All posts by Kim

I am a 44 year old wife, mom and athlete. I started running in high school and have loved it ever since. As I got older, I had to stop running every day so I added in weight training and all sorts of fun work-outs like Insanity, P90X and Turbo Fire. I'm a certified personal trainer and I love all aspects of fitness.

Cardio, Fitness, Lunges, Running, Squats, Treadmill

Warm or Cold?

January 24, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

Today I decided to come up with another circuit-type 43. This one was great because it had some toning combined with cardio moves to target the same areas – BONUS!!!

I did the following circuit:

I liked it a lot – got my heart rate way up and took about 15 minutes to do all 43 reps. (I didn’t set my timer.)

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-K_ByqVuJg’]

Today is a true example of what a total dork I am – I could tell that my arms were off during the ski run. Who cares??? Just make big movements with your arms to get your heart pumping – the goofier the better!!!

After my 43 I ran. I truly planned to run outside this morning but the temp on my car said 11 when I took Hunter to school. Ummmm….no way – please don’t make me go out there!! Treadmill – here I come!!!

I did 10 miles at a fairly steady pace with a 1.5 % incline. Time – 72:49 (only let the last 2 miles drop under 7:00)

I actually felt really good running today. I tried out some new shoes that I got last week on my Dick’s shopping adventure – the Brooks PureFlow 2.

I like them OK – not sure I like them as much as my Mizunos! I do love the color though!!!

Warm or Cold – so many choices!

Left-over pizza – I like it either way
Apple crisp – Warm!!!
Wine – Cold!!
Baths – HOT
Weather – the warmer the better!!!

I know that there are many people who like weather like this:But my happy spot looks more like this:

What about you – Warm or Cold??

Happy Thursday!

Kim

By the way, the answers to yesterday’s trivia challenge:

the Beattles
in the bones
a mile

Pork, Recipes, Soup

Tex-Mex Pork and Corn Soup

January 24, 2013 Kim 2 Comments

This recipe is an adaptation of one from The 1500 Calorie a Day Cookbook by Betty Crocker.

olive oil
pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces (I used the whole thing – about 3 lb)
chopped onion (about 1 c)
minced garlic (I used a spoonful)
frozen corn (I had about 8-10oz left in a bag so I used it all)
2 cans chicken broth
chunky style salsa (I used about 1.5 c)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped

Put the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and cook the pork until no longer pink. Add the onions and garlic to continue cooking. Stir in the corn, broth, salsa and pepper and let simmer. (I let it simmer about an hour.) Right before serving, stir in the tomato and cilantro.

I didn’t have any because I met a friend for dinner but Chris text me that it was stupendous soup!!! It smelled good (and will be my lunch today!).

Fitness, Lunges, Triceps

Are You a Trivia Master?

January 23, 2013 Kim 5 Comments

Today the 43 was another multi-joint exercise!!! The lower body portion was static – I just held a lunge:

The upper body was to work my triceps. I did kickbacks while staying in a low lunge for the entire 43.

Umm...elbow higher?! — Umm…elbow higher?!

Jordan - take the picture - I'm dying here!!!! — Jordan – take the picture already – I’m dying here!!!!

And, you know, that I have to make sure things stay semi-balanced so I did 43 on each side!!! I used a 12 pound dumbbell for the first 33 with my right arm and then dropped to 10 pounds. On my left, I only got to 28 with the 12 pound weight and then I had to do the last 15 with a 10 pound so that I didn’t sacrifice form. Staying in the lunge the whole time – brutal and awesome!!!

Today was another day of Combat!!!! I did Combat 30 (cardio) and then I decided to try a new one – Core Attack. WOW – 20 minutes of solid core work. By the end when one of the people on the DVD said it was awesome, I’m pretty sure I used a different choice of words for how I was feeling. This was an intense 20 minutes!!!

Last night, Jordan and some of his friends/classmates were recognized at the school board meeting. In the fall, they competed in a National academic competition – Knowledge Master Open (KMO). They placed 1st out of 38 teams in the state of Kansas and 29th out of 508 teams in the nation!!!

