Category Archives: Chest

Back, Chest, Fitness, Hamstrings, Push-Ups, Running

Furniture as Fitness Equipment (5/25-5/31)

May 31, 2014 Kim 48 Comments

This week I decided to take a basic piece of furniture and use it for all of my daily 44s. I used one of the little footstools in our basement –

Sunday 5/25 – 44 elevated plank with extended arm and opposite arm row.

Can you tell that my arm is in front of me? Positioning my arm like that instead of under my shoulder made this move HARD!!!! And, I had to do a set of 44 with my right arm!

I think I need to do more planks with my arm out in front – I felt that for days!!!

Monday 5/26 – 44 triceps dips with hands on my step and feet on the foot stool (so they were higher than my hands). This move is similar to one that Josie (Yum Yucky) showed recently – advanced tricep dips!!!

Total burn during this move!!!

I did a fun workout – Prevention 3-2-1. I like this workout because the format makes the time fly by. You do 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of strength work and 1 minute of core for 6 segments!!!

Tuesday 5/27 – 44 split leg dead lift with one foot on the foot stool.

After finishing one set and having a hip on fire, I had to do 44 on the other side!

I love dead lifts and this was a fun way to do them – the key is make sure that most of your weight is on the leg/foot on the ground!!! (12 pound dumbbells)

I started back on one of my favorite weight lifting programs – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1. (for the record I’m still sore today!!!)

And, after that, it was time for Hunter’s final long run – his best one ever!!! We continued with our 5 minutes of running/1 minute of walking because he likes that and wants to do that for the half – 10.65 miles in 1:41.26 (average pace 9:31).

Wednesday 5/28 – 44 single arm bent over row with one foot on the foot stool and a wobble ball under the foot on the ground. (12 pounds)

This week had lots of days that had 2 sets of 44 – always fun!!!

For some reason, I spent all of Tuesday night with a stomach ache so when I got up Wednesday I decided to do something fairly simple – I just walked 8.25 miles with an 11% incline. (It took just over 2 hours!)

Thursday 5/29 – 44 hip lifts with feet on the foot stool (toes up).

Another day of weight lifting – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2.

Friday 5/30 – 44 push-ups with feet pressed against the side (at the top) of the foot stool.

And, for the record, Chris took a bit to take the 2nd picture – pretty sure I said “Holy Hell, take the picture already!!” This move was HARD!!!!

It was a running day again – 9 miles in 67:47 with 1.5% incline + 2.5 miles easy!!!!

Saturday 5/31 – 44 box jumps using the foot stool – fun times!!!

And, yesterday when I was reading blogs, Taylor @ Lifting Revolution had this great Weekend Warrior Workout as well as a statement that I took as a challenge – she said to set a timer for 30-40 minutes for the workout but that “we weren’t going to finish and that’s the point.” Of course, that meant I had to try it!!!

The workout includes:
1 mile run
500 jumping jacks
400 squats
300 leg raises
200 push-ups
100 burpees (either dead man or with push-up)

The moves can be broken up any way you want to but the plan is to keep moving for the entire time and see how much you can get done.

Total time – 48:40 broken down to 41:35 for the moves + 7:05 for the mile. I did all the push-ups on my toes and deadman burpees for all of them.

Pretty sure that I will be moving slowly the rest of the weekend after that workout!!!

Do you ever use furniture for your workouts?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

BOSU, Butt, Chest, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Lunges, Push-Ups, Running, Treadmill, Triceps

BOSU Fun (4/13 – 4/19)

April 19, 2014 Kim 44 Comments

This week the daily 44s were all about my favorite piece of equipment –

Sunday 4/13 – 44 curtsy lunge on upside down BOSU.

After 44 on my right leg, I had to switch feet and do another set!!

The pictures were actually after Hunter and I did his first 60 minute run!!! We ended up doing 61 minutes so we could do an even 6 miles!!! For the run we did a 5 minute run/1 minute walk cycle and he did great!!!

Monday 4/14 – 44 tricep dips on upside down BOSU.

By the 25th rep my arms were shaking – 44 of this move was no joke!!!

And, I decided to run a marathon!! Actually, I wanted to get in a long run of 2-3 hours. When I got close to 3 hours I thought I would keep going to 25 miles and then I decided to just go to 26.2!!!

