This week I decided to make the daily 44 all about core work!!!  I try to do some core work every week but this week I hit it even harder.

Sunday 6/15 – 44 oblique crunches with a leg lift.

I liked this move!!!  I counted a left-right as 1 rep so it turned into a total of 88 crunches!!

Monday 6/16 – 44 alternating leg kicks while in a V-sit position.

This move required a lot of balance which is even more of a core bonus!!  (I counted a right-left kick as 1 rep)

Still trying to lift weights consistently so it was Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 3 (lots of shoulder work).    

I also got in a nice hard run!!!
9 miles in 57:49 (6:26 pace) followed by 1.75 easy miles.  I haven’t been running hard much lately but I still try to occasionally push my pace just to make sure I still can.

Tuesday 6/17 – 44 plank hold with a double knee tap.

I must be holding my breath in the bottom picture because my face is really red – oops!!!

I decided to follow Monday’s hard run with an easier run.
10 miles in 80:07 + 1 super easy mile.

Wednesday 6/18 – 44 “rope climbs” with legs extended.

This was a great move for keeping constant tension on the abs!

Lifting day – Chalean Extreme Burn Circuit 1 (last time through this circuit – next week I will start the Push Circuit!!).  

I wanted a little more after lifting so I did The Firm – Skills, Drills & Thrills.  This is a nice workout with a mix of cardio and toning using the wobble disc – 

Thursday 6/19 – 44 plank with elbows on the wobble disc – step out with right leg, back in then pull the right knee in – repeat on left side for 1 rep.

I should have timed how long I had to hold plank while doing this – oh, well!!

And, I’m still trying to bump my running miles up so it was another day of running.
13 miles in 1:42.13 + 1.4 easier miles.

Friday 6/20 – 44 knee crunches while holding boat pose on wobble disc.

Can you tell how hard it was to balance?  My arms were flailing the entire time just trying to keep me from falling over!!!

The only workout for the day was Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2 (all about biceps and triceps) – I can finally do all of the tricep push-ups on my toes!!!

I knew that I had a long day of cleaning, moving furniture and ironing ahead (8 hours is what it ended up taking) so I didn’t do any cardio after the lifting!!!  That ended up being a good choice!!!

Saturday 6/21 – 44 grab & crunch with medicine ball!!  This was a fun new move.  Start by laying on your back with your knees at 90 and a medicine ball (I used an 8 pound ball) resting on your legs – 

Crunch up and grab the medicine ball – 

Take the ball with you and extend arms over head – 

Crunch up and place ball back on legs to complete 1 rep – 

Not only did this work my abs/core – I felt this in my hip flexors a lot!!!!

I had planned to run again but woke up with a stabbing pain in my eye (gotta  love sinuses!!!) so I decided to skip the run for now.

I just realized that my total mileage for the year (hard and easy miles) is just over 900.  That is more than I had for all of 2013 – maybe learning to run easier is paying off!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim