Today for my 44 I decided to take a move that I’ve done on the floor and do it on a stability ball. I started in plank –
start
From here I did alternating lunges –
rightback to plankleft lunge
Not gonna lie – holding plank on the ball was a challenge and then doing a total of 44 lunges with each leg – HARD!!!!
Since today was a day off with the Michelle Bridges program, I did one of my all-time favorites – Les Mills Pump – Combat. I love this workout!!! 45 minutes of punching and kicking that goes by so quickly and I always feel like I got a good workout afterwards!!
This morning I realized that I need to get back to waking up and being excited for the day ahead instead of being so consumed by my To-Do list. I need to appreciate the beauty that I have every morning when I wake up and have an entire day ahead of me to use however I want.
Each day is like a gift – a clean slate full of hours to use any way we choose!!!!
I am choosing to close out each day at the end of it and start fresh each morning! Instead of carrying things over from the previous day, each morning will be a completely fresh start!!!
I think that far to often I go to bed feeling like I didn’t accomplish enough or that I wasted time and then I wake up feeling the same way and it sets a negative tone for the entire day. However, I’m choosing to focus on the beauty and newness of each day and let go of the mistakes from the day before!!!
What a great idea – don’t count the days and don’t dread the days!!!
Make each day count because it really is a gift!!!
It truly is a new day which means the possibilities are only limited by the choices I make.
Today (and each new today), I choose to start fresh and live the day to the max – enjoying each new exciting challenge that comes my way!!! Bring it!!!
Today’s 44 sort of reminded me of my track days – I did a knee up with a little twist to that side.
Obviously not me but I needed the beach picture!!! I did all 44 with my right knee up and then switched to the left side.
Still not me but this picture is pretty accurate for how the move looked (minus the fact that this is a guy!) – almost a bounce each time you lift the knee – plus he’s on a track!!!
So, this week I have spent hours on the phone because someone stole my identity. It is a little creepy to know that someone knows things they shouldn’t about me.
This person knows my Social Security number – he/she has opened up at least one new account using it.
They know my home address (this one really freaks me out!) – the new account they opened is using my address.
They have used other accounts of mine by walking into the store and having the someone look up the card number – in one case the store worker even changed the ID to theirs.
All of these things happened in Florida in about a one week period. (unless there is more that I don’t know about yet)
I have filed a police report, cancelled credit cards, called about my social security card, put a fraud alert on my credit. One of the worst parts is that many of the people I’ve had to talk to on the phone act like this is my fault.
Needless to say, this has been a very frustrating week and I’m sure it will continue to be a stressful process. Sort of scary because you never really think about something like this until it happens to you. I truly hope that none of you ever have to deal with this!!!
Happy Friday!
Kim
BTW – since it is Friday and therefor supposed to be fun, if you missed this FUN post yesterday over at Cranky Fitness head over and see how you can mix exercise and wine!!!
If you don’t already read Cranky Fitness (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Just kidding – sort of) – you should head over today. Awhile back she mentioned a fun idea for a post and today is the day!!! Hint, it involves fitness and wine!!!
I did make one small change to make it a little bit harder – I did all 44 to one side but instead of tapping my foot down each time, I extended the leg, keeping it off the ground. After the first set of 44, I switched sides and did some more!
crunchextend
This was a great way to really work my obliques!!!
I did another day with Michelle Bridges – I’m hoping to get a run in after I take the boys to school.
I guess I was fortunate in high school to get out without any major drama – mostly because I hung out with guys a lot of the time. I was a total nerd and other than running track, I didn’t participate in many activities.
I feel like I have experienced far more drama since becoming a mom (and it isn’t from my kids). I don’t get it – there are so many negative things surrounding all of us every day – why can’t we all just get along?!
I think that FaceBook can be a great thing – I don’t tend to use it much but I love the fact that I can keep up with people from high school, college and other times in my life even though we live far apart.
What I don’t like about FaceBook is all the drama!!!
Snarky comments, unfriending and the gossip. Sometimes following a strand of comments is entertaining but other times I feel really bad when I read it and see some of the comments.
If you are reading this and wondering if I’m talking about someone specific, the answer is NO!!! This is just something that has bugged me for years and years – the drama and snide comments that I see all the time even among friends.
