Category Archives: Push-Ups

Balance Is Key (6/8-6/14)

This week my daily 44s were all about working on balance.  I used my wobble balls for each move – 

wobble balls
wobble balls

Sunday 6/8  44 leg abductions while standing on wobble ball.

ready
ready
left and squeeze
left and squeeze

You can see that I stood on the flat side for this move.  And, after I did 44 abductions with my left leg I had to switch and do another set!!

2nd side
2nd side
lift
lift

I promise I really was standing on the wobble ball – sometimes the pictures don’t come out exactly like I want them to!!!

Monday 6/9  44 decline push-ups with my toes on a step and my hands on wobble balls.

ready
ready
down
down

Not gonna lie – this move was HARD!!!!

I’ve been lifting fairly consistently again with Chalean Extreme – this day was Burn Circuit 3.  I also did a workout that I don’t do very often – ReeBok Cardio Tone.  Pretty much this was my version of a recovery day!!!

Tuesday 6/10  44 squat pulses on stacked wobble balls (to make an actual ball) – 

probably not super safe but.....
probably not super safe but…..

Just balancing on the stacked wobble balls was entertaining!!!

ready - maybe
ready – maybe
OK - now
OK – now
still shaking
still shaking
down
down – finally

This move was a challenge!!!  Once I actually got down into the squat position, I actually got about 16 pulses the first time and then 20 something the next time before falling off.  Obviously, it took several attempts to get all 44.

And, it was a run day!!! 
10 miles in 68:11 + 1.1 easy miles

Wednesday 6/11  44 side plank hip dips with elbow on wobble ball.

ready
ready
down
down

This move was hard – just holding plank while balancing on the wobble ball was a challenge!!!  After I finally finished the first set I flipped over and had more fun!

ready to go
ready to go
dip
dip

Back to the weights – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1.  Then I did one of my favorite workouts ever – Les Mills Pump – Combat!!!

Thursday 6/12  44 band bicep curls with wobble balls on band.

set-up
set-up (I look scared!!!)
curl
curl

Adding the wobble balls made this move so much harder – it was a fun challenge!!!

I pulled out another DVD that I rarely do – Mari Winsor Pilates from Shape.  It is a nice recovery type workout.

Friday 6/13  44 lunges on wobble balls.  

another one that was hard to get into position for
another one that was hard to get set-up
down
down

This was hard to balance initially but once I got the position it was good.  By the time I finished 44 my quads were burning!!  The added balance challenge made it a lot different than a standard lunge.  And, of course, I don’t want to be unbalanced so I switched sides and did another set of 44.

ready to go again
ready to go again
down
down

And, it was another running day.  
10 miles in 79:18 (nice and relaxed today) + 3.1 really easy miles

Saturday 6/14  44 jump squats onto wobble balls.

This actually was a really fun way to do jump squats – the added balance challenge  was great!!!

And, I wanted to get  3 days of lifting so it was another day of Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2.

Lately I’ve been happy with my workouts – I’m trying to keep a mix of running, lifting and other workouts.  In the next few weeks I will probably start to increase my running again – I have a couple of running events coming up and want to be ready.

How often do you work on your balance?

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Furniture as Fitness Equipment (5/25-5/31)

This week I decided to take a basic piece of furniture and use it for all of my daily 44s.  I used one of the little footstools in our basement – 

great piece of fitness equipment!
great piece of fitness equipment!

Sunday 5/25  44 elevated plank with extended arm and opposite arm row.

ready
ready
row
row

Can you tell that my arm is in front of me?  Positioning my arm like that instead of under my shoulder made this move HARD!!!!  And, I had to do a set of 44 with my right arm!

ready
ready
row
row

I think I need to do more planks with my arm out in front – I felt that for days!!!

Monday 5/26  44 triceps dips with hands on my step and feet on the foot stool (so they were higher than my hands).  This move is similar to one that Josie (Yum Yucky) showed recently – advanced tricep dips!!!

ready
ready
down
down

Total burn during this move!!!

I did a fun workout – Prevention 3-2-1.  I like this workout because the format makes the time fly by.  You do 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of strength work and 1 minute of core for 6 segments!!!

