Category Archives: Core

Paging, Planking & Punching on President’s Day

February 18, 2013 Kim 14 Comments

Today I did a plank step-up for my 43. I used the top part of my transfirmer

14" double step (the Transfirmer) — 14″ double step (the Transfirmer)

which is a 6″ step. I put it under me lengthwise while I was in a plank. Then I did step-ups with my hands – right hand up to step, left hand up, right hand down, left hand down = 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crwbkv9YdJQ’]

I tried to keep my body as still as possible but there was a bit of wobble. Half-way through (after 22), I switched and put my left hand up first. 43 fun reps!!

This week I’m repeating last week’s Les Mills Combat plan. Because of my long run on Tuesday I skipped the HIIT workout and then never got back on track – I didn’t do either of the big HIIT programs last week. So it’s a do-over!!! Today was one of my favorites – Combat 60 – Cardio Fighter!!!

After the Combat work-out, I decided to put on my sweet pink boxing glovesand spend some time on the punching bag. I did 20 minutes of solid punching (jabs and crosses only today) – I’m pretty sure that my shoulders and upper back will be sore tomorrow!!! And, the punching bag makes me sweat as much as a hard run!!

Today, Jordan is paging for a local senator.I’m not exactly sure what all that entails besides a day at the Capital. I think Jordan was excited about it (awesome cause he usually prefers to just hang out at home on days out of school)!

One of his friends asked him a couple of weeks ago if he wanted to page with her and he decided he would. (They actually both paged 2 years ago, and it was a good experience then.) Plus, he is all dressed up (and not wearing his standard “uniform” of white Nike shorts and T-shirt!!!).

I hope he has a great day!! I’m sure he will learn lots and have some great stories to share tonight at dinner!!! One more picture of my handsome young man…

The rest of us (Hunter, Chris & I) aren’t nearly as exciting! We are probably just going to chill at home and enjoy the day – who knows – maybe they will play a game with me later!!!

Check out the weird clouds:You can tell the sun was shining then by the shadows but the entire time I was kicking and punching this morning, the clouds were getting darker and darker! Creepy!!!

Happy Monday – have a great President’s Day – hopefully it is a day off for you, too!

Kim

Core, Fitness

What Makes you Happy?

February 13, 2013 Kim 23 Comments

Today for the 43 I pulled out my Turbo Fire band and used it for a great oblique move (also from Turbo Fire!).

I started by standing on the band with my right foot and holding both handles in my right hand.

Then, I did a slow, 3-count side-bend to the left. (The slight forward bend helps to really target your obliques!)

On the 3rd count, reach down as far as you can.

Return to start and repeat 43 (or whatever # of reps you choose) times. Then, of course, you have to switch sides with the band.

umm....start but you don't have to look so mad about it! — umm….start but you don’t have to look so mad about it!

wow!! gotta work on the facial expressions!

I know you didn’t really need all of those pictures but Hunter took them so I figured I might as well use them!! I really need to quit looking so mad during these pictures – maybe we can just call it my focused look!!

You can see from the pictures that I busted out (not completely literally) my compression shorts again. I figured that they would help the residual stiffness in my hips from yesterday’s long run! I know that I’m way behind the gravy train on the compression stuff but after this morning I know I need more!! Compression everything!!! I really NEED to get some socks – I know it would help my Achilles!

I switched up my Les Mills Combat a little today. It was supposed to be HIIT Power but I decided to save that for tomorrow and do the Combat 45 today. Even though the 45 work-out still has some plyo, it is not as much. It was a great cardio work-out but I still feel like it was good for a recovery day!

I think this is a question that we all occasionally think about. At least, I hope I’m not the only one who sometimes struggles with this!! I think that January and February are sometimes the hardest months of the year. Still a lot of winter left but no major holidays to look forward to or plan for. When I was working, these 2 months weren’t as hard for me but now I’m back to not working and have more time for reflection (or something!).

The past few weeks I have really been thinking a lot about happiness and what really makes me happy.

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Running (usually on my treadmill)

4. Wine!!

5. The beach

I know I could go on and maybe even put some really profound things on here but even with the list – sometimes I feel like I have to work hard to be happy!

I think that somedays I feel like I need to be doing more with my life. I know that I’m a Mom to 2 great boys, a wife to the greatest person I know and I love being both of those thing. But…….

Overall, I’m a pretty happy person. But occasionally I have times that I need to remind myself that it is OK to just be me and do the things I do (or maybe don’t do) – being a surgeon, or chef, or world-class athlete or whatever doesn’t automatically make you happy.

So, what makes you happy? Do you feel happy all the time or do you occasionally have to step back and remind yourself of all the reasons you have to be happy?

Hopefully, we will all have a Happy Wednesday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

Twittering, Tweeting, Hashtag………What?????

February 8, 2013 Kim 10 Comments

Today I took a move from Core Attack (Les Mills Combat) and turned it into my 43. It not only worked my core, but my arms and hip flexors as well!

