Tag Archives: blogging

Staying True to My “Why”

March 16, 2014 Kim 40 Comments

Today’s 44 was a great one to get my heart rate up quickly!!! I did a squat thrust with 4 plank jacks. Instead of standing in between each rep, I just jumped my knees in and back out because I wanted this to be a shoulder burner!!!

This isn’t quite as hard as burpees but pretty close!!!

I started blogging exactly 1.5 years ago today.
365 days of Daily 43s and 182 days of Daily 44s = 547 consecutive days of a daily move and writing a blog post.

When I first started blogging, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing! I just knew that I wanted to use my blog to document my daily moves!!!

The first month or two that I blogged, all I wrote about was the exercise of the day and maybe a line or two about something else.

Slowly, I realized that I could do more than just write about whatever “daily” move I completed and I started to make this space more personal. I also started following more and more blogs and over time developed actual relationships with some incredible bloggers!!

I think that the blogging community is what keeps me logging in to my little blog space every single day!!! I love reading other blogs and sharing our lives through comments back and forth!!!

Lately, I have been struggling to read and comment as much as I want to while keeping up with my blog and my actual daily life! I don’t want to compromise the reason behind my blog because I am still very much committed to doing 44 reps of whatever daily move I pick.

I have been trying to figure out how to customize my blog without compromising my intent behind blogging. My goal has never been to make money from this or to have the most views or anything other than just to be me. The online friendships were something that I didn’t even know would happen and I feel blessed beyond measure to have “met” so many great people.

I think I have a plan for my blog going forward that will help cut down on some of my stress (I don’t want blogging to be a source of stress) and still allow me to stay true to why I started this in the first place.

I think ultimately, it is about being true to ourselves (in every aspect of our lives) and that is what I want to do!!!

Happy Sunday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

Blogging: How Much Time Does it Really Take?

July 2, 2013 Kim 52 Comments

Today’s 43 was all about working my abs!!! I did a single leg climb.

Start by laying on your back with your left knee bent (the closer your foot is to your butt the harder) and your right leg extended (knees even). Crunch up and reach for your toes. If you can grab your toes – Awesome!!! If you have to “walk up your leg” – still good.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldhk1HE6bRw’]

You can see in the demo that I tried to get some straight touches and then I did some where I used my leg to “climb” up. After I did 43 with my right leg extended, I switched legs and did another set of 43. (and my abs are already a bit sore!)

I did a Reebok workout DVD (Bootcamp style) this morning. It was a good workout – just a mix of toning and cardio without being super intense – perfect before Beach Boot Camp.

At 7:15, Jordan and I went to the beach for boot camp. We did the workout with 7 mini workouts inside it (from yesterday). I really like this one. I told my boot campers that these were good if they wanted a short burst of activity – just pick one of the 5 minute drills and do it!

When I first started my blog (September 2012), I really had no idea what I was doing or getting into. Now, 10 months later, I have a little better grip on things except the time factor!!! There are days that I feel like I spend hours and hours blogging – between writing my posts, reading many incredible blogs every day and leaving comments on some, replying to comments on my blog – I sometimes feel like blogging has taken over my life!

I’ve grown to really enjoy blogging!!! But sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all of the other social media!Not gonna lie – I don’t even know what some of that stuff is – Ping, blippy, digg, (and many others)?????

Somedays when I’m going through my list, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. I love reading many great blogs and I’ve learned so many things through all of these blogs. I also feel like I’ve “met” some really great people/bloggers!!

I know that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Pinterest (+ many, many others) are all great online sources but I feel like I’m barely keeping up just on the blog end!

I don’t want my kids to think that I pick the computer over them and I also want to set a good example for them (I don’t want them on the computer, XBox, iPad….. all day either).

I told Jordan the other day when I was just “reading a few more blogs” that I really didn’t know when I started blogging that it would take so much time. But, I also enjoy blogging and if I’m going to continue, I want to do the best job I can. I think that the time I invest in reading other’s blogs and commenting helps make my own blog better.

At what point does it become “too much time” spent blogging?
Does anyone else ever struggle with this?

I’m pretty sure that if Chris came home and the house really was super clean, he might wonder what the deal was!!

Happy Tuesday!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Plank, Shoulders, Triceps

Real Life vs. Online Life

May 31, 2013 Kim 24 Comments

Today’s 43 was a challenge – my favorite kind of 43!!! I got this move from Insanity Asylum (I’m a little obsessed with my new program!). The move is a hip raise – roll – plank.

I’m going to try and describe it but I’m afraid it might be a little confusing (good thing there is a demo!!). Start on the ground with your right leg extended and your right hand on the ground. Your left knee should be bent, foot on the ground. Push your hips up (using your right arm) and rotate to the right until you are in plank. While in plank, curl your right leg up. Rotate to the left until you are back to the starting position. Repeat (x43).

