Category Archives: Squats

Back, Cardio, Chest, Core, Fitness, Running, Shoulders, Squats

Happy Anniversary to the Love of my Life!!!!

May 25, 2013 Kim 22 Comments

Today’s 43 was brutal in every way!! I did Man-Makers!! Heard of them? Get a set of dumbbells (I used 15 pounds) and get ready!!

Put the dumbbells on the ground about a foot apart. Jump down to plank placing hands on DBs and do a push-up (you know, like a burpee). Then do alternate arm rows (while still in plank!!). Jump up into a low squat and bring weight to your shoulder. Stand, using your legs for power and push arms straight overhead. That was 1 rep!!! Repeat (43x if you are doing my version!).

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmcosP5QWo0′]

After I finished that ~~torture~~ 43, I decided to go out for a run to shake out the last bit of soreness in my legs from Thursday’s long run. I finally used my new Garmin on a run!!! I just ran 3 miles in 26:00 + 0.5 miles walking to cool down!! It is already muggy and humid today!!!

Chris and I are celebrating 17 years of wedded bliss today!!! So, I think it’s a good time to share some of our story.

We met in August of 1995 at Whalers Bay in Lubbock, TX. (yep – we met at a bar!!!) Chris was with 3 other guys and I was with a group of people. My roommate that summer was a hostess there and had seen Chris in before. She purposely seated me next to him and his friends. Chris and his buddies all had large notebooks with them (the Dash 1) and were “studying”.

I started talking to Chris and asked him, “Are you a pilot?” His response, “No, but I want to be.” (he was in pilot training at the time)

I drank Rum & Coke that night (more than a few) all paid for by Chris and his pals, and because of that Chris’ buddies called me “rum & coke” for months after we met!!

At some point that night, Chris and I made plans to go out over the weekend. He called me the next day and asked if I had a chance to go out of town would I do it. I figured he was standing me up. Actually, he invited me to go to Austin to hook up with some friends of his and go to a Live concert.

We went to the concert, did 6th Street up rightgot a little sleep and drove back to Lubbock (Oh – it is 7 hours each way). Yep, we met in a bar, our first date was over 7 hours from were we lived – pretty sure we broke a lot of “dating rules” but it all worked out and look at us now!!! And we didn’t go as crazy as some people – the SLS Dating Site scene isn’t for us – but we did break a few conventions here and there!

Chris told me later that he knew on the way to Austin that I was the person he wanted to marry!!! The Monday after our first date he sent these to me at work!!

We dated the rest of the year (my first year as a teacher – 6th grade Science) while Chris was in pilot training. Most of our dates were like this:

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8wFBUF1ZWY’]

Well, maybe not exactly, but we did spend lots of time with the other guys (and their wives or girlfriends) in pilot training at a great piano bar called Off Broadway and karaoke happened often – good thing Chris can sing!!!

We were engaged all of 8 weeks!!! Not because we “had” to get married! Chris graduated from pilot training on May 24 and we got married the day after – we figured it would save his family a trip to TX (from Kansas).

at 2 and on the day of Pilot Training Graduation

The frame says – From long ago and far away…Love brought us to our wedding day.

It was a busy but incredible weekend!!! Chris sang to me at our wedding (a complete surprise to everyone, especially me!!)

Beautiful in my Eyes by Joshua Kadison (now know as “our song”)

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRKqxSZeq4s’]

Obviously that isn’t him singing but it could be!!! (If you’ve never heard the song, it is definitely worth listening to!!)

Our wedding was Saturday and on Monday, Chris had to go to Altus, OK for his next training phase. I still had a week to finish school. So, we started our married life the way it would frequently be – the life of a military pilot and spouse!!!

The night I got to Altus, we ate at the O Club (Officer’s Club) – right when we walked in we heard our song so of course we danced cause that’s what you do!!!

I can’t even count how many times we have gotten up in the middle of dinner or while cleaning the kitchen to dance to our song (because I had my ipod playing on random)!!! The boys ~~love it~~ just roll their eyes and ignore us!!!