26.2 miles – 3:40.57 + 0.8 easy miles

Tuesday 4/15 – 44 push-ups with one arm on the BOSU.

And, of course, I had to do 44 more with my right arm on the BOSU.

(I know I have on the same clothes from Monday’s pictures – Chris took the pictures on Monday morning before he left to go out of town for a few days!!)

I only did 22-24 on each side on my toes and the rest were on my knees.

I wanted to do an easier workout since my legs were tired from Monday so I did Poise-Core Training. It was a lot like pilates and a nice 45 minute workout!!

After school, I ran with the boys – 30 minutes (we did 3.25 miles) and then walked 0.25 miles. The first couple minutes were rough and I almost stopped but by the end I was happy I had gone with them.

Wednesday 4/16 – 44 side leg abduction on BOSU.

This was another one of those moves that I had to do one set of 44 and then switch sides to do another set!

I tried to hold each lift for a couple seconds and then control my leg on the way down – my base leg was shaky!!!

And, since the week was already about the BOSU, I did a couple of BOSU DVDs – BOSU Balance Trainer and BOSU Reactive Strength & Power. Both of these workouts had a mix of cardio, strength moves and some core work!!

Thursday 4/17 – 44 crunches on BOSU.

The start position was nice because it was a good back stretch!!

It wasn’t a big crunch (otherwise I would have rolled off!) but it was very effective!

And, I ran again!! 8 miles (63:03) + 0.5 easy miles.

Friday 4/18 – 44 BOSU butt bridges.

down (butt slightly off ground even in this position)

I liked this move – I don’t think I work my hamstrings as much as I should but this move definitely did the trick!

I did a fun DVD – Cross Training for Fitness. It is a lot of kickboxing with some great core work thrown in.

Hunter and I also ran. It was a 35 minute run but we ended up coin 36:51 so we could finish our 4th mile. Hunter is doing a great job with his training – so far he is still enjoying it and I love the time we spend running together!!!

Saturday 4/19 – 44 squats with a twist (holding a medicine ball) on upside down BOSU.

I did all 44 to the right side and then switched and did 44 more.

You can look back at the week and see that I did several moves with the BOSU upside down. If you have never tried using the BOSU this way, you should!! The balance challenge is incredible!!!

There are so many ways to use a BOSU – I think I will have to pick another week soon to focus on it again!!!

Weekly mileage 47.45 + 1.55 easy miles for a total of 49 miles.

Happy Saturday!!! Have a great Easter weekend!

Kim

Chest, Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill

Some Friday Favorites

January 24, 2014 Kim 81 Comments

For my 44 today I went with a move that Debbie @ Live from La Quinta had in a post the other day about balance. I figure I might not have balance in all areas of my life but I can work on my actual balance!!!

I did a 1 arm chest press on the stability ball.

I did all 44 reps on the right side and then switched and did 44 more because it’s all about balance!!!

It might seem like it is easier to do 1 arm at a time but you really do have to work on the balance and hold tighter with your core so you don’t roll off the ball. I used 15 pounds and that was just enough to make the last 5 reps or so really difficult!!!

And, I did another run (4 in 1 week!!!) – 1.5% incline for 8 miles at 7:30 pace then an easy cool down mile.

The Sound of Music is one of my all time favorite movies and like Julie Andrews says, “I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad!!!”

I love our new dishwasher!!

The fact that the buttons are on the top of it is nice because our old one had them right on the front and people were always leaning against it and turning it on!!! Plus – check out the 3 racks –

Look how cool the top rack is – it holds all of those big utensils – I love it!!!

Another kitchen appliance that I love is my Ninja Crock Pot!!! (I actually love all of my crock pots and use them often.)

The really cool thing about this one is that you can use it in other ways besides just a slow cooker. The feature I love is the stove-top cooking one.

So, I don’t have to use a skillet to sauté onions or brown meat – I just do it in the Ninja – it’s genius!!!

And, I haven’t watched as much college basketball as I normally do but the other night my favorite team did this –

Pretty big deal for Texas to beat Kansas since I actually live in Kansas!!!

My final favorite today is this cool YouTube video that Jordan put together for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHwLLi8NfUc&feature=em-share_video_user

I wanted to have some kind of picture display for the Bridal Fair this weekend and Jordan took care of it for me!!!

