30 Day Ab Challenge

Summer has snuck up on me. It's not a bad thing but I've definitely been putting off sticking to my workout routine. You see, working out and I have a love-hate relationship. I love how it keeps me healthy and allows me to pretty much eat whatever I want within reason, but I LOATH how I become beet red, dripping with sweat, and huffing and puffing. I am definitely not one of those girls who looks flawless after a workout with just a tiny bead of sweat on her forehead. In order to avoid becoming a sweaty beast, I've come up with every possible excuse in the proverbial book as to why I can't bring my lazy butt to the gym or go outside for a run. Well it's time for the beast to come out of hibernation.

For a while now, I've seen the 30 Day Ab Challenge going around the Internet. These fads seem to pop up every few months and I usually don't give them a lot of consideration but since I was going to start working out again, I thought I'd see what this is all about. For once, this seemed like something that was plausible for me to attempt. It doesn't start you off at a sprint. Instead the workout plan slowly starts you off at a walking pace that gradually increases everyday with rest days thrown in so you aren't working on your abs for 30 days straight. Your muscles do need a rest after all. And I managed to convince K to do this with me for added support (and to hold me accountable for following through)!

This plan only requires 4 basic ab moves: sit ups, crunches, leg raises, and the plank. If you're not sure how to do these correctly, here are some helpful videos to get you started...

Sit Ups

Crunches

Leg Raises

Plank

If you need some motivation or support during the challenge, there's a Facebook event page with thousands of people participating and encouraging each other. I have K being my workout buddy but I like that there is a whole community developed for this challenge. Working out is definitely easier with encouragement and support. 

Besides just working on my abs, I'm going to also try and incorporate some form of cardio into my workout 3 days a week. It's important to have a balance of weights/strength and cardio in your workouts in order to fully see results. Hopefully this helps some of you out and convinces you to join me! 

Via giphy.com

I'm going to try and avoid a workout fail unlike that poor, unfortunate soul. Here we go, good luck!