For years the only type of working out I did was running. Now I love trying new exercises and workouts.
I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite ways to workout. I can’t share all of them because this post would go on for way too long!
1. 10 Minute Solutions workouts – I like the variety in all of these workouts. Some are mostly cardio, some are toning and some are a perfect mix of everything!
2. Jari Love Get Ripped DVDs – these are weight training workouts that focus on high reps.
3. TaeBo – sometimes old school is the best!!!
4. Various workouts on my Pinterest board – many from blogging friends.
5. Jillian Michaels workouts – I feel like I get a good workout with all of Jillian’s workouts. I think sometimes her cuing isn’t great and she doesn’t always make sure both sides get equal work but I can work with those issues.
6. Chalean Extreme – the first time I did this program was the first time I really pushed myself to lift heavier weights!!!
7. Les Mills Combat – these workouts are just fun!!!
8. Insanity – this is definitely hard work but I love that it is cardio and toning with no equipment required.
9. Turbo Fire (and Turbo Jam) – working with Chalean is my favorite! She makes every workout fun and the time passes quickly.
10. Running!!!
Bonus: I really enjoy my daily moves! Doing these has really forced me to try new moves and do different things which I think is great for my body.
Miracle might be one of my all-time favorite movies!! When the head coach has the team skating lots of suicide type drills he tells the players, “The legs feed the wolf.” When it came time for the big games (Olympics), they were better conditioned than any other team on the ice!!!
So, I tell myself the same thing when I’m running high mileage and also when I back off a little to rest my legs for a couple weeks!!! This week I had much lower mileage but I did a number of workouts and exercises to strengthen my legs, especially my hips.
Sunday 3/1 – 45 standing crunches – lift one leg straight out and bring hands to foot while holding a medicine ball – crunch on the forward bend.
start positionlift right leg and crunchlift left leg and crunch
I like that this move works your core and also your hip flexors!
I ran 8 miles in 59:58 followed by 0.6 easy miles.
Monday 3/2 – 45 push-ups while kneeling on a stability ball (shins rest on the ball and your butt stays down on your heels).
set-updown
These look a bit awkward but it was a really good move. You can tell that it was hard for me to keep my butt on my heels during the down part – need to work on that!
I did Cathe – Turbo Barre. Talk about a workout for your hips and legs – this one is great!!!
Tuesday 3/3 – 45 side leg abduction while in a semi-squat.
Partial squat with left leg – right leg ready to liftstay low and lift right leg – squeeze butt
There is a bit of balance involved with this move too!!
ready to squat right and left leftlift the leg while staying low
Running day – 10 miles in 75:44 followed by 1 easy mile.
Wednesday 3/4 – 45 single leg step-up on BOSU then circle opposite leg back-front-back before stepping down.
step up with left leg and start with right leg pushing backsweep leg around to front
From the above position, sweep the right leg back so that it is behind you and then step off the BOSU.
I did all 45 reps stepping up with my left leg and then switched and did another set.
step on with left right leg, left leg squeezes backsweep leg to front, then back behind you before stepping off.
The hardest part of this move was staying balanced while sweeping your leg around!!!
I did TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Buns. There isn’t a lot of cardio involved in this workout but it is great for strengthening your hips, legs and even your core.
Place a band under your BOSU with enough slack that you can lift it but still have a challenge. I decided to add an extra challenge and stay in a partial squat while completing my arm lifts.
readylift your arms above your head
After about 25 reps I had to give myself a little more band to work with because this was hard!!!
This was another running day – 8 miles in 60:20 followed by 1.05 miles easy.
Friday 3/6 – 45 quad/knee raises while pushing foot down with bar.
ready to startlift knee up and push down on the bar at the same time
By pushing the bar down it makes the resistance so much harder than just lifting your body weight.
ready to work the other sidelift knee and push down on bar
This day was the closest to a rest day that I took this week. I did Caribbean Workout – Core Pilates for an hour.
Saturday 3/7 – 45 “first position” monkey squats. (I had to google what the position was called!!!)
stand in first position (heels touching – toes turned out) and touch toesgo down into a squat while holding on to your toes
By holding your toes for the entire move this feels different than just doing normal squats!!! Turning my toes out made the move different from a standard monkey squat.
And, I did one more run for the week.
6 miles – 45:17 followed by 1.75 easy miles.
I think overall it was a good workout week even cutting back on my running.
32 miles of hard running
4.4 easy miles
This week was one of those that I had to dig deep for motivation. Most days I ended up having a good workout once I finally convinced myself to get started!!!
Sunday 1/25 – 45 single leg front and back hops.
Clearly I wobbled around a lot and didn’t always do straight front/back hops but…I did 45 on my right leg and then switched to my left for another set of 45. This move will make your legs burn and get your heart rate up!!!
Monday 1/26 – 45 triceps push-ups on the weight machine bench.
readydown
Doing these on the bench made it comparable to having my knees on the ground – the only way I can ever do 45 of this type of push-up!!!
This was a short run day – 5 miles in 40:29 followed by and easy mile.
Tuesday 1/27 – 45 crunches with feet under weight machine bar.
readyup
I tend to forget about going back to the original way I learned when doing crunches but this move really does make you work!!
I decided to hop on the treadmill but didn’t know if I wanted to run. I walked 2 miles with a 10% incline. The 3rd mile I lowered the incline and did some weighted arm holds (out to side, straight up…). I finally decided to run for 3 miles (22:00 min) and followed those up with another 1.1 miles of walking. (like I said – digging deep for motivation)
Wednesday 1/28 – 45 standing leg lifts with small ball tucked into leg.
ready (barstool just to help with balance)lift
Of course, I had to switch sides and do 45 more.
side 2 readylift
Using the ball really made this a bigger challenge – it forces you to squeeze your glutes/hamstrings when you lift your leg.
