Today’s 44 was fun because not only was it a good move to tighten the butt/hamstring area but it was a great calf stretch – always a necessary thing!!!
I did a donkey kick from downward dog. Start in downward dog position:
readybring right knee inkick back
Pull the knee in as close to your chest as possible (good for the abs) and then kick your foot back – repeat x 44. Then switch sides and start again!
left sidekick
This move went quickly – definitely one that I will do again!!!
Today I ran – always a happy thing. I did 5 miles just under 7 minutes/mile (34:44) and then 2.25 more miles at a nice easy pace with a steeper incline.
I need an easy button!!! Or maybe I need to be like Sam in Bewitched
and just be able to wiggle my nose and take care of everything!!! (Although, if I remember correctly, it didn’t always work out that well for her!)
Lately, it seems that everything takes 10x longer than I expect it to and every time I turn around there is a new problem/issue to deal with.
I know it’s just a phase and things will level out (I HOPE!) soon.
In the meantime, I will just suck it up and
HaHa – just kidding!!! (sort-of!)
This eeCard makes me laugh so I’m going with it!
If you have an easy button that you don’t need anymore, feel free to send it my way – I will return it as soon as possible!!!
From the start position, I hinged forward and lifted my arms to the sides.
balance
I tried to make the moves very slow and not just fall out of the position. (some times weren’t as successful as others!) After completing 44 with my left leg as the supporting leg, I switched sides.
ready to gono weights on this side
I decided not to use weights for the second set. Even though I just used 5 pound DBs, I knew that if I tried to do 44 more with them, my form would really suffer.
This was a fun move – balance, core, control, hamstrings, butt, lats – all kinds of work being done!!!
Today we did the 100s Bootcamp. The goal is to do 100 reps of 10 different moves – we did 90 today which is an improvement from the 80 we did last time we did this workout!!! I told the ladies – next time we will get 100!!! (time constraint is part of the problem)
racing
OK – so maybe I’m not talking about horses – but, anyone who runs knows – NOT ALL RUNS ARE GREAT!!! And – NOT EVERY RACE WILL BE YOUR BEST RACE!!!
Hunter learned that lesson the hard way on Tuesday. His final cross country meet of the season and he went in with high expectations of himself. Their coach had them doing sprints for 15 minutes before the race (and it was 90 degrees) – not sure why they did so many but….
The gun went off and Hunter took off – he shot straight to the front. He has never tried that strategy and I was worried (with good reason). There was a point a little before the half-way that we could see the runners again and he was still running strong near the front.
I told him to settle in for a couple minutes and then push hard at the end.
I ran down to a spot about 200m from the finish chute so that I could tell him to go for his final kick. When I saw him I could tell that he was done. Usually when I tell him to pick it up and kick in he really increases his speed. Not this time – he had nothing left.
He was so disappointed at the end!!!
I told him that he tried a new strategy and he just needed to work on it – it’s a fine line between going out too fast and hard and being able to finish strong.
He still ran a consistent time for what he has been running this season but not the race he hoped for and he was completely bummed for the night.
It was a good learning experience – I told him that every single runner has races like that and you have to deal with the disappointment and move on.
One of my worst races ever was the Regional track meet my junior year in high school. I was running the 2 mile which I had won in every race all season. I started off in the lead but went out way too hard – in the end I was 3rd (only the top 2 advanced to the State meet). I was crushed because I knew that if I had run a smart race I could have won and qualified for State.
Thankfully, Hunter is 12 and bounces back quickly!!! Now he is looking forward to wrestling, basketball and track – fun stuff ahead!!!
What was your most disappointing experience (racing or otherwise)?
(Hunter had American Ninja Warrior paused in the back-ground – Nice!!)
I like moves like this because they go quickly but also get my heart rate up a bit!
Yesterday morning was truly a new experience for Chris and I – we judged a couple rounds of the high school debate tournament.
This is a ZERO experience required gig!!!
It was really like being thrown into a hot fire – I got to the assigned room for my first round and there were 4 boys waiting outside. I just joined them and then realized that I was the one who needed to go in and “set-up” first. Oops!!
2 teams of 2 students + 1 judge = a full house for a debate round – WHO KNEW?!
The topic for this year (every single round, every single tournament): Should the embargo with Cuba be lifted.
Because I’m not really political at all (I prefer avoiding all of it and living in my happy world!) this was a good topic for me to really just focus on which side (affirmative or negative) did the better job of convincing me that they were the way to go!
Of course, the first round, since all 4 of the boys were the same age as Jordan and they were all very nervous because it was their first round of debate ever (Jordan will experience the same thing in a week or so!), it was hard to not just have my “mom” hat on and choose both sides.
My career as a debate judge was fun but 2 rounds was enough – not sure how many rounds of such similar info I could sit through – especially since each round was about 1.5 hours!!
I still don’t really have a firm opinion on the Cuba embargo and whether or not it should be lifted but it was very cool to hear young teen-agers so passionate about the subject!
Did you ever debate in high school or college? Have you ever judged debate? Do you think the US should lift the embargo with Cuba?
