Focus on the Core (6/15-6/21)

June 21, 2014 Kim 36 Comments

This week I decided to make the daily 44 all about core work!!! I try to do some core work every week but this week I hit it even harder.

Sunday 6/15 – 44 oblique crunches with a leg lift.

I liked this move!!! I counted a left-right as 1 rep so it turned into a total of 88 crunches!!

Monday 6/16 – 44 alternating leg kicks while in a V-sit position.

This move required a lot of balance which is even more of a core bonus!! (I counted a right-left kick as 1 rep)

Still trying to lift weights consistently so it was Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 3 (lots of shoulder work).

I also got in a nice hard run!!!
9 miles in 57:49 (6:26 pace) followed by 1.75 easy miles. I haven’t been running hard much lately but I still try to occasionally push my pace just to make sure I still can.

Tuesday 6/17 – 44 plank hold with a double knee tap.

I must be holding my breath in the bottom picture because my face is really red – oops!!!

I decided to follow Monday’s hard run with an easier run.
10 miles in 80:07 + 1 super easy mile.

Wednesday 6/18 – 44 “rope climbs” with legs extended.

This was a great move for keeping constant tension on the abs!

Lifting day – Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 1 (last time through this circuit – next week I will start the Push Circuit!!).

I wanted a little more after lifting so I did The Firm – Skills, Drills & Thrills. This is a nice workout with a mix of cardio and toning using the wobble disc –

Thursday 6/19 – 44 plank with elbows on the wobble disc – step out with right leg, back in then pull the right knee in – repeat on left side for 1 rep.

I should have timed how long I had to hold plank while doing this – oh, well!!

And, I’m still trying to bump my running miles up so it was another day of running.
13 miles in 1:42.13 + 1.4 easier miles.

Friday 6/20 – 44 knee crunches while holding boat pose on wobble disc.

Can you tell how hard it was to balance? My arms were flailing the entire time just trying to keep me from falling over!!!

The only workout for the day was Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2 (all about biceps and triceps) – I can finally do all of the tricep push-ups on my toes!!!

I knew that I had a long day of cleaning, moving furniture and ironing ahead (8 hours is what it ended up taking) so I didn’t do any cardio after the lifting!!! That ended up being a good choice!!!

Saturday 6/21 – 44 grab & crunch with medicine ball!! This was a fun new move. Start by laying on your back with your knees at 90 and a medicine ball (I used an 8 pound ball) resting on your legs –

Crunch up and grab the medicine ball –

Take the ball with you and extend arms over head –

Crunch up and place ball back on legs to complete 1 rep –

Not only did this work my abs/core – I felt this in my hip flexors a lot!!!!

I had planned to run again but woke up with a stabbing pain in my eye (gotta love sinuses!!!) so I decided to skip the run for now.

I just realized that my total mileage for the year (hard and easy miles) is just over 900. That is more than I had for all of 2013 – maybe learning to run easier is paying off!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Uncategorized

Scaling Back

June 19, 2014 Kim 92 Comments

Summer is my all-time favorite time of year!!! In my perfect world it would be full of family, sun and fun!

However, this summer is a little different because we bought a business and there is always a list of stuff that needs to be done.

I’ve been feeling stressed because we have a few weeks (next week is one of them) that have back-to back-to back events and so I will have some early (earlier than normal!!) mornings to clean, set-up, wash table cloths and iron them……to get it ready for the next event.

The other stress is the fact that I feel like I need to work harder at promoting our business.

What I really want to do is hang out with these 2 goofy boys –

Spend time in the sun –

And, at some point we need to enjoy time on the boat!!

So, I told Chris that I’m going to continue to take calls on the business and do showings but I’m going to put all promotion efforts on the back burner until the boys go back to school.

And, I’ve been scaling down on time spent on the computer. My BlogLovin’ feed is out of control and there are times that it takes me a couple days to respond to comments here. I’m trying to be OK with that but it is a struggle.

So, I’m going to take some advice from Carla and “do what I can when I can.”

Do you feel like the summer is busier or more relaxing in your world?

Happy Friday!!

Kim

Uncategorized

Growing Up

June 17, 2014 Kim 93 Comments

So many of the phases of growing up haven’t really bothered me.

However……Jordan has spent the past 10+ years collecting Legos – all different kinds/sets. If you know anything about Legos you know 2 things – they aren’t cheap and they take up a lot of space (especially the sets)!!!

At the beginning of the summer Jordan decided he was going to get rid of his Legos.

I didn’t think this day would ever happen and quite honestly, I’m not sure I wanted it to come. I like the Legos and the fun associated with them.

But, I told Jordan it was his choice. So, he organized. We took pictures –

Plus about 300 more – not even lying!!!

We posted each picture with a description and price on Selling with Friends (a local FaceBook group).