Tuesday 5/27  44 split leg dead lift with one foot on the foot stool.

ready
ready
down
down

After finishing one set and having a hip on fire, I had to do 44 on the other side!

ready for side 2
ready for side 2
down
down

I love dead lifts and this was a fun way to do them – the key is make sure that most of your weight is on the leg/foot on the ground!!!  (12 pound dumbbells)

I started back on one of my favorite weight lifting programs – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1.  (for the record I’m still sore today!!!)

And, after that, it was time for Hunter’s final long run – his best one ever!!!  We continued with our 5 minutes of running/1 minute of walking because he likes that and wants to do that for the half – 10.65 miles in 1:41.26 (average pace 9:31).  

Wednesday 5/28  44 single arm bent over row with one foot on the foot stool and a wobble ball under the foot on the ground.  (12 pounds)

ready
ready
row
row

This week had lots of days that had 2 sets of 44 – always fun!!!

side 2
side 2
row
row

For some reason, I spent all of Tuesday night with a stomach ache so when I got up Wednesday I decided to do something fairly simple – I just walked 8.25 miles with an 11% incline.  (It took just over 2 hours!)

Thursday 5/29  44  hip lifts with feet on the foot stool (toes up).

ready
ready
up and squeeze
up and squeeze

Another day of weight lifting – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2.  

Friday 5/30  44 push-ups with feet pressed against the side (at the top) of the foot stool.

start position
start position
down
down

And, for the record, Chris took a bit to take the 2nd  picture – pretty sure I said “Holy Hell, take the picture already!!”  This move was HARD!!!!

It was a running day again – 9 miles in 67:47 with 1.5% incline + 2.5 miles easy!!!!

Saturday 5/31  44 box jumps using the foot stool – fun times!!!

And, yesterday when I was reading blogs, Taylor @ Lifting Revolution  had this great Weekend Warrior Workout as well as a statement that I took as a challenge – she said to set a timer for 30-40 minutes for the workout but that “we weren’t going to finish and that’s the point.”  Of course, that meant I had to try it!!!

The workout includes:
     1 mile run
     500 jumping jacks
     400 squats
     300 leg raises
     200 push-ups
     100 burpees (either dead man or with push-up)

The moves can be broken up any way you want to but the plan is to keep moving for the entire time and see how much you can get done.  

Total time – 48:40 broken down to 41:35 for the moves + 7:05 for the mile.  I did all the push-ups on my toes and deadman burpees for all of them.

Pretty sure that I will be moving slowly the rest of the weekend after that workout!!!

Do you ever use furniture for your workouts?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

BOSU Fun (4/13 – 4/19)

This week the daily 44s were all about my favorite piece of equipment – 

BOSU
BOSU

Sunday 4/13 – 44 curtsy lunge on upside down BOSU.

ready
ready
down
down

After 44 on my right leg, I had to switch feet and do another set!!

2nd side
2nd side
down
down

The pictures were actually after Hunter and I did his first 60 minute run!!!  We ended up doing 61 minutes so we could do an even 6 miles!!!  For the run we did a 5 minute run/1 minute walk cycle and he did great!!!

Monday 4/14 – 44 tricep dips on upside down BOSU.

ready
ready
down
down

By the 25th rep my arms were shaking – 44 of this move was no joke!!!

And, I decided to run a marathon!!  Actually, I wanted to get in a long run of 2-3 hours.  When I got close to 3 hours I thought I would keep going to 25 miles and then I decided to just go to 26.2!!!

26.2 miles – 3:40.57   + 0.8 easy miles

Tuesday 4/15 – 44 push-ups with one arm on the BOSU.

left arm
left arm
down
down

And, of course, I had to do 44 more with my right arm on the BOSU.

ready
ready
down
down

(I know I have on the same clothes from Monday’s pictures – Chris took the pictures on Monday morning before he left to go out of town for a few days!!)

I only did 22-24 on each side on my toes and the rest were on my knees.

I wanted to do an easier workout since my legs were tired from Monday so I did Poise-Core Training.  It was a lot like pilates and a nice 45 minute workout!!

