Category Archives: Cardio

Plyo and Hunter the Runner (4/20 – 4/26)

April 26, 2014 Kim 47 Comments

This week, the 44s were all about plyometrics!!! I decided to really push my legs hard for the week since today is exactly 2 weeks until my race (50 miles!).

Sunday 4/20 – 44 hopscotch jumps onto step. Start by straddling step – hop up with the right leg – hop back down to straddle – hop up with the left leg – hop back down to straddle for 1 rep.

Hunter had an 80 minute run scheduled so it was a run day. His legs were hurting a lot so we ended up running 4 miles and walking 2.4 to finish up our 80 minutes.

Monday 4/21 –44 plie jumps with heels touching at top of jump.

And, since it was marathon Monday, I ran!! 12 miles in 92:30 + 2.1 easy miles.

Tuesday 4/22 – 44 single leg dead-lift to a knee up with a hop while keeping arms in a goal post position.

I liked this move because even though it was plyo, it also included balance and control! And, of course, I had to do 44 on each side.

I did TaeBo Insane Abs – a fun cardio based core workout!!! Because I wanted to really tire my legs out, I also did Turbo Fire Fire 30.

Wednesday 4/23 – 44 lateral jumps over a foam roller – a right jump and left jump = 1 rep.

I started with my longest foam roller but after about busting my ankle decided to use a shorter one!!!

And, I started a run streak!!! 8 miles in 62:43 + 1.75 easy miles.

Thursday 4/24 – 44 low squat jump outs – right + left = 1 rep.

This was a fun move!!!

Another day of running – 9 miles in 64:31 + 1.5 easy miles.

Friday 4/25 – 44 donkey kicks with hands on the wobble balls.

In the video, I did slow kicks but during my 44 I mixed it up and did some slow and some fast.

Running – 7 miles in 53:48 + 2.25 easy miles.

Saturday 4/26 – 44 double butt kicks.

Not gonna lie – I’m happy that the week of plyo is done!!!

Today’s run was fun!!! We moved Hunter’s long run back a day because I’m fixing to head to Texas for a few days (my sister just had a baby!!) and I didn’t want to miss it.

Hunter crushed this run – 85 minutes and he did 9 miles. We actually did a run 5 minute/walk 1 minute plan and he still averaged 9:22 miles!!! This was his furthest run by over 2.5 miles – I’m so proud of him and happy that I get to experience these first running moments with him!!!

Total miles for the week:
49 miles
10.05 easy miles

Do you like plyometric moves?

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

BOSU, Cardio, Fitness, Power Moves, Push-Ups, Running, Treadmill

Burpees, Burpees, Burpees 3/23-3/29

March 29, 2014 Kim 61 Comments

I usually mix up my 44s from one day to the next but this week I decided to make it all about the burpee!! (I don’t know what I was thinking!!!)

Sunday 3/23 – 44 side burpees. First off, this one was actually 88 total burpees – crazy!!! Instead of jumping back, I jumped out to the side – push-up – jumped back in then repeated to the other side and counted that as 1 rep.

You can tell in the video that the side push-up is just a bit different – my hands are more staggered and I sort of went down to one side each time. This was NOT easy!!! It took me around 10 minutes to finish all my reps because I had to have some breaks!!!

Monday 3/24 – 44 dead man burpees. This one is sort of fun but my chest was sore for days after this. When you go back, lay down on the ground and extend your arms to the sides – then push up from the ground.

This might have been my favorite move from the week.

I ran today – the plan was to get in at least one 20 mile run but that didn’t happen because my right calf has been giving me problems. Instead I ran 4 miles and walked another 4.3.

Tuesday 3/25 – 44 sumo burpees. Probably the “easiest” style of burpees I did all week. I think being in the sumo position and doing wide push-ups is a little easier!

For the #HappyFitMarch challenge today we were supposed to set a new PR for wall sit. I decided to make the wall sit extra “fun” and put wobble balls under my feet – 4:01.

I did a DVD that I haven’t in awhile – TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Abs. This is about 45 minutes of cardio and it is geared to working your core. You use the “amplifier” –

Using this stick adds all kinds of intensity!

Wednesday 3/26 –44 decline burpees. These were HARD!!!! They might have been my least favorite from the week. Jumping my feet backwards onto the step was a little scary!!

The push-ups were not easy!

I did my Mash-Up Conditioning DVD that I won from Kim @ BusyBod and did 4 more of the Tempos (3, 4, 5 and 6). I have done all but Tempo 7 now. I like the format of the workout and I will like it more each time through. The first time was a bit of a challenge because you lose a little time trying to figure out what the move is supposed to be.