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhElDtXY6ZM’]

You can see that I did a little mini push-up while in the plank – just an extra bonus!!! And, Jordan helped me with the demo when he finally got up which was after I had already completed my 43 and sweaty workout so I was TIRED by the time we filmed this!!

Also, this was one of those super 43s where I did 2 sets because after I did all of them on my right side I had to switch and do 43 on my left. My triceps and shoulders were shaking and burning by the time I finished!!!

Today’s Insanity Asylum workout was by far the hardest one yet – Vertical Plyo! Like the name implies, there was a LOT of jumping!!! The 10 minute warm-up was brutal and then the workout – YIKES!!! Did I mention that there was a LOT of jumping?! This is the kind of workout that pretty much sucks while you’re doing it but after you are done you feel awesome!!!!

So lately I’ve read lots of the great recap posts about the Blend Retreat from a couple weeks ago. I know there are a lot of other neat events where bloggers meet each other, too.

Reading about some of these has caused me to start thinking about the differences between meeting people online (through blogs and other social media) and in person. Over the past few months, I have gotten to “know” some really amazing people through their blogs.

So far, I haven’t met any of my blogger friends in real life. Last night I was talking to Chris and I told him that I hope to eventually met some of them in person. What I really hope, though, is that when I meet my online friends for the first time – I’m the person they expected to meet!

Meaning that I hope no one thinks it is like the little Facebook cartoon above!!! I try to keep my blog real and be exactly the same in it that I am in real life!! Just like all of my wonderful pictures and videos – I don’t primp for them – cause I don’t fix myself up to workout!!!

I try to make most of my posts positive but some days (ummm…yesterday!) it just doesn’t happen cause life isn’t all roses for any of us!!! Over-all though, I love my life and am usually happy both on my blog, when I comment on other blogs and in real life!!!

So, I hope that at some point I get to meet a lot of y’all!! I even know some of the things I want to do with some of my blog friends: (see if you know who some of these might be)

ride scooters to the playground
get the best weight room experience of my life
run (so this one is almost everyone!!!)
go to the Mall of America

I could list more but I already sound like a creepy stalker!!!

What are your experiences meeting your blog friends for the first time? Were they exactly what you expected, better?

Happy Fun Friday!!!

Kim

Cardio, Fitness

Why I Blog

February 9, 2013 Kim 12 Comments

Today for my daily 43, I took another move from one of my Combat work-outs! This one is just plain fun!!!

The move is actually a combo:

upper cut
upper cut
jab
jump-kick
4 jumping jabs back

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9V6QEFw-24′]

(This might be my most uncoordinated looking demo yet!!!!) And, quite frankly, I don’t think it matters which arm does which punch – just pick a way and go with it!!! Then, switch sides and do 43 (or whatever # you choose :Happy:) more.

Check out my cool Combat gloves:

combat gloves - make you feel powerful!!! — combat gloves – make you feel powerful!!!

Wearing them makes me feel like a true combat fighter!!!

The rest of my work-out today was – wait for it… Les Mills Combat. Combat 30 was up for today – this one is short (30 minutes) but pretty intense!! Good news – 8 more jump kicks on each leg!!!

I have been blogging for almost 5 months and for some reason the past 2 nights I have laid in bed wide-awake(for way too many hours!!!) thinking about my blog. Here’s what my sleep-deprived mind came up with:

I started my blog because I thought that this year in addition to running my age on my birthday (as I have for a few years now), I would carry the age thing a step further. I thought (still think, actually) it would be fun to pick a different exercise/move and do the # of reps = to my age (43 as we all know by now!!!).
I thought sharing them on a blog would do a couple of things. First, it helps keep me accountable! Second, I thought it would be a great way to share the idea of doing something active every day. I realize that 43 is sort-of extreme for some (and not enough for others) but 5-10 is doable for everyone!!!
When I first started the blog, I thought I would only post about the daily 43. However, I realized after a short time that I actually really enjoy writing other stuff, too. I like looking for silly pictures or funny quotes. I love having a place to record little parts of my day (hence the name – daywithkt)!
I think that there is a true blogging community (as evidence by the fact that I see the same names over and over on lots of the blogs I enjoy reading). At some point I hope to be a bigger part of the growing community of fitness bloggers!
I have been told that blogging is “self-indulgent” and I think that to a large extent it is. But it is also nice to have a place to share thoughts and ideas on a particular topic. For me, it is almost like a public form of my work-out log (and I’m OK with that!).

Writing out this little list has helped remind me why I started blogging – it had nothing to do with having lots of readers (although I wouldn’t mind that), lots of comments (also something I wouldn’t be opposed to) – I needed to remind myself to enjoy blogging and not become consumed by it.

I also need to remind myself not to compare my blog to any other blogs – defeats the point of my goal with blogging!!!So, I hope that taking the time to write all of this down will ~~help me sleep better tonight~~ help me stay focused on why I wanted to do a blog in the first place!!!