I did Turbo Jam – Turbo Sculpt which is a nice mix of toning with some cardio.
Then I decided to run – 8 miles (59:59) followed by 1.25 easy miles.
Thursday 1/29 – 45 second hang from pull-up bar and then 45 jumping pull-up holds. (Hunter did the pictures for me later since by the time someone was here to help with pictures I was far to sore to attempt another rep!!!)
just hanging ready to push off (jump)hold a couple of seconds
I’m not gonna lie – 2 days later my entire upper torso area HURTS!!!!
I did a workout that I don’t think I’ve ever done before – TaeBo T3 (Total Transformation Training). I just did 2 parts of this – Ignition & Acceleration – for about 45 minutes of work. I will definitely do more of these workouts!!!
Friday 1/30 – 45 straight leg bridges with feet on a stability ball.
readylift and squeeze butt
Another day of running – 8 miles (63:36) followed by 1.35 miles easy.
Saturday 1/31 – 45 single leg squats on wobble ball.
ready to work the left legdown
That side wasn’t horrible but then I had to switch to my right leg. Single leg squats are one of the moves that still hurt my leg.
right legdown (pretty shaky – hands were flailing!)
Single leg squats are always a challenge but doing them on a wobble ball really makes them difficult!!
I did another Turbo Jam DVD – 3T (Totally Tubular Turbo) – this workout uses a resistance band to get some great strength work!!!
I’m hoping that next week is the week I can get back to my normal early morning workouts – that should help my overall motivation!!!
I wanted to be part of all 3 of these challenges!! However, I’m at a point where I’m happy to be working out but realize I have some limitations right now. So I will do the parts of the challenges I can do and that will have to be enough!!!
Sunday 11/30 – 45 1 minute wall sits!
hanging out
Even though this was hard – 45 minutes of wall sits in one day is my new record – it was fun because the boys did a lot of the minutes with me!!!
Monday 12/1 – 45 dancing balls. Hold a stability ball with your feet and hands while lying on your back –
start
Lower right leg and left arm –
right arm down left arm down
Switch arms and legs –
left leg down right arm down
This move will really work your core!!
I tried running but quickly realized it wasn’t going to happen so I walked 6 miles with a 10% incline.
Tuesday 12/2 – 45 1 minute boat poses.
first one is easy!!
This took place mostly between the 2 parts of the treatment I had on my hands/arms – perfect!!
I did TaeBo – Fat Blasting Cardio. I love TaeBo!!!
Wednesday 12/3 – 45 running knees while on upside down wobble ball –
knee uptap down
After doing 45 with my right knee I had to switch and do another set of 45.
left knee uptap down
This move was fun and went very quickly!!
I did a slow 3 mile run (27:00 minutes) followed by 4.1 miles at a 10% incline.
Thursday 12/4 – 45 leg abductions with a small resistant band.
startlift
After doing 45 with the right leg I switched and did another set on the left side.
ready for left sidelift
I did one of my favorite workouts ever – Les Mills Body Pump – Combat!!!
Friday 12/5 – 45 single leg balance with arm move (open and close).
I’ve been going to a PT for my leg and she mentioned that when I stand on one leg I lean (very obvious in the pictures from Thursday), so I decided to work on some moves that require me to balance on one leg.
This move was easy – balance on one leg and open arms to side –
balance on right – open arms to side
Stay still and bring arms together in front of body –
arms together in front of body
I stood in front of a mirror to try and make sure that I didn’t lean.
left leghands together
I actually got in a decent run finally!!! 8 miles in 65:20 followed by 1.5 cool down miles.
Saturday 12/6 – 45 rope climbs. Lay on your back with your legs extended and act like you are climbing a rope as you slowly sit up. Hold your abs tight and slowly go back down.
I love how focused Hunter looks while doing this!!!
I’m hoping to join in on some of the challenges this next week now that I can start lifting and doing more with my arm!!!
Since I haven’t been able to run (or jump or do anything with any impact) lately, and I took a week almost completely off, it has gotten harder to really push myself during my workouts.
Sunday 11/9 – 45 squats on a wobble disc.
readydown
Not gonna lie – this was hard and hurt my leg (squats and lunges aren’t working out well for me right now).
Monday 11/10 – 45 side bends with arms behind head.
bend right
I did 45 bends to the right and then had to switch and do 45 to the left –
to the left
I did a workout that is very low impact but still at least feels like I”m doing something – Fat Burning Pilates.
Tuesday 11/11 –45 sit-ups on bender ball –
easy partup
Wednesday 11/12 – 45 alternate twisting knees on upside down wobble balls (right-left = 1 rep).
startknee up twist right
Go back to the start and then –
Knee up – twist left
I tried to run (for about 5 steps!!) and ended up just walking (again) – 5 miles with a 10% incline.
Thursday 11/13 – 45 rear leg lifts (on stability ball with arms extending forward).
easy partright leg lift
After doing 45 lifts with this leg (lift the leg and tap the toe down) in a slow controlled way, I switched legs –
left leg lifts
I did Jillian Michaels Kick Box: Fast & Furious. Most of the workout was good – a few of the kicks hurt my leg but I think I just need to suck it up!!!
Friday 11/14 – 45 fly to head banger while in bridge.
readybring hands togetherhead banger (triceps)
Reverse move to complete one rep!!!
I pulled out another old workout – TaeBo Ripped Extreme. If you like TaeBo this is a great workout. The last little bit had a lot of squats to kicks which I ended up skipping out on but otherwise it was a great workout!!!
What I’ve noticed after taking some time off is that after a break it gets easier and easier to take a day off and the workouts seem harder and harder. I don’t really like this trend!!!
