Category Archives: Thighs

Sunshine Award

August 17, 2013 Kim 14 Comments

Today for my 43 I did a move that was inspired by the only Barre workout I’ve done – Cathe Friedrich’s Barre DVD. I used my “bar” –

I did a 2-part leg lift.

First, I lifted my leg to the back –

I brought my leg down (without swinging it!!!) and without touching the floor I lifted it out to the side. I continued lifting back and side in a slow controlled manner until I finished all 43 reps.

And, because I don’t want my left leg to feel left out, I had to do 43 more with the left leg.

I have been working on adding extra moves to strengthen my hips lately since I’m running more often and more miles right now – hoping to stay injury free at least for the next couple of months!!!!

I also did my 3rd round of Taylor’s challenge for the week – The Race Is On. I’m not gonna lie – this week’s workout was tough!!! Even though it took less than 15 minutes, it was very intense and hard-core! My time on Monday for the entire workout was 15:46 and today I did it in 12:55!!! No breaks, no rest – just high intensity for almost 13 minutes!!

Heather @ Run Like a G! nominated me for the Sunshine Award.

Because I’m super lame, I asked her if it would be OK if I answered the questions without doing the rest of the award requirements (picking 10 other people to answer questions from me). She said it would be fine – thanks, Heather for nominating me and letting me be a 1/2 participant!!!

Questions from Heather:

1. What is your favorite thing about running?
I love how strong and free I feel when I run. Some runs are good and others not so much but I always feel alive after completing a run. And, my calves almost always look like I’m wearing heels!!!

2. What FRIENDS character are you more like?
I’m probably the most like Monica – I am very type A and sometimes fairly obsessive!!!

3. If money wasn’t an option, what country/island/place would you explore for a week?
Australia – my number one place that I want to visit and haven’t yet!!!

4. Bodybuilding – yay or nay?
Not for me just because I don’t have the discipline required (especially as far as the nutrition goes!). But I love seeing how others can transform their bodies through hard-work and discipline.

5. What do you LOVE about your body?
I’m happy with my body 95% of the time – mostly because I love how strong it is. I know that I can push myself harder now than I did 5 years ago and that makes me HAPPY!!!

6. Tell me your favorite season and give two reasons why it is your favorite season.
Summer – always!!! I love the heat and days spent at the pool or beach with my family. I also love the slower pace that we enjoy during the summer when we aren’t tied down with a school schedule.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes! My husband and I met on a Tuesday night (at a bar). I didn’t see him again until the following Saturday when he picked me up and we drove 7 hours (each way) to go to a concert. He told me several months later that he knew on the way to Austin (for the concert) that I was the person he was going to marry.

8. If you could have an exotic animal as a pet, which would you choose?
I’m not a huge pet person but I would probably go with some type of snake – maybe a dwarf boa.

9. Have you read Harry Potter?
No. My oldest son (14 now) read all the books the summer after he finished 2nd grade!!! I have only seen the first 4 movies – I enjoyed them but sort of lost interest.

10. What is your favorite cereal?
Ohs – no milk!!!

I would nominate all the blogs I read for a Sunshine Award so I’m not doing that part. Feel free to pick any (or all) of the questions and share your answer(s).

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Running, Thighs

When you Make a Mistake, Make a Good One!!

August 14, 2013 Kim 64 Comments

Both boys seemed to have a good first day of school yesterday!! Thank you for your happy thoughts!!!

Today for my 43 I did a standing pilates leg circle. It is a slow controlled movement that is about control as much as anything.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Nh-T55gFw’]

I felt this in my standing hip as much as in the leg that was moving. And, of course this was a 43 that I did 2x – so that I could get each leg.

I did round 2 of The Race Is On (challenge workout of the week from Taylor). This is a fast moving workout and the person who you are racing is yourself. I love trying to beat my time each time I do a workout – makes me really push hard.

I also ran again today!! This time I went outside and it was a perfect morning for a run – 64 degrees with just a slight breeze!!! I tend to run slower when I run in my neighborhood because of all the hills. I need the hill training!! I did 5.5 miles in 45:50 (about 8:20 pace) + 0.50 mile walking for my cool down.

Last night was the band camp exhibition on the football field.