Thursday 3/27 – 44 medicine ball burpees. These were the only burpees all week that I took the push-up out! I did one push-up with my hands on the medicine ball and about busted my face!!!

So, technically, I guess these aren’t true burpees but I’m counting them for this week!!!

I did one of my favorite workouts – Turbo Fire – Fire 60 and Abs 10. Both of these are great workouts and I always have fun with Chalean and the rest of the Turbo Fire crew.

I also decided to try a run and see how my calf was doing. I ended up running 10 miles at a nice easy pace (8:30) and then did 1.2 miles cool down. Thankfully running slower didn’t really aggravate my calf!!!

Friday 3/28 – 44 side plank burpees. Jump back – side plank – push-up – side plank other side – push-up – jump in and jump up – repeat.

These were nice because they had to be a little slower than a standard burpee in order to get the most out of the side planks. But, I had to do 88 push-ups to complete all 44 reps!!!

My workout was nice and easy – 2 Pilates DVDs – Fat Burning Pilates and Burn & Firm Pilates. I don’t do Pilates often but it really is a nice change of pace!

Saturday 3/29 – 44 BOSU squat jump burpees. For my 7th day of burpees I wanted to do a good one. I came up with a fun move using my favorite piece of equipment (besides my treadmill, of course) –

The move was to jump off the BOSU – jump back and do a push-up with hands on the BOSU (this was a challenge for me since it was more of a tricep push-up) – jump in – jump onto BOSU – do a squat jump and stick it – repeat!

Fun times!!!!

And, I ran today because we were supposed to do a mile for #HappyFitMarch and compare it to the previous Saturdays. I did a total of 5 miles –

My final mile was 6:12 which isn’t my fastest but I didn’t want to push too hard today because speeding up I could feel my calf pulling again.

Overall, even with my calf not cooperating, it was a great week. Lots of burpees – 7 days, 7 different kinds – 352 total burpees!!!!

And, I’m almost to my March goal of 150 miles!!! 2 more days should definitely put me over!!!

What’s your favorite way to burpee?

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Back, Biceps, Cardio, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Plyo, Running, Shoulders, Treadmill

Daily Moves 3/16 – 3/22

March 22, 2014 Kim 44 Comments

It might take me awhile to figure out how I want to do my Daily 44s since I’m not posting every day!!

Sunday 3/16 – 44 Squat thrust with 4 plank jacks

No other workout – Sunday is usually my day off if I take one for the week.

Monday 3/17 – 44 seated row with band

I ran 11 miles in 88:07 followed by an easy cool down mile.

Tuesday 3/18 – 44 windshield wipers with bender ball. This move is awesome for your entire core!!!

I counted a right – left as 1 rep. Not gonna lie – this move was hard for me!! I guess my core/obliques need more work!!!

Another long run (trying to get used to running on tired legs!) – 12 miles in 95:36 followed by 2 easy miles.

Wednesday 3/19 – 44 hammer curls while standing on wobble balls.

I used 10 pound dumbbells which was about as heavy as I could handle for that many reps.

I pulled out another DVD that I haven’t done in a long time – Shape Sculpt Your Abs. I did the entire 60 minutes plus the 12 minute bonus. I like that even though the title implies that it is just an Ab workout, it is really a full body workout!!!

Thursday 3/20 – 44 side lying hip abductions. This move was thanks to Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) and her Weekly Wednesday Workout. I have done a move similar before but this one had a slight variation – when you lift your leg, you pull it slightly back.

It didn’t take very many of these to feel it in my hip and outer thighs!!! And, you know I don’t want to be unbalanced so I flipped over and did 44 more!

I also got in my 3rd run of the week. 8 miles in 62:13 followed by 1.6 miles nice and easy!!!

Friday 3/21 – 44 Jefferson Dead Lifts. This move was brand new to me and I liked it OK since I like to find new things to try for my daily moves but I’m not sure I would do it regularly. I saw it on Tamara’s (Fitknitchick) Facebook page the other night and thought it would be fun!

You can see in the picture that the grip is different from a standard grip with one hand facing out and the other in.

I decided that since it seemed like one side was working a little differently I should flip around and do another set of 44 the other way.

I think that I prefer the straight leg dead lift to really target my hamstrings and butt!!

