The Knock-Out Punch

January 31, 2013 Kim 2 Comments

I have been enjoying my Combat work-outs so much that I decided to do some boxing for my 43 today. I used Hunter’s punching bag.

And, happiness – I wore my pink boxing gloves!!!

For the 43 I started with a right stance and, using my right arm did a jab, hook, uppercut series plus a left cross. (I feel like my punching technique has improved thanks to the hints I’ve gotten from the Les Mills crew.) Of course, I had to switch my stance after I got to 43 and do another set with a left jab, hook, uppercut, right cross. As a bonus, I did 43 alternating jabs to finish!

Boxing makes me feel powerful!!! I didn’t think I would like it as much as I do!

I also did a Les Mills Combat work-out – Combat 45. Great work-out – especially the jumping side kicks and the jumping knees!!!

While I was punching and kicking today, I was thinking about things I would use a knock-out punch on.

My first thought was this: But then I would have missed out on my work-out opportunity of the day and that would not have been cool!

Then I thought I would knock-out all of the daily aches and pains I experience thanks to getting older!!!

But even that is a totally selfish thought use of my knock-out punch!

What I would really, really like to use it on is Cancer. Cancer sucks!!! The last 1.5 – 2 years it seems like many people in my circle of friends, aquaintances, etc. have been hit hard. So, I would say –

And on that note, time to take on Thursday!! 4th graders today!!! (I won’t be doing any knock-out punches at school!!!)

Happy Thursday!

Kim

Fitness, Running, Thighs, Treadmill

Wednesday – Take 2

January 30, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

Another day, another 43!!! Today I used a stability ball and did leg circles. Don’t be fooled into thinking this was a fluff move – it was NOT!!!

I did 43 front circles and then 43 back circles with the same leg. My hip was dying!!!! After a quick stretch, I switched sides and repeated 2 sets of 43.

don't let the smile fool you - this hurt! — don’t let the smile fool you – this hurt!

I sort-of played around with my foot position and found that when I flexed my foot it really increased the burn in my hip/thigh – WooHoo!!!

After the 43 today I had to spend about 3 minutes stretching out my hips before I could move on to my work-out! Running day!!!! (Treadmill because it was 5:30am, dark, cold and snowy!)

I did 9 miles in 58:50 at a 1.5% incline. Then I did 2 more miles at an easy pace to cool down. The running is feeling good – my hip feels pretty good. My left achilles is very sore but I have had problems with it for years and starting back into hard running again I sort of except it to hurt. Lots of stretching!!!

Monday it was 75 degrees and sunny and gorgeous. Today it is 20 something, dreary and looks like this Crazy how different the weather can be in such a short amount of time!!!

I guess I was a day ahead of myself yesterday morning when I wrote my blog – I ended with “Happy Wednesday!” Oops – I don’t know why I felt the need to skip Tuesday – usually a pretty good day – oh, well. Today will be a do-over Wednesday!!!

I know that we aren’t the healthiest eaters around – we do pretty good but we also like pasta, lots of meat, bread, probably don’t always get enough veggies. But fruit…..I like to have it daily:

OK – that might be a tad extreme since I actually still eat (meat and carbs!!!) but it made me laugh!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Squats

Smile – It’s Worth It!!!

January 29, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

:Happy-Grin: :Happy: :Overjoy: :Happy-Grin: :Happy: :Overjoy:

My 43 today was great for getting my heart rate up in a very short amount of time!!! I did a squat- jump to a side kick – jump to squat. It went quickly but it was still effective. In fact, since this was one of those 43s that I had to do 2x (43 on each leg) – I actually stopped for about 20-30 seconds in between legs to catch my breath!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDDrFS1nu5U’]

I don’t know why it is so dark but you get the point!!! Hunter said we should try it again but in the second demo he cut off my head and parts of my feet so we just used the dark copy. Since I did 5 on each side for 2 demos I guess I did 53 reps/side today!!!

I did another Les Mills Combat work-out: Power HIIT – 30 minutes of hard-core intensity!!! Then I forced myself to do the Core Attack work-out. 20 minutes of ~~torture~~ core work. I hope it helps!!!

