Pancake to Plank

I find it hard to get excited about pancake day - I am not particularly keen on pancakes and I don't particularly enjoy making them. However, my little Addy had enough enthusiasm to compensate for my lack of it.

Pancake duty usually falls upon my husband. He makes a terrible mess but the kids love it. Unfortunately, he was working late last night leaving me holding the frying pan.

My first attempt was an unappetising, crumpled ball of stodge but I surprised myself by getting into the swing of it. I perfected my wrist action for the tossing and was soon producing thin, golden specimens to be proud of. They looked so good, I even ate a few myself.

Addy was thrilled by it all, consuming far more than I thought possible for a little slip of a nearly six year old. I turned a blind eye to the quantity of sugar she was spooning on with the lemon juice!

So with pancakes done, it was time to think about the tradition of Giving Something Up for Lent. Last year, instead of giving something up for Lent, I made the decision to add something new, something positive. I chose a running target, committing to Run Forty Miles for Lent. It worked really well for me. It was a powerful motivator and I exceeded my target.

This year, sticking with the same model, I have chosen a target that should help to build my core strength and get me back a little more comfortably into my favourite skinny jeans (which is the One Small Change I am allocating to March). It isn't going to be easy. I am going to Plank forty minutes for Lent.

For anyone unfamiliar with what it means to plank, I am referring to an exercise whereby you are basically in a press up position but resting on your forearms. You then hold that position (making sure that you are not sticking your bum up too high) for a minute - a torturous minute. By the end of those painfully long sixty seconds, you will feel the muscle exertion in your whole body. Now that has to be doing you some good!

I have attempted to Plank before, most regularly when I was taking a weekly pilates class. It usually ended in me collapsing in a heap at about 45 seconds.

I am anticipating that my Forty minutes for Lent will be completed in 40 x 1 minute planks - one per day. I am hopeful that they will get easier as my body grows accustomed to the effort required. I am even more hopeful that I will start to see the benefits in terms of a flatter stomach. The skinny jeans are ready and waiting!