This week the workouts were wimpy and practically non-existent!!! I can’t remember the last time I’ve started January with so few days of working out.
Oh well, a little is better than zero!!!
Sunday 1/4 – 45 squat with one leg propped up to the side.
ready to squat on left legdown
And, of course, I had to turn around and get the other side.
ready for side 2down
This move was also a nice hip opener.
I did an easy 5 mile run (40:30) followed by 1.25 super easy miles.
Monday 1/5 – 45 hops – front, back, out, in.
Quick and easy but better than nothing!!!
Tuesday 1/6 – 45 side running motion with one leg on a higher step.
readyup and run (hard to capture a picture)
I really did bring my knee up in more of a running motion – this was after the basketball game and I was ready for the day to be over!!!
I did the move with both legs on top (switched directions) but didn’t take a picture of my backside:).
Wednesday 1/7 – 45 side lying leg front and back (toe down in front and heel down in back).
move leg to the front and turn the toe downmove leg back with the heel down
And, don’t think I only worked one side –
Side 2 – move leg to frontleg back
By flipping the toes up and down, this move was a great one to work all parts of your hips!!!
Thursday 1/8 – 45 side knee lift with a side bend (band around ankles).
lift right knee and bend to the rightLift left knee and bend left
I counted a right – left as 1 rep for this move.
And, I’m thinking that 6 hours of putting up Christmas decorations including about 100 trips up and down the stairs should count as at least some sort of workout!!
Friday 1/9 – 45 alternating heel taps with hands reaching up and down. (I got this idea from Nellie on her Weekly Wednesday Workout and did my own variation).
Ready to startright heel tap – reach arms overheadleft heel tap – reach arms down to sides
I tried to keep this move a nice fluid move with my legs while my arms did a semi-circle as the went up and then down.
I actually ran – it was rough but better than nothing.
6 miles in 48:58 followed by 1.3 easy miles.
Saturday 1/10 – 45 chest press with leg abduction (band around ankles).
readybring arms down and open legs to sides
I liked this move since it worked so many large muscle groups!!!
I decided to try another workout – Cross Training for Fitness. I made it through 3 of the 15 minute sections before deciding I was done.
I have had a sore throat and sinus drainage all week which has hampered my workouts but I’m thinking that I’m at the point where I just need to suck it up and start pushing through!!! It’s amazing how quickly you can lose your current level of conditioning when you take some time off!
BTW – I do have on sweats/yoga pants/fleece and fuzzy socks in pretty much all the pictures – when it’s cold I live in this stuff. The minute I get home from any activity I put on my warm comfy clothes!!!
Since I haven’t been able to run (or jump or do anything with any impact) lately, and I took a week almost completely off, it has gotten harder to really push myself during my workouts.
Sunday 11/9 – 45 squats on a wobble disc.
readydown
Not gonna lie – this was hard and hurt my leg (squats and lunges aren’t working out well for me right now).
Monday 11/10 – 45 side bends with arms behind head.
bend right
I did 45 bends to the right and then had to switch and do 45 to the left –
to the left
I did a workout that is very low impact but still at least feels like I”m doing something – Fat Burning Pilates.
Tuesday 11/11 –45 sit-ups on bender ball –
easy partup
Wednesday 11/12 – 45 alternate twisting knees on upside down wobble balls (right-left = 1 rep).
startknee up twist right
Go back to the start and then –
Knee up – twist left
I tried to run (for about 5 steps!!) and ended up just walking (again) – 5 miles with a 10% incline.
Thursday 11/13 – 45 rear leg lifts (on stability ball with arms extending forward).
easy partright leg lift
After doing 45 lifts with this leg (lift the leg and tap the toe down) in a slow controlled way, I switched legs –
left leg lifts
I did Jillian Michaels Kick Box: Fast & Furious. Most of the workout was good – a few of the kicks hurt my leg but I think I just need to suck it up!!!
