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.
Today’s 43 was a fairly simple one (even though it worked one of my weakest areas!). I just did a standing lateral raise.
startlift slowly
In order to make sure that I didn’t swing the weights – I did a slow 2-count up and 2-count down. I only used 5 pound dumbbells because 43 of these turn into a lot!!!
Today was double boot camp day – 6 am and 7:15!!! We did the same workout from yesterday – ABC Boot Camp!!! It really is a pretty fun way to get in a full body workout!!!
Today is a big day for me – day 300!!! That means that I’ve done 300 consecutive days of 43s and blogging!!!
I have a big celebration planned involving this – and this – I thought about doing this run outside but the humidity this week has been out of control and I’m pretty sure that I would end up feeling totally sick within an hour (and this run is a 5 hour one) so I will just catch up on some of my favorite TV shows!!
Happy Fun Friday – definitely gonna be a fun one for me!!!
Today’s 43 came from Nellie over at Brooklyn Active Mama. She always does a Wednesday move and comes up with some really fun exercises. Anytime she features one that I haven’t tried yet, I lfeel the need to turn it into a daily 43. Yesterday, Nellie featured a Pilates Plank that I decided would be fun!
Start in plank position. Lift one leg and rock back a little while pointing and flexing your foot. Return to start, lift other leg and repeat = 1 rep.
This was a fun new way to get in a nice long plank and add a little additional core work. Plus – there was a bit of a mental challenge because I had to focus on lifting, rocking, pointing and flexing!!!
I pulled out my original Combat DVD – part of Les Mills Pump and did it this morning. This was the workout that got me hooked on Combat to begin with and I still enjoy it!!! 45 minutes of punching and kicking – always a great way to start the day!!!
Today’s boot camp was fun!!! We did an ABC workout – an exercise for each letter of the alphabet!! Hunter helped me come up with some creative ideas for X & Y!!! I will post the workout on the Boot Camp page later this week or over the weekend! (I know that y’all are all dying to see it and give it a try!!!)
Dentists – so many people dread going to see the dentist!!! For normal check-ups I don’t mind and neither do my boys. However, some of the other dental work can be a little scary!!!Hunter has a permanent tooth (I think it is one of his incisors) that is sideways in his gums. It’s sort-of cool to see on the X-rays but I don’t have any of those pictures.When he had his braces put on (January of this year), one of the goals was to create space for the impacted tooth and then to go in surgically and bring it down.
You can sort-of see the hole in his mouth where they have made space (he was not in the picture taking mood this morning!!!).
Well – today is the day!!! Poor Hunter is nervous – good thing he only has another hour before it is time to get it done!! They are just going to numb his mouth so that he doesn’t have to be put to sleep and then go in and cut the gum, attach a tiny chain to the tooth and bring it down. (Making me cringe just to type this!!!) No wonder he is cranky – he’s freaking out about having a knife in his mouth!!
I told him to keep his eyes closed the entire time so that he never sees any of the tools. (I’ve had 4 gum grafts and I always do that!!!) He is also planning to take his phone and listen to music so that should help distract him.
The only thing that is making him feel a tiny bit better right now is the fact that when it is over he gets to spend the next few days doing his favorite activity –
NBA2K13
He has to take it easy for a few days so that means he will get to spend more time than I usually allow playing his favorite game and watching movies/TV!!! I think that he is looking forward to that but he is still pretty nervous and anxious. Poor guy!!
Do you dread dentist visits? Have you ever had any oral surgery that you were awake while they did it?
Today I worked my core with my 43. I did X-crunches!!!
Start on the floor in an X –
start (best part!!)
Crunch – bringing opposite hand and foot together –
liftfinish the rep
I counted a right and left crunch as 1 so it was really 86 total crunches to complete this 43.
Today was 6 am boot camp – it was full of lunging, kicking, punching, twisting!! Everyone should feel it through-out their entire core by tomorrow!!!
And it was muggy – I literally looked (and felt) like I had just gotten out of the lake by the time we finished!! Oh – wrong kind of muggy!!!
I decided to let boot camp be my only workout today!! I’m gearing up for a huge day on Saturday – I will just say that Friday is my 300th consecutive day of 43s so that means it’s time for another LONG run!!!
It has been 11 weeks since I had vein surgery. Monday I had another follow-up appointment with the DR who did the procedure. I had a few questions for her – like “Why do I get a purple mark right above my knee cap every time I run or do any exercising?” (standard response – it’s normal)
Basically, the whole appointment lasted less than 3 minutes and she said that everything is fine. I still have this bruise on my right inner thigh (and it is still lumpy) –
right inner thigh
My right calf still has a bruise and every time I run or do any plyo (so pretty much every day!!) – I have a burning sensation in it.
right calf
And my left ankle is still bruised, hard to the touch and stays swollen about 90% of the time.
left ankle
She said that some people take up to 6 months for everything to heal and that I’m one of those lucky people!!
I told her that the bruises don’t really bother me but my legs hurt 10x more now than they ever did before the surgery. Her response to that – an odd look and then she said well they look a lot better than the last time I saw you. Yes, but they hurt and I’m an athlete and don’t need another reason for my legs to hurt!!!
So, I’m still not really happy that I had the procedure done. And – I still have another step to finish treating the veins – Sclerotherapy.(not my leg or doctor)
Ummm….not sure that I’m in on having multiple injections all over my legs while I’m awake!!! She said we would wait until October for this – I told her no way would October work because I’M RUNNING A 50 MILE RACE!!! (another odd look from her – what’s up with all the looks?!)
