Category Archives: Squats

Butt, Fitness, Quad, Squats

Counting Down with Gratitude

December 3, 2013 Kim 77 Comments

Today’s 44 was a fairly simple move made a little more challenging with a band – a small tight band.

I did a step out to a squat – right and then step out left for 1 rep. (so each rep had 2 squats)

The 44 went quickly but my legs were burning by the end.

Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 was up again – Upper Elite. YIKES!!! 60 minutes of upper body with just a few cardio bursts thrown in. More push-ups than I cared to count, biceps, triceps, shoulders, upper back, core – some of everything!! I’m still shaking and I finished over 30 minutes ago. I actually had to do some of the push-ups on my knees – hopefully next time through I will get them on my toes.

December is the month of counting down!!! We started doing Christmas count-downs years ago and the boys still do them even though they aren’t little any more.

Every night the boys do all of the different count downs. Years ago they used to fight about whose turn it was so I started the odd/even – whoever is the odd age gets odd days. This system has worked perfectly for many years!!

We have a couple that you just change the numbers –

One that you move a little star around –

A Santa full of doors – we start with all of the doors open and close one each night.

A Santa with a big beard that starts out empty and will be full on Christmas –

But my favorite countdown is one that requires a little more effort. We have a row of 25 little stockings –

Every night during the month of December each of the boys take a little piece of paper and writes down something they are thankful for. At the end of the month (or when I take down the decorations), I type up the list. It is really fun to go back and look at lists from years ago. (I type it exactly as they wrote it – spelling and grammar errors and all!!)

I love Christmas but I really want our boys to know how very fortunate they are and for them to take the time to appreciate all of the goodness in their lives.

Do you have a count down tradition?

Happy Tuesday!!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Shoulders, Squats

Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 28, 2013 Kim 34 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all have family and/or friends to spend your day with!!

For my 44 today I did a single leg squat in the figure 4 position with a front raise.

44 on the first side wasn’t too bad but by the 2nd set my arms/shoulders were burning!!! (and I only used 5 pound dumbbells)

Stacy and I decided to do the 4 miles for today inside (because I sort of miscalculated the start time for the turkey and had to get it started!!!). She hopped on the treadmill and I did the elliptical. I just did 30 minutes (4.1 miles).

Happy Thursday/Thanksgiving!! Enjoy your day!!!

Kim

Butt, Cardio, Fitness, Plyo, Squats

Are Kids Smarter (and Stronger) Now than 25 Years Ago?

November 24, 2013 Kim 52 Comments

Today I did a quick 44 but it was a challenge!!! I did single leg squats with a hop. I started on my right leg and did 44 squats with a hop – they went OK and I only had to tap my left foot 2x to keep from falling.

My left leg squats and hops didn’t go as well – I had to tap my right foot down a lot.

I like moves like this that make me have to work to not fall over!!!

Last night Hunter and I were talking about college and scholarships. I told him that I went to college with a full scholarship – both academic and athletic.

Hunter’s response – I guess academic scholarships are a lot harder to get now.

What?! I think I just got slammed.

He said well kids are smarter now and there is more competition for athletic scholarships than when you went to school.

What?! Maybe you should stop talking, Hunter.

Then he started in on way back then.

What?! I’m not that old (well maybe I am but still!).

He wanted to know my SAT and ACT scores – I can’t remember my SAT but my ACT was 31.

Hunter also said – well you got an athletic scholarship but were there any really good runners at your school?

One of the people on our track team was late coming back to school in the fall of 1988 because he was running in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He ran for Jamaica and won a silver medal in the 4 x 400m relay (the US won gold). Plus, a couple of the years that I ran we were the NAIA National Champions!!!

At the end of all of this, Hunter still tried to tell me that it is harder to get scholarships now than (way back) when I went to college!!! Silly Boy!!!

Happy Sunday!!! I’m off to take my non-scholarship deserving self to tackle my to-do list.

Kim

Biceps, Fitness, Quad, Running, Squats, Treadmill

Veteran’s Day

November 11, 2013 Kim 76 Comments

For my 44 today I did a bicep curl (with 10 pound dumbbells – plenty for this many reps!) while staying in a squat position for all 44. My quads were burning!!!

curl - stay in squat — curl – stay in squat

Nice sweaty pictures since they were after my workout. I ran today because it will probably be the only day this week that I can run. I did 10 miles with the treadmill at 1.5% incline (73:27) + 2 easy miles to cool down.

Veteran’s Day is to celebrate the service of all of the US military – past and present!

The Commonwealth countries celebrate Remembrance Day or Armistice Day on November 11.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields“. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

This day marks the anniversary of the end of World War I – the major hostilities were formally ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

I think that now more than ever it is important to show support for all of the military men and women who willingly serve their country in ways that many people would never dream of doing.

Since Chris is in the military, we have lots of friends who are Veterans but I have 3 people that are the most special Veterans in my life.

Chris who is still serving our country –

Blues - the official unifrom — Blues – the official uniform (usually he wears his flight suit)

My Dad who spent most of his career in the US Air Force. (pretty sad that I don’t have any pictures!)

And, my Poppa who served in the US Navy during World War II –

on his 90th birthday (tomorrow he would be 99) — on his 90th birthday
(tomorrow he would have turned 99)

Happy Veteran’s Day to all of the many Veterans and THANK YOU for all you do!!!

Happy Monday!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Quad, Squats

We Really Only Need 4 Basic Things!!!

October 22, 2013 Kim 71 Comments

Today for my 44 I did a squat on a wobble disc –

Just standing on the disc is a challenge for your balance! I started with my hands reaching up –

then reached my hands down to my toes during the squat.

There were lots of wobbles before I completed all 44 of these!!!

And, Tuesday means Garage Boot Camp!!! (not sure how fun this will be in the winter!!!) Today we did one of my favorites – ABC Boot Camp. Because we have a shorter amount of time than we did in the summer, we only did 1 minute of each move (in the summer we did 75 seconds). Still a great workout!!!

Entitlement: the condition of having a right to have, do, or get something (Merriam-Webster)

Have you ever met people who feel “entitled”?

More and more lately it seems that people feel like someone (that ubiquitous entity) owes them! I don’t get it!!!

When our boys were little we told them they needed 4 things: food, water, oxygen and love.

We made sure that they had all of those (I guess we didn’t really have much control over the oxygen thing!!!) things and everything else was just a bonus!!!

I still believe that we can boil our needs down to the basics – everything else (and there is plenty) is like icing on the cake, sunshine at the beach, the star on top of the tree!! It’s EXTRA!!

Last Thursday (cleaning, set-up, ironing day), the bride of the weekend called me. She wanted to know if they could have the venue (for free) Friday night since they had rented it for Saturday. She felt like I “owed” her that even though the rental for a Friday night is completely separate!!!

I’m pretty sure if we book a hotel and then call them up and tell them they should let us come in a day early for free they would laugh and/or hang-up on us!!!

I think that we all need to remember that we can live with –