On Today's Plate: 4 Miles With A Side of An Awesome Core Workout

Double whammy! Posting twice today!

Today's workout consisted of running 4.5 miles and working on my core. For those who are new to fitness, this fitness blog explains in great detail (and really well) what the core is, and the muscles targeted when working it out.

I started out by running 3.25 miles (including a 2 minute warm up) at 6.0 mph on at an incline (I am not familiar with the incline percentiles, but...it was up 1.0). After running, I did 3 sets of 25 reps of the following exercises: crunches on an exercise ball, oblique crunches (on each side -- also on an exercise ball), cable crunches (with 75 lbs of resistance), and kick-out crunches. To do a proper kick-out, you should lie on the floor, face up, with your knees and hips bent at 90°. Extend (or "kick-out"...ha!) your legs out to about a 45° angle, keep it for a couple of seconds, and retract. Your hands should be placed to your side. After working on my core, I finished off with a 1.5 mile run (including a 2 minute cool-down) at 6.0 mph, also on an incline.

Remember, keep in mind your form when performing any type of exercise. Also remember to stretch before AND after your routine. And finally, if you have any questions, remember to ask a professional!