And, then we spent hours sorting because the response was incredible.

Now we have piles all over our living room and dining room – some have already been picked up and paid for and others will be in the next day or two.

12 hours of work (just for Tuesday!) on this project so far and the entire time I kept remembering how excited Jordan was when he received each and every one of those!See the Lego pile?!

Many were gifts but there were also a lot that Jordan used his own money to buy!!!

Not sure why this part of seeing my little boy growing up bugs me but……

Over the years, we have sold lots of their things as they’ve outgrown and moved on. But Legos have been a huge part of Jordan’s life for over 10 years!!!

And, now they aren’t.

Growing up!

I know it’s all good but this particular part of growing up has been rough for me! I guess it’s like Jordan said – “I have all my memories of my Legos. I don’t need to keep them for that.”

OK – I will go with the memories, too!!

Happy Wednesday!

Kim

Uncategorized

Living in Fear Isn’t the Answer

June 16, 2014 Kim 1 Comment

As great as life is most of the time, there are some things that I don’t understand why they have to happen!!!

We have friends who are going through a really rough time right now and it seems like there are no answers for them!

This weekend I read about a terrible bike tragedy – one of those things that seems so senseless and makes everyone wonder why it had to happen.

Jordan and I were talking about some of this type of stuff yesterday and I told him that as awful as it is, we can’t let fear control our lives. I know there are people who let fear dominate their lives and I never want my boys to live with that kind of fear.

We can’t control every aspect of our lives but we can choose to face life head-on and embrace all of it – good and bad.

Sometimes it is hard to understand the why and some days the fear threatens to take over. There are days that we have to allow others to help us stay strong and there are times that we have to be strong for those around us.

Fear is powerful but so are we!!!

Do you search for they “why?”
Do you ever live your life in fear?

Happy Monday!

Kim

Biceps, Core, Fitness, Lunges, Push-Ups, Running, Squats

Balance Is Key (6/8-6/14)

June 14, 2014 Kim 51 Comments

This week my daily 44s were all about working on balance. I used my wobble balls for each move –

Sunday 6/8 – 44 leg abductions while standing on wobble ball.

You can see that I stood on the flat side for this move. And, after I did 44 abductions with my left leg I had to switch and do another set!!

I promise I really was standing on the wobble ball – sometimes the pictures don’t come out exactly like I want them to!!!

Monday 6/9 – 44 decline push-ups with my toes on a step and my hands on wobble balls.

Not gonna lie – this move was HARD!!!!

I’ve been lifting fairly consistently again with Chalean Extreme – this day was Burn Circuit 3. I also did a workout that I don’t do very often – ReeBok Cardio Tone. Pretty much this was my version of a recovery day!!!

Tuesday 6/10 – 44 squat pulses on stacked wobble balls (to make an actual ball) –

probably not super safe but..... — probably not super safe but…..

Just balancing on the stacked wobble balls was entertaining!!!

This move was a challenge!!! Once I actually got down into the squat position, I actually got about 16 pulses the first time and then 20 something the next time before falling off. Obviously, it took several attempts to get all 44.

And, it was a run day!!!
10 miles in 68:11 + 1.1 easy miles

Wednesday 6/11 – 44 side plank hip dips with elbow on wobble ball.

This move was hard – just holding plank while balancing on the wobble ball was a challenge!!! After I finally finished the first set I flipped over and had more fun!

Back to the weights – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1. Then I did one of my favorite workouts ever – Les Mills Pump – Combat!!!

Thursday 6/12 – 44 band bicep curls with wobble balls on band.

Adding the wobble balls made this move so much harder – it was a fun challenge!!!

I pulled out another DVD that I rarely do – Mari Winsor Pilates from Shape. It is a nice recovery type workout.

Friday 6/13 – 44 lunges on wobble balls.

another one that was hard to get into position for — another one that was hard to get set-up

This was hard to balance initially but once I got the position it was good. By the time I finished 44 my quads were burning!! The added balance challenge made it a lot different than a standard lunge. And, of course, I don’t want to be unbalanced so I switched sides and did another set of 44.

And, it was another running day.
10 miles in 79:18 (nice and relaxed today) + 3.1 really easy miles

Saturday 6/14 – 44 jump squats onto wobble balls.

This actually was a really fun way to do jump squats – the added balance challenge was great!!!

And, I wanted to get 3 days of lifting so it was another day of Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2.

Lately I’ve been happy with my workouts – I’m trying to keep a mix of running, lifting and other workouts. In the next few weeks I will probably start to increase my running again – I have a couple of running events coming up and want to be ready.

How often do you work on your balance?

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Day With KT

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Focus on the Core (6/15-6/21)

Scaling Back

Growing Up

Living in Fear Isn’t the Answer

Balance Is Key (6/8-6/14)

Fitness – Food – Fun