Today’s 44 was a stupid choice an elevated push-up with a clap. I used a chair for the elevation.
Clearly these are hard for me!! I think the fact that yesterday was also chest day in the Michelle Bridges program didn’t help!! I only did half (22) on my toes then I dropped to my knees so I could actually still do a push-up (without bending my body so much).
And, even though it’s only day 2, I think it’s safe to say that this Michelle Bridges 12 week program is going to be good for me. The soreness I’m feeling today is rare for me!!!
I am going to have to play around some to try and figure out how to do my daily 44, the February challenge with Taylor (which I’m very excited about!), this new program and plenty of solid running miles!!!
Yesterday the weather forecast for today looked something like the above predictions. The snow was supposed to start falling after midnight and by 6:00 am it was supposed to be coming down at the rate of 1.5″ per hour or more.
8:00 am
Instead, it looks like this outside. The backyard isn’t even covered and the snow on the ground is actually from late Friday night/early Saturday morning.
a view of our street
Barely covering the street and again most of it is because they did not plow on Saturday and we have just been driving on snow the past couple of days.
out the front
Even now, no snow is falling at all.
The over-reaction might have happened last night!!!
By dinner time we knew that school was cancelled for today. And, Chris actually got the day off because all Government offices had announced they would be closed today.
Now, don’t get me wrong, if school is going to be cancelled, I prefer to know the night before so that we don’t have to set alarms. However, if we don’t get any snow I think that maybe we could have had school today.
I guess we will just take our bonus day and enjoy it!!!
And, I’m definitely not complaining about the lack of snow – if we only end up with what is on the ground right now then I will be HAPPY!!!
Do you think the decision to cancel school should be made based on a weather prediction or what till it actually happens?
Is it a snow day for you?
Happy Tuesday!!!
An update on the snow –
Noon
noon5:30 pm5:30 pm
Kim
PS – Please keep my sister-in-law (Dina – she is married to Tim, my twin) and her family in your thoughts today and tomorrow – she is saying her final goodbyes to her Mom.
Today’s 44 was rough (mostly because my quads are still a little sore!!). I used my barbell and did squats.
readydown
44 of these was a challenge!! (and then I did even more during my workout!!)
Taylor (Lifting Revolution) started a new challenge for February – Let’s Split Challenge. This first week is 100 walking lunges every day!!! My poor quads – but I know it is good for getting rid of that last bit of soreness!
And, I started a new program today! Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. I actually won this from GiGi (GiGi Eats Celebrities) last week and it started today!!! I had to do the Fitness test this morning and then the first day. I chose the Lean and Strong program and all I can say after one day is – I don’t know how strong I feel!!! My whole body is shaking right now!!!
The only downside to the new program is that it is almost an hour a day/6 days a week and I’m going to have to figure out how to fit in the miles that I want to log running – maybe I need to get up at 4:30 again?!
Saturday morning, Jordan and I went to the memorial service for the 22 year old brother of Jordan’s friend who died a couple weeks ago. It was rough!!!
Several family members shared stories and words about this incredible young man and the Priest said some things that really stuck out to me and I’ve been thinking a lot about them the past couple of days.
He reminded us that life isn’t fair. Clearly it’s not or this young man would still be alive and his family wouldn’t be suffering!
The priest talked about what a light this young man was and how he didn’t let life get him down. He had a bright future and it was obvious to all who knew him.
The thing that really stood out to me was the fact that even though life isn’t fair and we live in an imperfect world, we are capable of doing something to make the world a little better. It is a matter of making the choice to make a difference!!
I’m not sure how I can do this but I know it is something that I truly want to work on!!!
I think that the change really does come from within! I’m hoping that even though I may never affect the entire world, I can start with myself and do what I can to try and make the world a better place!!!
Do you think that one person is capable of making the world a better place?
Today’s 44 was fun because I walked around while I did it (trying to get 10,000 steps on my FitBit you know!!!). I used my medicine ball with a handle –
8 pounds
With the medicine ball, I did single arm bicep curls while walking!
right armcurlleft arm
curl
I know – the mirror pictures are pretty pitiful!!! But walking around while curling was a fun way to make the 44 on each side go quickly!!
Today is my 2nd day in a row to take a break from working out – rare for me to take more than 1 day at a time but I figured I needed to make sure I recovered from Friday’s 37 mile run – so 2 days now instead of risking injury and having to skip lots of days!!!
Sometimes I need to step back and remind myself of all the things in my life that make it super!
* My top 3 super things –
my boysLook how little they are – Jordan is about 5 here
* Even though Kansas isn’t my top choice of places to live (especially in the winter!!!), we have a beautiful home that is always warm!!!
side view when the color were pretty
* The ability to run and workout!!!
running 37 miles and actually feeling good is pretty super!!
* Being able to have friends over for a low-key Super Bowl party always makes my day super!!! Having a taco bar and Texas Margaritas – can’t beat it!
* Knowing that in just a few months I will be spending time in my happy place –
SUPER!!!
* And, being part of an incredible blogging community make me feel like – My version of the “super” dance!!!
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!!!
Yesterday the weather forecast for today looked something like the above predictions. The snow was supposed to start falling after midnight and by 6:00 am it was supposed to be coming down at the rate of 1.5″ per hour or more.
The over-reaction might have happened last night!!!
I guess we will just take our bonus day and enjoy it!!! 
