B
A
B
A
B
A
TRACK
YOUR
TIME
15MIN
ADVANCED
17.5MIN
STRONG
20MIN
AVERAGE
THE DEVOUT
DATA GEEK
Those grisly cardio
sessions may look good on
your Fitbit and Myzone
monitors, but by neglecting
core strength work, even
the leanest of men will
struggle to see their abs
HARD-COR
CARDI
Dedicating a full session
to planks and crunches
is joyless – especially
if you think a workout
isn’t worth doing unless
you can share it on social.
That’s why PT Ollie
Marchon created
a heart-hammering
workout with a stealthy
six-pack element. Blast
through 1km on a watt
bike, then five rounds
of these abs moves.
In between rounds,
“push” a sled for
20 seconds. Finish with
another 1km bike sprint.
Grit your teeth.
COR
METRIC
Hitting your six-pack
PB is hard without a
way to track your
progress. Use this
chart to keep tabs
1 / DICINE ME
BALL TWIST
20 REPS
Hold the ball (or a
dumbbell) in front of you
with your feet lifted, back
straight and belly tucked
(A), then twist from
side to side (B). Try to
keep your feet up until
you’re done.
2 / TTERFLY BU
SIT-UP
20 REPS
Crunch up from the floor
with the soles of your feet
together, knees flared to
the sides (A). Return to the
floor for the next rep (B).
This position will help your
abs contract more fully, as
well as open up your hips.
3 / VERSE RE
CRUNCH
20 REPS
Lie flat with your hands
under your head (A).
Contract your abs to pull
your knees to your chest,
lifting your glutes o the
floor (B). Now, go
straight into those
sled pushes.
Week 1
Bodyweight
(BW) plank
Week 5
15kg plank
+ BW plank
Week 2
5kg
weighted plank
Week 6
15kg plank
+ 5kg plank
Week 3
10kg
plank
Week 7
15kg plank
+ 10kg plank
Week 4
15kg
plank
Week 8
BW plank
re-test
Hold to failure in
every attempt,
and rest for 60
seconds between
sets in the weeks
when you perform
two. Note your
progress between
weeks 1 and 8
// THE PLANK CHALLENGE
November 2018 69
MUSCLE