengthening (crunches, reverse crunches)

Saturday~ Half Marathon training run

                   Core Strengthening (Pilates with fitness ball)

I can honestly say that core strengthening has changed my body quickly. Along with changing my eating, my mid section has lost more inches than anywhere else on my body. Hooray!