After school, I ran with the boys – 30 minutes (we did 3.25 miles) and then walked 0.25 miles.  The first couple minutes were rough and I almost stopped but by the end I was happy I had gone with them.

Wednesday 4/16 – 44 side leg abduction on BOSU.

ready
ready
lift
lift

This was another one of those moves that I had to do one set of 44 and then switch sides to do another set!

side #2
side #2
lift and hold
lift and hold

I tried to hold each lift for a couple seconds and then control my leg on the way down – my base leg was shaky!!!

And, since the week was already about the BOSU, I did a couple of BOSU DVDs –  BOSU Balance Trainer and BOSU Reactive Strength & Power.  Both of these workouts had a mix of cardio, strength moves and some core work!!

Thursday 4/17 – 44 crunches on BOSU.

in position
in position

The start position was nice because it was a good back stretch!!

crunch
crunch

It wasn’t a big crunch (otherwise I would have rolled off!) but it was very effective!

And, I ran again!!  8 miles (63:03) + 0.5 easy miles.

Friday 4/18  – 44 BOSU butt bridges.

down (butt slightly off ground even in this position)
down (butt slightly off ground even in this position)
squeeze and lift
squeeze and lift

I liked this move – I don’t think I work my hamstrings as much as I should but this move definitely did the trick!

I did a fun DVD – Cross Training for Fitness.  It is a lot of kickboxing with some great core work thrown in.

Hunter and I also ran.  It was a 35 minute run but we ended up coin 36:51 so we could finish our 4th mile.  Hunter is doing a great job with his training – so far he is still enjoying it and I love the time we spend running together!!!

Saturday 4/19 – 44 squats with a twist (holding a medicine ball) on upside down BOSU.

ready
ready
down
down
side view
side view

I did all 44 to the right side and then switched and did 44 more.

twist to the left
twist to the left

You can look back at the week and see that I did several moves with the BOSU upside down.  If you have never tried using the BOSU this way, you should!!  The balance challenge is incredible!!!

There are so many ways to use a BOSU – I think I will have to pick another week soon to focus on it again!!!

Weekly mileage 47.45 + 1.55 easy miles for a total of 49 miles.

Happy Saturday!!!  Have a great Easter weekend!

Kim      

Burpees, Burpees, Burpees 3/23-3/29

I usually mix up my 44s from one day to the next but this week I decided to make it all about the burpee!!  (I don’t know what I was thinking!!!)

Sunday 3/23 – 44 side burpees.  First off, this one was actually 88 total burpees – crazy!!!  Instead of jumping back, I jumped out to the side – push-up – jumped back in then repeated to the other side and counted that as 1 rep.

You can tell in the video that the side push-up is just a bit different – my hands are more staggered and I sort of went down to one side each time.  This was NOT easy!!!  It took me around 10 minutes to finish all my reps because I had to have some breaks!!!

Monday 3/24 – 44 dead man burpees.  This one is sort of fun but my chest was sore for days after this.  When you go back, lay down on the ground and extend your arms to the sides – then push up from the ground.

This might have been my favorite move from the week.

I ran today – the plan was to get in at least one 20 mile run but that didn’t happen because my right calf has been giving me problems.  Instead I ran 4 miles and walked another 4.3.

Tuesday 3/25 – 44 sumo burpees.  Probably the “easiest” style of burpees I did all week.  I think being in the sumo position and doing wide push-ups is a little easier!

For the #HappyFitMarch challenge today we were supposed to set a new PR for wall sit.  I decided to make the wall sit extra “fun” and put wobble balls under my feet – 4:01.

Screen Shot 2014-03-29 at 7.33.11 AMI did a DVD that I haven’t in awhile – TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Abs.  This is about 45 minutes of cardio and it is geared to working your core.  You use the “amplifier” – 

Tae Bo amplifier
Tae Bo amplifier

Using this stick adds all kinds of intensity!

Wednesday 3/2644 decline burpees.  These were HARD!!!!  They might have been my least favorite from the week.  Jumping my feet backwards onto the step was a little scary!!

The push-ups were not easy!

