Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968 in Rockport, Massachusetts) is an American Grammy Award-winning Singer/Songwriter. She had a few hits that made the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1990s, like the hit song “Where Have the Cowboys Gone”.
CORE TRAINING
First, I’d like to thank Beng Beng for having me as one of his guest bloggers. For this post I’d like to touch on one of the basics of training. I was introduced to weight training 17 years ago by my husband. I was very lucky to have him to show me the basics as that was the foundation I use to build my knowledge on. The world of fitness and nutrition are evolving all the time with techniques and information constantly being updated. So, even after all these years, I am still learning.
One of the basics is core training. Core is the underlying muscles that wrap around your torso from abs to back like a built in corset. They keep everything in and tight. Keep you upright and stable. When your core is weak, it puts stress on your lower back which can cause back pain. Postures and techniques are important to the core too. One thing to keep in mind when strength training is quality not quantity. Performing an exercise in proper form is more important than how many reps or how heavy you can go. It helps prevent injuries and putting unnecessary stress on your joints.
Core training has been getting a lot of attention lately due to I think the rising popularity of the sport of mix martial arts. There is quite a number of new equipment out in recent years, too. To train your core you don’t necessary need special equipment. Below are some exercises you can do almost anywhere. Pick any one to incorporate into your regular abs training. (We took these pics in our home gym. First time posing for an exercise. Hope to get better at it.)
The Plank
This is one of the most popular exercises. Start with holding this move for 10 seconds and work your way up to 1 minute. Make sure your hips do not sag or it will put stress on your lower spine. Keep your abs tight throughout. When it gets easy to do the 1 minute you can kick it up a notch by placing your feet on a bench. The higher the bench the harder it will be.
The move below is more advanced which involves using the Swiss ball.
Start by placing your feet on the ball and tighten your abs for stability. Keep your abs tight throughout the move. Slowly pull your feet toward your head. Hold for 1 second and slowly go back to the start position and here is the fun part, you get to repeat the whole thing over!
Happy Training!
After I wrote the post on my 4 day cycle fitness program, Mrs Flyfisher wrote in a comment. As some of you may be aware, Flyfisher is my good friend and regular guest blogger.
The following are her suggestions 
Hi this is Mrs. Flyfisher, there are some minor changes you can make to your program. First, do a 5 minutes cardio to warm up before your weight training. After that, finish with 30 minutes cardio.
As for diet, try eating 5 times a day - 3 meals and 2 snacks, keeping the meal under 450 calories and snack under 300. Up your lean protein intake to at least 80 grams a day. Lean means boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fish and no fried food.
Cut back on white rice. BTW, 1 egg white is about 6 gram of protein. You could try supplementing with protein bars and drinks/shakes, just make sure to read the label cuz you don’t want a lot of sugar in them.
Cut back on salt and sugar intake and drink a lot of water. Hope these suggestions help, and keep up the good work!
Mrs flyfisher, thank you very much for yr comment. After chatting with flyfisher for so long and him helping such a lot, i feel we r already friends. i have already applied some of yr points. i will blog abt it later
