Category Archives: Fitness

Chest, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Plank, Push-Ups, Running, Treadmill

Running, running, running (8/17-8/23)

August 23, 2014 Kim 38 Comments

This week was all about running!!!!

Sunday 8/17 – 44 barbell clean and press with a row.

bring bar down by flipping it and keeping it close to your body

row - squeeze shoulders — row – squeeze shoulders

I liked this move because I felt like it worked pretty much every muscle in my body!!!

Monday 8/18 – 44 stair push-up with a jump.

This move was fun – it got my heart rate up and because of the angle of the push-ups I was sore for a few days!!!

This was the starting day of a long run streak:
10 miles in 79:41 + 1.5 miles easy.

Tuesday 8/19 – 44 stability ball single leg oblique punches with a dumbbell.

pull left knee in and punch with right hand

I did all 44 on one side and then switched sides for another set.

These were hard – the hardest part was keeping my balance – part of why the pictures are blurrier than normal!!!

And a shorter, faster run:
7 miles in 50:22 with an easy mile to finish.

Wednesday 8/20 – 44 plie squat jumps with a small band around my ankles and a lateral raise with dumbbells (5 pounds).

You can’t really tell that I jumped but I did!!!

Back to a double digit run at a slower pace:
10.5 miles in 86:50 + 0.7 miles

Thursday 8/21 – 44 triangle leg taps (this move is from Taylor @ Lifting Revolution – bodyweight workout for your lower body.

ready (I think I was supposed to have my legs a bit lower - oops!!) — ready (I think I was supposed to have my legs a bit lower – oops!!)

I counted a left & right tap as 1 rep. By the end of all 44 my hip flexors were dying!!!

A long run at a quicker pace:
11 miles in 86:56 + 0.6 miles

Friday 8/22 – 44 butt kicks in plank (also from Taylor and the bodyweight workout for your lower body).

I sort of kicked to my opposite side. And, when I went back to link to Taylor’s site I realized that I”m an idiot – she did them on her elbows – oh, well – a great move either way!!!

Another double digit run:
10 miles in 77:23 followed by 1.1 easy miles.

Saturday 8/23 – 44 squat pulses while standing on dumbbells.

(hard to take pictures of pulses without them being blurry!!)

Today I did a shorter run outside while Hunter had cross country practice – wish it would have been earlier since it was already close to 85 degrees!!!

4 easy miles and then 20+ minutes walking around waiting for Hunter and the other kids to get back to the school.

Overall it was a good week:
52.5 miles + 4.9 easy miles for a total of 57.4 miles.

I have a few more days of long runs planned and then I’m going to back off a bit. (Can you tell I have a race coming up????)

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Plank, Running, Shoulders

Trying New Things (8/10-8/16)

August 16, 2014 Kim 42 Comments

As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten more set in my ways. However, I still like to try new things. This morning I tried to make a GIF following the incredible instructions that Taylor (Lifting Revolution) shared earlier this week. (I haven’t mastered it yet!!!)

I also like to try new moves and workout programs as often as possible!!! I have a super fun new program to try next week!

Sunday 8/10 – 44 leg crunches while balancing on wobble disc.

I did keep my hands on the ground the entire time – otherwise I didn’t feel like I could work my abs or hip flexors at all because I just kept falling off!

Monday 8/11 – 44 sit-ups with feet elevated.

These are always hard for me!!!

I decided to switch my lifting program from Chalean Extreme to Les Mills Body Pump. I started with Pump & Burn and I was definitely feeling the burn by the end!!!

After lifting I ran.
8 miles in 59:20 followed by 0.35 to cool down (I was out of time!!!).

Tuesday 8/12 – 44 kneeling crunches.

This is one of those moves that isn’t big and you have to really focus on the crunch to feel it!!!

Another day of running – 10 miles in 76:54 followed by 1.8 easy miles.

Wednesday 8/13 – 44 alternating straight leg/arm dead bugs.

right leg down, right arm back — left leg down, right arm back

I tried to make this a fluid motion and not let my hands or feet touch the ground during the down part!! (Right leg extended, left leg extended = 1 rep)

Another day of lifting with Les Mills Body Pump – Pump & Shred. Not gonna lie – body pump always makes me sore and tired!!!

I wanted a little cardio but not a run so I did Turbo Jam – Cardio Party 2. Always a fun way to work out!!!

Thursday 8/14 – 44 extended plank with a wrist, elbow, shoulder touch. (Right hand touch left wrist, left hand to right wrist, right hand to left elbow…..for 1 rep!!!)

This move I got from Monique (Burpees to Bubbly) the other day as part of her 7 minute body weight upper body burner. 44 of these was a little ambitious but it was a great challenge!!!

And, 11 miles of running in 81:25 followed by 0.4 miles easy.

Friday 8/15 – 44 carwash sweeps while in plank on elbow.

I tried to keep my body as level as possible while sweeping my arms around!! (a right sweep and left sweep = 1 rep)

I needed a little break from body pump so I did Jillian Michaels KickBox Fast Fix – love working out with Jillian!!!

Saturday 8/16 – 44 straight leg crunches with feet on a stability ball.

Today was another day of running (gotta keep my miles up a little longer!!!).
12 miles in 85:45 followed by 1.25 easy miles.

41 hard miles plus 3.8 easy miles for a close to 50 mile week. Probably need to bump that up next week but the whole time factor gets in my way!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Back, Biceps, Fitness, Hamstrings, Lunges, Running, Shoulders, Squats, Triceps

Combo Moves (8/3-8/9)

August 9, 2014 Kim 30 Comments

This week’s 44s were all about combining upper and lower body moves – my favorite way to get max results in min time!!