Pretty awesome!!! Way to go guys (and girls)!!!! (and did you notice that Jordan is wearing something besides a white T-shirt and white Nike shorts? Rare!!)

The competition is broken into categories – law, government, history, even “useless trivia.”

So, let’s see how many of y’all are current on random facts (you never know when you might need some useless bit of knowledge!).

What quartet arrived in New York City on February 7, 1964?
Where are the Haversian canals?
What distance did the Romans once define as 1,000 paces?

If you can answer any of these I will be super impressed!!! (You thought there was a prize didn’t you?!) The prize is just knowing that you know “stuff”!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Kim

BOSU, Cardio, Fitness, Running, Squats, Treadmill

Unlimited Potential

January 22, 2013 Kim 3 Comments

Today for the 43 I used my BOSU again!!!

Today I used it for cardio, balance and toning all at the same time!!! I started by standing behind the dome, jumped onto it and squatted, jumped off the sides (straddle) into a squat, jumped back on and squatted then stepped off the back for 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFsT5a6WHyk’]

The demo is painful (I could not get my balance!!). I found during my actual 43 that if I kept my center of gravity lower (basically stayed in a partial squat) during the jumps, it was easier to stay balanced and do the squats. I enjoyed this 43!!!

I also did Les Mills Combat – Power HIIT. I’m not gonna lie – that work-out seems harder every time I do it!!! Maybe because I know all the exercises and can really push hard the entire 30 minutes. It has things like power press x 20 (which is actually 60 squats with shoulder presses) and I used 15 pound dumbbells for those today!! Burpees with push-ups and up into 2 tuck jumps x about a million! Fun stuff!!!

I wanted to really push myself (I think a couple of lazy days helped me kick my tiny illness and now I’m ready to go hard again!!!) so I decided to hop on my treadmill after the HIIT. (15 degrees outside is way too cold for me to attempt an outdoor run!!!)

4 miles at 1.5 % incline 25:19 (+ an easy 2 total time 48:45)

7:48
6:32
5:46
5:13

It was hard but it felt good to push like that after my pathetic attempt outside the other day. Hopefully it will warm up and I will get back out on the road again this week!!!

Last night on the Biggest Loser, the contestants ran a 5K. Because I am a complete geek – I actually clapped for each of them as they crossed the finish line!!! I love it when they (or anyone for that matter) really dig deep and push themselves to do something they thought was completely impossible!!!

I think we all have unlimited potential – we just have to dig deep to find it and then push ourselves to reach it!!!

This guy has the right idea:

Yesterday was a big day for Hunter!!!

Hunter before braces - nice pic! — Hunter before braces – nice pic!

This morning he told me he is already ready to have them off. Ummm…..soon (like 1.5-2 years!!!). I think they make him look even older than he really is.

Happy Tuesday!!!

Kim

Chicken, Recipes, Soup

White Chicken Chili

January 21, 2013 Kim 2 Comments

Today was cold!!! (not as cold as those really northern states but I’m a Texas girl living in Kansas!) Between the cold, my sore throat and Hunter’s new braces – soup of some sort was on the menu!!! This “chili” was perfect!!!

2 T olive oil
1 package diced, cooked chicken breasts (we get this at Dillons)
1/2 c onion chopped
1 spoonful minced garlic (I’m lazy and buy it in the jar!)
2 cans chicken broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt
1 can Great Northern beans (I never rinse or drain my beans!)
1 can chopped green chilies
1 small carton fat-free Greek yogurt
1/4 c chopped cilantro (or to taste – I love cilantro)

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in chicken (mine was still frozen), onions and garlic. Add remaining ingredients except yogurt and cilantro. Mix and let simmer (I let mine simmer about 1 hour – I think soup or chili can never simmer too long!!!). Turn off heat and stir in yogurt and cilantro.

So good!!! Enjoy!!!

Day With KT