Today’s 43 was one of my favorite kind of moves – a combo!!! Upper & lower body at the same time!!!
I did a lunge with a row.
start in lungestraighten leg and row
Today I decided to try and push myself a bit so I used a 15 pound dumbbell – not too bad until I reached about 30 – those last 13 or so were rough!!!
And I have to stay balanced so a did a 2nd set of 43 on my other side –
readygo
Can you tell that these are just posed pictures? The downside to getting up so early is that I’ve already done my move (and most of my workout) before anyone is around to take my pictures or video!! Oh, well – it still works out!!
Today I decided to go with some Turbo Jam fun for the rest of my workout. I started with Lower Body Jam which is 30 minutes geared to legs & butt with just a little upper body thrown in for good measure. Then I did 3T (Totally Tubular Turbo) – 35 minutes of strength work using resistance bands. Both of these workouts were fun because Chalean makes all of her DVDs high energy!!!
The Calendar!!!
At different times of the year, a new calendar is always exciting for me. I love to get my calendar ready for the start of each year – I always put in all of the things that are a given (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, school dates, Chris’ work stuff…..) and then I’m ready to go!
August is another big time to add/change calendars – the start of school brings lots of new activities and events that can be added to the existing calendar.
Lately, I feel like we have so many sources that have to be checked in order to keep the calendar current that we are going to start leaving things out. For band, we have to check the website every weekend to make sure there haven’t been any changes.
Hunter brings home a weekly note from cross country with details about the upcoming meet(s). We get emails about cello lessons/events. Teacher’s tell the boys things about upcoming happenings for different classes. Phone calls often mean an addition to the calendar. So many sources to keep up with!There are usually appointments of different types to make sure we remember. Social events come up and need to be added immediately so that they aren’t left off by mistake!!
Lately I feel lost without my calendar!!! Last night we were at a friends house for small group and several dates came up – I felt a slight bit of panic because I didn’t have my calendar with me to make sure that nothing was being double booked and that I didn’t forget anything!!!A glimpse at last week (notice the empty day? Labor Day!!!) in my book – I’ve found that my date book works far better than the true “master calendar” on the kitchen wall!!!
Now that the boys are older and have more activities I told them we probably need to all coordinate our calendars every weekend so we can make sure everyone knows what is going on and we don’t forget anything or anyone!!!
Anyone else ever feel like your life is “controlled” by the calendar?
Do you feel a slight panic if you are out somewhere without your calendar and have new dates/events to add?
I’m pretty sure that I need to put beach time on the calendar this week!!! If it’s on the master plan it should happen, right?!
The 43 for today was a sit-up but it was also a great move for my shoulders and a nice hamstring stretch!!!
I did a 1-arm weighted sit-up. Start with left leg bent and right leg extended, weight in right arm overhead –
start
Sit-up making a half-circle with right arm (from floor to right foot) –
1/2 way upreach for toes
Slowly lower down and repeat x 43. Then, of course, you have to switch sides and repeat the whole process!!!
start on left sidealmost therereach for the toes
I love moves that target a specific area but also work bonus areas!!! BTW – I did this move with a 5 pound dumbbell and that was plenty for me!!
I pulled out a DVD that I haven’t done in awhile – Gaiam Cross Training for Fitness. This is a fun workout with 5 – 15 minutes sections: Cardio Kickbox, Strength & Flexibility, Lower Body Balance, Core Power & Flow, Relax & Restore. I did the first 4 (I know I should take the time for the Relax & Restore but I’ve got other things to do!!). The hour went very quickly and I loved the intensity of each of the segments. I feel like I got a great whole body workout with this DVD!
Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.
I find it very ironic that people have to work on Labor Day – a holiday that was created to honor the laborers. I realize that there is never a day when everyone can be off but just in my lifetime things have changed a great deal! When I was a kid, holidays and Sundays meant that there was no shopping (not even at the grocery store!!) and very few (if any) restaurants were open.
When I was growing up, Labor Day meant that school started the next day!!!
Now, my boys have been in school for 3 weeks already!!!
One of my favorite things to do from 6:00pm on the Sunday before Labor Day till about 6:00pm on Labor Day was to watch as much of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon as possible.
I remember being amazed that Jerry Lewis could stay up the entire time!!! Watching him decline over the years was sad for me.
One thing that really hasn’t changed much – Labor Day has always been a big day for family & friends to get together and have a cook-out!!
And, growing up we didn’t enjoy time at the lake or the pool (my mom thinks swimsuits in mixed company are inappropriate – oops, I guess I’m inappropriate a lot these day!!!), but now Labor Day always includes some time at the swim beach and on the boat!!
I hope that even if you have to work today you are able to celebrate with friends/family and enjoy the day!!
I need an easy button!!! Or maybe I need to be like Sam in Bewitched
and just be able to wiggle my nose and take care of everything!!! (Although, if I remember correctly, it didn’t always work out that well for her!)
In the meantime, I will just suck it up and
HaHa – just kidding!!! (sort-of!) 
This eeCard makes me laugh so I’m going with it!