So, in November I will have a needle stuck into my legs numerous times to finish treating the veins (unless I back out and decide to just live with them!!!).
Clearly my legs are better than the last follow-up I did on the surgery. But, even though I can do all of my normal activities, they still aren’t completely healed and they truly do hurt much more now than before I started all of this. So, my thoughts/opinions still haven’t really improved – if I had to go back in time to April, I would not go through with the surgery.
Today for my 43 I did a move that I knew was going to be included in my workout (with over 150 reps!!!) – I figured that an extra 43 would be good for me – sometimes I’m sort-of stupid crazy like that!!!
I used my barbell –
15 pounds on each side
and did squats.
get ready – once again eyes closed to prep!!down
And, just to show that I really do know to put all my weight in my butt (even though the picture above looks like I’m tilting forward) –
side view
I prefer doing the pictures before I work out (when I’m a little fresher!!) but today these were after my 43 squats and after my workout so my legs were shot!!!
I did Body Pump – Pump Revolution which is almost an hour of lifting (high reps!). There was a second when I first got up that I thought about doing the workout as planned but using lighter weights. However, I decided that doesn’t help me accomplish what I’m trying to achieve which is to get stronger. So, I pushed myself with heavy weights and now I’m glad I did!!
Today was also Beach Boot Camp – the workout was fun and different – it was partly inspired by my love of Turbo Fire and partly inspired by the current month (July!!). I just included 7 moves (since July is the 7th month) that we did for 13 reps (2013!!) and then we repeated the circuit. We only made it through 5 sets today (appointments for some) but the goal would be 7 sets!!
When Jordan and I left the swim beach after the workout (he has gone to all of the beach boot camps except 1 – last Friday because he was wiped out after a late night of fireworks Thursday night), I told him I was a little bummed that only 1 person (besides he and I) came to workout this morning. His response –
Not gonna lie – it was a proud moment for me!!! Not because of the workout but because he has the wisdom as a 14 year-old to realize that making a difference in the life of one person is just as important as making a difference in the lives of 100s of people!!!
Sometimes I get so wrapped up in thinking that I need to try and get more people to come to boot camp or in trying to grow my blog that I forget what really matters.
Boot camp is just something that I thought would be fun this summer (and it has been!!). What I didn’t realize when I started was how much I would enjoy the days that Jordan goes with me and participates in my class!!
So, even if I only have a few people in some classes (I know that lots of people are on vacation and 6 am is just too early for some to get up in the summer!!) – Boot Camp has been a huge success because it has been good for Jordan (and for me!!).
And, I know that my blog won’t ever affect that many people but if even just one person feels better after reading my blog than I am happy!!! (Occasionally that person is me, because the act of writing things down makes me feel better sometimes.)
So, no matter how many people you come in contact with during the day, remember that making one person smile or feel better about themselves is enough!!!!
I decided it was time for another burpee variation for the 43 today. I’m still working on the awesome list of 30 burpees that Taylor @ Lifting Revolution shared awhile back. Today I did a burpee with a lateral jump over a step – FUN TIMES!!!
6:00 am boot camp was fun – we did the Move It, Move It workout (all legs!!) from Friday because I knew that none of the people who came Friday would be here this morning. It was HUMID – we were drenched by the end of the workout.
I decided to run on my treadmill instead of outside because I knew that I would be sucking air thanks to the mugginess. I ran at 1.5% incline – 5 miles 31:34 + 1 mile super easy for a cool down.
Irving Naxon – anyone know who he is? He developed the “all-purpose” cooker which was bought by The Rival Company in 1970 and reintroduced in 1971 as the Crock Pot.
a few of the crock pots I use
I think the Crock Pot is truly my favorite kitchen appliance!!! I use one of my crock pots at least once a week and often as many as 3 times a week. There have been many meals that I have 2 crock pots full of stuff!!!
Any day that I have evening plans I try to get dinner into the crock pot in the morning. Such a great feeling to know that dinner (at least part of it) is already done!!!
I’m pretty sure that I’ve already shared my love of cookbooks before.
In my collection, I have a whole shelf devoted to crock pot/slow cooker cook books. My favorites are from the Fix-It-and-Forget-It series.
One of the great things about using a crock pot is there is really no need for a recipe. The thing that I do the most is put a cut of meat (ribs, round steak, roast, brisket, chicken breasts, pork roast, turkey breasts, even a whole chicken) with a rub and/or a sauce of some sort and let it cook all day. Super easy and by the end of the day we have a very tender piece of meat!
In the fall and winter I make all kinds of soups and chili in the crock pot. In the summer, I love to use the crock pot to keep the kitchen from heating up!!
I even take one of my crock pots with me on some of our longer trips (when we stay places with a kitchen) so that we don’t have to eat out every meal and I don’t have to spend any time really cooking.
Do you use a crock pot very often? What is your favorite recipe in the crock pot?
Today is a big day for me – day 300!!! That means that I’ve done 300 consecutive days of 43s and blogging!!! 
and this – 
I thought about doing this run outside but the humidity this week has been out of control and I’m pretty sure that I would end up feeling totally sick within an hour (and this run is a 5 hour one) so I will just catch up on some of my favorite TV shows!!
