Category Archives: Triceps

Biceps, Core, Fitness, Running, Shoulders, Treadmill, Triceps

It’s All About the Weights, Running, Moving

April 5, 2014 Kim 55 Comments

So the title is my poor attempt at a catchy song – but I think I’ve always said it wrong!! I thought it was supposed to be, “It’s all about the money, money, money.” Ummm….maybe it’s supposed to be “It’s NOT about the money, money, money.”

Oh, well – this week has been all about weights and running!!!

Sunday 3/30 – 44 stacked leg oblique crunches with dumbbell (15 pound)

start - right leg on top — start – right leg on top

After doing 44 to the left, I switched my top leg and crunched the other direction.

Reaching with the dumbbell made this move a challenge!!!

I ran 9 miles (72:51) + 1 easy mile. Trying to continue to increase my miles for about another month (big race coming up!!).

Monday 3/31 – 44 alternating shoulder press while standing on wobble balls. I used 10 pound dumbbells and that was hard by the end!

I love using the wobble balls for moves like this because you have to keep a slight bend in your knew to hold the balance and that helps take pressure off of your low back!!!

This was also a running day!!! 8 miles (59:57) plus 2 nice and easy miles.

Tuesday 4/1 – 44 combo shoulder/arm move (5 pound dumbbells – this was hard plenty!) Start with palms facing body –

ready (don't forget to look bored!) — ready (don’t forget to look bored!)

Raise arms straight up in front –

Rotate weights so that your palms are facing down –

Pull arms back (squeeze your shoulder blades together) –

Lower arms down to side –

Curl arms down so that you are back to the start position.

I liked this move – it was a great way to work my entire upper body!!!

I needed a little break from running so I did a 10 Minute Solution DVD – Sculpt, Tone and Reshape with the Figure 8.

There are so many fun moves with this band – I love what a great workout you can get with it. This DVD was just over 50 minutes and I worked my entire body!!!

Wednesday 4/2 – 44 triceps kickbacks (10 pound dumbbells)

This was a challenge with the amount of weight I used but I don’t want to have saggy arms!!!

I did Shelly McDonald (a Caribbean workout) Core Pilates. I had a horrible headache (woke up around 1:00 am with it and it never went away) so I thought some pilates would be a good choice. I made it through almost the whole hour before I quit!

Thursday 4/3 – 44 side bend with shoulder press (8 pound dumbbells).

down with right hand, really reach up with left hand

After doing 44 to one side, I had to switch and do another set!

By the time I finished, I had worked not only my core but also my shoulders – just holding an 8 pound weight up for the entire time was a workout!!!

I did a double run on Thursday to break in my new shoes!!! Well, really just to get used to running on tired legs but….

new shoes - Mizuno Wave Prophecy 3 — new shoes – Mizuno Wave Prophecy 3

First run – 10 miles (79:24) plus 1.15 easy.
Second run about an hour and a half later – 5 miles (36:53) plus 2.35 miles at a nice pace.
Total – 15 miles of hard running and 3.5 easier miles!

Friday 4/4 – 44 bicep curls in Warrior I (5 pound dumbbells).

I had to do another set after I finished 44 that way!!

5 pounds doesn’t seem like much until you do a total of 88 bicep curls and keep your arms extended out the entire time – then it feels like at least 20 pounds!!!

The workout was a fun one – Turbo Jam – Cardio Party 3. 50 minutes of pure fun with Chalean and her crew!!!

Saturday 4/5 – 44 lateral raise on wobble balls (first 22 with 8 pounds, second 22 with 5 pounds).

This move is always hard for me!!! After the first 22 I knew that I couldn’t continue to use good form unless I dropped down in weight!!!

And, today was another day of running!! 9 miles – 63:17 plus 1.1 to cool down.

Overall, this was a great week of strength work and running!!!!

41 miles of hard running plus 7.6 easier miles for a total of 48.6 miles!!!

Did you move this week?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

BOSU, Butt, Fitness, Hamstrings, Triceps

Is Curling Really a Sport?

February 12, 2014 Kim 94 Comments

Today’s 44 is a move that Kristin (Stuft Mama) did with her class and showed on her blog. I had to try it because it uses my favorite piece of equipment -the BOSU!!! It is a triceps dip with alternating kicks.

Start with your hands on the BOSU and feet on the ground –

Dip (triceps) and kick right leg –

Go back to start position –

Dip and kick left leg –

Since I counted a right kick and a left kick as 1 rep, I had to do 88 tricep dips to complete the 44!!! My arms were shaking!