I know that I am FAR from perfect and say things that might be misinterpreted but my intention is never to start something or stir up trouble. Really I just like to float along in my fantasy world where everything is nice and everyone gets along!!!
Today’s 44 was a fairly simple move but definitely one that works a lot of muscles. I took my resistance band and put the loops on my feet then pulled the middle up to my chest.
sort of like this
Actually I put my upper body closer to the ground (but not on it)
can you tell that my back is not on the ground?
From this awkward position, I did flutter kicks with my legs.
right down left upswitch (this picture is actually more of a motion shot!!)
(Drill weekend makes it hard to get pictures – Chris leaves early and the boys are still sleeping!!!)
The move was great for working my abs (entire core actually) and my hip flexors which are a little bit sore from yesterday. I counted a right leg down and left leg down as 1 rep.
Yesterday morning after a poor night of sleep thanks to an incredibly loud crash at 2:05 am and time spent wandering through the house to try and find the source, Chris found out what it was when he left at 5:30 am. See the patch job on that fence?
Well, the fence was put up a couple of years ago to surround a generator of some sort that the city/county/someone put in our yard (for the entire lake neighborhood). Anyway, the generator is pretty damaged right now thanks to someone crashing into the fence and it at 2:05 am Friday morning – kind of scary!!!
The morning continued by throwing another curveball into my plans. Hunter came upstairs with a nosebleed (he gets them fairly often) and this was the kind that wouldn’t stop. Poor boy!! His nose bled from 6:30 until about 7:30. We usually leave at 7:20 for school and he hadn’t even been able to eat breakfast.
So, I took Jordan and came back for Hunter (the middle school and high school are pretty much side-by-side and start within 10 minutes of each other). The worst part for Hunter was the fact that his team (they have teams at the middle school) was leaving at 8:30 to go to an elementary school for READ Day. Thankfully he was better when I got back home so I took him to school (he ended up having another nosebleed when he got there but made it to his class by 8:25!!).
Run 60 race shirt
I started my run a little later than I had planned to but it all worked out!!!
Plenty of time to watch movies/DVRed TV while running 37 miles – I watched You Again (with Jamie Lee Curtis), What to Expect When You’re Expecting (super cute), finally watched Sean & Catherine get married on The Bachelor Wedding (it was very awkward at times!!!), and the latest episode of Dance Moms!!!
And just a short 5 hours and 23 minutes later, this happened!!!
not just 23 minutes (it flipped 3 times!!)
This was truly the best mega run I’ve had in a long time. I ran the entire way (no walking) and other than achey knees and sore feet, I felt strong for all 37 miles!!!
a bit sweaty but…
I’m glad that I did the virtual race – I know that the entry fee went to a good cause and it was fun to think about Kristin doing the same distance out in CA (we actually ran almost the exact same time – she was a minute faster in 5:22) plus it was good for my long distance running mojo!!!
Today’s 44 was a simple move. I did an oblique reach – lay on your back with shoulders off the ground and reach your right hand to your right foot.
startreach for foot
And, of course, this move has to be repeated for a 2nd set of 44 on the left side.
2nd sideand go
I’m fixing to hop on my treadmill and run my virtual race with Kristen (in spirit – she is in CA and I’m in KS) for the STUFT 60 Challenge – 37 miles on tap so it will take a chunk of my Friday!! (and then I will be done!!!)
I’ve been excited for today all week!!! Because today I have a very So, no more wasting time let’s meet my guest!!
Please welcome Elise from 9toFit. If you haven’t read her blog yet you need to – this girl is amazing. She works full time (actually these days she is working way more than full-time!!!) as an accountant and still manages to come up with some incredible workouts and recipes that she shares with all of her readers!!! Plus her insight on different topics, like the fact that weight is just a number, is amazing!!
1. I read that you were a college athlete (basketball on what sounds like a great team). What are a couple of your favorite memories? My favorite memories all involved just hanging out with my teammates. Even though it was serious when we were on the court, as soon as we got off we knew how to have a good time! One of our best memories with them was probably the 2nd time going to Elite 8, when we got to go to San Antonio and see the Riverwalk and everything. Just an awesome experience!
2. Did you have an athletic scholarship and if so did you feel extra pressures from it? Yes, I was a 5 year scholar athlete at Bentley University, since I red shirted the first time I blew out my ACL. Being on scholarship at Bentley was like having a job. When we traveled for games we treated those trips like business meetings. So I don’t know if I’d say extra pressure, but it was definitely very serious, and you are expected to win!