You can use a dumbbell if you want (I just used a 5 pound one) or do the move without a weight and still get a good work-out!! Start by crunching in with your upper and lower body (knees at 90) – extend your arms over your head and your legs out straight (not touching the ground) – bring arms and legs together in a V-sit – extend long = 1 rep. Repeat for 43.

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

You can see I struggled a little with my balance – that’s because this move kicked every part of my body!!!!

The rest of my workout was Les Mills Combat – Combat 60 which we all know I love!!! This week was a nice break – no HIIT Combat work-outs!!! Those things are brutal!!

So….. I finally joined ~~this decade~~ the Twitter world! Too bad I don’t really have a clue how to do it – do you twitter, do you tweet? When do you # and when do you @? I feel old and out of date!!! I better enroll in

We’ll see if I ever ~~use it~~ figure it out!!!! The really weird thing (to me, anyway) was that when I signed up it (whoever that might be!) suggested I follow people like Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber, Lebron James – why?!?!

This morning on my way home from taking Jordan to school, I heard Kiss by Prince. I love the song because it reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies of all times – Pretty Woman!!

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

So many scenes I love from that movie!!!

Last night Chris and I went to our favorite Thirsty Thursday place – always fun.

Plus, a good reason to not wear work-out clothes!!! And, don’t let the sock-less feet fool you about the weather – I thought it was warmer than it was – the wind was arctic!!!

Happy Fun Friday!!

Kim

8th day of February – 8x 1 minute wall sit – DONE!!! (so far I’ve done them every day!)

Butt, Core, Fitness, Thighs

Keep it Real!!

February 5, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

I started the 43 today thinking I wanted to do some standing ab/core work. The move I picked did work my obliques some (and my core because of the balance involved) but it mostly targeted my hips and outer thighs (which can always use more work!). After the first 10-12 I realized why they were hurting (hydrant kicks yesterday, duh!!!) – OOPS!!! I usually try not to target the same muscle group 2 days in a row with the 1000s of choices I have – oh well!!!

Anyway, back to the 43!! I did a standing leg extension (to the side). I started like this:

(the goofy hand pose is mandatory!!). Then I lifted my right leg straight to the side – held a second – and lowered. I tried not to touch the floor between every rep (had to tap it occasionally in order not to fall on my face!).

After doing 43 with my right leg and really feeling it in both hips, I ~~had to~~ got to switch sides and do another 43 with my left leg.

(At least I have an awesome T-shirt from the super talented Cait!!!)

Today was a fun work-out day because it involved my favorite (so far anyway!) Les Mills Combat DVD – Combat 60 Ultimate Fighter! I like that the work-out is an hour, it keeps my heart rate up, works legs and arms as well as cardio and the time flies by.

One thing I really like about the the Les Mills Combat program is the motivation and tips they provide. And today at the end of today’s work-out they said – KEEP IT REAL!!!

I love that saying!!! It is one of the sayings I try to live by. With me, what you see is what you get!!! Whether I’m working out, buying groceries, subbing, blogging (my own or commenting on others) or just hanging out with my family = I’m just the same ol’ person! I’m just me!

And on that note – another fun ecard (cause while the card is humorous and a bit extreme, I’m just keeping it real!!!).

Happy Tuesday – keep it real!!!

Kim

5th day of February = 5x 1 minute wall sits – Done!!

Butt, Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill

Monday Morning Blues

February 4, 2013 Kim 8 Comments

For my 43 today, I took a move that works your butt and by using my BOSU like this

turned into a true challenge!!! Trying to stay balanced really amped up the difficulty level!

I did a “hydrant” kick. Start on all 4s:

Push one leg straight up with a 90 degree bend in your knee.

From this lovely position, move your leg across your other leg and touch the knee to the floor.

Return to 90, drop the knee straight down and repeat until you reach desired # of reps – 43 for me. Of course, I can’t walk around unbalanced (any more than I already am!) so I did a second set of 43 with my other leg. My butt was burning and my core got a great work-out!!!

Today was another day of Les Mills Combat – Combat 30. Since it was a short work-out (30 minutes) I decided to do more today. So I ran!!!

For some reason after I dropped both boys off at school this morning, I was in a bit of a funk. Not sure why – we had a great weekend, enjoyed the game with friends last night (and I didn’t care about the outcome) – just a bit blue…

So, I did what any blue frog would do – RUN!!!

I decided to really push myself and see how far I could run in 43:00 minutes. I set the incline to 1.5%, started at an 8:00 minute pace (7.5) and increased 0.1 every 45 seconds. Outcome: 43:00 minutes = 7.3 miles!!! (sub 6:00 pace overall).

I think I outran my funk!!! (or I’m just too tired to know any different!!)

Now, since I put off grocery shopping and other errand running over the weekend, I’m fixing to head to the dreaded

Good times for sure!!!

Happy Monday (hope you aren’t fighting off the blues, too)!!!

Kim

4th day of February = 4x 1 minute wall sits – DONE!!!

Day With KT