Learning challenge s23w4: "I Love My Body /plank shoulder tap and Burpee".

When I remember planking as shown above, I remember my secondary school days when names of noise makers would be called out and flogged on their butt. My chemistry teacher would say; Plank on the floor. When you do so, you'll feel a sharp pain on your butt, the feeling of a cane on your butt. If it's painful, you'll turn to your front side to scratch the pain away while delaying the flogging.

I remember this when I did the plank because I wasn't a type of person who loved to be flogged on my butt. I'll beg the teacher to flog me at my back or hands but no, butt is always painful for me. I'm not talking about butt here but is recapping an experience as Plank shoulder tap and Burpees require you to position as if you'll be flogged.

Moving on. We have two exercises for this week to complete. Last week was really a tough one for me though but with consistency and determination, I was able to push through and complete the programs. This week's programs focuses on the shoulders and arms. These are the two body parts which this program works on. The two programs we're given this week are;

• Plank shoulder Tap
• Burpees

This program aims at improving the shoulder and arms muscles because it involves the upper limbs positioned in a way that needs endurance to finish. How did I do it? I was so conscious of my plank position that I wasn't too flat or too curved upwards. I placed my hands on the ground and then made sure it was placed underneath my chest and not stretched out as if one is stretching.

I then ensured my hips and butt aligned with my shoulders without going up too much or going down. The main aim was plank. Since my hands are a bit longer, I ensured, my butt and back side aligns. I then spread my legs to attain balance because balance is the key to doing this program to the finish.

If I were to fold my legs, as I'm tapping my shoulders, I'll be very unstable with the movements and may fall to the other side of care isn't taken. I tapped my shoulders 30x for three sets with 10 seconds rest on each intervals. It wasn't that easy doing this program because;

• It requires energy to balance on the floor
• it requires endurance to complete 90 taps with intervals of rest

I made use of gloves to protect my palms from rough surfaces or from stones which may hinder the holding of my hands for long. This protected my palms and made me pass the endurance test of planking. It's one thing to plank and another thing to move your body while planking. These are two positioning that can make you feel pain but was conquered by positioning well to avoid feeling too much pain.

This positioning is for the camera, lol. You know if you overdo an exercise or you don't position well, you may experience sprain or much pain. So all those factors were taken into consideration. My

Burpee exercise is the second exercise that I did and in this exercise, I did the following to attain balance and avoid spinning of my head as the case may be. This exercise involves planking and jumping at the same time. If you're not conscious or focus, you may miss your steps. This program helps in building and strengthening one's shoulder and arm muscles and also helps in cardiac. How? When you're done with this program, you'll feel your breathing rate increases as if you ran miles.

I used gloves to avoid pouncing on rough surfaces as it may affect my movements. I thank God it was just 5 repetitions because I literally felt a sharp pain when lowering my hands to the ground. This requires endurance and strength to push back and jump with agility instead of feebly. I made sure my legs moved together and my arms moved together as well instead of one at a time. This is to avoid **missing your balance and probably break your ankle or have muscle pull.

For this particular burpee exercise, I did it 5 times in three sets and with determination even when it couldn't feel my breathe again, I was able to complete the program.

How did I feel? At least this particular program isn't as easy program where I felt a good pain for the whole week.