Tag Archives: Core Fusion

Stability Balls and Running (2/1 – 2/7)

This was a good week of workouts!  And, I’m happy that all of my morning workouts were back at 5:00am again!!!

Sunday 2/1  45 seated quad lifts with a dumbbell between my feet.

ready
ready
extend
extend

I got in  a nice run  – 8 miles in 59:21 followed by 2.5 easy miles.

Monday 2/2  45 reverse curls with a stability ball under my legs.

ready - just holding the ball in place is HARD!!!
ready – just holding the ball in place is HARD!!!
curl up
curl up

My workout started with Jillian Michaels Hard Body Level 1.  I thought about doing Level 2 also but knew that I would end up just going through the motions.  Instead I did Kathy Smiths Tummy Trimmers – Standing Abs.

Tuesday 2/3  45 front-back sweep with foot while staying in a semi-squat.

Ready to move the right leg
Ready to move the right leg
move foot front
move foot front
move foot back
move foot back

I counted a front-back-front as 1 full rep.  And, of course, after my left quad was on fire I had to switch and work my other leg!!!

ready to burn the other side
ready to burn the other side
front
front
back
back

After my quads were nice and shaky, I hopped on the treadmill for the first part of my run!
11 miles in 87:33 followed by 0.5 miles easy

I had to get off to take Hunter to school.  After I got back home I hopped back on the treadmill and ran some more.
6 miles in 47:39 followed by 2.5 easy miles.

A decent running day of 17 good miles and 3 easy!!!

Wednesday 2/4  – 45 stability ball plank front-back rolls.  This move is one that I saw in the cool video that Gigi (GiGi Eats Celebrities) showed the other day with her interview at Drench Fitness.

I’m not sure that my form was super because this move was hard!!

start
start
roll ball forward
roll ball forward

You can’t really tell that the ball moved much but trust me – you can feel this move!!!

I did a workout that is sort of fun while still focusing on toning – Skinny Bitch Fitness.  Jordan walked through right at the end and saw the name of the DVD – he was not impressed!!!

Thursday 2/5  45 hamstring curls using the stability ball.  This move came from the same video interview (see Wednesday) that GiGi did.

ready
ready
use your hamstrings to roll the ball toward you
use your hamstrings to roll the ball toward you

Since I workout at home, I’m always looking for new hamstring moves – this was a great one!!!

I did another run.  11 miles – 82:14 followed by 0.75 easy miles.

Friday 2/6  45 full sit-up to toe touch.

start
start
roll up and reach for toes
roll up and reach for toes

I never rested my shoulders on the floor during my reps.  The toe touch part was a nice stretch.  I don’t do full sit-ups often anymore but I liked this version!

I decided that even though I needed a “rest” day I still wanted to workout some so I did Core Fusion Body Sculpt.  This is a great body workout that is mostly body weight (you use light weights in the upper body portion) – it is about working the muscle to exhaustion!!

Saturday 2/7  45 soccer kicks.

This move is quick and fun!!  Just lift your leg up and touch the inside part of your foot.  I counted a right-left as 1 rep.

This was another day of running!!!  I tried to push just a little faster than I have been lately.
7 miles – 47:54 followed by an 1 easy mile.

Even though I didn’t take any full rest days this week, I did several workouts that are like a rest while still getting in some activity.

4 days of running with 43 hard miles and 7.25 easy miles to finish the week just over 50 miles!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Stretching – Good for the Body, Great for the Mind

Today’s 44 was fun because it is primarily an arm move but it also  works the core!  This move is from Allie @ VitaTrain4Life.  She did an awesome arm workout for us yesterday and I borrowed one of the moves for my 44.

The move is a bicep curl with your legs lifted (that’s why your abs get involved!!).

I think the hardest part of this move was to try and keep my arm movements controlled.

I pulled out a DVD that I tend to forget about today  – Exhale Core Fusion Body Sculpt.  I forgot how great this workout is.  It is 5 10-minute sections (although a couple are a little longer) of slow moving work.  
     Upper body
     Thighs
     Butt
     Abdominal
     Stretching

I’m not sure which of the sections was the hardest – they all seem like they should be easy and innocent but they really work the designated areas!!!

The final section – stretch – is one that I tend to skip in lots of workouts.  However, today I decided to spend the 10ish minutes and tried to completely relax into it.

Screen shot 2013-11-21 at 6.51.54 AMUsually I will spend about 10 seconds in the corpse pose and decide I don’t have time for that.  Today, I don’t know if my body was telling me it needed the time to relax and prepare for the day or what but the stretching was awesome!!!  I enjoyed the entire time both physically and mentally!!!

Lately I’ve read several posts about stretching – Kris on Fitness had a great one yesterday talking about stretching to help prevent injury and how as we age it is a vital part of fitness.    Abby @ Change of Pace wrote a  post about the “torture tools” that are available (foam rollers, sticks, balls, etc.) to help with preventing injuries and the value of taking the time to use them.

Even knowing about the importance of stretching to help prevent injuries has rarely been enough to make me stop and do it.  

However, today I discovered that being willing to spend a few minutes calming my mind after working out can be very enjoyable – who knows maybe next time I will do 15 minutes!!!

Do you enjoy stretching?

Happy Thursday!

Kim