My Pre-Halloween Scare

October 31, 2013 Kim 54 Comments

Today I did a new (to me) move and it was hard. It is a reverse arm raise (you raise your arms behind you).

raise arms behind - squeeze shoulder blades together — raise arms behind – squeeze shoulder blades together

This was hard -I just used 5 pound dumbbells and it was still a challenge. The hard part was not just letting my arms fall but trying to control the move on the way back down.

For Garage Boot Camp we did one of my favorites – 25 in 1 Boot Camp. After we did 3 rounds using the full minute (so there was a little break), I challenged the group to do the 4th round with no breaks – just 25 reps of each as quickly as possible. This was a great way to really push hard at the end of the workout!!!

Yesterday I felt a bit like Scooby and Shaggy! I had to go over to our venue (the Governor’s Row House) for just a minute. When I got there and walked up the porch, the front door was wide open!

Now, Chris and I are the only ones who have keys (I know this because I had the locks changed after we bought it) and his car wasn’t in the parking lot (he was at work!) so the door should not have been opened.

Not cool at all!!! Actually pretty scary!

Turns out, 1 of our 3 tenants (there are 3 apartments up above the actual venue) found a way into the house and decided to go through the house instead of the side entrance to move her stuff out. (Hmmm….you think there is a reason we gave her notice at the beginning of the month?!)

A quick call to Chris (who called our lawyer), a dead-bolt installation and now I feel a little safer.

Amazing how violated I felt at the fact that this girl (and several people I had never met) plus the girl’s dog, were all tracking in and out of my place without me knowing about it.

I’m hoping that today is just full of treats – no more tricks (or scares) for me please!!!

Happy Thursday and Happy Halloween!!

Kim

Butt, Calves, Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Running, Shoulders, Treadmill

Where’s the Easy Button???

October 30, 2013 Kim 80 Comments

Today’s 44 was fun because not only was it a good move to tighten the butt/hamstring area but it was a great calf stretch – always a necessary thing!!!

I did a donkey kick from downward dog. Start in downward dog position:

Pull the knee in as close to your chest as possible (good for the abs) and then kick your foot back – repeat x 44. Then switch sides and start again!

This move went quickly – definitely one that I will do again!!!

Today I ran – always a happy thing. I did 5 miles just under 7 minutes/mile (34:44) and then 2.25 more miles at a nice easy pace with a steeper incline.

I need an easy button!!! Or maybe I need to be like Sam in Bewitched

and just be able to wiggle my nose and take care of everything!!! (Although, if I remember correctly, it didn’t always work out that well for her!)

Lately, it seems that everything takes 10x longer than I expect it to and every time I turn around there is a new problem/issue to deal with.

I know it’s just a phase and things will level out (I HOPE!) soon.

In the meantime, I will just suck it up and

HaHa – just kidding!!! (sort-of!)

This eeCard makes me laugh so I’m going with it!

If you have an easy button that you don’t need anymore, feel free to send it my way – I will return it as soon as possible!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Kim

Core, Fitness

The Ebb and Flow of Friendships

October 29, 2013 Kim 85 Comments

Today’s 44 was a move fairly new move for me – the Sprawl!!! Start by making yourself a ball, then sprawl out (a big X) with your arms and legs slightly off the ground. Curl back in before repeating.

Clearly not the best place for pictures since my hand is hitting the stair rail – I was just trying to get the pictures done before Chris left for work!!

A few of these and you will really feel it in your core!!

And, for Garage boot camp, I finally put together a new workout!!! Today we did Count Down Boot Camp – not gonna lie, this was a challenge in a great way! Isn’t that what boot camp is all about?!

Friends come in all forms – work friends, social friends, fun friends, best friends and those friends that are closer than family!

As I look back at different points in my life, I can see times when I relied more heavily on certain types of friendships over others.

As new mom, I needed social friends more than anything. I was fortunate to be able to stay home with my boys when they were little but it was hard. There were times when Chris was deployed on or another trip and it was lonely!!! Thankfully I had a group of friends who were also raising young kids and we could plan outings together or escape for a couple of hours without kids in the evenings. During those years, this group of friends was essential.

