Category Archives: Shoulders

Back, Core, Fitness, Foam Roller, Hamstrings, Lunges, Plyo, Push-Ups, Running, Shoulders, Triceps

Fun with Workout Toys (4/5 – 4/11)

April 11, 2015 Kim 1 Comment

This week I used a variety of pieces of equipment and other workout “toys” for some of my moves – always fun to use items in different ways!!

Sunday 4/5 – 45 cross behind lunges (curtsey style) off of step – plyo move.

hop back to curtsey lunge with right leg

Push off and hop back to top.

I need to start incorporating more plyo moves into my workouts again!!!

Monday 4/6 – 45 double step – plank jack/tricep push-up.

I set my steps up end-to-end and put my feet on the taller one with my hands on the shorter one –

as you jump your feet back in go down into a push-up

This move was hard – the tricep push-up is what killed me!!!

I ran 10 miles (74:28) followed by an easy mile.

Tuesday 4/7 – 45 V-sit on vertical foam roller with open/close arms. This move is a variation of a move from Lindsay (Cotter Crunch) and her 3 New Core Moves – she did the move as a stationary move focusing on holding. I knew I couldn’t do 45 long holds so I adapted it.

start with arms out and legs out a little

This move might look easy but it was HARD!!!

I did Denise Austin’s Personal Training DVD – always a fun workout for the entire body!! I even did the stretching segment!!

Wednesday 4/8 – 45 hinged barbell pulls.

The key to this move was keeping everything still except the arms.

I only had time for 6 miles (44:17) followed by a cool down mile.

Thursday 4/9 – 45 side plank with a leg sweep front-back-front.

Move the top leg back to the front to complete the rep. This took longer than I expected – I had to pause a couple times before completing all 45 reps. And, then I had to flip over and do some more!

Bring that leg to the front to complete 1 rep! I guess I didn’t use any cool “toys” for this move – oops!!

I did Les Mills Combat – Ultimate Warriors – 60 minutes of fast paced punching and kicking!!!

Friday 4/10 – 45 shoulder presses with a chair. I was a slug and slept till 6:00 so I didn’t get my workout done early. I had my 3rd day of cleaning/set-up at the venue for the past 4 so I decided to do my 45 once I got to the venue.

I used one of our chairs – I held it in front of my chest with both hands (by the front legs) and pressed my arms overhead before lowering to a 90 degree bend. Sort of a fun way to work my shoulders!!

Saturday 4/11 – 45 sidearm triceps extensions.

Can you tell the pictures are after my run? I put my shirt back on for them since I’m not super happy with my abs these days.

I ran 10 miles (73:50) followed by 1.5 easy miles.

Do you like to experiment with new uses for standard equipment?
I like to use different pieces of equipment especially in new ways!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Back, Calves, Core, Fitness, Plank, Recovery, Running, Shoulders, Squats, Treadmill

Heavy Running Week (1/18 – 1/24)

January 24, 2015 Kim 31 Comments

This week I more than doubled my total miles for the month – a mega long run will do that I guess!!

Sunday 1/18 – 45 arm lifts (elbows bent) to side while in elbow plank.

Return to plank –

I counted a right and left lift as one rep – this was HARD!!!

Monday 1/19 – 45 shoulder work – extend arms straight up in front – open them to the sides – lower – repeat. I only used 5 pound DB because my shoulders are weak!!!

Slowly lower the weights back down to complete the move.

This was a running day – 6 miles (47:10) + 2.1 easy miles. I wanted to see how much sweating would burn my face – it wasn’t too bad!!

Tuesday 1/20 – 45 plie – jump to squat – jump back to plie – stay low the entire time.

From plie, jump to get into a squat (point toes forward) –

Obviously I kept the squat fairly wide!!! From the squat – jump back to a plie position. Since you stay low the entire time, your legs will definitely start to feel the burn!!

I did a DVD that I hadn’t done in awhile – Jari Love’s Get Extremely Ripped 1000 Hardcore. This was about 70-75 minutes of hard work. I liked the mix of cardio and weights. Because Jari Love uses high reps for all moves, my heart rate stayed high the entire time!!!

Wednesday 1/21 – 45 miles of running!!!

This took 6 hours, 35 minutes, 18 seconds!! Normally I do this on my actual birthday but this year I figured as long as I did it while I was 45 it would count!

Thursday 1/22 – 45 single leg calf raises.

I thought this would be a nice stretch after Wednesday’s run. Ummm….it was hard to do 45!!! And, of course, I had to switch legs.

Friday 1/23 – 45 heel taps while in a prone position.

lift legs and squeeze (nice photo bomb – Jordan!!)

