Date: 9-23-14

Due Date: 9-23-2015

The Resolution: No not that type of planking.

I found a website for a One Month Plank Challenge.

Here are the rules:

"Ever wanted to blow people away? Start with an easy 20-sec plank a day in the beginning and work your way up to a 5 min plank by the end of April!! 20 sec for 2 days, 30 sec for 3 days, 45 sec for 2 days, 1min for 3 days, 1.5 min for 2 days, 2 min for 3 days, 2.5 for 2 days, 3 min for 3 days, 3.5 min for 2 days, 4 min for 2 days, and 5 min for the last 2 days! Choose one day a week for rest!"

I'm going to give it a shot.

Result #266: Twice, I Attempted This One Month Planking Challenge During Two Different Months… But… I Max Out At The Four Minute Mark Thanks To My Back…

Update #1: The Conclusion…

Date: 9-23-2015

I wish I was on the same health kick that I was on when I set this resolution. Not only do I miss having the physical energy, but I also miss having the mental energy and drive as well. I didn't hesitate to start this challenge at all and made my first planking attempt the very next day after creating it.

I liked planking. Even after day one, which was only 20 seconds, I could feel the benefits. It wasn't the burn of an hour work out but I could feel the tightening of my core. I did well at first. I was using the proper technique and able to hold pretty steady up until I hit the three-minute mark. After three minutes I got a little wobbly and once I hit the four-minute mark I threw out my back.

If you know me I have an ongoing back problem so I figured since still had eleven months to complete the challenge I would take a break rather than power through. In my youth, I probably would have just powered through which may have been what lead to the back problem, to begin with.

After a couple of months, my back problem went away. I rested for one more month to be sure then gave the planking challenge another shot.

The results were the exact same.

At the time I still had eight months and the ambition to complete everything I set out to do.

Since I had two false starts that came very close to completion, this resolution stuck in my mind as one I really have to do. Then I moved and unfortunately, I've been stuck in a rut of trying to figure out my place on this planet ever since. As much as I try to stay positive, I just feel empty and lost, which has made it hard to stick to this feel-good experiment.

I hope that I can figure something out soon so that I can finish this whole resolution experiment as strong as I started.

We'll see what happens.