Motivation – What Motivation??

May 20, 2013 Kim 28 Comments

Today for my 43 I used my figure-8 band:

I put it around each ankle and started with my feet in close then jumped them out wide, wider, widest (squat) and back in – got it?!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfat-jyKVQ’]

This was a quick 43 that I felt in my quads and it got my heart pumping – success!!

Today’s workout was HARD!!! I did Turbo Barre with Cathe and YIKES!! I might have even moaned and whimpered during the workout because my hips and legs were on fire and overall I was dying!! I have done this workout before and I knew it was challenging but I don’t remember it being so brutal. I guess that’s what happens when you have 3 weeks of almost no activity/working out!!

So, confession time: The past few days, I’ve been lacking any motivation to workout. I’m not gonna lie, this is really rare for me because I usually love the feeling of a really hard workout or run!!Typically, I don’t even think about if I’m going to workout – I just have to decide what I’m going to do. Over the weekend I did my daily 43 but that was the extent of my working out which is pretty sad since I just started back last week!!! I tried to justify it in my mind by saying that I needed to ease back in – NOT TRUE!!! I just didn’t want to do it!!! Then this morning I still didn’t want to do anything – not cool!!! I read a few blogs thinking that would inspire me. Finally I just buckled down and did it!! I really needed some help – I’m not sure a carrot stick is going to cut it either!!! I think that part of the problem is the fact that I got out of the habit and feel like I’m starting from scratch! Plus, I told Chris last night that it isn’t as fun to workout when my legs hurt before I even start! I try to just suck it up and do it but it is sapping the joy out of my workouts for sure!I’m hoping that this is a temporary thing because fitness is really my passion so I don’t know how to deal with this lack of desire to get a good sweat on!!I guess I will just keep forcing myself to hit it hard and hope that the joy comes back!!Either that or find a new passion – JUST KIDDING!!!In the meantime I will make this my mantra –

Does anyone else ever struggle with a lack of motivation (even for things that you generally love)? What do you do about it?

And just for fun – here are some of the pictures I took yesterday on our 2 hour drive through a major storm. (I was keeping myself busy while Chris had the stressful job of driving – he said it doesn’t bother him – perk of being a pilot, I guess!!)

Check out the storm chaser! Look how dark it is between 4 & 6 in the afternoon!!

Happy Monday – I’m off to find some motivation!!!

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, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Roller Coasters – Love them or Hate them?

May 18, 2013 Kim 20 Comments

Today’s 43 was a lot of jumping!! I haven’t done a single burpee in weeks now – and as much as I hate burpees, I love them even more!!! I didn’t do a true burpee today (no push-up) but close.

I did a squat thrust (burpee with no push-up) and then 2 floor jack before jumping back in and jumping up.

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

This was a fairly quick 43 but it definitely got my heart rate up!!

No other workout today – going to gear up for the “party” circuit!!!

Roller coasters are not my thing!!! They don’t make me sick – I just don’t like them!!!And, the wooden roller coasters – don’t get me started on how much I hate them!! I haven’t been on one in about 20 years!So, today, Jordan is with a band group at

I’m not really worried (maybe a little). I’m super happy that I’m not there!!I hope that he and all of the band (and orchestra) members have a great time!!!And, hopefully, Jordan has inherited his Dad’s love of roller coasters and not my ~~fear~~ aversion to them!!!

Do you like roller coasters?

Happy Saturday!!

Kim

Back, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings

Going from 0 to 100 Might Qualify me for an Idiot Award!!

May 17, 2013 Kim 16 Comments

Today’s 43 was a great one to work on balance! I did a single leg, bent-over row.

Start on your right side (or left – whichever you want to do first!!):

Then row (keep leg up for all reps):

After completing all reps (43 for me!) then you get to switch legs and start over!!

(Can you tell these pictures were all after I was completely done and showered – dressed for a day of PE – and totally rocking my lovely compression stockings!!)

I got up at 5:00 to do my work-out because I’m ~~an idiot~~ subbing PE today. I struggled through my entire 43 and workout today. I did a SELF DVD – Trim and Tone Fast. It was a fine workout – 60 minutes with a warm-up plus the following 6 sections and a cool-down:

legs
back
arms & shoulders
chest
core
full body

There wasn’t any cardio in this workout which was perfect for me today because I was having a hard enough time just doing basics this morning.

I think the fact that I spent almost 3 weeks like thisand the past 4 days I’ve been more like thishave left me a little drained and very sore. I’m telling myself I’m just sore from lack of activity and that I need to just suck it up!!!

In reality, I think the fact that I took the DR very literally when she said that I couldn’t hurt anything by “jogging” at this point – I felt the need to hit it hard and now I’m paying feeling it big time!!

Add to the workouts and all of my normal daily activity the fact that I haven’t slept more than 1-2 hours at a time for the past several nights (my legs sort-of throb all night long) and I should probably wear this today:But – I won’t!! I’ll just go up to the school and spend the day teaching PE to a bunch of wound-up kids (last Friday of the school year!!)!!! Oy!!

Oh, well – I can rest over the weekend – OH WAIT – that won’t happen since we have 6-7 graduation parties to attend and we have to take Jordan up to the middle school at 2:45am Saturday morning and pick him up between 3:00 & 4:00am Sunday morning!! (love a band contest/6 Flags trip!!)

Happy Fun Friday!! I’m thinking today will be a Diet Coke day for sure (rare for me but…)

Kim

Core, Fitness, Shoulders, Triceps

Driving

May 16, 2013 Kim 31 Comments

Today’s 43 was a move that I got from a post by Lori and Michelle at Purely Twins. The move is called plank step on and offs.

I used my step with both pieces to make it a nice challenging height.

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

Set up in plank with both feet on the step. Then step the right foot down followed by the left foot, step the left foot back up then the right – repeat off the left side for 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuJyZ-xH9PI’]

(At the end of the video I’m asking Hunter how long he is going to record me – can’t waste all of my energy on the demo when I have 43 reps staring me in the face!!) By the time I finished 43 of these, my arms were shaking!!! And, my core was burning!! This was a great move!!!

My legs are REALLY tired and sore after yesterday’s run – not surprising since I haven’t done anything with my legs other than keep them elevated for 3 weeks!! Today I wanted to work out some of the stiffness.

I did Turbo Jam – Cardio Party 3. This was a great workout to shake out my legs – lots of kicking (and punching), some jumping, lunging, side-ways moving….pretty much some of everything!!!

So, in general, I feel like I’m a fairly nice person. However, there are some circumstances when I’m driving that really irritate me!!!

When I’m driving down the road and someone decides to back out of their driveway without looking (even after I give a nice little warning tap of my horn)!!! Yesterday when I was taking Hunter to school we experienced this and I reacted like this:I used my horn the entire time she backed in front of me and as she took her time putting the car into drive since I was just hanging out at a complete standstill. (and then I ended up following her to the school – nice!!)
When I’m zipping down the road at 3-5 miles over the speed limit (that’s my norm) and someone turns right in front of me and proceeds to go 10 miles under the speed limit! I feel the need to get inches away from them like this:If you really need to cut me off, at least drive the speed limit!!!!
And – Round Abouts!!! I don’t know if y’all have them but they are everywhere in our city – which is fine for people who know how to drive through them.If you look closely, you will see that there is not a single STOP sign. This means, if no cars are coming YOU DON’T HAVE TO STOP AND SIT THERE!!! Also, the Yield sign is for people fixing to enter the round-about. If you are in the circle – YOU SHOULD NEVER STOP!!!!!