Oh yes, I must do my core strength exercises. I’ll do them after I’ve eaten this sandwich. Ah, core strength time. I’ll do the plank and some crunches after EastEnders has finished. It that the time already? Oh, I’ll just do it for twice as long tomorrow. This is how it usually goes in my house.

Yesterday I was reminded of the importance of doing core strength work. Was it because I caught my reflection in a shop window as I ran past and thought “Wow, good posture. Good form. Nice upright position. Go me.”? No. No it wasn’t.

You see, it seems that the rest of the world has caught up with what runners have known for a long time. You’ve got to work your core muscles and there’s no better way to do this than with the plank. It’s even become a sport in itself: ‘Planking‘. It’s about doing the plank in random places.

I like to think this was started by someone, like myself, who had forgotten to do their core exercises. Instead of putting it off to the next day they just laid down wherever they were when they remembered and did it there and then. That’s dedication. Unfortunately somone died planking this week, so be careful where you do your core strength people. It’s important to have a strong core, but it’s not worth dying for.

So back to the story behind the picture. This is me, in the pub, last night. My plank was impressive. The form was great and I held it for quite a while. And that’s all because I’m a runner and runners are hardcore. So next time you’re in the middle of the supermarket and you remember that you haven’t done your core strength workout for the day, just lay down in the middle of the aisle like a toddler who isn’t being allowed the breakfast cereal they want, and do the plank right there. It’s totally acceptable these days. Like the guys having a quiet drink in the background, nobody will bat an eyelid.