3. As a team athlete in college, I’m sure that team support is still vital for you. Who makes up your support team? Yes, I feel like it’s so important to surround yourself with positive people in your life. What is it they say, you are most like the 5 closest people to you or something? Therefore I try to surround myself with people who have similar goals and values. My main support team is definitely my boyfriend of 4 years, Mike, my family (my dad gets up with me 2 days out of the week to work out at 5:30am!) and a few of my best friends I’ve had since 7th grade.
4. Do you love your job as an accountant? Is this something you always wanted to do?
Haha, short answer No & No. My job has its up and downs. I am a public accountant, so for those of you who know about the dreaded busy season, you feel my pain. The days can be very long and working weekends is never fun! But I ended up getting into accounting because Bentley is a top business school in the Boston area, and numbers have just always been something that clicked for me. Do I want to work in accounting forever? Definitely not, I’d love to be in the fitness industry but, on the bright side, I’m getting a lot of business experience!
5. I know you use the Cody app. Will you explain it for those of us who still don’t know all about it?
Yes! I love the Cody app! So it is basically like instagram or twitter but for fitness (you can download it on the app store on your iPhone). You are able to track your workouts with pictures or statuses. Just like on instagram/twitter you can follow people and be followed, and also like or comment on people’s workouts. On top of that there are a ton of “coaches” who have training plans, both free and paid, that provide you with great fresh workouts. Really the community on there is amazing and growing quickly! If you haven’t checked it out yet I recommend you do, it’s a great way to track your workouts and be social at the same time.
6. Is your 6 Pack ab training an ongoing group or is it just part of the time? Is it in conjunction with the Ab of the week?
The 6 Pack ab training plan is a series of workouts that people can subscribe to and have forever. The people at Cody actually came to me to be a “coach” on their app. So I put together an ab training plan which we named 6pack abs. Over 1,500 people have subscribed to it either on their phones or online! I actually just launched the 2nd version recently, a 2.0 version! It has 8 different ab workouts, with 3 different intensity levels for each. So no matter what your fitness level you’ll find one that works for you. I’d love for you guys to check it out online here or on the cody app. The plan costs $9.99 but you pay once and it’s yours forever!
And back to your original question, the ab of the week section on my blog is kind of what started the training plans. People who followed me, and the cody team saw these and that’s what inspired the training plans you guys can now subscribe too.
7. Are you a vegetarian or do you follow any specific diet? Do you have any foods that you completely avoid?
Definitely not a vegetarian, I love meat way to much! I’m not a big diet person and I don’t completely cut foods out. I try to just not eat like crap but if I feel like ice cream, I’ll eat some ice cream. I can honestly say the only food that I won’t eat is like McDonalds cheese burgers or something. If I am eating fast food I would choose something like Panera or my favorite.. Chipotle!
8. If you could go anywhere for a month, where would you go and what would you do?
Well I’m super excited that in September I will be going to Italy! So right now that’s where I would want to go! lol I can’t wait to just unplug for all my electronics and explore some place I’ve never been.
9. What if your favorite form of social media? Do you have any tips for how to integrate all of the various forms into a normal day? Besides Cody, I would have to say Instagram. I love instagram, because I like pictures so much better than words. Maybe that’s the lazy in me talking. I think it’s interesting to see what people are up to and there’s no better way than through pictures.
10. Do you have a favorite form of exercise or do you prefer to mix it up?
I like mixing it up, every week I think I have a good mix of running, weight lifting, spinning etc. I’ve tried a ton of workouts from actually getting in the ring and sparring, to doing zumba. Right now if I had to pick though hot yoga has been doing my body some good. Flexibility is not something I was blessed with so it’s a challenge for me but so needed.
Didn’t you love learning a little about Elise?! Make sure you check out her site and learn even more about her!!! And today I’m actually the Feature Friday over on her blog so feel free to join me over there for a Fun Friday!!!
Each day is like a gift – a clean slate full of hours to use any way we choose!!!!
I am choosing to close out each day at the end of it and start fresh each morning! Instead of carrying things over from the previous day, each morning will be a completely fresh start!!!
What a great idea – don’t count the days and don’t dread the days!!! 
It truly is a new day which means the possibilities are only limited by the choices I make.
