How are you guys doing? Sadly, I’m feeling sick today, so decided to not go to work. I feel like these past few weeks have been super busy and I haven’t really had much time to rest, so I guess today is much-needed. My plan is to literally sit at home all day, sleep, eat, and do whatever I want 🙂 I decided that I wanted to take this extra time to update you guys on my life + give you a glimpse of my core routine (if you want to skip all the blabber, go to the end of the post for the core routine)
So I’ve actually been doing an internship for the past few weeks now at a sensory science research center. It’s kind of complicated to explain what I actually do, but it’s basically a field related to food science and involves researching people’s sensory evaluation of food/products and combining that with consumer needs to create the best food/products. It’s actually quite intriguing, but when you do multiple trials over and over again about the same product, it gets a bit tedious. Even more, I have to commute over an hour every morning at 7:30 to the other side of Singapore to get to where I work. I know that’s nothing to a lot of people, but for me, who is fortunate enough to live in the central part of SG and have my parents drive me/take a taxi everywhere, that 1 hour public commute is something I had to get used to. On the flip side, it’s really opened my eyes up to the realities of a normal life that I will eventually have to lead and also the realities of working. To be honest, compared to working, I’m starting to appreciate school a lot more (I never thought I would ever say that)!
Running wise, I’ve been quite happy with my progress. Getting injured during track season really has made me a lot cautious towards my approach to running/training. I’ve been doing a lot more easy miles and making sure I feel 100% recovered before I attempt any other tempo/faster paced workout. For example, I’ve normally been doing 1-2 tempo workouts and 1 longer run each week, with the other days all consisting of easy running/rest. Being able to tune in with my body has kept me completely injury-free so far (crossing my fingers), and I’m feeling really good with my progress!
If you guys would like a more comprehensive overview of my summer XC base training, drop a comment/like below!
I’ve also found that a really crucial part of keeping myself injury-free and in shape so far has been doing supplemental training like prehab exercises, strength-training, and core. I’ve tried to commit to doing my core routine at least every other day, and I’m happy to say I’ve been doing quite well so far! Core is always sometime that I tend to miss out because I’m just lazy to do it after my workout, but by establishing a set 10-minute core routine, it’s been helping me stick to doing the exercises. There are billions of core exercises out there, but I’ve just compiled a few of my own favorites to create my own core routine. You guys can follow my routine or mix and match your own favorite exercises to create your own!
My 10 Minute Core Routine
1. Front Plank
Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Position your forearms on the floor with your elbows aligned with your shoulder and your arms bent at 90 degrees. Engage your core while keeping your back straight from head to toe, with your head in a neutral position (looking down). Hold this for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. If you can’t do this yet, try 30 second intervals with 10 seconds in between, then build up as you progress!
2. Side Planks
Start on your side with your feet together and one forearm directly below your shoulder. Then, engage your core while bringing up your hips until you body is in a straight line from head to toe. Hold this position for 1 min 15 seconds, making sure your hips don’t drop. Switch sides.
3. Bicycle
Lie face up with your hands cupped behind your head. Tuck in your abs while raising your shoulder blades off the floor and knees to your chest. Alternate your legs and shoulders, rotating your left shoulder to your right knee and right shoulder to your left knee as you extend the other leg in the air. Repeat this motion in a controlled manner for 50 seconds.
4. Double Leg Drop
Start by lying on your back, with your legs extended overhead (straight above your hips) and your arms along the side of your body. Then, tigthen your core as you lower both legs as far as you can, making sure your lower back doesn’t lift up (if it does, stop and lift your legs up from there). Then, slowly lift your legs up again to the start position and repeat for 50 seconds.
5. Dead Bug
Start by lying on your back, with your hands extended directly above you (towards ceiling). Then, bring your feet, knees, and hips up to 90 degrees. Extend one leg out, straightening the knee and hip to bring the leg to hover just above the ground, while your opposite arms extends out. Make sure to keep your core engaged and back pressed to the floor. Then, return to starting position, and repeat on alternate sides for 50 seconds.
6. Crunches (Advanced)
Start by lying on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your legs crossed. Place your arms on the back on your head. As you crunch up, lift your upper back towards your knees, then lower. Repeat for 50 seconds.
Done! Hope you all enjoyed this ab workout. Peace out!
A Runner's Fuel 