I did a new workout that I just won from Kim (BusyBod) “Thanks, Kim!!!” – The MashUP Conditioning DVD. This workout was intense!!! The idea is to work the entire body in a short time (longer if you combine segments). Each 15 minute segment consists of 3 parts – 5 minutes of strength based moves (also some agility involved). This is 5 moves for 1 minute each!

The next section was HIIT – 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for 5 minutes. I’ve never done HIIT with that long of a rest but it was kind of nice.

The final 5 minutes was the mind/body connection – 5 primarily core moves for 1 minute each and you were encouraged to stretch as needed.

I did 2 (there are 7 total) of the Tempo segments for a 30 minute intense workout!!

Saturday 3/22 – 44 jump squats onto wobble balls. You know I’m loving my wobble balls and this was a fun way to do some jump squats!!!

I tried flipping them over and really working my balance but after nearly twisting my ankle twice I decided that it was challenging enough the way I did it!!!

And, I ran again this morning!!! 8 miles in 56:52 plus 2.2 easy miles. Today for the HappyFitMarch challenge we were supposed to run a mile and compare it to the past 3 Saturdays. I used my 8th mile today (I’ve been using my first mile which is never my fastest!) – 6:00 for the final mile.

Overall, it was a great week of 44s and working out!! I ran 4 out of 7 days for a total of 31 miles plus 6.8 easy miles.

Did you do any new moves or workouts this week?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

Cardio, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Staying True to My “Why”

March 16, 2014 Kim 40 Comments

Today’s 44 was a great one to get my heart rate up quickly!!! I did a squat thrust with 4 plank jacks. Instead of standing in between each rep, I just jumped my knees in and back out because I wanted this to be a shoulder burner!!!

This isn’t quite as hard as burpees but pretty close!!!

I started blogging exactly 1.5 years ago today.
365 days of Daily 43s and 182 days of Daily 44s = 547 consecutive days of a daily move and writing a blog post.

When I first started blogging, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing! I just knew that I wanted to use my blog to document my daily moves!!!

The first month or two that I blogged, all I wrote about was the exercise of the day and maybe a line or two about something else.

Slowly, I realized that I could do more than just write about whatever “daily” move I completed and I started to make this space more personal. I also started following more and more blogs and over time developed actual relationships with some incredible bloggers!!

I think that the blogging community is what keeps me logging in to my little blog space every single day!!! I love reading other blogs and sharing our lives through comments back and forth!!!

Lately, I have been struggling to read and comment as much as I want to while keeping up with my blog and my actual daily life! I don’t want to compromise the reason behind my blog because I am still very much committed to doing 44 reps of whatever daily move I pick.

I have been trying to figure out how to customize my blog without compromising my intent behind blogging. My goal has never been to make money from this or to have the most views or anything other than just to be me. The online friendships were something that I didn’t even know would happen and I feel blessed beyond measure to have “met” so many great people.

I think I have a plan for my blog going forward that will help cut down on some of my stress (I don’t want blogging to be a source of stress) and still allow me to stay true to why I started this in the first place.

I think ultimately, it is about being true to ourselves (in every aspect of our lives) and that is what I want to do!!!

Happy Sunday!!!

Kim

BOSU, Cardio, Fitness, Push-Ups, Running, Treadmill

Jumbled Thoughts and a Bit of Stress

March 11, 2014 Kim 77 Comments

Today I combined the daily challenge for #happyfitmarch with my 44. The challenge today was to see how many burpees we could do in 2 minutes. I added in my BOSU to make the burpees more “fun.”

I got 25 in 2 minutes and then kept going until I finished all 44. These were hard – a push-up on the BOSU and then a jump while lifting the BOSU overhead!!!

I ran again today – if my Achilles will hold up, I’m going to try and get 5 days in a row!!! Today was 1.5% incline – 8 miles in 61:24 and then 0.8 miles nice and easy!!

I have so many things floating around in my head that I want to write about but I don’t even know how to put them all down. Just a few random thoughts:

* I’m happy that we had a nice 70+ degree day yesterday!! Almost beach season!!!

* Tonight we are “hosting” an event but the person in charge hasn’t even contacted me in weeks. I’m a bit stressed about set-up times and what she is planning since she is emailing all of the vendors that will be coming, yet she hasn’t touched base with me.

* Jordan leaves on a band trip in 2 days. I’m trying not to have a melt-down about it but it is hard to send my 15 year old across the country with 200+ kids.

* I’m struggling to fit in the time I really want to spend blogging and all the other things that are going on. It is hard for me to mark tons of blogs in my BlogLovin as read at the end of the day because I simply can’t get to all of them.