It was very cool because we saw a mini version of everything they have been doing the past couple of weeks. They start with a great warm-up: jumping jacks, push-ups, up-downs, high knees and stretching. It was fun to watch them follow all the different commands. And they actually sound really good!!

This year the marching program is all Styx songs – pretty cool!!

They have just started working on marching in formation and playing at the same time (they have about 3 weeks until the first football game!).

Last night they only marched for one song and did the rest in place.

The band director said they were still in the beginning stages and mistakes were fine. He said –
If you make a mistake make a good one – a confident one! And not the same one you made yesterday!!

I love that idea – we all make mistakes but we should own it and be confident even in our mistakes!! The only time that a mistake becomes a problem is when you repeat the same mistake over and over!!!

A lot of times I think we have a tendency to want to hide our mistakes but the only way we can really learn from them and move on is to admit that we made a mistake and correct it.

I’m going to really work on making sure that my mistakes are good (or at least made with confidence!) and hopefully not repeat mistakes!!!

Are you confident even when you mess up?

Happy Wednesday!!!

Kim

Fitness, Thighs

Based on a True Story

August 5, 2013 Kim 51 Comments

Today’s 43 was a new to me move and one that I don’t think I will repeat. It is supposed to work your inner thighs but mostly it was just kind of weird and awkward!!

Start on all 4s with your right leg between your left hand and left knee –

From the start position, lift your right leg (it’s a really small lift!) and lower it (x43).

And, of course, I had to switch sides and do the whole thing again!!

It is hard to tell in the pictures how high the lift is – it is only about 2 inches. Amazing how very heavy your leg can feel when you do an awkward lift like this!!

I decided that I haven’t been getting enough weight work in lately so I’m going to start Chalean Extreme back up!! Today I did Burn Circuit 1 – lots of lunges, oblique work and lat work!! I have a feeling that I will be a little sore tomorrow – not a problem since my chest is still sore from the commando push-ups I did last week!!

And, since it’s Monday, we started a new workout of the week with Taylor’s challenge. This week’s workout is a Tabata one (love it!!) – 4 different Tabatas plus a finale of 2 minutes worth of planks!

My favorite movies are the ones based on a true story (usually about a sports team or sports hero)!

Over the weekend we finally watched 42 – The Jackie Robinson Story. I loved it!! There were so many great lines in the movie. One of my favorite lines was when PeeWee said, “Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear #42, that way they can’t tell us apart.” Sadly, it took awhile for some of Jackie’s teammates to come around and accept him but there were some truly great moments in the story when they did!

Another one of my all time favorite movies is Miracle! We have probably watched that movie 20 times (or more!).

I love the part in the movie where the team has to take the ice right after a game (because they weren’t focused during the game!) and start skating and skating and skating…. My favorite line is when Eruzione says –

“Mike Eruzione! Winthrop, Massachusetts! I play for the United States of America!”

Classic line!!! And, I sometimes remind myself when I’m logging lots of miles on my treadmill, “the legs feed the wolf!”

Another family favorite is Remember the Titans. I think that we watch at least part of it every time it comes on TV (which is probably at least once every couple of weeks!). There are so many great quotes and scenes from this movie but I think my favorite is the relationship that developed between Julius and Gary.When Gary is in the hospital and tells the nurse that Julius is his brother (can’t you see the family resemblance?) – I always get goose bumps!

And the team warm-up is awesome!!

Rudy is another movie that just makes you feel good! A story showing the ultimate success of a true underdog with an amazing attitude!!I could go on and on with movies based on true stories that I love. I find them so inspiring and I like movies that we can watch and enjoy as a family!!!

* 8 Seconds
* Prefontaine
* October Sky (not sports but an incredible story!)
* A League of Their Own – “There’s no crying in baseball!”
* Radio
* Friday Night Lights (my old stomping grounds during my high school years!!)
* Cinderella Man
* Glory Road
* The Blind Side
* Secretariat
* Soul Surfer

Do you like movies based on a true story? What is your favorite?

Happy Monday!!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Thighs

Early, On Time, Late – Which Are You?

August 4, 2013 Kim 35 Comments

Today I used a stability ball again for my 43 –

I decided to really work my hips because any time I add in more running, my hips need some extra strength work!!

I started off on one knee while leaning on the ball. I raised my other leg straight out to the side –

Then, I pulled my leg in so that my knee hit the ball and extended it again for 1 rep.

