Sue doing the 100!
Sue has been taking Pilates in Glastonbury for over 6 years. While some people groan when it’s time for planks, Sue’s personal nemesis is the roll up. Her goal is to one day do it without using a flex band.
With that in mind, when her instructor Maggie mentioned an abdominal challenge in class, Sue was interested to see if it could help her build core strength for the roll up. She thought to herself “this is probably a challenge I should take on.”
The challenge was 100 days of the 100, where participants were asked to do the Pilates exercise the 100, one hundred days in a row. The 100 is an exercise that you’ll find in almost any Pilates class. It consists of lying with your back on the mat, upper body curled up, legs in the air (usually) and completing 100 arm beats while holding the position. It typically comes early in class and gets the entire body warmed up by getting you in tune with your breath and your blood pumping. To read more about why we do this challenge check out our blog post here. The 100 is an abdominal endurance challenge.
Here’s one example of a challenging 100:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIbHbl_5JFs
Sue with her 100 calendar!
Having heard about the challenge, Sue thought to herself, I already come to class Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, so there are only 4 other days of the week that I need to make sure I do the 100. She found a calendar to use specifically to check off her 100s, and she was ready for the challenge. When Sue opened her calendar on March 12th to check off her first day, the quote for the month of March read “Accept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory“. It was kismet.
Sue didn’t miss a single day. Most mornings she woke up, walked downstairs in her pajamas, and did it immediately (though she admits to sometimes making coffee first). Once in a while she didn’t have time in the morning, but she would see her calendar sitting on the living room table and remember to do it before going to bed. Even when she went on vacation in April, she brought her calendar with her and checked off each day. She did the 100 in her hotel, on her grandkids bedroom floor, wherever she needed to.
Doing the 100 every day helped Sue develop a habit. She admits that she’s always been someone who liked structure so committing to the 100 every day and checking it off on her calendar provided the structure she needed to be successful. She points out “how long does it take you to count to 100? Less than a minute”. It doesn’t take much time, but consistently doing it can make a big difference
With a weak remaining in the challenge, Sue says she feels better and healthier. In fact, the roll up has become easier. Not easy mind you, but easier, and Sue is feeling stronger. In fact, she’s going to keep doing her 100s, even once the challenge ends! Here at Personal Euphoria, we want you all to find your 100. Find that exercise that you can challenge yourself to do every day and use it as a stepping stone to take on your big challenge, whether it be the roll up, planks, or another move you have your eye on.
Do you have a specific exercise you’re working on? Or a challenge you’d like to see? We’d love to hear about it! Send us your story by writing to us on facebook or emailing us at [email protected]
Thanks to PE Instructor Jess for writing today’s blog post. And thank you, Sue for letting us highlight your awesome 100 experience!
Want yet another version of the 100? Try this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNlgGAxSHXU
