Tag Archives: cardio

Strength Days – Cardio Days – Combo Days

November 4, 2013 Kim 67 Comments

Today’s 44 was fun – one of my favorite moves in a new way!! I love deadlifts and today I did a sumo deadlift (legs wider then hip width with toes slightly turned out) – go down one leg, while down (back flat) rotate torso slowly over to other leg and come up – reverse the move – once you are back at the starting position you have completed 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvH8qySj_q8′]

This 44 took awhile just because it is a move that has to be done slow and controlled to avoid injury. I’m pretty sure that tomorrow I will feel this in my hamstrings and glutes!!!

I did another Jari Love DVD today – Get Extremely Ripped – Boot Camp. This was about an hour and 10 minutes of hard work!!! The segments alternated between combo moves for the upper and lower body with weights, cardio blasts (3 minutes each), ab work – basically some of everything in a nonstop workout. It was awesome!!!

While I was working out this morning I started thinking about my workouts and how much they have changed over the years.

About 10 years ago, all I did was run. No weights, no cross-training of any sort, no toning/strengthening exercises – just running. And I was injured a LOT!!!

It finally got to the point where I knew that I couldn’t keep running every day but I still wanted to work out so I started trying new things – lifting (P90X, the Get Ripped series, Chalean Extreme), Insanity, Turbo Fire, Jillian Michaels workouts, even some Pilates and Yoga!!!

I used to alternate days between weight training

and running

and that worked for awhile.

Then, I went back to working full time and had to fit my workout in between 4:30 and 6:00 am. And I discovered how great combo workouts can be!!

There are still days that I only run and there are some days that I don’t do any cardio – just a hard weight workout.

But, my favorite workouts are those that integrate weights and cardio (like the one I did this morning!).

So, what do you prefer – keeping your strength and cardio separate or workouts that mix the two? Or do you skip weights completely?

Happy Monday!!! (wish me luck – I’m off to tackle the nasty apartment!)

Kim

Cardio, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

If….Then

September 28, 2013 Kim 39 Comments

Today’s 44 was a fun way to turn a plank into a cardio move!!! I did frog jumps in the plank position.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW4AZEACukM’]

I was breathing hard by the time I finished all 44 – always a good sign!!

Remember the old writing prompt from your school days? I remember having to do If…Then statements and I thought it would be a fun way to share some of the things I’ve learned recently!!!

If Jordan sends me a text that after-school sectionals has been cancelled, then it doesn’t automatically mean he needs a ride home. (Learned that the hard!)

If you take 2 Excedrine right before bed-time, then you might spend most of the night awake!! (The good news is, I got lots of reading done and might finally finish the book I’ve been reading for about a month – ever since beach time went away!!!)

If you don’t have any plans for meals during the week, then you might do lots of scrambling in the evenings! (DUH!!)

If you upgrade your iPhone the day the upgrade comes out, then you might have to deal with some of the bugs and other issues that aren’t totally resolved. (Hunter learned this the hard way – he hasn’t had WIFI since he upgraded and apparently lots of people had the same problem!!)

If your neighbors invite you to go with them to a friends home for an Italian night and “concert” under the stars, then you should definitely go and enjoy fun times and Andre Bocelli’s concert!!!

If you buy a birthday card, then it is helpful if you actually put it in the mail!! (Sorry, Dad, card is still on my kitchen island!!)

If you live with 3 boys, then life is going to be full of happy times!!!!

What If…Then statement fits you this week?

Happy Saturday!!!

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!!!

Happy Saturday – look I made a special treat for the boys breakfast!

(French toast – not my thing but they really like it!!!)

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Running, Treadmill

Kale Recipes, Anyone???

February 7, 2013 Kim 14 Comments

Today’s 43 was all about cardio. I did a right shuffle (4 shuffles) – touched my right hand to my right foot then reversed direction for 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMCtlTJIl7s’]

Thanks, Hunter, for doing this demo (even without shoes!) – wish the lighting had been better. (I’m pretty sure that is due to user error!!!)

