Category Archives: Fitness

Texas Fun

October 7, 2013 Kim 1 Comment

Today I did 44 alternate leg extensions while in a V-sit. (Actually it was 88 because I counted a right extension and a left extension as 1 rep.)

By the time I finished these, my abs were burning and I got a pretty good workout for my hip flexors!!!

And I did my final run before Saturday night!!!

After the overly personal post from yesterday (thanks for all of your incredibly kind words!!!), I thought today it would be nice just to have a fun post about my favorite state!!!

I’m pretty sure I’ve made no secret of the fact that even though we live in Kansas, I’m from TEXAS!!!

Here are some Texas facts that you may or may not have heard before:

1. Texas is home to 3 of the 10 largest cities in the United States. (6 of the top 20)
4 Houston
7 San Antonio
9 Dallas
11 Austin
16 Ft. Worth
19 El Paso

2. The Republic of Texas was an independent nation from 1836-1845.

3. Texas has more than 600 miles of coastline.

4. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, TX in 1885. And, for the record, there is no period Dr.

5. You can eat at a different barbecue place every day of the year without visiting the same place twice!!

6. When Texas was annexed in 1845, it retained the right to fly its flag at the same height as the national flag.

7. Each year Amarillo hosts the World’s Largest Calf Fry Cook-Off. “Calf fries” are bull testicles. (I’ve never eaten these and have no plans to anytime soon!)

8. The Dallas State Fair Park is home to the largest Ferris wheel (the Texas Star) in the Western Hemisphere.

9. The highest temperature ever recorded in Texas was 120° F in Seymour on August 12, 1936. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -23° F at Tulia in 1899 and at Seminole on February 8, 1933.

10. The world’s largest (and oldest) rattlesnake roundup is held every March in Sweetwater, Texas.

I spent many summers in Sweetwater with my grandparents at the Girl Scout Camp where they were the Rangers. And, I have come across rattlesnakes on plenty of occasions!!!

11. The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.

12. The armadillo is the official state mammal.

13. More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.

14. Beaumont to El Paso: 742 miles, Beaumont to Chicago: 770 miles. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas.

15. High school football is a way of life.

The movie is pretty close to the real deal. Fun fact – that movie was in my old stomping ground – the schools in the movie were all part of my high school district!!

What’s a fun fact about your state?

Happy Monday!!!

Kim

Core, Shoulders

NO – Small Word with a Big Impact

October 6, 2013 Kim 72 Comments

Today’s 44 was hard!!! I did a side plank jack.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oQI3ly8THI’]

You can tell that part of the problem was staying balanced!!! I struggled to get all 44 done and then I had to flip over and do another set of 44!!!

Last Sunday I wrote a post about how hard it is for me to ask for help. In that post I said “I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to ask for help.” That’s not really true – I do know why.

When you ask for help you open yourself up in a very vulnerable way. If the person that you ask to help you says NO it can be a major blow. And when the person you ask for help is someone that you trust will always support you, it is a double blow.

Here is why I have such a hard time asking for help – (warning: this post is more personal than my normal share!).

From the time I graduated high school (I was 17), I was self-suffiecient. I put myself through college and supported myself completely. In a few situations, I needed some help but was told NO when I finally asked. I made a decision after that to “go it on my own.”

1. I graduated from college in May at the age of 21. A couple months later I moved into a little efficiency (converted garage) apartment and spent a year working 3 jobs to try and make a little money. I did not have a microwave and asked my mom (she had just married Charles, my step-dad the week after I graduated and they had 2 of everything) if I could use one of theirs.

Her response – “NO. We want to keep them both.”

2. I applied to grad school (and got accepted) during that year. I was going to a school in southern Alabama. At the time, I had never driven out of Texas by myself.

Quite frankly, I didn’t even really know where Alabama was located. (Don’t judge – geography was never my thing!!)

