I went to the doctor for a checkup the other day. Everything was going along smoothly. Then the nurse took my pulse. “That can’t be right,” she said to herself as she readjusted the finger monitor.
It beeped for a second time, and again, she was caught off guard. “41. You must be a runner.” I smiled. “Well good on you.”
So what’s the big deal?
Just to be clear, I don’t run–I jog. When I lace up my shoes, I do so in the spirit of survival, not competition. I turned 40 a few years back, and like many men my age, I panicked. If you don’t believe me, just look at the results of any local 5K. The age groups really begin to stack up around 40 and above.
Don’t be fooled, though. There are many fast and talented runners in the Master’s (euphemism for ‘old’) Class. It is just that I am not, nor do I ever want to be, one of them. I am more concerned with my heart rate than my ‘splits’. I check my blood pressure, not my stopwatch.
I just started using earndit.com, a site that gives you rewards points for exercising. The more miles I log with my GPS, the more points I earn. The more points I earn, the better rewards I can “buy.”
The earndit philosophy is simple. Motivation is hard to find and easy to lose. That’s why earndit allows you to sync up your GPS enabled devices to earn real rewards for exercising. I connected my Garmin Connect account and immediately earned 60 points for a 6.5 mile run I had done the other day.
In light of the political season, and Herman Cain’s failed 9.9.9 plan, I would like to propose that the problem that derailed the “Cain Train” was that each of the digits in his plan were, quite frankly, one digit too low. I know what you’re thinking: “Shouldn’t these go to 11?” Oh, you weren’t thinking that? Too much Spinal tap…
Anyway, to the point. Where Cain’s plan failed, my plan will succeed. What is that plan? 10k, 10 lbs, 10 mins. Still not clear? Then read on…
The plank exercise is a great way to build endurance in your core: abs, hips, and back. The better your core the better your running form. And if you’re doing the 100Pushups program then planking will come in handy as it is also great for building strength for pushups.