It was fun to do a simple, cardio based 43 for a change.

After the 43, I tried the Plank Ab-Burner that the Fitnessista posted yesterday. If you haven’t been over to her site and checked it out you should – your core will thank you (later!!!). It is only a 4-minute routine (good thing, too!) but it will challenge you the entire time!!!

For the rest of my workout on this rainy day in Kansas,

I hopped on my treadmill and did some incline work. I kept the speed down (6.5 miles in 60:30) but the incline at 10% for mile 1, 12% mile 2, 15% mile 3, then 12% for miles 4-6. YIKES!!! I think I need to get in more hills!!!

Enough work-out talk!!! Onto food – namely Kale. Last night, for the first time ever, I made some kale. This is the final product (after we had all taken a serving because I forget to get a picture before):

I’m not sure if it will make a return appearance at our table or not. I think I need more ideas for making it (or just to perfect the one I tried).

I keep reading about kale and all the benefits from it so I bought some and thought I would try to make kale chips. First off, I have no idea what it means to massage the kale!!! I washed it really well and tore it into bite size pieces. I tried to dry it but I’m pretty sure I didn’t do that very well.

Then I spread (more like piled) it on a large stone baking sheet, sprinkled (more like poured) some olive oil on it and sprinkled with season salt. I think this is where I really messed up – it looked like such a huge amount that I probably put way too much oil and salt.

Who knew that it would cook down to almost nothing? (not me for sure!!!) It didn’t get as crispy as I thought it would (I’m guessing the oil & not drying it enough had something to do with that).

The verdict: Hunter said it was a bit strong (I think he meant too salty!!!), Jordan said it was OK, and Chris didn’t really comment (which means not his favorite but he doesn’t like to say negative things about my cooking – he’s super smart!!!). I liked it fine but I think I need help if I’m going to try it again!

I googled some of the benefits of kale and found out the number 1 benefit is it can keep you looking attractive!!!! Another benefit is anti-aging!

So I think I better practice up on my kale techniques!!!

Any recipes or suggestions would be welcome!!!

Happy Thursday! In fact

Kim

Cardio, Fitness, Squats

Smile – It’s Worth It!!!

January 29, 2013 Kim 6 Comments

:Happy-Grin: :Happy: :Overjoy: :Happy-Grin: :Happy: :Overjoy:

My 43 today was great for getting my heart rate up in a very short amount of time!!! I did a squat- jump to a side kick – jump to squat. It went quickly but it was still effective. In fact, since this was one of those 43s that I had to do 2x (43 on each leg) – I actually stopped for about 20-30 seconds in between legs to catch my breath!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDDrFS1nu5U’]

I don’t know why it is so dark but you get the point!!! Hunter said we should try it again but in the second demo he cut off my head and parts of my feet so we just used the dark copy. Since I did 5 on each side for 2 demos I guess I did 53 reps/side today!!!

I did another Les Mills Combat work-out: Power HIIT – 30 minutes of hard-core intensity!!! Then I forced myself to do the Core Attack work-out. 20 minutes of ~~torture~~ core work. I hope it helps!!!

The rest of this week is going to be BUSY – 3 days of subbing, library volunteering, school newsletter to start, finish, copy and distribute, tutoring……..I should have gotten up earlier today! Oh well – 5 am will be showing it’s ugly head the next 3 days!!!

This is something I try to remember – especially when I start to feel overwhelmed! Find the little things to smile about. Things like:

New Yellow Box flip flops on clearance for only $12 and a warm day in January to enjoy them (yesterday!).Or, an 8th grade band concert where the kids let loose and acted like kids during the Dinosaur song:

You can barely see Jordan but you can see his smile – FUN!!!! I tried to get other pictures at the concert last night but we always seem to sit in the spot where we can’t see Jordan at all.