I was making a quick trip (4 days total) out in July to check out the area and try to find a place to live. I asked my mom to go with me thinking that it would be a good chance for us to spend some time together and reconnect.

Her response – “NO. I don’t want to be away from Charles.”

3. After grad school, I worked as an assistant track coach at the University I had graduated from. I had lots of school loans and had made some poor choices with credit cards so I decided to get a consolidation loan and get rid of all my debt.

I needed a cosigner in order to qualify for the loan.

I asked my mom & Charles. Their response – “NO. It’s not a good idea.” (yet a few years later they co-signed a note for my sister)

So, maybe I should have handled some NOs differently but there just comes a point where it is easier to not ask then it is to hear yet another NO!!!

NO – we all say it every day but I’m not sure we always stop to think of the impact we might be making in someone’s life.

Happy Sunday!!

Kim

BOSU, Butt, Core, Fitness

Time for a Change!

October 5, 2013 Kim 35 Comments

Today for my 44 I used my favorite piece of equipment –

I put my head on the BOSU and did a single leg hip lift.

It’s a small lift (as you can tell) but very effective. My left hip was dying by the time I finished 44 and then I had to switch legs and repeat!!

I was definitely ready to be done with that second set!!! Funny that my shoes have reflective parts and they always show the flash!!!

I’ve decided that my posts will continue to start with my daily 44 because that really is the reason I started blogging (although it was for a daily 43!!).

But…..I am going to quit posting about the rest of my workouts every day. I know all y’all are probably thinking – FINALLY!!!

Don’t get to excited – there will still be some days that I talk about my run from the day or about a particular DVD I did. And some days I might be really excited about a new boot camp workout and feel the need to share it.

I just won’t be sharing all of my workouts every day – I have started transitioning away from that the past month or so but I’m ready to make the change.

And with that major announcement – I’m off early to clean our venue – Friday wedding and now a Saturday wedding mean I have to bust tail to get it turned around!!!

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Chest, Core, Fitness, Running, Shoulders, Treadmill, Triceps

I Almost Fell off my Treadmill

October 4, 2013 Kim 62 Comments

Today’s 44 was another combo move – I worked my shoulders, triceps and core!!! I held a 12 pound dumbbell with both hands while laying on my back. Push the weight over head, drop the arms down (like a skull crusher), reverse arm movements, sit-up reaching weight to toes – or just watch the video!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P13mPcqKPqY’]

(look – not quite as yellow!! Thanks, EvilCyber for the tip!!)

I ran again today – because I figured it would be good to run on tired legs (I stood for almost 9 straight hours yesterday between boot camp, cleaning the venue, set-up for today’s wedding and ironing tablecloths). I just did an easy run for 5 miles (about 42 minutes) and then 2.5 more even slower.

I spent most of my treadmill time watching Project Runway – always a great way to pass the time. However, thanks to the awesome DVR feature and not having to endure the commercials – the show ended a little before I was done on the treadmill.

I made the STUPID choice to just put the TV on the local news!!!

Federal prison guards are currently not being paid (THANK YOU GOVERNMENT SHUT-DOWN!!!) yet they have to continue to go to work and do their job because it is considered essential (YOU THINK?!).

However, in these same prisons where the guards are working for free, there are prisoners who have various jobs that they are paid for and THEY ARE STILL GETTING PAID!!!!

Now you see why I almost fell off my treadmill?!

I don’t even have words to express my thoughts on how completely ridiculous this whole situation is.

Happy Friday (I’m going to try to get over my outrage and enjoy the day)!!!

Kim

Back, Butt, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings

Not Every Race Can Be Your Best!!!

October 3, 2013 Kim 58 Comments

Thanks to Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) for another great Thursday 44. Today I did arabesque raises (single leg airplanes!).

I started with my left leg as the balancing leg –

From the start position, I hinged forward and lifted my arms to the sides.

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.

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)

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)?

Happy Thursday!!!

Kim

Day With KT