Category Archives: Biceps

Fascinating Fun Friday!!

March 15, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

Part of the idea for today’s 43 came from Marcia who said curtsey lunges were one of her favorite exercises. I paired the curtsey lunge up with a couple of other moves and got a nice little 43.

I did the curtsey lunge and while holding the lunge did a bicep curl (I used 10 pound DBs today) then I stood and lifted the back leg while squeezing my butt = 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1gfw0ZXP4′]

Besides the fact that I nearly lost my balance during the demo – it was great! This 43 was pretty challenging – my quads were burning and I got my heart rate up since it was upper and lower body combined!!! 43 on the 2nd leg was the real kicker!

At one point I stopped for a second to stretch and told Hunter that this was a hard one. He said, “You can do it. You’ve done all of them so far.” So sweet!! Of course, he didn’t look up from what he was doing at the time. (This is one of his favorite morning activities before I take him to school – not filming me or even watching me sweat – learning new techniques with his cubes!!)

learning yet another method to solve one of the cubes!

Thanks to Hunter and his encouragement, I made it through another 43!

Today I decided to do a low-impact type workout (especially after yesterday’s crazy Tabata madness!) since I have a super long run planned for tomorrow. I pulled out an oldie – Denise Austin: Fat-Blasing Yoga. I don’t do yoga often but I have found a few DVDs that I really enjoy. Angela just did a great post about the benefits of yoga for runners so I figured today was a good day for it.

I actually have a # of Denise Austin’s DVDs – sometimes I just follow along without the sound but she does have some really great workouts. The yoga one is a nice mix of strength work and stretching. At the end there is a 15 minute section that is primarily core using a stability ball. It was a nice break from running, jumping….

real clothes don't happen often anymore! — real clothes don’t happen often anymore!

Yesterday I actually put on non-workout clothes!!! Sad part was that it was to go to a funeral (a friend of mine lost her Dad this week). Her dad served in the Navy during World War II and so at the cemetery they had the military service – 2 Navy men – salute as casket is carried up, Taps and the flag (unfold, refold then present it). Military services always sort-of get to me. I told Chris that I never want someone to hand me that flag – so do what you need to do to make sure that doesn’t happen, OK?

Well, it is going to be Fun Friday! Even though it is still in the 30s right now, we are supposed to get up to 80!!! I can’t wait.

Chris is off today and the boys will be on Spring Break when they get home this afternoon. I have a friend who is just starting to sell Origami Owl jewelry so I’m going to her party this afternoon. And, it’s basketball tournament time!!!! (Even though my teamis already out – still love the tournament!)

Happy Fun Friday!!!

Kim

Biceps, Fitness, Running, Shoulders, Squats, Treadmill

Tonight is one of my Favorite Nights of the Year!!!

March 9, 2013 Kim 14 Comments

Today’s 43 was another combo move!! This move is a big part of Les Mills Combat – HIIT Power. I decided to just make the move my 43 instead of doing that workout today because I wanted to run!!

So, the 43 was a squat with a bicep curl – stand with a shoulder press – squat when you bring your arms back down = 1 rep. (not as confusing as it sounds, I promise!)

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkglXEZuZug&feature=youtu.be’]

Today I used 15 pound dumbbells and by the last 15-20 I was working really hard!!! (And, again – I don’t know why my videos are coming out so dark when I upload them – gotta work on that!!!)

I ran for the 3rd time this week!! I rarely run more than that in a week anymore – body can’t handle it. Good week – 3x – almost 30 total miles (counting the cool down ones!).

Today was a fast, hard 8 miles at 1.5 % incline in 48:38 with an easy 2 to finish for a total of 82:00 minutes. Next Saturday I have a big run planned – can’t wait!!!

This night has marked one of my favorite times of year for as long as I can remember!!

Growing up I loved when Daylight Savings time started because it meant that we had an extra hour to play outside before dark! We used to spend hours outside when I was a kid. Sort-of different with kids now! I’m pretty sure that kids today could care less about the time change or an extra hour before it gets dark – different world!

Now, I love the change to Daylight Savings because it means it is almost spring!!!

And, we all know what comes next…….

Do you like the change to Daylight Savings Time?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

Biceps, Fitness

Snow Day Fun

February 22, 2013 Kim 10 Comments

Today is another snow day for the boys!!! Chris had to go to work (but not until 10:00am which is much better than his normal 6:00am show time!).

I decided to give my legs a break on the 43 today and hit my arms. I did a cross body hammer curl (biceps). I alternated arms and counted 1 right arm curl and 1 left arm curl as 1 rep so it was really 86!!

You can see that it is a simple move – I tried to go slowly and focus on the entire movement for maximum benefit! (I used 10 pound dumbbells.)

I guess I’m checking out my massive bicep?! (Pictures aren’t very close up because this hair growing business isn’t working out that well!! I’ve resorted to just pulling my bangs back in the most lovely fashion so they stay off my face when I work out!)

Today I also did my newest favorite workout from Les Mills Combat – Combat 60 Live, Ultimate Warrior. This one totally kicks my tail!!! Love it!

