Wednesday’s Workout| Plank Challenge

Who’s ready to get some amazing abs? I’m sure the thought of bikini season being just around the corner is pushing you to try a tone up a little so you are your most confident on the beach. Now abs are completely made in the kitchen, so if you are wanting some definition yes you need to work out your core but you also need to shed the fat so you can show off your new abs.

One of the most effective moves for toning the whole of your core is the plank. Not only is it effective, it is super simple to do, requires no equipment and only takes minutes to work you hard. You can see all the muscles that the plank works in the picture above.

The Tone It Up Girls know that the plank is a super effective and have started a challenge of their own the; #bikiniseries5minplank challenge… yes we even have our own hashtag! You can see mine and others attempts in the picture above, but follow everyone’s journey on instagram and Twitter with the hashtag. So the challenge is fairly self explanatory we are aiming to hold a 5 minute plank in 6 weeks time. Yes it seems like a long time! I’m still a long way off, with my max being 1.25, however each day I rack up more seconds so I should be there in 6 weeks!

I have only been doing the challenge for 7 days but already I am seeing great results. My abs are definitely stronger, especially my lower abs, I feel more toned and solid… if you know what I mean… less jiggly! So I could not recommend this challenge enough!

If you want to plank it out and mix it up a little, the below video is a great super short workout that is full of modified planks. It is only about 7 minutes long and you hold each move for around 30 seconds, so it is very manageable if you are a beginner, but the length of means it is still a good workout for those that are a little fitter. I cannot recommend the plank enough! If you want to have a toned core in time for your bikini then start today you will soon see results within a few weeks.

What do you think of the plank? Are you a lover of a hater of it? Which other abs moves do you recommend?

Don't forget to check out my blogger of the week Rhiannon from The Barbelle. If you enjoy my fitness and health posts you will love her blog. It is crammed full of fitspiration!

Fitness Friday| Lets get Fab Abs!

I present to you all another challenge! Yes it is the third day of the month, so we have technically missed 3 days. But we can all start together. This is a challenge I found on my dashboard on Tumblr, and I love it! I  especially love it because it rhymes... how cute!

So it is fairly self explanatory, just do what it tells you to do each day and I'm sure we will see some improvements. These exercises will only take 15 minutes each day so there is no excuse!

Set this as your desktop, or print it out and place it somewhere you will see it often so you are more likely to do it.

It doesn't matter if you can't do all of them, just do the most you can. I for one can not do more than 10 push-ups in a row, so its going to test me!

For an even larger challenge for your abs, how about trying the plank challenge also (the number is in seconds);

For those who want to follow the jumping jack challenge,  Click here for the plan for February.

Let me know what you think, and if you are going to join me on any of the challenges.