This is a great move for your lower back since you are working to keep your legs up the entire time!!!

Saturday 1/24 – 45 shin strengtheners.

lay on back - legs up - point toes — lay on back – legs up – point toes

I used to do this move a lot more to help prevent shin splints. You can also turn your toes out to the sides or in. Another option is to vary the speed that you use for this move.

I decided to do an easy workout to try and workout the residual soreness in my quads from the long run so I did – Fat Burning Pilates. I think that is was a good way to get a little movement today!!!

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

Biceps, Fitness, Running, Shoulders, Treadmill, Triceps

Back to Work!!! (5/18-5/24)

May 24, 2014 Kim 30 Comments

This week has been all about getting back into a solid workout groove. For the past couple of months I sort of let my weight training and cross training take a back seat to running. Even though I plan to keep logging lots of miles, I need to add in the other work again!!!

Sunday 5/18 – 44 shoulder burners!! This move was a front raise, flip arms over and do a bicep curl with arms out in front (and up), shoulder press, then reverse each step for 1 rep – oh, and I stood on my wobble balls just to increase the FUN!!!

flip arms over - palms up — flip arms over – palms up

Not gonna lie – my shoulders were dying by the time I finished all 44 of these!!!! (and I only used 5 pound dumbbells)

I did a DVD that I haven’t done in a long time – Jackie Warner X-Treme Crunch Free Abs. This is just over 30 minutes of serious ab/core work. The first half is all done standing and the 2nd half is on the ground. About midnight Sunday night I could really feel all of those moves!!!

I also did a treadmill run. Lately I haven’t even tried to push my pace much and I’m still going to focus on running more miles at an easy pace but every once in awhile I need to pick it up.

5 miles – 35:27 + 1 easy mile to cool down (all at 1.5% incline)

Monday 5/19 – 44 step-ups with a bicep curl.

Push off foot on step to lift up and curl at the same time.

After I did 44 on this side I had to switch sides – a total of 88 bicep curls!!! (the main reason I stuck with 8 pound dumbbells!)

ready (not sure what I'm doing with the weights!) — ready (not sure what I’m doing with the weights!)

The nice thing about this move was that it got my heart rate up besides working my biceps, butt and quads!!!

I did one of my favorite workouts – Les Mills Combat – Extreme Cardio Fighter. 60 minutes of kicking and punching at a fairly high intensity!!! Love it!

Tuesday 5/20 – 44 fall backs with medicine ball.

This move was HARD!!! It is great for your core and also for your quads.

The rest of the workout was 10 Minute Solutions – Hot Body Boot Camp. Not gonna lie, of the 5 10 minute sections my favorite this time was the stretching!!! I think I was dragging a little!!!

Wednesday 5/21 – 44 waving triceps while standing on wobble balls.

Trying to stay balanced on the wobble balls and keeping my arms extended the entire time turned this into a great challenge!!! (8 pound dumbbells)

This was a running day – 10 miles in 78:43 plus 1.2 easy miles.

Thursday 5/22 – 44 pull-overs while on a stability ball. This move was from Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) and her weekly Wednesday workout.

I’m not sure I dropped my arms as far as you are supposed to but I was trying to keep my form good and not bend my arms – lots of muscles involved here!!! (1 12 pound dumbbell)

I wanted to do something a little easier so I did The Biggest Loser – Weight Loss Yoga. Ummm….there was very little easy about the workout. Bob Harper knows his stuff and after 50 minutes of yoga I felt like I had worked out for sure!!!

Friday 5/23 – 44 triceps kickbacks while in chair.

I know that I should have been lower in “chair” but my quads were burning!!! (8 pound dumbbells)

It was another run day and I decided to make it a bit of a harder pace because lately I feel like I’ve been running slower most of the time.

8 miles (1.5% incline) in 53:27 + 2.4 easy miles. I try not to run hard too often anymore (I used to do it every single run – part of why I was injured more than not) but it was nice to push the pace. (6:41 average)

Saturday 5/24 – 44 leg lifts with a medicine ball between my lower legs.

Yikes – that move was hard!!! The medicine ball I used was 8 pounds and I told Chris that the hardest part was the ball hurt my ankle bones!!! Even with the whining, I still did another set of 44!!!

Hunter and I are supposed to be out running right now – his final long run but it is raining and I’m not a diehard!!! I have zero desire to be soaking wet for over an hour and a half!! We will run later or even in the next day or two – we have some flexibility since he is going to run quite a bit this week before scaling back for the final week before his race!

This week wasn’t a high mileage week for me but it felt good to get in a few runs again. I’m ready to focus on a new goal and plan to keep my miles up while getting in more strength work again!!!

Happy Saturday!!

Kim