As our kids got older, we all sort of moved on to other things. I eventually went back to work and spent a lot of time with my work friends. I was very fortunate to work with a great group of people in the office at my boys’ elementary school – we enjoyed spending time together for work and outside of work, too.

I have also been fortunate to have had the kind of friendship that is closer than family because it is 100% choice! In my mind this was a friendship that would never end and we would watch not just each other’s kids grow up but also grandkids.

For years our families spent all of the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, birthdays….) together.

And then one day things changed. (I’m still not sure why or what happened.) There have been many times over the past year that I have grieved over the loss of this friendship in the same way you grieve over the loss of a loved one.

Over the past year I’ve realized that the number of friends we have isn’t really what matters (most fall into the acquaintance category truthfully!) – it is the quality of the friendships that is what counts!

Some nights I lose sleep over lost friendships – it is hard to completely let go sometimes. However, I try to just treasure the friendships that I have and let those people know as often as possible how much I truly appreciate them.

Friends – some come and some go while others will always be there even after long periods of absence.

Make a point today to let your friends know how much you treasure your friendship!

Happy Tuesday!

Kim

PS – this post ended up being harder to write than I thought it would be so if it doesn’t make complete sense sorry!

Cardio, Fitness

Taking Time to Appreciate the Beauty of Fall

October 28, 2013 Kim 91 Comments

Today for my 44 I went back to my coaching days (except since I was working out in my basement and not a basketball gym I had to improvise!!) and did suicides!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yUwm8eMxQU’]

The distance that I covered was relatively short but since I counted a right-left as 1 rep and kept going for all 44 reps, it was still a great way to get my heart rate up. (You can see my workout DVD paused in the back-ground – had to stop for the video before Chris left for work!)

I did a Jillian Michaels DVD today – Kickbox Fastfix. This workout has 3 20 minute segments with various fast paced kickboxing drills. I did all 3 sections for a good hour workout. The one downside to this program – if you follow Jillian and her group then you will end up very unbalanced – she does not switch leads at all during this one. (Fortunately I already knew that and just did it myself but it is sort of a pain!!)

Yesterday before lunch I convinced Jordan to go on a walk with me and take advantage of the incredible fall weather (it was almost 70 yesterday!).

Some pictures along the way –

my favorite - love the orange — my favorite – love the orange

At this point Jordan said I was weird and he was going in!!! Hmmm….

Every day last week I enjoyed the beauty all around me and I kept thinking that I needed to take the time to walk around and truly appreciate it.

Even though Kansas isn’t my favorite place – I do love the fall. There are trees of all colors, the weather is cool but not completely cold (YET!!) and it is time for soup!!!

Do you have a true fall where you live?

Happy Monday?

Kim

Core, Fitness, Triceps

Workout Tools

October 27, 2013 Kim 34 Comments

Today I decided to work my triceps with the 44 – I did skull crushers using my stability ball.

The nice thing about this move on the ball is that I also had to work to hold my hips level so I got a little core work!!!! I just used 8 pound dumbbells because I knew that after about 20, my form would suffer with anything heavier – ended up being the perfect choice for all 44 – I definitely felt them but could perform all the reps with proper form.

I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite workout tools since I keep using different ones for my daily 44.

Resistance bands: These are awesome especially when you travel since they don’t weigh much or take up much space. They are great as an alternative to weights and actually sometimes make moves feel harder than using dumbbells because of the constant tension.

Bowflex Select Tech Weights: I love these when I’m doing a weight workout. Since I store all of my workout equipment in one room and move it to another to work out, this makes it easier to move!! These weights adjust from 5 pounds each up to 50 pounds each!!! On moves that you just want a light weight they are a bit bulky but otherwise I love them!

Stability Balls: I love the extra challenge you can add to so many different moves by using a stability ball. Today I used one to keep my hips up. The other day I used one to do push-ups. So many options!!!

BOSU: This might be my all time favorite piece of equipment. It can be used like a step for an entire cardio + toning workout and it is also great to add a balance challenge to any move!! I love trying new moves on the BOSU – some are successful and others don’t really workout!!

Treadmill: I’m pretty sure that everyone knows by now that I actually prefer running on my treadmill these days!! Years of having no choice (babies and a traveling husband) helped with turning me into a treadmill runner. And, occasionally I try to use my treadmill for things other than running – not always a great idea but sometimes it works!