February's Quest

Here we are -  a nice, new month.  Our challenge this month is based on the website twohundredsitups.com, a 6-week program that, if followed, will enable you to do 200 situps upon completion.  Well, as you know, we only have 4 weeks, so instead of trying to do 200, we are just going to see how many I can crank out.  You know me, go for the bronze.

Let me start by saying that I possess absolutely no abdominal muscles.  I think I may even have some sort of birth defect.  And after 4 kids...please.  My point being, we are starting from ground zero here.

So - we start with an "initial test."  According to Mr. Website, we are doing what I would call "crunches", only coming up partway, as opposed to old-school situps, where someone you don't like in PE class has to hold your feet and you have to sit up until your elbows touch your knees.  Gee, you're breaking my heart, how I wanted to relive those wonderful days.  Anyhow, we are supposed to get down on the floor and do as many crunches as we can do.  This will determine our "bracket" so we know how many to do over the course of our little project.  We then follow the chart on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the next 4 weeks; upon completion of which, we will look like Jillian Michaels and be happy campers indeed.

I had planned on doing this earlier this evening, but decided instead to watch Clean House and eat some rice pudding.  I think it's important to 'ease into' any form of exercise so as not to injure yourself.

Then the Point of No More Avoidance arrived.  Fortunately, we are counting situps and not being timed.  If we were, I would have immediately flunked, because it took me quite a while just to get down on the floor. I had forgotten how hard the floor is; not nearly as comfy as my leather chair.  I also didn't have very high hopes, as the website told me most people can barely do 10.  Since there's no column on the chart for "can't get down on the floor", I kept going to see what would happen.

So, one situp was easy.  And upon completion of number three, every vertebrae in my spine crunched in unison, which was not altogether unpleasant, albeit rather loud. 

Around number ten, it occurred to me I wasn't actually leaving the floor that much.

I actually "did" twenty - but I think the last 3 were, well, crap.  So I'm going to go with 17.  If you've looked over the chart, you'll see that this puts me in the "poor" column. 

Excuse me?  Did you just make a snorting sound?  Well, plop your ham hocks down on YOUR floor and see how many YOU can do!!!

Our baseline is established.  I'm expressly forbidden from doing another situp until Thursday. 

Our tally:

Today:  17
Month to Date:  17