Friday 11/14 – 45 fly to head banger while in bridge.
readybring hands togetherhead banger (triceps)
Reverse move to complete one rep!!!
I pulled out another old workout – TaeBo Ripped Extreme. If you like TaeBo this is a great workout. The last little bit had a lot of squats to kicks which I ended up skipping out on but otherwise it was a great workout!!!
What I’ve noticed after taking some time off is that after a break it gets easier and easier to take a day off and the workouts seem harder and harder. I don’t really like this trend!!!
Sometimes as runners/athletes we make choices based on what we want to do and not what we should do – at least I know I’m like that. This week was one of those times – I just tried to do what I wanted as far as working out. It didn’t really work but…..
Sunday 11/2 – 45 machine gun kicks.
balance on right leg – left leg kicksextend leg
These go quickly – the challenge is supporting yourself on the standing leg and staying balanced while moving your leg back and forth!! And, both sides have to be worked equally –
ready for side 2go
This move is actually one I learned from TaeBo!!!
After a week almost completely off and a couple other minimal weeks, I decided to try and run. It wasn’t great but I pushed through and did a slow 5 miles. (sometimes I’m not very smart!!!)
Monday 11/3 – 45 star crunches – right hand to left foot, down, left hand to right foot = 1 rep.
the nice partup and reach
Return to extended position then switch sides –
reach
And, since I was already working my core I decided to do TaeBo Insane Abs. This workout always makes me sore for a few days!!!
Tuesday 11/4 – 45 standing crunches (hold each crunch about 3 seconds).
readyround and squeeze – blow all the air out and hold
I really like standing crunches like this even though it looks a little odd!!!
I wanted to run again but it only took about 3 steps to realize that wasn’t going to happen. So I walked 6.35 miles at a 10% incline.
Wednesday 11/5 – 45 elbow plank with knee tap to a leg lift – alternate sides (right – left = 1 rep).
start in plankright knee barely taps groundlift right leg
Return to plank then do left side –
left knee taplift left leg
This ended up being a LONG time to hold plank by the time I did all 45 reps!!!
I pulled out another older DVD – Denise Austin: Personal Training System. Many years ago this was my go-to workout when I had a stress fracture in my foot and we were traveling – 20 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes upper body, 10 minutes lower body, 10 minutes abs and 10 minutes stretching.
Thursday 11/6 – 45 fly to pull-over. (8 pounds because 45 is a lot!!)
startopen to flybring arms back to center and push weights togetherpull arms over head (don’t touch the ground)
Keeping this movement slow and controlled is the key (especially on the down part!!). My chest is still sore from this one!!!
I’ve mentioned before that I love the 10 Minute Solution DVDs. I chose Sculpt, Tone & Reshape with the Figure 8 for the workout. The figure 8 is a resistance band.
figure 8 band
I like the combination of moves in the workout using the band!!
Holding plank while lifting and lowering your hips is a challenge – holding the plank on the BOSU makes it an even better challenge!!!
2nd side readydown
And, I tried and failed at running again!! So I just walked 4.25 miles at a 10% incline.
Saturday 11/8 – 45 standing pilates leg circles.
frontout to sideto back – squeeze your butt at this point to help with balance!!
If you look closely you can see that my foot is barely off the ground. Even to close the circle (half circle actually) you keep it just above the ground.
I did all 45 on one leg before switching sides.
frontsideback
I like this move even though it is small – after several reps you will start to feel it in your thighs, core and butt!!
I’m not thrilled that I can’t run still but I guess I will just keep doing things that don’t make my leg hurt worse until I get some answers from the DR(s)!!!
Boomer’s Burn was all about intervals – this one was awesome and I did a total of 6 miles to complete the workout!!!
Friday 10/3 – 45 wacky jacks.
Thanks to Jordan for letting me record him on this move.
I skipped my normal workout because I had been up all night Thursday night stirring my crockpots of taco meat. (I thought it would be FUN to do all the food for Chris’ party!!!)