After finishing 43 my hip was feeling a good burn for sure and I still had to switch sides. The other side was much harder because the first hip was on fire!!!

My 50 mile race is just over 2 months away and in addition to running to prepare, I need to make sure that my joints (especially my hips) are as strong as possible!!!

For the rest of my workout, I did Turbo Jam – Fat Blaster. This is an interval based workout and is great for really getting a great workout in a short amount of time (30 minutes). The funny thing is that because the Turbo Jam DVDs came out in 2007, they just refer to the workout as intervals instead of HIIT which it is. I can’t remember when everyone started talking about HIIT workouts but they have been around for much longer than the actual name has!!!

“To be early is to be on time,
To be on time is to be late,
To be late is to be left.”

I saw the quote above in the band handbook yesterday when Jordan and I were going through it – I love it!!!

I have always been one of those people who likes to be a few minutes early to events. When I met Chris, he liked to be WAY early to places. Between us, we are rarely ever late because we are super anal like that!!!

Chris is one of those people who hardly ever gets stressed or upset but I saw it happen on our recent Florida trip. The day we were going to Daryl’s retirement ceremony we had to drive across the bay to McDill Air Force Base. We knew that it was about an hour drive so we planned to leave 1.5 hours before it started. Well, we left a few minutes late – no big deal since we had a cushion. Then, 10 minutes into the drive Chris realized he didn’t have his military ID with him – even in his uniform we wouldn’t have been able to get on base without the ID. We went back to get it and just like that we were down to 1 hour.

It was a long stressful hour because Chris was freaking out (for him, not really the same as a freak-out by me!!) the whole time and mad at himself for being in the situation to begin with. We ended up getting into the building where the ceremony was taking place about 5 minutes late – BUT…..they hadn’t started!!! There were some problems at the gate with several people that were trying to get on base for the retirement so they were waiting!!! Everything worked out and Chris’ stress disappeared!!!

So, the big lesson for me out of that experience – always build a bigger time cushion ~~so that Chris doesn’t get stressed!!!~~ to prevent stress and allow for all unforeseen events and mistakes that might occur!!

Does being late cause you stress? Do you like to get places early or right on time?

And, just for fun, you can see how completely different my boys are!!

Jordan in white Hunter in brights — Jordan in white
Hunter in brights

Happy Sunday!!!

Kim

Biceps, Butt, Fitness, Thighs

Even Adults Need a Time-Out Sometimes!!

August 1, 2013 Kim 38 Comments

Today for my 43, I wanted to do something with weights since I haven’t in awhile. I did a bicep curl and plie squat at the same time – basic moves but it felt good!!

I used 12 pound dumbbells and that was a challenge by the last 10 or so!!!

Today I finally did the first round of this week’s challenge workout with Taylor. This one is 3 circuits – as many reps as possible during the time. Circuit 1 – 10 minutes, circuit 2 – 8 minutes and circuit 3 – 6 minutes. It was pretty challenging (especially circuit 3 which was 4 different burpees – 5 reps each for the whole time and yes, 6 minutes is a long time to do nothing but burpees!!!).

Since it is already Thursday and I’m just now starting this week’s workout, I will do it the next 2 days also!! I like to space things better but you do what you have to do!!!

If you have kids, work with kids or read anything about kids then I’m sure you have heard of the “Time-Out” concept. When our boys were younger, we didn’t call it time-out but they did have something similar on occasion.

Last night by the time we got home and unloaded the car, I needed to be put in time-out. I was CRANKY!!!I was tired of being cooped up and ready to not be around anyone (especially my family) for a few minutes!! I know that sounds harsh but give me a break – we just spent 2 straight days in the car for 22 hours!!! Plus, I still had to unpack (cause I hate to leave it – I have issues!) and figure out something for dinner.

I was going to try to get to the grocery store and, of course, Chris wanted to go with me. What?! We just spent the last 2 days together non-stop, I think I will go alone!!! (See, cranky!! Usually I like it when Chris and I run errands together.)

Chris ended up pouring me a glass of wine and running to the store for a few things by himself!!

So, not a true “time-out”but good for everyone. I enjoyed a few minutes to myself and we still had a much healthier dinner than the past few days on the road! Plus, I quit snapping at everyone.