Then I decided to pull out another old favorite – Ab Ripper X (from P90X). I already know that by Sunday my entire core will ache!! This is a short work-out (16 minutes) and it includes 11 different core exercise – 25 of each except the last 1 has 50. It’s a true delight!!!

I know lots of people spend snow days outside playing in the snow – ~~idiots~~ crazy! I have a strict snow day policy – I don’t leave the house!!! I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it, but I hate snow and cold!!! Usually the boys go out and romp around in the snow but yesterday they didn’t for some reason.

Our snow day included:

Jordan & I worked for several hours on his History Day board (it is for Saturday so good thing we had a snow day to get it done!!). It was fun working with him and helping him put it together!!
Hunter spent time perfecting his Rubik skills!
Hunter’s Rubik collection

3. Chris spent a couple hours shoveling 10″ of snow off the driveway – yuck! (and somehow I didn’t get a picture – boo!)

4. Jordan also fit in some time for his epic Lego battles! I love that he has such a vivid imagination still. He even makes videos of the lego stuff – who knows? Maybe one day he will be a film maker?? Actually he plans to be a History Professor (Ancient History).

5. Hunter also had a battle scene:

I’m not sure when we will finally get rid of all of the stuffed animals! Hunter (and his friends when they come over) still enjoys them (for battles!) – funny!

So, how does your family spend a snow day (or 2)?

Oh – Good news!!! Today is National Margarita Day!!! What a great thing for Fun Friday!

Happy Fun Friday, Margarita Day!!!

Kim

Biceps, Circuit, Fitness, Shoulders, Squats, Triceps

Groundhog as Meteorologist (at least today!)

February 2, 2013 Kim

Today’s 43 was another circuit that I thought would be fun – you know I love to work as many different muscles as possible!!! This one was pretty much a total body circuit!!

Sometimes it is more challenging to keep the legs stationary than it is to move them! The single leg squats require core strength to keep your balance. Adding the hops and weights helps get your heart rate up! Score on many levels!!

I liked this circuit as a 43 – it went really quickly, too. 43 reps = 129 of each of the arm exercises!!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9pfYrxxyDc’]

After the circuit I still wanted to do a bit more today so I did one of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs – Ultimate Boot Camp with Jessica Smith. I only did 3 of the 5 sections: Fat Fighting Skills & Drills (intervals of high intensity cardio – loved this section!), Ultimate Total Body Training (power, strength & endurance moves combined – loved!), and Six Pack Ab Attack (duh – core!).

This was a great work-out for me. Each of the 10 minutes were non-stop activity and Jessica actually put together some moves that were new for me (love when that happens – sometimes it seems like all of the work-outs use the same ‘ol moves!!!)

So, in case you didn’t get up and watch the news

the famous ground hog did not see his shadow so spring is on the way!! And we all know that just like our local meteorologist – this guy is totally accurate (at least 50% of the time!!!)!

Cute tradition! And if you live in or around Punxsutawney, PA I guess it is a pretty big deal! Maybe Topeka should come up with something fun like that…hmmm……

Well, no matter when spring arrives these little guys always make me smile!

Happy Saturday (in the middle of winter!)!!

Kim

Biceps, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Just Messin’ Around

January 26, 2013 Kim 5 Comments

Today for my 43, I pulled out a piece of equipment that I forgot I even had (and I have no idea where it came from).

It is a Bally disc. Kind-of cool because the disc actually spins so you have to hold your core tight if you want to stay still.

The black part is the spinning part. I decided to just play around with this and see what all I could do with it.

First, I stood on it and twisted. I did 3 sets of 43 twists.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf3pwJT3NPM’]

I’m not sure if it would be possible for me to look any goofier than I do in that demo!!!

Then I decided to stand on the disk and do side-bicep curls (43, of course).

The bands aren’t really very long and they are sort-of tight so this was a pretty good exercise. I decided to try one more 43 – alternate front raises.

This last 43 (on each side!!!) was the hardest!! Gotta keep working on my shoulders!!!

Overall, I’m not sure how often I will pull this disc out – judging by the dust I had to clean off of it this time, not very often!!! It was fun to mess around and do some different things for my 43 today so the disc has some value!!!

After I finished up the 43s of the day, I did Les Mills Combat – HIIT Plyo. This is a great HIIT work-out. It is only 30 minutes but it is super high intensity. Lots of jumping squats, plyo lunges and burpees!!! I also did the Core Attack work-out again because I like to ~~torture myself~~ challenge myself!

Yesterday was a fun girl’s day out (we even had a glass of wine with our lunch) – shopping really works up an appetite!!! The best part of the day was coming home at dinner time to the yummy meal that Chris had all ready!!

Last night, Chris and I watched Pitch Perfect using Apple TV. That Apple TV is handy – all you need is a remote – no DVD player required!!! (The DVD has to be preloaded and….blah, blah, blah…..but that is behind the scenes work on Chris’ part!!!). Chris admitted he thought the movie was going to be hokey but he ended up enjoying it as much as I did!!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siEHekc-1oE’]

My favorite type of movie – funny with a happy ending – a true feel-good movie.

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Day With KT