The February challenge with Taylor (Lifting Revolution) is a fun one! Last week we did 100 walking lunges every day. This week it is 400 push-ups split however you like. Yesterday I did 135 push-ups and today I did 80 so in 2 days I’m over half-way!!!

And, I added in Les Mills Combat – Extreme Cardio Fighter today. 60 minutes of kicking, punching, twisting and just plain fun!!!

Curling – is it a sport or just a past-time? I don’t even get the concept. Chris keeps saying it is like Shuffleboard. Well, I’m pretty sure that shuffleboard is a game they used to play on The Love Boat so I’m not convinced it is a true sport.

pushing the stone

Here’s what I’ve figure out about curling – one person pushes the stone.

The rest of the team does a sweeping motion to speed up (or maybe it slows it down?) the stone. Pretty sure the object is to get the stones into certain parts of the ring or something and try to knock your opponent’s stone out of the circle.

What I do know is that there is ZERO cardio involved and I’ve never seen any of the participants even come close to working up a sweat.

In the 2010 Vancouver Olympics one of the competitors was actually 6 months pregnant – So, if you compare curling to some of the other events in the winter Olympics, is it really a sport?

Ski jumping – look at the strength required to hold the body in the jump position!!!

Snowboarding – Half Pipe: These guys (and girls) are flying up to 15 feet in the air on some of their flips. And, then they have to land the jump and do another and another and another….

Have you seen how fast these athletes guy down the mountain while still dodging the gates?! Look at the leg strength required to hold the position without falling!!!

The amount of athleticism required to perform some of the jumps, holds and other tricks that the ice skaters perform is amazing!!!

All of the skating races seem brutal – short ones, longer ones – just staying in the low position requires tremendous lower body control!!

Then we go back to curling – at least they can wear “fun” pants!!!

So – what do you think? Is curling really a sport or is it just a hobby?

Happy Wednesday!!

Kim

Fitness, Quad, Triceps

How Do You Celebrate Special Days?

January 30, 2014 Kim 1 Comment

Today’s 44 was another move from Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) and her Weekly Wednesday Workouts. This move is called a crab dip and Nellie said in her post yesterday that it’s not for the faint – she was definitely right about that!!!

The set-up is basically a reverse table top position –

From the table top position you lower your butt until it’s close to the ground (I never let it touch) – the work is going to come mostly from your triceps but my quads were feeling the burn by the end of all 44 reps.

The last 6 or so were brutal!!!

Since I’m trying to work my way through some of the workout DVDs that I haven’t done lately, I pulled out another new one today – Skinny Bitch Fitness. This is one of those workouts that really is a pretty good workout the cueing is completely absent – you just have to watch and figure out each new move.

The workout is mad up of 4 sections that are about 20 minutes each – abs, legs, arms and butt. I do like the format – I just sort of tune Rory (instructor) and Kim (side-kick) out because they are pretty goofy!!! It was a perfect workout for today since I wanted minimal cardio before tomorrow’s 37 miles!!!

So, yesterday was Kansas Day! Ummm….I think it is the birthday of Kansas – I’m not really sure, I just know that all through elementary school January 29th is a big deal day (if you live in Kansas).

Since I’m not a Kansan (I just live here – but we all know I’m a Texan!!!) I don’t really do much to celebrate Kansas Day. However, yesterday I thought it would be fun to make a special Kansas themed dinner.

Coming up with a Kansas themed menu was actually not that simple but here is what I ended up with:

Kansas City Barbecue Sauce (which, traditionally, is a combination of sweet and spicy) –

Corn (because people in Kansas grow corn) and this recipe was from a true Kansan –

Buffalo Chips (we all know that the buffalo is the official Kansas animal –

So, a nice Kansas dinner!!!

a food photographer I'm not! — a food photographer I’m not!

And, I don’t normally make dessert but I thought since we were celebrating and all that I should so I made “Kansas” Dump Cake!!

Since it has pineapples and cherries (well cherry pie filling but…) I think it counts as fruit!!

And that is how we celebrate Kansas Day!!!

Do you like to plan themed meals to celebrate certain events/days?

Happy Thursday!!

Kim

PS – I have a special guest tomorrow – I’m super excited!!!

Biceps, Butt, Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill, Triceps

Hug Your Loved Ones Tight

January 18, 2014 Kim 45 Comments

Today I did a 44 with a little bit of everything – balance work, core, glutes, biceps and triceps.

I used my wobble disc – and did a half squat –

While staying in this position I did bicep/tricep arms – alternating each arm –

left bicep - right tricep — left bicep – right tricep

left tricep - right bicep — left tricep – right bicep

I used 8 pound dumbbells and counted a bicep-tricep for each arm as 1 rep = my arms felt this for sure. (Especially since I did my 75 sec plank followed by 40 push-ups for the January core challenge right after this.)

