Category Archives: Hamstrings

Back, Core, Fitness, Foam Roller, Hamstrings, Lunges, Plyo, Push-Ups, Running, Shoulders, Triceps

Fun with Workout Toys (4/5 – 4/11)

April 11, 2015 Kim 1 Comment

This week I used a variety of pieces of equipment and other workout “toys” for some of my moves – always fun to use items in different ways!!

Sunday 4/5 – 45 cross behind lunges (curtsey style) off of step – plyo move.

hop back to curtsey lunge with right leg

Push off and hop back to top.

I need to start incorporating more plyo moves into my workouts again!!!

Monday 4/6 – 45 double step – plank jack/tricep push-up.

I set my steps up end-to-end and put my feet on the taller one with my hands on the shorter one –

as you jump your feet back in go down into a push-up

This move was hard – the tricep push-up is what killed me!!!

I ran 10 miles (74:28) followed by an easy mile.

Tuesday 4/7 – 45 V-sit on vertical foam roller with open/close arms. This move is a variation of a move from Lindsay (Cotter Crunch) and her 3 New Core Moves – she did the move as a stationary move focusing on holding. I knew I couldn’t do 45 long holds so I adapted it.

start with arms out and legs out a little

This move might look easy but it was HARD!!!

I did Denise Austin’s Personal Training DVD – always a fun workout for the entire body!! I even did the stretching segment!!

Wednesday 4/8 – 45 hinged barbell pulls.

The key to this move was keeping everything still except the arms.

I only had time for 6 miles (44:17) followed by a cool down mile.

Thursday 4/9 – 45 side plank with a leg sweep front-back-front.

Move the top leg back to the front to complete the rep. This took longer than I expected – I had to pause a couple times before completing all 45 reps. And, then I had to flip over and do some more!

Bring that leg to the front to complete 1 rep! I guess I didn’t use any cool “toys” for this move – oops!!

I did Les Mills Combat – Ultimate Warriors – 60 minutes of fast paced punching and kicking!!!

Friday 4/10 – 45 shoulder presses with a chair. I was a slug and slept till 6:00 so I didn’t get my workout done early. I had my 3rd day of cleaning/set-up at the venue for the past 4 so I decided to do my 45 once I got to the venue.

I used one of our chairs – I held it in front of my chest with both hands (by the front legs) and pressed my arms overhead before lowering to a 90 degree bend. Sort of a fun way to work my shoulders!!

Saturday 4/11 – 45 sidearm triceps extensions.

Can you tell the pictures are after my run? I put my shirt back on for them since I’m not super happy with my abs these days.

I ran 10 miles (73:50) followed by 1.5 easy miles.

Do you like to experiment with new uses for standard equipment?
I like to use different pieces of equipment especially in new ways!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

BOSU, Butt, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Push-Ups, Resistance Bands, Running

The Legs Feed the Wolf (3/1 – 3/7)

March 7, 2015 Kim 16 Comments

Miracle might be one of my all-time favorite movies!! When the head coach has the team skating lots of suicide type drills he tells the players, “The legs feed the wolf.” When it came time for the big games (Olympics), they were better conditioned than any other team on the ice!!!

So, I tell myself the same thing when I’m running high mileage and also when I back off a little to rest my legs for a couple weeks!!! This week I had much lower mileage but I did a number of workouts and exercises to strengthen my legs, especially my hips.

Sunday 3/1 – 45 standing crunches – lift one leg straight out and bring hands to foot while holding a medicine ball – crunch on the forward bend.

I like that this move works your core and also your hip flexors!

I ran 8 miles in 59:58 followed by 0.6 easy miles.

Monday 3/2 – 45 push-ups while kneeling on a stability ball (shins rest on the ball and your butt stays down on your heels).

These look a bit awkward but it was a really good move. You can tell that it was hard for me to keep my butt on my heels during the down part – need to work on that!

I did Cathe – Turbo Barre. Talk about a workout for your hips and legs – this one is great!!!

Tuesday 3/3 – 45 side leg abduction while in a semi-squat.

Partial squat with left leg - right leg ready to lift — Partial squat with left leg – right leg ready to lift

stay low and lift right leg - squeeze butt — stay low and lift right leg – squeeze butt

There is a bit of balance involved with this move too!!

lift the leg while staing low — lift the leg while staying low

Running day – 10 miles in 75:44 followed by 1 easy mile.

Wednesday 3/4 – 45 single leg step-up on BOSU then circle opposite leg back-front-back before stepping down.

step up with left leg and start with right leg pushing back

From the above position, sweep the right leg back so that it is behind you and then step off the BOSU.

I did all 45 reps stepping up with my left leg and then switched and did another set.

step on with left right leg, left leg squeezes back

sweep leg to front, then back behind you before stepping off.

The hardest part of this move was staying balanced while sweeping your leg around!!!

I did TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Buns. There isn’t a lot of cardio involved in this workout but it is great for strengthening your hips, legs and even your core.

Thursday 3/5 – 45 BOSU superman lifts. Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) featured this move as one of her Wednesday Workouts.

