STRONG TO THE CORE

 

I’m fairly certain I wasn’t hearing right when our personal trainer Alphonso Hopson said “The April challenge is to do 200 crunches a day!” What? Now I know full and well he knows that 4 months ago I could not even do one freaking sit up so I have no idea why he believes that he is a magician on this day! 200 crunches a day for the entire April! I did the math, that’s 6000 crunches! Impossible, was my first thought…

Determined to S.O.A.R (find the Strength Over All Resistance) I decided the least I could do is start. I started out with ten at a time, 5 sets at a time, it took me all day the first day to get 200 crunches done and my abs were on fire! Day after day though I showed up for myself and got on the mat. Some days were hectic and got missed but I always made it up (I hated missing though as that means that the next day 400 needed to get done) Some days my sister would join me and we would do them together. I have to admit it got a little (just a tad bit) easier with time but let me tell you, the burn is FIRE!

Well at least this should help me get a flat tummy,  I thought, but when I expressed those  thoughts to said personal trainer, he proceeded to tell me that ab exercises does not mean a flat tummy, that really, it just means your core is getting stronger, that really, it’s proper nutrition that will assist in a flatter stomach! Wait! What???? All this work does not guarantee a flatter tummy? Have you ever really learned something new that makes you just want to  throw your hands up in the air and say “I quit!”?

Upon further research, in a msn.com article, health and fitness expert Jillian Michael said “”If you think you’re going to crunch away belly fat or crunch your way into a six pack, that’s a very incomplete component, because you have to burn the fat off the top of the muscle or you’re never going to see it, no matter how conditioned it is,”…. Michaels recommends eating foods high in healthy estrogens, such as flax, yams, and fermented soy to help combat stomach fat. Otherwise, she suggests getting enough sleep and trying to keep stress at a minimum. – Oh well I heard two words I like… eat and sleep!

 

Anyway… here we are at the end of April… tummy no flatter than before (maybe a little because I did listen to the proper nutrition part also) and I DID IT!!!! 6000 crunches completed and now I can finally say literally…

 

I AM STRONG TO THE CORE!!!!!