Happy Anniversary, Chris – you will always be the love of my life!!!

Do you and your spouse/significant other have a song? Do you drop everything and dance when you hear it?

Happy Saturday!!! I’m off to spend the day with my true love!!!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Lunges, Quad, Squats

Silver Linings

May 19, 2013 Kim 27 Comments

Today for my 43 I did some squat and lunge work because yesterday I caught a glimpse of my backside and realized that I have lost a lot of butt toning the past few weeks (TMI??) and swimsuit season is here!!! Yikes!!

So today, I did a 4-step move to try and start back in the right direction (ie – not saggy!!!). I held 12 pound dumbbells during this move to add some extra intensity and weight!

I started with a side-lunge to the right –

Then I stepped my foot back to the center for a squat with feet together –

A side-lunge to the left –

lunge to the left (don't mind the fact that I'm not going super low - wraps get in the way!) — lunge to the left (don’t mind the fact that I’m not going super low – wraps get in the way!)

And finally, another center squat to finish the rep –

One thing I love about doing lower body work like this, I can get my heart rate up while toning!! By the time I finished all 43 reps, I was breathing hard for sure!!

I’m giving myself another recovery day because between being an idiot last week, the storms last night, and being awake from 2-4 this morning while waiting for Jordan and the rest of the band kids to get back, I think it will be the best idea for the day!!

A couple of weeks ago I read the book The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and loved it!! It is pretty intense but the concept is awesome (I’m not going to do a book review here because you might want to read it yourself!!). The other day, Chris and I watched the movie!!! Awesome movie – great story (and enough humor that Chris even enjoyed it!!).

A lot of times, I don’t like to read a book then watch the movie – it drives me crazy when they don’t match up. However, in this case, I didn’t mind the differences between the 2 (and there were plenty!!). I enjoyed the movie more – it wasn’t as intense (plus, hello, Bradley Cooper!!).

One thing I noticed, though, the concept of Silver Linings is brought out a lot more in the book. Pat (Bradley Cooper), is convinced that he will have a silver lining after all of the hardships he has gone through. I tend to agree with this idea most of the time. I think the times that we need the silver lining the most are sometimes the times it is hardest to really remain positive and believe that every bad situation has some good aspect to it. I think we all have different ways of “looking for the silver linings”. Some of us run! Some of us pray. Some of us turn to friends and/or family. I think the main thing is to keep looking for that Silver Lining because it’s there!!Without the trying times in our lives, we would never fully appreciate the happy times!!

How do you look for the Silver Lining during the low times?

Happy Sunday – I hope it’s full of Silver Linings!!!

Kim

PS – I highly recommend the book (if you’re a reader) and the movie!!

Cardio, Fitness, Running, Squats, Treadmill

My Life as a Pseudo PE Teacher

April 23, 2013 Kim 16 Comments

Today’s 43 involved my step –

14" double step (the Transfirmer) — 14″ double step (the Transfirmer)

I just did quick moving squats from side-to-side (right squat – over – left squat – over = 1 rep).

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izJ93vHVoeg’]

This was a quick 43 but it got my heart rate up and my quads were burning!!!

I decided to run today since I won’t be able to run for awhile after tomorrow! Treadmill (snow/ice mixture coming down outside!) – 1.5% incline – 6 miles in 37:05 + 2.1 miles slower with higher incline for a total of 8.1 miles in 63:30.

So, lately I have spent several fun-filled afternoons in the gym while the real PE teacher is coaching at the HS track meets!

This is a great gig for several reasons – a big one is I get to go to “work” dressed like this:

I also get to run around and play – usually with lots of balls!!

In my previous life (before children) I was a middle school science teacher ( and I coached 7th & 8th grade volleyball, basketball and track). Middle school kids are VERY different from these young kids (the afternoon PE classes are 2nd, 1st and Kindergarten students)!!! So, as the “fake” PE teacher, I’ve learned 3 lessons:

Always wear a whistle!!
I need a blingy whistle!!!

