I Tried My Firefighter Boyfriend's 3-Minute Plank Series, and It Made My Core Quake

When my boyfriend was accepted into fire academy, I knew it would entail a lot of physical work (think: carrying ladders and hoses, using bricks as weights, etc.). However, many of the conditioning portions of his training involve bodyweight moves that I personally wanted to try myself — you're talking to someone who used to challenge boys to push-up competitions in college, so you can say I'm a little competitive when it comes to proving my strength. (OK, a lot competitive.)

The plank series he does is difficult for sure — it's three minutes of different plank variations that ask your core to kick into overdrive — yet the moves are simple and there are only four of them. I've tried this as a core burnout tacked onto the end of my at-home sweat sessions, and I've also done it as a stand-alone workout when I have a break in my day. Fact: I am a huge fan of quick but effective training, and three minutes is really all you need in a plank to feel your deep core muscles working.

In this series, you're slowly taking away your points of contact on the floor to recruit your core muscles even more, and it requires a good amount of focus to stay balanced. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions for how to do each exercise. My boyfriend wanted me to note, too, that he would add side planks as well — he's an overachiever!