Tag Archives: balance

Therapy Moves (12/7 – 12/13)

This week a lot of the daily moves were from PT – not sure that any of it is helping but I am running again so I will keep trying these things!

Sunday 12/7  45 single leg inner thigh raise with foot tap.

start
start
lift and touch foot
lift and touch foot

I’m supposed to be working on single leg moves while working on keeping my alignment straight.  (Notice Hunter working in the background??  Nice, huh?!)

ready for side 2
ready for side 2
lift and touch foot (stay straight!)
lift and touch foot (stay straight!)

Monday 12/8 45 plank (elbow) with knee in to leg lift.  (right – left = 1 rep)

ready
ready
left knee in
left knee in
push leg back and lift
push leg back and lift
right knee in
right knee in
right leg up
right leg up

I haven’t done any planking in over 3 weeks so this was tough!!!

It was a running day!!! 7 miles in 55:50 followed by 1.5 easy miles.

Tuesday 12/9  45 back kicks.

ready position
ready position
push foot back
push foot back

After the first set of 45 I had to switch sides and do 45 more.

ready to start again
ready to start again
push back
push back

I did a DVD that I hadn’t done in a long time – Reebok Cardio Tone.  This was just over an hour of cardio based toning – fun times!!!

Wednesday 12/10  45 medicine ball crunches with legs straight up and hands holding ball reaching to feet.

easy part
easy part
reach ball to toes
reach ball to toes

And, another day of running!!!  8 miles in 63:57 followed by 1.5 easy miles.

Thursday 12/11  45 single leg squat while on a step – push leg off ground down in front of step.

ready position
ready position
down
down

The left side wasn’t too bad!  But, then I had to switch and do the move on my right leg (the one with all of the problems!!).

ready
ready
down
down

You can tell that I couldn’t go nearly as low on this side:(

I did a weight lifting DVD – Get Ripped & Chiseled.  WOW!!!  I haven’t lifted in over 3 weeks and I have been sore for the last 2 days!  Love it!!!

Friday 12/12  45 front straight leg lifts with small band around ankle.

start
start
lift front
lift front

Part of the challenge on this is to stay straight (trying to work on my alignment).  BTW – I noticed after the fact that I had my T-shirt on backwards – classy!!!

2nd side
2nd side
lift leg front
lift leg front

This was my 3rd running day of the week!!  6 miles in 48:00 minutes followed by 1.4 easy miles.

Saturday 12/13  45 back leg lift with band (my special therapy band:).

ready
ready
lift leg back
lift leg back

Still trying to work on balance with good alignment!

ready for side 2
ready for side 2
lift leg to back
lift leg to back

The rest of the day consisted of about 6 hours of shopping, a cello concert at the library, and a couple of hours of cleaning and ironing at the venue – not a true workout but lots of moving!!!

I’m not running the speeds or distances that I really want to run but I”m happy that I’ve been running again!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Taking it Easy (8/31 – 9/6)

This week was all about taking it easy with the workouts after last weeks high mileage.  And, my legs needed the break – they were tired!!!

Sunday 8/31  44 jump lunges (straight up and down in lunge position).

ready for first side
ready for first side
and jump!
and jump!

This was a fun way to get the heart rate up!!  It was hard to catch a good picture of me jumping:)

And, then I had to switch legs and do some more jumps –

other leg
other leg
up
up

Hunter did a pretty good job snapping a picture while I was in the air!!

Monday 9/1 – 44 reverse lunge to single leg T-stand.

left leg back
left leg back
push off heel of right foot and come up to T
push off heel of right foot and come up to T

My right hip was dying by the time I finished all 44 of these!!!  And, then I had to work my left hip!

right leg back
right leg back
work the left hip!
work the left hip!

Can you tell that my balance isn’t as good on my left side?  I’m not very parallel in that last picture!!!

Tuesday 9/2  44 front step to runners lunge.

step front with right leg - all the way down (left leg should be straight - that's about as straight as mine gets!)
step front with right leg – all the way down (left leg should be straight – that’s about as straight as mine gets!)

Push off of right foot back to standing –

back
back

I did all 44 with my right leg and then shared with my left!!

step front with left leg
step front with left leg

I did Fat Burning Pilates (very low impact) and then walked with a 9% incline for 3.25 miles.

Wednesday 9/3  44 pulsing lunges with foot on stability ball.

left foot on ball - down
left foot on ball – down
part way up
part way up

The hardest part of this was staying balanced and not toppling over!!!

right foot on ball - down
right foot on ball – down
part way up
part way up

Today was Turbo Jam – Ab Jam (this was a fun ab workout that I always forget about!) and 4.4 miles walking at 9% incline.

Thursday 9/4  44 stationary side lunges with one foot on a wobble disc.

ready to lunge right
ready to lunge right
down (although this picture doesn't show me down very far!)
down (although this picture doesn’t show me down very far!)

I did all 44 to the right and then switched feet so I could do more!

ready to lunge left
ready to lunge left
down
down

I pulled out a DVD that I rarely do – Shape Pilates.  I did all 4 of the 15 minute sections for a decent workout.

Friday 9/5  44 step-ups onto foot stool.

And, because I’ve been way more tired than normal this week, I actually slept till 6:00 instead of getting up to workout!