I’m not super loud but I can blow a whistle with the best of them!!!
Helpful phrases – “You’re OK”, “I think you’re fine”, “You’re going to be OK”, “keep going, you’re fine”……..little ones have all kinds of reasons why they might not be OK (especially when I have them run a couple of laps!!!) – a little reassurance and they are always ready to go again (till the next time!).
My #1 rule: NO TATTLING!!! Kids like to tattle (or tell you every little thing that someone else did) – on their friends, kids who maybe aren’t their best friends, even on themselves – crazy, but true!!!

I really enjoy subbing in PE (even with the younger kids!!!)! Where else do you get to do stuff like this?Well, maybe not exactly, but we always use some of these:And, there is always at least a little bit of running involved!!!

Happy Tuesday! I think I’m going to put on my bikini, cover-up and flip flops and head south until I find a warm sunny spot – anyone want to join in?

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Squats, Stairs

Catching Up

April 17, 2013 Kim 21 Comments

Today my 43 ended up being my work-out, too. I decided to use our stairs to really work my legs. I went up the stairs sideways skipping every other step:

On the way down, I stayed sideways but didn’t skip steps.

Because I didn’t want one leg to get more work (or be stronger!!), I did 2 sets of 43 – one leading with my right leg (left leg pushing off) and the other leading with my left leg (right leg pushing off).

The move is like a sideways squat (just on an uneven surface) and it took 7 “squats” for each trip up the stairs so I did 301 “squats” with each leg!!! Not too shabby – plus I kept the pace pretty quick so I got my heart rate up!!

Then I decided to try a plank hold on my elbows instead of with my arms extended. For some reason, this one was harder – 3:30 today.

Since getting home yesterday around noon, I feel like I have been going non-stop and today is jam-packed!!

Last night Hunter played in the district string fest – 6th, 8th and high school orchestras.It was pretty cool to hear the difference a few years can make! Plus the 6th graders are from 6 different schools in the district and only had 1 practice all together – pretty impressive!!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rh1DF4duNg’]

The finale was God Bless America (love that song!!) and all of the orchestras played together on it – I just recorded part of it since it was long.

I missed a lot over the weekend with the sleepover and all but thankfully Chris took some pictures of the cake making and birthday celebrating!!Looks like fun was had by Jordan during the afternoon and Hunter and his pals that evening!!

Now I’m off to tackle a mile-long to-do list which includes a dentist appointment, DR appointment, afternoon spent subbing PE…….

Happy Wednesday!!

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Push-Ups, Squats

What do I do with this thing??

April 9, 2013 Kim 22 Comments

Today’s 43 was Jordan’s idea!! He suggested this on Saturday morning but I decided to save it until today! Since he came up with the idea, I ~~made~~ let him do the demo for me!!

The move – a push-up with a double jump squat x 43!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huqYmBztdq4′]

So, I didn’t do it exactly like Jordan – I stepped back into the push-ups instead of jumping. I didn’t want to do them burpee style because I really wanted to make sure that I had good form on all 43 of the push-ups! This one was a nice mix of upper body, lower body and cardio – great idea, Jordan!!!

The rest of my workout was fun – Turbo Jam style – Cardio Party 2. I can’t say it often enough – I love to work out with Chalean!!!

So, over spring break (we stayed home and it wasn’t very spring-like since it snowed) I pulled out a puzzle. I thought the boys might help – Hunter helped with the edge pieces and Jordan would periodically come in a tell me how hard puzzles are!! The puzzle that I started was 3000 pieces!!! It took me 2.5 weeks but I finally finished it – The problem now is what to do with it. I don’t want to take it apart yet – too much work putting it together. But… it is on our dining room table. We have glued puzzles before (and had them framed) but I don’t know where I would put this one – it’s huge 4′ x 2’7″. So, for now it is still on the table!!!