What is one of your favorites today?

Happy Friday!!

Kim

Biceps, Chest, Fitness, Shoulders

A Week of Ups and Downs

January 10, 2014 Kim 86 Comments

Today for the 44 I did a move that is always tough for me – the W (you know, your arms and head make a W.

This move wasn’t too bad for the first 28 or 30 but the last 15-16 were rough!!! (and I only used 5 pound dumbbells!!)

I decided to do a fairly simple workout to see how it felt so I did Burn & Firm Pilates. This was a nice way to get some movement and strength training without pulling on my legs a lot.

This week has been one of those roller coaster weeks!! I know that all weeks have some good and some not so good but his one has been all over the place!!

The boys got an extra day of winter break!!! And, they spent part of it helping me put up the Christmas decorations!

The weather has been awful – besides the extreme cold, the snow on the ground (especially the roads) is not my favorite!

Even without a huge grocery shopping trip this weekend, I have gotten back on track with cooking dinner again!!!

The heater for 2 of our apartment units (above our venue) went out on Monday night – the motor blew – coldest night of the year!!! And then the pipes froze – so no heat or water!

We got the motor replaced (for the heater) Tuesday before lunch time (I still haven’t seen the bill!!).

I ended up having 10 more injections in my legs on Wednesday at a simple follow-up appointment!

The recovery/down-time for the injections is just a few days.

Our dishwasher quit/the motor in it blew out last week. I bought a new one the day after and set it up for delivery. It was supposed to come Monday – as of 3:00 yesterday we still didn’t have a new dishwasher. I had already made 4 phone calls about it and finally got a response of next Monday (with another 4 hour window on my part).

We found the same dishwasher at a different store (in stock), bought it, brought it home and Chris put it in. Full refund on the first one – and we ended up saving a few dollars!!!

Chris is off today and going to help me clean the Governor’s Row House for tomorrow’s event (and put up the Christmas decorations).

We are supposed to be get close to 50 degrees tomorrow and close to 60 on Sunday!!!

It’s Fun Friday!!!!

And – the good outweighed the bad!!!

I hope that in the ups & downs of your week the good won!!!

Happy Fun Friday!!

Kim

Chest, Core, Fitness

Some Days are Harder than Others

December 12, 2013 Kim 54 Comments

Today for my 44 I did a chest press with a twist at the top and while I was pressing my arms up, I lowered my legs to work my abs.

This was a struggle today!! I made it through all 44 but it was rough!!! (I used 15 pound dumbbells.)

Insanity the Asylum vol.2 today was Back & 6 Pack – all I can say about this is I’m happy it was only 40 minutes. I did the entire workout but I probably only put in about 75% effort which isn’t my normal way to workout – usually I go 100% every day. But, I figured 75% was better than nothing.

The tooth pain that I’ve been having (actually turned out to be a sinus infection) and the fact that for the past week I’ve gotten even less sleep than normal has finally caught up with me.

I’m exhausted!!!

But, no time to focus on that – I have to clean the Governor’s Row House today to get ready for a weekend party. Oh, and I get to iron all the tablecloths today – my favorite (3 hours of ironing!!!).

Oh, well – enough whining and moaning!!! Time for the answers to yesterday’s riddles.

1. Some use me better than others, even though everyone gets the same. If you lose me, it might be stressful, for I can’t be found or reclaimed. What am I? Time

2. When I am filled, I can point the way.
When I am empty, nothing moves me.
What am I? gloves

3. Why are 2007 pennies worth more than 2006 pennies? you have 1 more penny

4. What happened in 1961 and will not happen again until 6009? if you rotate the number 180 it is still the same number

5. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world? Mount Everest

6. How can you use the letters in NEW DOOR to make one word? those letters spell ONE WORD

Bonus: Use all 26 letters of the English alphabet to complete the following 13 words, but use each letter only once.

b a r g a i n
l o d g e r
d y n a s t y
z y g o t e
s a l v a t i o n
d i s h p a n
p u m p k i n
d e e j a y
b o x c a r
d i m w i t
s u n b u r n
o b l i q u e
l i f t o f f

So, how did you do?
Do you have any riddles?

Happy Thursday!!!

Kim

Day With KT