The rest of this week is going to be BUSY – 3 days of subbing, library volunteering, school newsletter to start, finish, copy and distribute, tutoring……..I should have gotten up earlier today! Oh well – 5 am will be showing it’s ugly head the next 3 days!!!

This is something I try to remember – especially when I start to feel overwhelmed! Find the little things to smile about. Things like:

New Yellow Box flip flops on clearance for only $12 and a warm day in January to enjoy them (yesterday!).Or, an 8th grade band concert where the kids let loose and acted like kids during the Dinosaur song:

You can barely see Jordan but you can see his smile – FUN!!!! I tried to get other pictures at the concert last night but we always seem to sit in the spot where we can’t see Jordan at all.

(walking out – so tall!)

Remember: And when all else fails, I picture myself right back here where I can’t help but smile!

What all are you smiling about today??

Happy Wednesday!

Kim :Happy-Grin:

Chicken, Recipes, Vegetables

Braised Chicken with Peppers, Olives & Capers

January 28, 2013 Kim

(adapted from Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh + Fast)

8 chicken thighs (you could use breasts but I wanted something different)
salt & pepper
1 T olive oil
fresh rosemary
red bell pepper, sliced
green bell pepper, sliced
onion, halved then sliced
Pancetta, chopped (first time I have ever used Pancetta)
1 can diced tomatoes
white wine – about 1 c
black olives
capers, 2 T

In a dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Salt & pepper the chicken and put it in the pot. Cook until brown – about 10-15 min. (My pan was full and I had to keep moving the chicken around – you could, and probably should, do this in batches.) Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl.

Add the peppers, onion and pancetta to dutch oven. Saute until veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, with the juice, wine, olives and capers. Bring to a boil.

Return the chicken to the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer – about 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer until meat is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 more minutes.

Serve! We had ours with baked cauliflower (recipe below picture).

Crispy Baked Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, chopped
4-6 T flour
garlic powder
paprika
2 c cornflakes, crushed
1 egg

Steam cauliflower until crisp-tender; drain.

Mix flour, garlic powder and paprika in a bowl. Stir steamed cauliflower into flour mixture. Lightly beat egg then stir into mixture.

Grease a baking sheet and spread the mixture out. Cover with crushed cornflakes.

Bake at 425 degrees 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

The cauliflower was great with the sauce from the chicken! The meal was a success!

Fitness, Push-Ups, Running

Shorts in January = Happy, Happy, Happy!!!

January 28, 2013 Kim 19 Comments

Today’s 43 was HARD!! It was a push-up using 4 medicine balls.

(Mine aren’t all the same size but it works out OK!) I have 2 – 8 pound balls that are the same size, 1 – 9 pound ball and another 8 pound ball with handles.

The first challenge with this move is trying to balance yourself on the 4 balls – each hand and foot gets a ball! Then – do the push-up!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcGnoJl6DPM’]

I managed to get through all 43 but I had to stop and stretch about 5 times! Of course, each stretch break meant I had to rebalance myself! Fun!! (BTW – I got this move from P90X2.)

After the push-up fun, I did Les Mills Combat Combat 60 – Ultimate Fighter. I love how hard I feel like I’ve worked when this one is done! I was going to try one of my new Zuzka (from Body Rock) DVDs – I did about 10 minutes and then decided that it was crazy not to take advantage of the warmer weather and go out for a run.

Shorts – I ran in shorts!!!! January 28 in Kansas and I ran in shorts!!! I can’t even begin to describe how happy that makes me! (It is supposed to get to 70 today but even the 50 that I just ran in was AWESOME!!!)

I only did an easy 2.1 miles (8:00 min/pace). It wasn’t really about running hard – just enjoying the gorgeous day!

I saw this ecard and thought it was funny (with some truth even though I don’t actually count calories)!!! I’m pretty sure if I have saw how many burpees it would take to burn off some of favorite things I might quit having them – Nah, I would probably just quit reading the label!!!