Saturday 10/4 – 45 standing crunch with a knee in (arms raised overhead the entire time).
crunch with right knee inleg back
Switch sides and do 45 more –
left knee inback
I loved this move – so much more fun to do standing crunches!!
Stacy and I got in a cold run around the lake (6 miles) before we started working on the last minute stuff for the big party. Always fun to run with Stacy since it rarely happens!!
Sunday 10/5 – 45 ottoman push-ups to Griffin!!!
Hi, Griffinbaby smiles on the down part
I was keeping Griffin entertained (and awake) while Mandi finished getting ready and packing for their drive home!!!
Monday 10/6 – 45 squats on wobble balls – alternate touching inside of right foot and left foot (right-left = 1 rep).
ready – trying not to fall offsquat – touch right hand to left footback to startsquat – right hand to left foot
This move was fun!! I tried to squat low – I don’t always go below 90 when I squat but on this day I did!!
Boomer’s Burn was a cardio/strength workout again – one of my favorites!!!
I also ran 6 miles in 44:37.
Tuesday 10/7 – 45 triangle presses.
readyright hand down – left upback to startleft hand down right hand up
This move is a good one to do slowly and really work on the stretch. I’m not super flexible so it is a challenge for me!!! (I counted a right-left as 1 rep)
I did another Piyo workout that I really liked – Buns – some fun ways to work my butt!!!
Boomer’s Burn was another great interval workout!! I think that even after I finish this program next week I will keep incorporating interval days – love how hard it makes me push myself!!!
Wednesday 10/8 – 45 leg circles (on all 4s) with leg at about a 45 degree angle from body.
position
This is the basic position – it doesn’t really matter if you circle font or back – same effect. I had a video but encountered some technical difficulties. I did 45 with each leg!!
Boomer’s Burn focused on body weight moves (I did end up adding weights though)!
And I managed 9 miles in 66:30 – lately I haven’t been able to get in many long runs – need to work on that!
Sunday 8/17 – 44 barbell clean and press with a row.
readyflip bar and squat downuse legs to push bar overheadbring bar down by flipping it and keeping it close to your bodydead liftrow – squeeze shoulders
I liked this move because I felt like it worked pretty much every muscle in my body!!!
Monday 8/18 – 44 stair push-up with a jump.
This move was fun – it got my heart rate up and because of the angle of the push-ups I was sore for a few days!!!
This was the starting day of a long run streak:
10 miles in 79:41 + 1.5 miles easy.
Tuesday 8/19 – 44 stability ball single leg oblique punches with a dumbbell.
ready for right sidepull left knee in and punch with right hand
I did all 44 on one side and then switched sides for another set.
2nd sideright knee in and punch left
These were hard – the hardest part was keeping my balance – part of why the pictures are blurrier than normal!!!
And a shorter, faster run:
7 miles in 50:22 with an easy mile to finish.
Wednesday 8/20 – 44 plie squat jumps with a small band around my ankles and a lateral raise with dumbbells (5 pounds).
readyjump out and lift arms
You can’t really tell that I jumped but I did!!!
Back to a double digit run at a slower pace:
10.5 miles in 86:50 + 0.7 miles
I sort of kicked to my opposite side. And, when I went back to link to Taylor’s site I realized that I”m an idiot – she did them on her elbows – oh, well – a great move either way!!!
Another double digit run:
10 miles in 77:23 followed by 1.1 easy miles.
Saturday 8/23 – 44 squat pulses while standing on dumbbells.
readydown and pulseside view
(hard to take pictures of pulses without them being blurry!!)
Today I did a shorter run outside while Hunter had cross country practice – wish it would have been earlier since it was already close to 85 degrees!!!
4 easy miles and then 20+ minutes walking around waiting for Hunter and the other kids to get back to the school.
Overall it was a good week:
52.5 miles + 4.9 easy miles for a total of 57.4 miles.
I have a few more days of long runs planned and then I’m going to back off a bit. (Can you tell I have a race coming up????)