I also ran again!!! Today I wanted to push the pace a little since I’ve been doing a lot of slower runs. I did 7 miles in 43:27 (6:12 pace) and then another 1.3 miles as my cool down.

Yesterday afternoon we learned that a family we know (one of Jordan’s good friends) lost a loved one suddenly on Thursday night. A police officer came to their house to tell them that their oldest son/brother had been in a car crash and did not make it (he was 24).

As a mom I have a hard time putting myself in that position and my heart breaks for the entire family.

I know that many people today are running in honor of Meg whose death should not have happened and is tragic on every level.

I am honored to dedicate my run this morning for her.

This morning we are going to a memorial service for some friends of ours (2 high school girls) whose dad lost his battle with cancer. I know that they would love to hug their dad just one more time.

Losing someone is always hard whether you had time to prepare because it was due to illness or the sudden unexpected tragedies that happen all around us. Living with regret is even worse.

Today make sure that you don’t have a reason to regret anything – enjoy every second and show your loved ones how very much they mean to you!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Fitness, Triceps

Great Weekend Reads

January 13, 2014 Kim 68 Comments

Today’s 44 required a resistance band. I decided that since I worked my biceps yesterday with the 44 today I would work my triceps. I did tricep pulses with the band.

This was actually really tough – the resistance of the band made the last 15 or so brutal!!!

I did a new workout today – The Biggest Loser Power X-Train. Besides a warm-up and cool down, there are 3 15 minute segments: metabolic circuit, power training and all about reps. The metabolic circuit was 14 moves, 1 minute each and alternated between a power move and a cardio move. Power training was more about whole body training with strength, core and plyo. All about the reps was my favorite section – 4 moves done for 1 minute each 3x. The goal was to increase the number of reps each time through!!

I’ve noticed over the past year that blogging tends to be way down during the weekend. I actually have more time to read on Saturday and Sunday so I thought I would share a few of the great things I read.

1. Bryony @ A Series of Beginnings welcomed her 2nd sweet little boy into her family this past week – she has a super cute picture of him for everyone to enjoy!

2. Julie @ Happiness is a Dish Best Savoured Hot wrote a great post with 4 things that would help make the world a better place. One of the things that she said the world needs more of is compassion – completely agree with her!!!

3. Chris @ The Mom Cafe has a devotional series and invites guest bloggers to share their stories. This week Dana from Kiss My List wrote a great piece about Judaism!

4. Taylor @ Lifting Revolution shared about her attempts to master a hand stand in her yoga class recently. The real point of her post was that sometimes you are going to fall no matter what you are trying to do – what do you do after falling?

5. Carla @ Real Into had an incredible post about just being you. She said that you don’t have to do something new to be unique!!! I’m so excited because she said that she is going to be sharing more of her unique self in the future and I can’t wait!!!

6. Coco @ Running with Perseverance wrote a post that spoke volumes to me. She said that we should say yes and not be afraid to fail!!! I feel like that is exactly what I’m doing by attempting another 50 mile race!

7. Biz @ My Bizzy Kitchen is so amazing!! She just spent the last week working her full time job plus a new part time job, dealing with horrid weather (scraping snow off of part of her heating unit most mornings), plus trying to spend plenty of time with her husband who spent the first week of 2014 in the hospital (and while he was there she organized a DVD drive for the kids wing of that hospital!). After a particularly rough day she wrote a post listing all of the ways that she is blessed!!! What a great reminder that life really is good. (Plus, Biz shares some really tasty recipes almost every day!!)

I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t Pin at least 5 recipes from some of the amazing bloggers I love!!! This weekend was no exception!

8. Lori @ Finding Radiance shared a recipe for creamed chicken and corn soup in the crock pot!! I love things that can be done in the crock pot!! And, as a bonus, she included a recipe for making your own cream of ____ soup – so awesome!!!

9. Davida @ The Healthy Maven always has some of the most amazing recipes. Most of them are way above my ability level (lots are for tasty baked things!!) but I’m pretty sure I can handle this one: White bean kale & artichoke dip with quinoa flatbread (remember I’m going to try quinoa this year!!) I can’t wait to try this!!!

10. Jill @ Fitness, Health & Happiness is so consistent with weekly meal planning and sharing new recipes. This breakfast salad (or lunch, dinner or even snack) looks super tasty and full of good things. There is an omelet and a sunny side up egg in this salad!!! And feta – one of my favorites!!!

I don’t know yet if I will make this a standard Monday feature (I haven’t ever done a set daily thing) but I love to share – there are so many great posts out there!!!