I did my Mash-Up Conditioning DVD that I won from Kim @ BusyBod and did 4 more of the Tempos (3, 4, 5 and 6).  I have done all but Tempo 7 now.  I like the format of the workout and I will like it more each time through.  The first time was a bit of a challenge because you lose a little time trying to figure out what the move is supposed to be.

Thursday 3/27 – 44 medicine ball burpees.  These were the only burpees all week that I took the push-up out!  I did one push-up with my hands on the medicine ball and about busted my face!!!

So, technically, I guess these aren’t true burpees but I’m counting them for this week!!!

I did one of my favorite workouts – Turbo Fire – Fire 60 and Abs 10.  Both of these are great workouts and I always have fun with Chalean and the rest of the Turbo Fire crew.

I also decided to try a run and see how my calf was doing.  I ended up running 10 miles at a nice easy pace (8:30) and then did 1.2 miles cool down.  Thankfully running slower didn’t really aggravate my calf!!!

Friday 3/28 – 44 side plank burpees.  Jump back – side plank – push-up – side plank other side – push-up – jump in and jump up – repeat.

These were nice because they had to be a little slower than a standard burpee in order to get the most out of the side planks.  But, I had to do 88 push-ups to complete all 44 reps!!!

My workout was nice and easy – 2 Pilates DVDs – Fat Burning Pilates and Burn & Firm Pilates.  I don’t do Pilates often but it really is a nice change of pace!

Saturday 3/29 – 44 BOSU squat jump burpees.  For my 7th day of burpees I wanted to do a good one.  I came up with a fun move using my favorite piece of equipment (besides my treadmill, of course) – 

BOSU
BOSU

The move was to jump off the BOSU – jump back and do a push-up with hands on the BOSU (this was a challenge for me since it was more of a tricep push-up) – jump in – jump onto BOSU – do a squat jump and stick it – repeat!

Fun times!!!!  

And, I ran today because we were supposed to do a mile for #HappyFitMarch and compare it to the previous Saturdays.  I did a total of 5 miles – 

Screen Shot 2014-03-29 at 7.48.29 AMMy final mile was 6:12 which isn’t my fastest but I didn’t want to push too hard today because speeding up I could feel my calf pulling again.

Overall, even with my calf not cooperating, it was a great week.  Lots of burpees  – 7 days, 7 different kinds – 352 total burpees!!!!

And, I’m almost to my March goal of 150 miles!!!  2 more days should definitely put me over!!!

What’s your favorite way to burpee?

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

 

 

Jumbled Thoughts and a Bit of Stress

Today I combined the daily challenge for #happyfitmarch with my 44.  The challenge today was to see how many burpees we could do in 2 minutes.  I added in my BOSU to make the burpees more “fun.”

I got 25 in 2 minutes and then kept going until I finished all 44.  These were hard – a push-up on the BOSU and then a jump while lifting the BOSU overhead!!!

I ran again today – if my Achilles will hold up, I’m going to try and get 5 days in a row!!!  Today was 1.5% incline – 8 miles in 61:24 and then 0.8 miles nice and easy!!

I have so many things floating around in my head that I want to write about but I don’t even know how to put them all down.  Just a few random thoughts:

*  I’m happy that we had a nice 70+ degree day yesterday!!  Almost beach season!!!

my favorite
my favorite

*  Tonight we are “hosting” an event but the person in charge hasn’t even contacted me in weeks.  I’m a bit stressed about set-up times and what she is planning since she is emailing all of the vendors that will be coming, yet she hasn’t touched base with me.  

*  Jordan leaves on a band trip in 2 days.  I’m trying not to have a melt-down about it but it is hard to send my 15 year old across the country with 200+ kids.

*  I’m struggling to fit in the time I really want to spend blogging and all the other things that are going on.  It is hard for me to mark tons of blogs in my BlogLovin as read at the end of the day because I simply can’t get to all of them.

Screen Shot 2014-03-11 at 7.08.55 AM

 

*  I guess the underlying theme here is STRESS!!!  Gotta work on letting that go a bit!!!

Thankfully next week is spring break and after Jordan gets home from his trip we have a fairly low key week planned!!!

What is causing you stress these days?

Happy Tuesday!

Kim