Category Archives: Fitness

Stretching – Good for the Body, Great for the Mind

November 21, 2013 Kim 74 Comments

Today’s 44 was fun because it is primarily an arm move but it also works the core! This move is from Allie @ VitaTrain4Life. She did an awesome arm workout for us yesterday and I borrowed one of the moves for my 44.

The move is a bicep curl with your legs lifted (that’s why your abs get involved!!).

I think the hardest part of this move was to try and keep my arm movements controlled.

I pulled out a DVD that I tend to forget about today – Exhale Core Fusion Body Sculpt. I forgot how great this workout is. It is 5 10-minute sections (although a couple are a little longer) of slow moving work.
Upper body
Thighs
Butt
Abdominal
Stretching

I’m not sure which of the sections was the hardest – they all seem like they should be easy and innocent but they really work the designated areas!!!

The final section – stretch – is one that I tend to skip in lots of workouts. However, today I decided to spend the 10ish minutes and tried to completely relax into it.

Usually I will spend about 10 seconds in the corpse pose and decide I don’t have time for that. Today, I don’t know if my body was telling me it needed the time to relax and prepare for the day or what but the stretching was awesome!!! I enjoyed the entire time both physically and mentally!!!

Lately I’ve read several posts about stretching – Kris on Fitness had a great one yesterday talking about stretching to help prevent injury and how as we age it is a vital part of fitness. Abby @ Change of Pace wrote a post about the “torture tools” that are available (foam rollers, sticks, balls, etc.) to help with preventing injuries and the value of taking the time to use them.

Even knowing about the importance of stretching to help prevent injuries has rarely been enough to make me stop and do it.

However, today I discovered that being willing to spend a few minutes calming my mind after working out can be very enjoyable – who knows maybe next time I will do 15 minutes!!!

Do you enjoy stretching?

Happy Thursday!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Lunges, Quad, Shoulders, Triceps

Is it a Compliment when you add a Qualifier?

November 20, 2013 Kim 83 Comments

Today I did a basic move for my 44 but I added in a challenge by holding an 8 pound medicine ball straight above my head the whole time! I did alternating forward lunges (a right lunge and left = 1 rep) with the ball overhead.

This move was great because I felt it in my legs, my arms were shaking and I got my heart rate up!!!

I also did one of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs – Sculpt, Tone and Reshape with the Figure 8.

I like the format of this workout – it is a total body workout with toning and some cardio. Each of the segments goes by very quickly and there are some fun moves!

Have you ever gotten a compliment that you’re not sure if it was really intended to be a compliment?

I’m sure that most everyone has at some point.

My least favorite – “You look good, for your age.” Why does that last little bit (the qualifier) need to be added on? That makes me feel like A. I’m old and B. I don’t really look good at all.

Last night while I was getting my hair done, Jennifer (my hair dresser for over 12 years!) told me about a “compliment” she had gotten over the weekend.

She was at a store and had on some new boots and a cute top. A girl (complete stranger) said, “You could be on a magazine as a plus size model.”

Really?! She couldn’t have just left that last part off?

I’m sure that I’ve added a qualifier to compliments before but I’m going to start really paying attention to how I word compliments!!!

What compliments have you been given with qualifiers?
Did you still feel like it was a compliment?

Happy Wednesday!!

Kim

Butt, Core, Fitness, Thighs

Use It or Lose It

November 19, 2013 Kim 75 Comments

I decided to use my bands for the 44 today – I did a leg abduction with the resistance of the bands.

I only did one side for this demo – but you can sort-of see that I stepped on the band with my stationary leg to get the resistance. Besides working my thighs and hips, this is a great balance challenge (I wobbled a lot and had to tap my toe/foot a lot!). And, of course, I did 44 with each leg!

Then I pulled out one of my favorite workouts – Les Mills Combat – Combat 60 Live – Ultimate Warrior’s Workout. This workout is awesome because just when you think your legs can’t handle another rep, you switch over to punching again!!! The hour flies by in a sweaty blur!!!

I’m sure that everyone has heard the phrase “Use it or Lose it” many times before. I think it’s true in lots areas of our lives – fitness, knowledge, some insurance plans, vacation days…

We all know how hard it is to achieve the level of conditioning/strength that we want to be at and many of us have seen how quickly those gains can deteriorate when we can’t work out because of injury, illness or whatever other reason.

I think another area that we can quickly “lose it” is our brain power!!!

Yesterday Jordan was talking about the Trojan War and the guy who suggested that they get in the horse (I can’t remember his name!). He said, “Didn’t you learn all of this in school?” Ummm…Yes – like 30 years ago!!! And, I’ve never used it since!

There was a time (in grad school and for a few years after) that I could do a thorough observation of the entire human body, palpating and naming each bone, tendon and ligament as I went. Now, I can name and identify only a very few of those because it has been 20 years since I really studied and applied all of that knowledge.

Sometimes I look back at all the years I spent in school and wonder how hard it would be to re-learn all that I’ve forgotten.

Maybe I should work on actually using some of the information that I’ve learned over the years so that by the time I’m 70 I have at least a little knowledge of something left!!!

What have you lost because you haven’t used it? (please tell me I’m not the only one!!!)

Happy Tuesday!!! I’m going to try to learn and apply at least one thing today!!!

Kim

Cardio, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Resistance Bands or Weights?

November 18, 2013 Kim 87 Comments

Today for my 44 I did a slight variation on the standard burpee – sumo burpees. The main difference is your feet are in sumo position (out wide) at the beginning of the move and when you jump back up.

I was sucking air big-time at the end of this 44!!!

I pulled out an oldie today – TaeBo – Total Body Fat Blaster. This workout uses the TaeBo bands – It is about an hour of very fast-paced moving – lots of cardio plus some serious resistance training with the bands. My shoulders were screaming about half-way through this workout!!!

While I was struggling with some of the moves this morning I started thinking about the differences between working out with bands and weights.

Bands: lightweight, portable, great for travel, constant tension

Weights: heavy, not portable, gravity will take over if you aren’t careful

Don’t get me wrong – I love lifting weights!!! But in workouts like the TaeBo one that I did today where it is non-stop and fast paced, the bands are a great way to really push your muscles to the point of fatigue (especially your shoulders!!!).

I have no plans to get rid of any of our weights but if you are just starting to build a home-gym and want a way to do some resistance training bands are a great investment. Plus, they don’t take up any space!!!

So – what are your thoughts – bands or weights? Both? Neither?

Happy Monday!!

Kim