Today I did one of my least favorite moves for my 44 – a Russian twist with a medicine ball. I think I don’t like the move because it makes me dizzy!
rightleft
I counted a rep as hitting the ground on the right side, the left side and back to the right.
Then I did a quick run – 1.5% incline – 5.13 miles (because for some reason I had an odd # in my running log and needed to round it out before the end of the year!) in 32:56 + 0.75 cool down.
Even big boys still leave milk and cookies for Santa!!
pouring milk and writing notes
The notes leave a bit to be desired – Oh, well – all fun!!
I hope all y’all have someone special to spend your day with!
Today I tried a new to me move for my 44. I saw a similar move somewhere (sorry, can’t remember where) and changed it up just a bit to make it work for a 44.
I did a plank – right arm reach forward – right hand touch left ankle – plank – left arm reach forward – left hand touch right ankle for each rep. (the pictures will make more sense)
starting plankright arm reach forwardright hand touch left ankleback to plankleft arm reach forwardleft hand touch right ankle
This is another one of those moves that about half-way through I started thinking I should have timed it to see how long I was in the plank/downward dog position – oh, well I didn’t care enough to start over!!!
My neighbor’s daughter who is visiting for Christmas came over to workout with me – we had decided last night at the Christmas Eve Eve party
Christmas Eve Eve
to get together for our 2nd annual Christmas workout!!!
She was up for any type of workout so I pulled out one from the summer (Pyramid Boot Camp) and added a little to make it really tough!!! In the summer, we just did 10 exercises up the pyramid (10 reps each) and then back down. Today I added in 2 more moves so we did 12 up then back down.
230 squats (+ more for the squat w/back kick that I added)
110 push-ups
130 lunges each leg
30 burpees
plus all of the other stuff which I didn’t calculate
It was a good workout. We ended with a max plank hold (arms extended) – we made it to 3 minutes and called it good!!!
I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned more than once that I don’t bake. I love to cook but baking…..However, yesterday morning I pulled the boys into the kitchen and we baked (our version!).
pretzel bites
The boys unwrapped the kisses and put them on the pretzels – I know they enjoyed it!!
so seriousfocusedfinal product
We also made Rice Krispy treats, a simple chocolate candy that I’ve made for years and some brown sugar oatmeal cookies (I really did bake these!).
It is so much more fun to do stuff like that when the boys help out!! And, Jordan did most of the clean-up – BONUS!!!
Even though I’m cutting myself some slack in some areas the next couple of weeks, working out is not one of those areas!!! I decided to amp up my 44s to help balance out some of the indulgences!
Today I actually combined my 44 and my workout and did what I love – I ran!!! Not only did I run, I ran HARD!!!
The 44 – run 44 minutes (at 1.0% incline) – 7.41 miles. I decided that I couldn’t end with that odd number so I ran until 44:27 to make it an even 7.5 miles. (I also did 1.8 more mile as a cool down!)
It’s been awhile since I really tested my speed and endurance and I was dying by the end of this run – but it did feel good to really push myself!!!
It’s all about balance and enjoying life!!!
Do you work harder when you know that you will have extra indulgences?
Today I took a couple of basic moves and combined them for the 44. I did a squat with a row. But, I wanted to make it even more challenging so I made the squat a jump squat.
I used my kettlebell for the rows – 20 pounds. This move got my heart rate way up there!!!
I don’t always work out on the weekend but since I took the entire past week off I decided to do a short workout today. I did Turbo Jam, Cardio Party 2. It is amazing how much conditioning you can lose in a short time – I was huffing and puffing through most of this workout!
I decided that I want to really enjoy the next couple of weeks and not feel guilty for certain things. So I have given myself permission to:
Sleep until I wake up and skip the normal 5:00 am wake-up alarm. Some days I wake up and feel guilty if I don’t get up super early but I’m going to give myself these couple of weeks to sleep without guilt!
Go simple with meals – use the crock pot as much as possible to make life easier. (I actually do this a lot but sometimes around the holidays I feel like meals have to be more elaborate and this year I’m letting that go.)
Spend time doing things that aren’t productive – TV, computer stuff (not work related), reading.
Hang out – after this Christmas break, Jordan only has 3 more before he will not always be home with us. I want to take advantage of the time and make the boys spend time together playing games or whatever.
Enjoy life and not be stressing or rushing around thinking about lists and things that need to be done. This one will be hard because I spend most of my time thinking about the next thing and the next and the next…
Basically I am going to try and just enjoy the next couple of weeks without getting stressed or feeling guilty (easier said than done!) about things.
What are you giving yourself permission to do? Is it hard for you to relax without feeling guilt?
Today’s 44 was hard because there was so much balance (or lack of) involved. I did an elbow to knee crunch while on the stability ball.
The set-up wasn’t too bad –
ready
The actual move was much harder – especially to try and get pictures!!
crunchopposite direction
I counted a right-left crunch as one rep. There was a LOT of wobbling by the time I completed all 44 today!!!
And – I ran!!!! :Overjoy:
I did a treadmill run at 1.5% incline. I wasn’t sure how far I would go so I just started at an easy pace and ended up doing 5 miles in 37:00 plus 2 more easy miles to make a nice 7 mile run.
So, while Chris was taking pictures of me trying to do my 44, he was totally entertained. He kept laughing at my attempts to hold the crunch long enough for a picture.
There were more than a few shots that looked like this –
Nice!!!
And Chris would just laugh and laugh.
So, I made him try. And I am so sad that I didn’t video his attempts!! He literally rolled off the side of the ball – TWICE!!! (then he quit trying)
Then he said, “Why don’t you just prop a dumbbell on the side of the ball to hold it in place.”
What?! The whole challenge is to use your core strength to keep the ball steady and keep yourself from falling off.
He said, “Well, just for the pictures.”
No!!! I can’t cheat for the pictures. I have to do the move the way it is supposed to be – wobbles and all.
Oh, well – all fun!!