Place a band under your BOSU with enough slack that you can lift it but still have a challenge. I decided to add an extra challenge and stay in a partial squat while completing my arm lifts.

After about 25 reps I had to give myself a little more band to work with because this was hard!!!

This was another running day – 8 miles in 60:20 followed by 1.05 miles easy.

Friday 3/6 – 45 quad/knee raises while pushing foot down with bar.

lift knee up and push down on the bar at the same time

By pushing the bar down it makes the resistance so much harder than just lifting your body weight.

This day was the closest to a rest day that I took this week. I did Caribbean Workout – Core Pilates for an hour.

Saturday 3/7 – 45 “first position” monkey squats. (I had to google what the position was called!!!)

stand in first position (heels touching - toes turned out) and touch toes — stand in first position (heels touching – toes turned out) and touch toes

go down into a squat while holding on to your toes

By holding your toes for the entire move this feels different than just doing normal squats!!! Turning my toes out made the move different from a standard monkey squat.

And, I did one more run for the week.
6 miles – 45:17 followed by 1.75 easy miles.

I think overall it was a good workout week even cutting back on my running.
32 miles of hard running
4.4 easy miles

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Lunges, Quad, Running, Squats

20 miles x 2 (2/8 – 2/14)

February 14, 2015 Kim 32 Comments

This week I got in 2 long runs!!! Next week I have more big running plans so I’m trying to be smart with all of the running!!

Sunday 2/8 – 45 standing side leg pulses.

The hardest part of this move was trying to stay balanced while I moved my leg up and down!!! And, of course, I had to do the other leg.

Rest day (besides going to the grocery store, doing laundry, sweeping piles of sand out of the garage, washing my truck….).

Monday 2/9 – 45 arm pulses – keep arms bent at 90.

This was another small move but very effective – I felt it in my shoulders, upper back and biceps!

I did Jillian Michaels Hard Body Level 2 – it was hard!!!
I also did a 5 mile run (40:12) followed by an easy half mile.

Tuesday 2/10 – 45 squat with dumbbell set-down and pick-up.

squat - leave dumbbells on ground — squat – leave dumbbells on ground

squat - pick dumbbells back up — squat – pick dumbbells back up

I liked this move – to complete 45 reps I actually did 90 squats!!!

This was the first 20 mile run of the week. It wasn’t bad at all!!! (2:33.56) I tacked on an easy cool-down mile for a total of 21.

Wednesday 2/11 – 45 back/hamstring stretches.

Not gonna lie – this was a really nice 45!!!

I did a fun workout that was fairly low impact – Turbo Jam, Cardio Party 3.

Thursday 2/12 – 45 glute bridge with march (toes up). This move I got from Nellie’s (Brooklyn Active Mama) Weekly Wednesday Workout.

See why it’s called a “march”? I tried to make sure that I was keeping my hips up the entire time – this was a challenge!!

And, I did my 2nd 20 mile run of the week. Funny thing is the time was almost the same (2:33.50) – just 6 seconds faster than Tuesday! I ended up doing 1.5 miles as a cool-down this time for 21.5 total.

Friday 2/13 – 45 side lunge skaters – staying low the entire time.

The goal on this move is to stay low and work your quads the entire time. (a right-left lunge = 1 rep) And, I stood in the sunbeam – because it was warm!!!

I did a workout I hadn’t done in awhile – Denise Austin – Get Fit Fast. One thing I really like about Denise Austin’s workouts is she features “real” looking people – people who look like me with hips and not a 6-pack!!!

Saturday 2/14 – 45 dead bugs while on wobble ball with shoulders slightly off ground.

I liked this move but actually felt it much more in my hip flexors than in my core. (right-left drop = 1 rep)

Today was my final run of the week – 5 miles in 39:21 followed by an easy cool down mile.

I’m happy that I met my running goal for the week – 50 miles hard and 4 easy miles to get over the 50 mile mark for the week. The next 2 weeks I’m hoping to get my mileage a little higher and then I will ease up some.

Happy Saturday!! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Plank, Running

Stability Balls and Running (2/1 – 2/7)

February 7, 2015 Kim 32 Comments

This was a good week of workouts! And, I’m happy that all of my morning workouts were back at 5:00am again!!!

Sunday 2/1 – 45 seated quad lifts with a dumbbell between my feet.

I got in a nice run – 8 miles in 59:21 followed by 2.5 easy miles.

Monday 2/2 – 45 reverse curls with a stability ball under my legs.

ready - just holding the ball in place is HARD!!! — ready – just holding the ball in place is HARD!!!

My workout started with Jillian Michaels Hard Body Level 1. I thought about doing Level 2 also but knew that I would end up just going through the motions. Instead I did Kathy Smiths Tummy Trimmers – Standing Abs.

Tuesday 2/3 – 45 front-back sweep with foot while staying in a semi-squat.

I counted a front-back-front as 1 full rep. And, of course, after my left quad was on fire I had to switch and work my other leg!!!

