Sometimes we have to do things that take us way out of our comfort zones – whether it is related to our personal lives, fitness, work, or any other area of our lives it is necessary to push ourselves occasionally.
I feel like almost every day since August 27, 2013 I have had to push out of my comfort zone. (That is the day we bought a business.) I knew nothing about owning a business so my life has been all about a learning curve!
So, in the past few months I’ve been trying lots of new things – some of those things work and others aren’t great – some have been total busts.
Saturday, I tried something and feel like it was pretty much an epic fail!!! Thankfully the only thing I lost was my time (over 10 hours) and I learned a few things in the process.
I think that the idea is good – I just need to spend some time doing a little more prep work and figuring out the best way to promote the event so I’m not going to give up – just find a new way!!!
As much as I don’t like to fail, I know that it is part of life. We have to be willing to learn and grow from our mistakes and not being willing to put ourselves out there is worse than trying and failing!!!
So I will just keep trying and let each failure get me a little closer to being successful.
This week the daily 44 was all about trying new plank variations – fun times for sure!!!
Sunday 4/6 – 44 plank with opposite arm/leg reach and crunch. This one took a LOT of balance but it was fun!!!
right arm/left leg
Of course, after I did one set of 44 I had to switch sides and do another set.
left arm/right leg
Not gonna lie, this move was a challenge!!!
And, Sunday was Hunter’s first long run for his half marathon training. It was 50 minutes. We did a 4 minute run and 1 minute walk (we will probably do this for at least a month on the long runs since he had never run over 3 miles before starting this!).
4.78 miles total
Monday 4/7 – 44 plank with feet on wobble balls, alternate step offs. (right foot off – right foot on, left foot off – left foot on = 1 rep)
readyright foot off
Back to plank with both feet on.
left foot off
I liked this plank move but it was a long time to hold plank!!!
Run – 8 miles (63:50) + 1.25 easy miles
Tuesday 4/8 – 44 side plank with rotation (elbow to ground)
readydown
And, you know that I can’t be lopsided so I had another set of 44.
readytwist
This move was hard – sometimes I think that holding plank on the elbow is just as hard as holding it on your hand!!!
Another day, another run! 7 miles (54:04) + 0.5 miles easy
Wednesday 4/9 – 44 rocking planks with hands on foam roller (my favorite move of the week!).
foam roller of the dayreadyforward
This one must have been easier than some of the other options of the week because I really enjoyed it!!!
The morning workout was all about Turbo Fire. I did Upper 20, Lower 20 and Core 20 for a nice hour that worked my entire body using bands!!!
Red band – upper and core Green band – lower
Wednesday afternoon we went on a family run. Hunter and I had 35 minutes on tap and Chris and Jordan tagged along for some of the run.
35 minutes – 3.5 miles
Thursday 4/10 – 44corkscrew planks. This move I got from Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) and it was HARD!!! Basically from the plank position, you twist your body so that your right arm goes underneath you and you drop your hips. When you return to plank, lift your right leg.
right side
After suffering through completing all the reps on one side, switch sides and let the fun begin again!
to the left
I struggled a lot to finish but I made it through all of the reps – thankfully!
Basically, you start in plank with a dumbbell outside of your right hand (I used 12 pounds). With your right hand, move the DB between your hands (return to plank). Take your left hand and move the DB outside of your left hand (return to plank). Reverse the move to complete 1 rep.
Trying to keep the rest of my body still was HARD!!!
The workout was fun – Turbo Jam – Turbo Sculpt. This workout is a fun way to get in some toning with Chalean. She suggested 3-5 pound dumbbells for females but I went with 8s – it was a challenge!!!
And, after school, Hunter and I (Jordan joined us for about half) had another run! This was supposed to be a 30 minute run. We ended up running faster than we have been.
3.37 miles in 28:26 (8:26 pace). We picked up the pace every mile – hooray for Hunter!!!
Saturday 4/12 – 44 pike planks on the stability ball. So, maybe these were the hardest move of the week -not sure but they were definitely challenging!!!
readyup
Lots of wobbling to complete 44 reps of this move!
And, another day of running (I’m on a major streak right now!!) – 7 miles in 47:51 + 0.65 easy miles.
I’m loving the extra running with Hunter right now – good for preparing for my big race that is 4 weeks from today!!!
Total miles for the week – 43.87 + 3.68 easy one = 47.55
Do you like planks? Do you have some new variations I need to try?
An addictive personality refers to a particular set of personality traits that make an individual predisposed to addictions. (according to Wikipedia)
There have been many times in my life that I’ve felt like I have an addictive personality. I have to really watch myself sometimes because I have an “All or None” mentality in a lot of circumstances.
Exercise is one example – I feel like if 1 hour is good then 5 would be better!! Thankfully, unless I start getting up at 2 or 3 every morning then I can’t fit 5 hours of exercise into my day!!
There was a time in my early 20s that I would go for a run at 11:30 at night when I got off work because I felt like I had to get in a 2nd run for the day – not always a good choice!!!
All the little games/apps that can be played on the phone are dangerous for me. I have wasted way too many hours playing –
andOn Sunday Hunter introduced me to a new time suck game –
I have lost hours this week on this game – late at night, waiting places, when I should be working…..I keep thinking, “just one more game” and then an hour will pass and I’m still trying to beat the game!
Part of why I limit the TV series that I watch is because I get obsessed and want to watch every single episode in a day – ummm….that is not a good thing – unless I combine it with the exercise thing and watch from the treadmill!!! (just kidding -sort of!)
Even in blog reading I find myself being very obsessive about it – lately my Bloglovin feed has been out of control. I can’t even begin to make it through the list but I try because my personality says, “you need to go through the whole list EVERY day!!”
What about you? Do you feel like you have an addictive personality or can you play one game, watch one episode, read a few blogs…..and move on?
Happy Friday!!!
I would love to spend the day trying to win 2048 and read blogs but I’m off to clean and set up for an event!
It is pretty much a well-known fact that I don’t really bake!!!
However, birthdays call for a special dessert and the birthday person gets to decide what they want. The past few years, it seems like my boys have gotten away from the traditional cake – fine with me!
This year Hunter wanted a trifle!!! He didn’t care what kind – just something with chocolate.
Hunter being a goof with his birthday trifle
I actually like to make trifles because it is just a matter of layering some ingredients!! At Christmas I usually make a couple – one with some chocolate and a fruit one of some sort.
This trifle ended up being an Oreo Trifle.
Ingredients:
* brownies (I used a mix to make a pan)
* 2 boxes of instant chocolate pudding (and milk to prepare them according to directions)
* 2 cartons of Cool Whip
* Oreos – I think I used about 20-25
Make the brownies according to package directions and let cool. (Or, feel free to make homemade brownies!!) When they are cool, cut them into small squares.
Mix the pudding and milk. Let set in the refrigerator about an hour. Also, if you just put the Cool Whip in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the trifle it will be easier!
Put the Oreos in a large Zip-Loc baggie and crunch up.
Assemble the trifle:
1/2 the brownies
1/2 the pudding
1 carton of Cool Whip
1/2 the cookies
Repeat layers
I think that we have all been in situations that cause us stress and maybe even a little bit of panic if we aren’t careful. No matter how hard we try to enjoy life and make it fun, it is inevitable that we will have some experiences that aren’t really very pleasant – LIFE!!!
Yesterday I had to do something that could have caused me to completely lose control. I tried to keep myself relaxed and my mind calm by thinking about my happy place!
And, you know what?! It actually worked!!! I had to have an MRI and the last time I had one (about 1.5 years ago), even though it was for my hip, they slid me all the way into the tunnel. I pretty much freaked out – hyperventilated, broke out in a sweat – it was AWFUL!!!
For yesterday’s MRI, I knew that my entire body would have to go in the tube so I was a little nervous wreck!
(Not me – but that is the set-up I had.)
I told the technician that I was going to close my eyes as soon as I laid down so that I didn’t see the mask above my face or the inside of the tube! There was still about a minute of pure panic when she slid me into the tube!! But – I just forced myself to relax and breath.
I pretended that I was enjoying my happy place (the beach!!!) and it would have worked except the machine was super loud and I was cold!!! But, I made it though all 20 minutes without freaking out!!!
I truly think that mental visualization and focusing on breathing are a great way to get through many unpleasant situations!
Happy Place!
Do you have a way to stay calm in situations that could cause you to panic?
Have you ever had an MRI? Did you freak out?
So, in the past few months I’ve been trying lots of new things – some of those things work and others aren’t great – some have been total busts.
As much as I don’t like to fail, I know that it is part of life. We have to be willing to learn and grow from our mistakes and not being willing to put ourselves out there is worse than trying and failing!!!
So I will just keep trying and let each failure get me a little closer to being successful.
