Tag Archives: boot camp

We Baked (sort-of!!)

December 24, 2013 Kim 45 Comments

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)

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

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!).

The boys unwrapped the kisses and put them on the pretzels – I know they enjoyed it!!

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!!!

Happy Tuesday!! Merry Christmas Eve!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

I Need a Boot Camp Alternative!!!

November 14, 2013 Kim 66 Comments

Today I used my Bender Ball –

and did sit-ups for my 44.

I like doing full sit-ups on occasion as opposed to just crunches and having the ball behind my back is a great time to really extend my range.

So now that the weather is getting colder, I don’t think my boot campers want to work out in the garage anymore but I don’t really have any other options.

I sent out a text last night to see if anyone was coming and they all said the same thing –
Too Cold

On Tuesday morning it was only 17 degrees and I don’t think yesterday morning started much better. Today actually wasn’t awful –

So, I need a new plan or we will have to cancel boot camp until the weather is nicer!!!

I know that lots of y’all run outside in arctic weather but you know I don’t do cold weather.

I would hibernate for the winter if that were an option but since it’s not I just try to avoid the cold as much as possible!!!

Bring on the heat and sun and I will definitely be outside!!!

Do you like to be outside (working out or whatever) in the cold?

Happy Thursday – try to stay warm!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

The Joys of Moody Teenage Boys!!!

November 5, 2013 Kim 70 Comments

Today’s 44 is a Special Ops move!!! Well, maybe not but I did see it in a book called Special Ops Fitness. It is a reverse crunch and it started off fairly easy until about 8 or so and then it was HARD!!!

Keep your arms crossed and tight to your chest as you slowly lower your upper body.

hold - don't rush!! — hold – don’t rush!!

Move your arms away from your body as you SLOWLY return to the seated position.

Tuck your arms back to your chest and repeat!

Garage Boot Camp was fun – some weights and cardio – my favorite!!! We did Tone and Hold Boot Camp.

Most school days, the high light of my day is when Jordan gets off the bus. (Hunter usually has stuff after school so he gets home later.) Jordan will have a snack and sit and tell me ALL about his day – lots of days he talks for over an hour!!! I do my very best to always be available at this time because I don’t want to miss out on him sharing with me.

Jordan is usually a very happy positive person – pleasant and fun to be around. Except when he’s not!!! For some reason yesterday afternoon he was in a mood and the longer we talked the worse it got.

It didn’t help that he had homework and I actually dared to ask about it (just like I do most days!!!). Oops!!!

Fortunately, he went down and did his homework and then chilled for a bit before dinner. By dinner he was back to being his normal sweet self – HOORAY!!!

This morning Hunter is in a mood because he slept through his alarm!!

For some reason this always starts his day off on a bad note! (He only got up 5 minutes later than normal because when I came in from boot camp I woke him up so it’s not like he had to scramble to get ready!!)

I always tell him it’s no big deal and that he still has plenty of time to get ready – not the point!!! OY!!!!!

Hopefully he won’t let this ruin his day – kind of early in the day to decide it’s not going to be a good one!!!

Not sure that I’m prepared for the moodiness of the next few years – hopefully it is just occasional and not the new norm!!!

Anyone else have moody teenagers or other family members?

Happy Tuesday!!!

Kim

Back, Fitness, Triceps

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

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.