After my quads were nice and shaky, I hopped on the treadmill for the first part of my run!
11 miles in 87:33 followed by 0.5 miles easy

I had to get off to take Hunter to school. After I got back home I hopped back on the treadmill and ran some more.
6 miles in 47:39 followed by 2.5 easy miles.

A decent running day of 17 good miles and 3 easy!!!

Wednesday 2/4 – 45 stability ball plank front-back rolls. This move is one that I saw in the cool video that Gigi (GiGi Eats Celebrities) showed the other day with her interview at Drench Fitness.

I’m not sure that my form was super because this move was hard!!

You can’t really tell that the ball moved much but trust me – you can feel this move!!!

I did a workout that is sort of fun while still focusing on toning – Skinny Bitch Fitness. Jordan walked through right at the end and saw the name of the DVD – he was not impressed!!!

Thursday 2/5 – 45 hamstring curls using the stability ball. This move came from the same video interview (see Wednesday) that GiGi did.

use your hamstrings to roll the ball toward you

Since I workout at home, I’m always looking for new hamstring moves – this was a great one!!!

I did another run. 11 miles – 82:14 followed by 0.75 easy miles.

Friday 2/6 – 45 full sit-up to toe touch.

I never rested my shoulders on the floor during my reps. The toe touch part was a nice stretch. I don’t do full sit-ups often anymore but I liked this version!

I decided that even though I needed a “rest” day I still wanted to workout some so I did Core Fusion Body Sculpt. This is a great body workout that is mostly body weight (you use light weights in the upper body portion) – it is about working the muscle to exhaustion!!

Saturday 2/7 – 45 soccer kicks.

This move is quick and fun!! Just lift your leg up and touch the inside part of your foot. I counted a right-left as 1 rep.

This was another day of running!!! I tried to push just a little faster than I have been lately.
7 miles – 47:54 followed by an 1 easy mile.

Even though I didn’t take any full rest days this week, I did several workouts that are like a rest while still getting in some activity.

4 days of running with 43 hard miles and 7.25 easy miles to finish the week just over 50 miles!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Butt, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Lunges, Resistance Bands, Running, Thighs

Back on Track (1/11 – 1/17)

January 17, 2015 Kim 38 Comments

This week has been a much stronger week of workouts! I’m hoping to start getting in a few mega runs soon!!!

Sunday 1/11 – 45 supine rolls, great for your core and also your upper back.

Make sure your elbows are pushing down to the floor

crunch up but keep your elbows pushing into the floor the entire time

I got in a 6 mile run (45:01) at a faster pace than I had been running for awhile followed by an easy mile.

Monday 1/12 – 45 double knee in to a full body extension with arms extended.

Knees in (excuse the blurry photo - hard to get a good mirror picture!!) — Knees in
(excuse the blurry photo – hard to get a good mirror picture!!)

extend legs and arms (both arms are actually supposed to be overhead but that didn't work to take a picture) — extend legs and arms
(both arms are actually supposed to be overhead but that didn’t work to take a picture)

I did a DVD that I don’t do often but it really is a good one – MashUp Conditioning. This DVD has 7 different workouts (called Tempos) that are 15 minutes each. Each segment has strength, HIIT, core. I did Tempos 5,6 and 7.

Tuesday 1/13 – 45 plies with heels up.

I always love the feeling in my inner thighs when I do plies!!!

I ran 10 miles!!! (75:33) I finished off the workout with an easy mile.

Wednesday 1/14 – 45 step-up to knee, step down and lunge back. This move is similar to one that Josie (YumYucky) did – stairless step climbing.

step down and lunge back with the left leg

After I did 45 like that and had shaky legs, I switched the whole pattern for another set!!

Fun move – and my heart rate really got up since it is all lower body work.

I did one of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs – Tone Trouble Zones. This workout uses a band –

the green one for this workout — the green one at the bottom for this workout

and is very effective.

I also walked 2.45 miles with a 10% incline (had some DVRed shows to catch up on!!).

Thursday 1/15 – 45 single leg bridges with one leg crossed over the other and the supporting foot on a stability ball. This move is from Nellie’s (Brooklyn Active Mama) weekly Wednesday workout.

YIKES!! This move was hard!! Probably why my hamstrings are sore today (2 days later!!).

This was another day of running – 8 miles in 59:37 followed by 1.75 easy miles.

Friday 1/16 – 45 side leg abduction with band.

I love moves like this because while it works the hip of the leg lifting, the standing leg also starts shaking!!!

I don’t know if you can tell but while I lifted my leg I also pulled on the band for some extra resistance.

I did Denise Austin’s Personal Training System. This is a full body workout with about 20 minutes of cardio followed by 10 minutes of lower body, 10 minutes upper body, 10 minutes core and 10 minutes of stretching.

Saturday 1/17 – 45 bow lifts.

Pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever done any of the pictures in our bedroom – I have to stay out of the light today and this room is one of the best choices.

Overall this was a really good week of workouts. I’m still incorporating a lot of the moves from physical therapy into my workouts – just amping them up a little. And, my running speed is starting to pick back up!! Now I think I’m ready to slowly increase my mileage again!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim