Workout Wednesday is here again.  And not without adventure.  As J was lovingly helping me with my photos for this week, I caught my necklace on the tripod.  The necklace broke and my teardrop charm fell off into the grass.  A whole afternoon and part of the early evening later, I found it.  The worst part is that I was probably standing on it when I was looking for it in the spot that it fell.

Then my youngest Sister dropped by for an impromptu pedi/mani night before heading back down to Charlotte to watch her friends band play for a few nights. I have enjoyed her here in Ottawa since Christmas, but I fear her time here is limited.  She keeps taking off to Charlotte and will most likely head back permanently soon.

On to my workouts.  This week saw me walking a lot.  I did three 3km power walks in addition to many runs back and forth to the school (I did more than my usual ten with School Council and Fundraising Committee meetings).  I managed three strength training sessions and a few extra five minute ab crunchers (I am really trying here).

A great way to work out the muscles that get missed from just doing crunches is the Side Plank.  The Side Plank is hard, but so worth it.  It works all of your abdominals (actualy your transverse abdominus – which are the inner layer of ab muscles that keep everything tight and make you look slimmer – this is what I really need to work), strengthening your core, which is so important to posture.

Sit on your side and raise up onto your feet and one arm, with the other arm extended overhead.  Hold your abdominals tight and don’t forget to breathe.  As you can tell from my photo (again, by J) it is difficult to hold this pose for photos.

Reach down and slightly under your torso with your upper hand, hold for 2 seconds and raise it back up.  Do 12 -15 repetitions switch sides and repeat.

It is easier to perform this with running shoes on, but I was being lazy to run in and get them, thus making the dog think we were going for a walk.

**disclaimer: I am in no way a Doctor or Physical Trainer. I am going to share with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get into shape again. I strongly advise consulting a medical professional prior to starting any workout routine as well as a professional trainer. I am in no way responsible for any injury you may sustain from trying any of my suggestions.