I'm Popeye the sailor man!

Have you seen that 30 day plank challenge?

You know what a plank is, right?

THAT is a plank.

I'm gonna go ahead and answer your question before you even ask it.

Yep!

I look exaaaaaaaaactly like her when i do it.  Pretty much carbon copy of me right there.

No shaking, or sweating.  Certainly, no desperate gasping for air.  I pretty much look like an airbrushed model from start to finish.  When I stand up afterwards - I'm strong.  I'm fierce... and a spring breeze comes wafting around the corner and blows my hair in waves around my face and I....

yeah -  so day one - 20 seconds - i thought i was gonna die.

no, really - like - i heard this weird "whoooshing" in my ears?  I thought it was the early beginnings of an aneurysm forming.  I was shaking like an earthquake hit and coughing out "18... 19... 20!!!!"  

- and I said "20" with such explosive force and flopped so hard on the ground like a fish that I'm pretty sure I had a mild stroke.

and my kids were all "yay mom!  yeah!!!! you did it!"  

and i didn't have the energy (or the heart, lungs, or consciousness) to cheer with them.  I was just pondering how it was possible that the passing of 20 seconds could be so slow to defy the laws of nature.

Why was I doing a plank when I clearly was out of my comfort (um.. strength) zone?  Well...

I joined this challenge on Tribesports website.  It's free.  It's cool.  I like the site!  I like how it tracks my workouts.  Here is the 30 day plank challenge.

You saw that, right?  Day 1 is 20 seconds.  

And i just described to you what that was like for me.

How in the world was I gonna do 30 the next day?!?!?!?!?!  

and yet.  I did it.  and flopped like a fish at the 30 second mark instead of the 20.

ok ok - but how in the world was I gonna do 35 the next day??  On day 2, 30 seconds was my absolute limit.  I mean it!!!!  If you offered me a million dollars to do 35 seconds I would have fish-flopped on 30 and then cried my eyes out (7 minutes later when I had enough air in my lungs to cry properly) about how I have no upper body strength and how could i lose a million dollars over 5 measly seconds?!?!!

So here is the crazy thing.  Are you ready for the crazy thing?  Cuz i'm gonna tell you the craziest thing in the world.

Every day, I've been like - there is NO way i can do what they're asking tomorrow - but.... whatever, I'll try.  I'll prove to them that I can't do it and they're asking too much of me and my weak body!

Today was day 17.  Guess who just did 120 seconds (that's two full minutes, baby!!) of planking?!?!! 

THIS GIRL DID.

BOOOO-YAH! I'm Popeye the sailor man!  toot toot!  Who wants to feel my biceps?!?! 

aaaaaaand ...I don't shake as much, I actually breathe smoothly throughout, and I don't fish-flop at the end.  ok- i did hear that weird ear whooshing again that is undoubtedly a pre-cursor to an aneurysm- but I SAID I'M NOT FISH-FLOPPING!!!! CAN WE FOCUS ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT HERE!!!  lolol

sooooo tomorrow is day 18.  Let's see that's...... 130 seconds?!?!?!?!  What the.

oh geez. there's no way i'm gonna be able to do that.