Saturday 9/6  44 single leg squats with opposite leg extension.  (and because I’m super classy, I’m going to show you the pictures I took in my bathroom mirror after my shower)

balance on right leg
balance on right leg
squat and extend left leg
squat and extend left leg

These were hard – between staying balanced and trying to coordinate the move it was a nice little challenge!!!  And, I don’t want my legs to feel left out of a move so I did another set of 44 on the left leg.

balance on left leg
balance on left leg
squat and extend right leg
squat and extend right leg

No running this week – I will probably do a couple super easy runs early next week and then hopefully be ready for Thursday!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

 

Some Friday Favorites

For my 44 today I went with a move that Debbie @ Live from La Quinta had in a post the other day about balance.  I figure I might not have balance in all areas of my life but I can work on my actual balance!!! 

I did a 1 arm chest press on the stability ball.  

right arm ready
right arm ready
press up
press up

I did all 44 reps on the right side and then switched and did 44 more because it’s all about  balance!!!

left arm
left arm
go
go

It might seem like it is easier to do 1 arm at a time but you really do have to work on the balance and hold tighter with your core so you don’t roll off the ball.  I used 15 pounds and that was just enough to make the last 5 reps or so really difficult!!!

And, I did another run (4 in 1 week!!!) – 1.5% incline for 8 miles at 7:30 pace then an easy cool down mile.

Screen Shot 2014-01-24 at 7.04.06 AMThe Sound of Music is one of my all time favorite movies and like Julie Andrews says, “I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad!!!”  

I love our new dishwasher!!

buttons on top
buttons on top

The fact that the buttons are on the top of it is nice because our old one had them right on the front and people were always leaning against it and turning it on!!!  Plus – check out the 3 racks –

can you tell there are 3 racks?
can you tell there are 3 racks?
top rack
top rack

Look how cool the top rack is – it holds all of those big utensils – I love it!!!

Another kitchen appliance that I love is my Ninja Crock Pot!!!  (I actually love all of my crock pots and use them often.)  

Ninja

The really cool thing about this one is that you can use it in other ways besides just a slow cooker.  The feature I love is the stove-top cooking one.

can you read the dial
can you read the dial

So, I don’t have to use a skillet to sauté onions or brown meat – I just do it in the Ninja – it’s genius!!!

And, I haven’t watched as much college basketball as I normally do but the other night my favorite team did this –

Hook 'em Horns!!!
Hook ’em Horns!!!

Pretty big deal for Texas to beat Kansas since I actually live in Kansas!!!

My final favorite today is this cool YouTube video that Jordan put together for me.

I wanted to have some kind of picture display for the Bridal Fair this weekend and Jordan took care of it for me!!!

What is one of your favorites today?

Happy Friday!!

Kim

I’m Not Ready to Give Up

Today’s 44 was one that I saw Tara do (Family Sport Life).  I didn’t totally master it but it was still very effective.  To start, you balance yourself on a stability ball (knees on it) and then you do the actual move – bicep curls.

trying to balance
trying to balance
curl
curl

If you look closely you can see that I had to tap my toes (more than keep them up actually) to keep from falling on my face.  I’m going to keep working on the balance aspect!!!

Besides working my biceps (10 pound dumbbells), this move was good for my core (balance) and my quads were burning by the end!!!!

And then I ran again – 2 days in a row!!!  Yesterday I got in 6 miles and today I ran 6 at just under 8 minute/mile pace and did another 1.75 miles to cool down.

Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 9.36.51 PMSo, you might remember that back in October I attempted my first 50 mile race and it did not go well.  

I made a lot of mistakes but I also learned a lot.  And, way down deep I know that I can run a 50 (and maybe even a 100 miler!!!).  

Yesterday morning I was scrolling through FaceBook and saw a post from the Heartland 100/50 (the race I did last year) saying that they are changing the 50 and making it a day race!!!!  (Last year it was at night – pitch black on a rocky road, cold, lonely…….)

Then this happened – Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 9.42.43 PM

In May, I’m going to try again to complete a 50 mile race!!!!Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 9.36.32 PM

Actually I’m going to do more than try!!!!  I’m going to take the things I learned last fall and apply them and this 50 mile race is going to be a great experience!!!!

In October, I wasn’t mentally tough enough to push through the pain and other factors that were involved.

Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 9.36.06 PMThis time, my head will be in the right place and there will be no giving up!!!

I’m excited to get another chance to fulfill my goal of competing in an ultra!!!!

Happy Sunday!!

Kim

Balancing out the Extra Indulgences

Even though I’m cutting myself some slack in some areas the next couple of weeks, working out is not one of those areas!!!  I decided to amp up my 44s to help balance out some of the indulgences!

Today I actually combined my 44 and my workout and did what I love – I ran!!!  Not only did I run, I ran HARD!!!  

The 44 – run 44 minutes (at 1.0% incline) – 7.41 miles.  I decided that I couldn’t end with that odd number so I ran until 44:27 to make it an even 7.5 miles.  (I also did 1.8 more mile as a cool down!)

It’s been awhile since I really tested my speed and endurance and I was dying by the end of this run – but it did feel good to really push myself!!!

Screen Shot 2013-12-23 at 8.56.40 AMIt’s all about balance and enjoying life!!!  

 

 

Do you work harder when you know that you will have extra indulgences? 

Happy Monday!!!  

Kim