August Team Aquaphor Challenge!

It's a new month, you know what that means? A new Team Aquaphor Challenge!! We're going to focus on abs this month! Here is the calendar:

Now there are a couple things to remember when doing these exercises. 

The Crunches

When you're doing the crunches, make sure that you keep your back pressed flat against the ground. Keep your hands barely touching the back of your neck, don't pull on your neck or hold any pressure against it. Look to the ceiling and not toward your feet. And do them s-l-o-w-l-y! Too many people rush their crunches, the negative (lowering back to the ground) is just as important as the upward lifting of your shoulders. 

The Leg Lifts

I prefer to do these with my hands under my seat instead of above my head. The same holds true here with pressing your low back against the ground as it does with the crunches. There shouldn't be any space in between you and the ground. Try thinking about making your navel touch your low back. Don't let your legs drop all the way to the floor, keep them up several inches. When I have the swimmers that I coach do these I have them go from almost 90 degrees to 6 inches off the ground. You can add some inner thigh work by pointing your toes and turning them out. But alternating between pointed toes and flexed feet will add some variety into your leg lifts too.

The Planks

We did planks month before last so hopefully you'll remember what to do on these. Keep your body in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels. Try not to let your hips raise up. You can add some variety to your planks by walking them up and down. To do this start on your elbows and move up to your hands and them back down to elbows. Right elbow, left hand, right hand, left elbow. Then switch it and reverse to left elbow, right hand, left hand, right elbow. 

Have fun with this month's challenge. Oh.. and keep squatting! I'm doing 100 per day from now on as maintenance!!

River Cities Triathlon is this Sunday! My favorite race of all time. This will be number 18 for me! A bunch of my friends from Hattiesburg are coming up to race! I can't wait to see them! Will report on the race after the weekend. Then it's off to Milwaukee on Thursday and USAT Age Group Nationals! I get to see my friend Becky and hang out with her and some other Team Aquaphor folks!  Busy month for me!

See you at the races!

p.s. Didn't proof read this, in a hurry! Please excuse any grammatical or typing errors!