Friday we had a substitute core instructor. I was glad for that. The woman who taught it the first 18+ months I took it was awesome. An in-your-face trainer with a runner’s tight bod who seemed like she could do anything. When she got a full time athletic coach job with a school, we got a new trainer who is a bit more bubbly and built like a hip-hop dancer, but she almost always does the exercises along with us, rather than walking around giving tips and correcting people. I’ve hurt my neck twice in her class and never the 18 months before her.

Friday she was out and we had a sub, Gemma. Gemma gave lots of tips, made corrections, and was humorous and upbeat. I wish she taught this class all the time! She spoke from experience and research. She was also good at breaking the same exercise down into different levels of fitness and was happy when we chose the level we were comfortable with. Her class was a challenge, but I left with a smile.

Some of the exercises we did:

Oblique crunches off to one knee, but with a new form. Lay back with knees bent in a crunch position. Place your left arm on the ground 45 degrees out from your body. Use your right hand to support your head. Crunch your right shoulder toward your left knee. Repeat-repeat-repeat Switch sides.

Dolphin plank: get in a typical plank position with elbows bent and on your toes. Shift your weight forward and back, but keep your butt level – don’t let it pop up. Basically you rock back and forth on your toes so your head is directly above your hands, and then out past your hands, and back.

The next level was plank with a leg lift. Get into your plank position. Lift your right leg straight up to slightly above hip height without arching your back. Lower your right leg and lift your left leg. Your abs will have to work harder to hold you while you’re on one leg and to keep your pelvis tucked while your leg is lifting up.

Then plank with a side “kick”. And one more level up was to lift your right leg up above hip height, and then swing it out to the side as far as possible, then back. Alternate sides.

We also did bicycle crunches, but she told us to try to get our elbow to touch our knee and (as I’ve always known) the lower your legs are to the floor, the harder they are. Remember when you do bicycle crunches you don’t want to look like a dying beetle kicking it’s legs up in the air. Imagine you have roller blades on and your back wheel has to stay on the ground. That will help you keep your legs low. Then imagine you’re roller blading through peanut butter. That will help with intensity.

She also taught us a new lower ab blaster. But it didn’t work for me. Stand up and do a pelvic tilt or two. Don’t clench your butt, just tilt your pelvis. Notice how that all goes on below your belly button. Now lie on your back, put your legs in the air, and cross your ankles with your knees bent. Do a pelvic tilt. Think of all the exercises you do and make this one 250% smaller. Just an itty bitty tilt – your legs, feet and butt shouldn’t move. She said when she learned to do this right it totally transformed her abs by getting rid of her pooch. I didn’t feel it, which may mean I was doing it wrong, but considering she came over and helped me get the positioning just right I think it’s because my back and pelvis are always in the wrong place when I lie on the ground due to my low back scoliosis. I have an S shaped curve in my spine that starts down near my waist. BUT I was showing Brian how to do it, and he had his shirt off, and you can see everything under his skin when he does a crunch, and it was the middle of his 6 pack that was twitching around – he didn’t feel it down low either.

I think it’s safe to remove some crunches and planks from my goal after this class!

Friday night we saw a movie at a friend’s house with a bunch of little girls running around and a new lab puppy. While there we talked about our goals for 2010. Alice wants to run 9 miles this year, Wendy want to be a green belt in karate by May, I want to learn to make my own sushi.

Saturday we went to temple for DD1′s friend’s bat mitzvah. At the luncheon they had pretty disposable plates made from bamboo from a comapny called bambu. And really great chocolate raspberry cookies. Then we visited a new family from France with a 6th grader in my 6th grader’s class. We were sitting on their back patio watching dolphins swim by. I feel bad for you people in 17 inches of snow! I dropped Wendy off at a sleepover – but the friend’s parents were hosting an event where Michael Israel was painting/performing, so she had to bring a formal dress and I had to avoid the valet guys being trained when pulling up to their house. (If you’ve never heard of Michael Israel, check out the video on the right side of his home page. He has these huge canvases that spin around and he slops on the paint so fast – and still makes masterpieces.) I got Alice ready for her friend’s luau themed Bat Mitzvah party (hair, makeup, etc), and she got picked up. So Brian and I had some adult time until midnight. There was chocolate ice cream and vanilla rum involved.

Today we’re playing capture the flag at the park (or perhaps kickball) with girlfriends, and then a pre-superbowl snackfest / boche ball in a friend’s yard. And possibly taking Wendy to get her glasses fixed. Sunday night I will avoid football as much as possible because it bores the heck out of me! Sorry superbowl fans, to each their own!

2010 goal update: 3404 crunches, 80 minutes of plank remaining.