Sunday 8/3 – 44 plies with bicep curls (10 pound dumbbells).

Monday 8/4 – 44 single arm lateral raise with leg abduction (8 pound dumbbells).

And, I can’t just work my right side!!!

This move was hard for me!!!

Strength training – Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 1.
Running – 6 miles in 44:12 followed by 0.35 easy miles.

Tuesday 8/5 – 44 reverse lunge with shoulder press (8 pound DB).

After completing 44 reps on the right side I had to switch sides!

Long run day – 11 miles in 86:46 followed by 0.9 easy miles.

Wednesday 8/6 – 44 deadlift with row (15 pound DBs).

After the row, stand back up to complete a rep! Deadlifts are one of my favorite moves!!!

I only had a short amount of time to workout so I just lifted weights – Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 2.

Thursday 8/7 – 44 squat with front raise (hands together on 1 DB – 12 pounds).

And, this was another long run day – 12 miles in 90:02 + 2.4 easy miles.

Friday 8/8 – 44 alternate side lunge with overhead triceps extension. (8 pound DB)

Because I wanted to do 44 lunges to each side, I ended up doing 88 tricep moves!! My triceps are still sore today!!! Plus, keeping my arms overhead the entire time was a big challenge.

I only did Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 3 – it was a struggle for some reason!!!

Saturday 8/9 – 44 hammer curls with opposite knee lift (12 pound DBs)

I counted a right curl and left curl as 1 rep. This was a great move for really working my core – love balance challenges.

Overall this was a good week of workouts. I didn’t travel to Illinois (obviously!!!) to run the ultra but still got in some good runs and strength workouts.

Happy Saturday (better late than never!!)!!!

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Running

A Week of Fun (7/27-8/2)

August 2, 2014 Kim 24 Comments

This week the 44s were all about having fun!!!

Sunday 7/27 – 44 sets of 10 jumps on a Pogo Stick!!

So, I did a total of 440 jumps (plus some more just because it was so much fun). Jordan and Hunter also tried the Pogo Stick – Jordan was a natural and Hunter struggled to get more than 2 jumps but has practiced during the week and is up to about 30!!! Chris jumped once and said that was plenty!

Monday 7/28 – 44 “hopscotch” jumps – start on right foot – hop front to both feet – back to left – front to both – back to right for 1 rep.

This was fun even though my balance was a bit off!!!

I started the Lean Circuit in Chalean Extreme and did Lean Circuit 1. This is the circuit that really pushes you as far as lifting heavy for more reps – I have been pretty sore this week!!!

It was also a run day – 6 miles in 41:58 + 2.25 easy miles.

Tuesday 7/29 – 44 power skips with a step back. Skip by pushing off left foot then stepping back with left foot.

Jordan did the video and totally cracked me up!!! He said, well you do it – so I did even though it was afternoon and I had on real clothes!

I did 44 with my left leg and then 44 more with my right.

This was another run day – 6 miles in 40:55 + 1 easy mile.

Wednesday 7/30 – 44 Carioca – right over left – right behind left for 1 rep. Do all reps with right leg leading then another set of 44 with left leg leading.

Back to heavy lifting – Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 3. I didn’t realize that I did circuit 3 instead of 2 until later in the week – oh, well!!!

Thursday 7/31 – 44 shuffle jacks.

I did 44 sliding right and then 44 more with a left shuffle.

It was also a run day – 5 miles in 34:27 + 1.9 easy miles.

Friday 8/1 – 44 front – back hops.

I loved this move – it went fast but it was a great way to move and have fun!

I did another round of Chalean Extreme – Lean Circuit 2. I thought it was supposed to be circuit 3 and then realized I had done the wrong one on Wednesday – it doesn’t really matter though – they all got done!!!

Saturday 8/2 – 44 fun run step. Run front – back with right foot and then do a set with the left foot.

Even though I look like a goof, I loved this move – super fun!!!

And, I ran again – 8.3 miles in 59:24 (I wanted to see what I could do in an hour without killing myself!) + 1 easy mile.

This week was a little different – I had to shorten a lot of my workouts (the actual time) because I worked enrollment for the school and had to be showered and out the door by about 6:40. Thankfully the boys all helped me get my videos done later in the day!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Fitness, Running, Thighs

My Weak Spot (7/20-7/26)

July 26, 2014 Kim 37 Comments

My hips are probably my weakest area (part of why I have had stress fractures in each one) so I try to work them as often as possible – especially when I’m running a lot!! This week I really focused on them.

Sunday 7/20 – 44 skater squats with band.

This was fun – staying in the squat position the entire time made for a nice quad burn besides working my hips!!!

I got in a good 10 mile run – 76:27 followed by 3.15 easy miles!!!

Monday 7/21 – 44 machine gun kicks.

I should have done a video so you could see that this is actually a quick move. Part of the challenge is keeping balanced!!! And, after the first set – gotta work the other side!!

And – finally a lifting day again!!! Chalean Extreme – Push Circuit 1. I wanted to get some cardio but not run so I did Les Mills Combat Power Kata 45 – super fun way to get in a great workout!!!

Tuesday 7/22 – 44 kneeling leg lifts.

After the first leg is burning then switch and repeat!

Another 10 miles this time a bit faster – 74:44 followed by an easy mile!!!

Wednesday 7/23 – 44 side lying leg lift — point and flex feet.

lift with top leg behind toe pointed down

By turning the foot, I felt this in all parts of my hip!!!

Lifting day – Chalean Extreme — Push Circuit 2. After lifting I pulled out a program I haven’t done in awhile – TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Abs. This is just over 40 minutes of cardio/core – awesome!!!

Thursday 7/24 – 44 standing hip circles (knee bent).