Tag Archives: Les Mills Pump

Core, Fitness, Quad, Resistance Bands, Running, Treadmill

Dropped the Ball on December Challenges but Still Sweating! (11/30 – 12/6)

December 6, 2014 Kim 38 Comments

I had hoped to take part in some of the fun challenges going around:
Josie (YumYucky) has the Fit Holiday challenge going on right now.
Moniques (Burpees to Bubbly) has the Happy, Healthy Fit Challenge for the month.
Amanda (Run to the Finish) has her incredible Holiday Sweat Challenge running!!

I wanted to be part of all 3 of these challenges!! However, I’m at a point where I’m happy to be working out but realize I have some limitations right now. So I will do the parts of the challenges I can do and that will have to be enough!!!

Sunday 11/30 – 45 1 minute wall sits!

Even though this was hard – 45 minutes of wall sits in one day is my new record – it was fun because the boys did a lot of the minutes with me!!!

Monday 12/1 – 45 dancing balls. Hold a stability ball with your feet and hands while lying on your back –

Lower right leg and left arm –

right arm down left arm down — right arm down
left arm down

Switch arms and legs –

left leg down right arm down — left leg down
right arm down

This move will really work your core!!

I tried running but quickly realized it wasn’t going to happen so I walked 6 miles with a 10% incline.

Tuesday 12/2 – 45 1 minute boat poses.

This took place mostly between the 2 parts of the treatment I had on my hands/arms – perfect!!

I did TaeBo – Fat Blasting Cardio. I love TaeBo!!!

Wednesday 12/3 – 45 running knees while on upside down wobble ball –

After doing 45 with my right knee I had to switch and do another set of 45.

This move was fun and went very quickly!!

I did a slow 3 mile run (27:00 minutes) followed by 4.1 miles at a 10% incline.

Thursday 12/4 – 45 leg abductions with a small resistant band.

After doing 45 with the right leg I switched and did another set on the left side.

I did one of my favorite workouts ever – Les Mills Body Pump – Combat!!!

Friday 12/5 – 45 single leg balance with arm move (open and close).

I’ve been going to a PT for my leg and she mentioned that when I stand on one leg I lean (very obvious in the pictures from Thursday), so I decided to work on some moves that require me to balance on one leg.

This move was easy – balance on one leg and open arms to side –

balance on right - open arms to side — balance on right – open arms to side

Stay still and bring arms together in front of body –

I stood in front of a mirror to try and make sure that I didn’t lean.

I actually got in a decent run finally!!! 8 miles in 65:20 followed by 1.5 cool down miles.

Saturday 12/6 – 45 rope climbs. Lay on your back with your legs extended and act like you are climbing a rope as you slowly sit up. Hold your abs tight and slowly go back down.

I love how focused Hunter looks while doing this!!!

I’m hoping to join in on some of the challenges this next week now that I can start lifting and doing more with my arm!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Butt, Core, Fitness

The Gift of a New Day

February 9, 2014 Kim 54 Comments

Today for my 44 I decided to take a move that I’ve done on the floor and do it on a stability ball. I started in plank –

From here I did alternating lunges –

Not gonna lie – holding plank on the ball was a challenge and then doing a total of 44 lunges with each leg – HARD!!!!

Since today was a day off with the Michelle Bridges program, I did one of my all-time favorites – Les Mills Pump – Combat. I love this workout!!! 45 minutes of punching and kicking that goes by so quickly and I always feel like I got a good workout afterwards!!

This morning I realized that I need to get back to waking up and being excited for the day ahead instead of being so consumed by my To-Do list. I need to appreciate the beauty that I have every morning when I wake up and have an entire day ahead of me to use however I want.

Each day is like a gift – a clean slate full of hours to use any way we choose!!!!

I am choosing to close out each day at the end of it and start fresh each morning! Instead of carrying things over from the previous day, each morning will be a completely fresh start!!!

I think that far to often I go to bed feeling like I didn’t accomplish enough or that I wasted time and then I wake up feeling the same way and it sets a negative tone for the entire day. However, I’m choosing to focus on the beauty and newness of each day and let go of the mistakes from the day before!!!

What a great idea – don’t count the days and don’t dread the days!!!

Make each day count because it really is a gift!!!

It truly is a new day which means the possibilities are only limited by the choices I make.

Today (and each new today), I choose to start fresh and live the day to the max – enjoying each new exciting challenge that comes my way!!! Bring it!!!

Happy Sunday!!! It’s a new day!!!

Kim

BOSU, Cardio, Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Exercise Is NOT One Size Fits All

November 6, 2013 Kim 78 Comments

Today’s 44 was fun!!! Kristen @ Stuft Mama demoed this super cool move yesterday and I knew that I had to give it a try. It is called – The Monkey.

Basically it is a cross body mountain climber using the

See why I had to try it?!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxBG2OW98hs’]

You can do this move without a BOSU if you don’t have one available.

Since I already had my BOSU out I decided to do a workout with it – I did BOSU Total Body Conditioning. It is a fun workout that mixes cardio, strength moves, balance training and core work. The biggest downside – it was only about 30 minutes.

So, I also did Les Mills Pump – Combat. This has been one of my favorite workouts from the very first time I tried it. It is 45 minutes worth of non-stop cardio in the form of kicking and punching. The time flies by and I always feel like I’ve gotten a great workout.

I’ve never really understood the concept of “one size fits all.” How is it even possible when we are all so different?!?!

I think that with exercise we really have to steer away from the idea that one size fits all.

Everyone needs to figure out what works for them and not do something just because it seems to be what everyone else is doing.

For the past few months I’ve tried a bit of an experiment with my working out and it hasn’t worked well for me. For a long time I have read about and observed many people who thrive on minimal amounts of time for working out.

Workouts like the 7 minute workout are everywhere these days!!! And, I truly love that type of workout!!!

However, for me, it isn’t enough!!!

This fall I made a conscious effort to try and cut down on my workout time – most days I have only spent 40-45 minutes total working out instead of the 1-2 hours that I used to spend.

I’ve realized that I actually feel better when I workout longer – it may be all psychological and I’m totally OK with that.

So, I tried something and figured out that it was not a fit for me!!

Have you tried things that seem to be the “norm” and realized they weren’t for you?
Do you like short workouts or longer sessions?

Happy Wednesday!!!

Kim

Biceps, Butt, Fitness, Triceps

Building up Our Memory Banks

June 30, 2013 Kim 20 Comments

Today’s 43 was inspired by one of my Turbo Fire workouts from the past week. I did a speed bag move on the right and then kicked with my left leg. Of course, after finishing 43, I had to switch sides and do another set with the speed bag on my left and a right kick. (imaginary speed bag!!)

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SrYWJ1pm3E’]

I wore my weighted gloves to add a little to the speed bag challenge – I think they only weight a pound each but at least it was something! This was a fun 43!!!

I feel like I haven’t done much weight training lately so I decided to do Les Mills Pump. I did Pump and Burn which is one of the shorter workouts (just over 30 minutes). Probably a good choice since I finished about 30 minutes ago and my arms are still shaking!!! I think there’s a good chance that I will be sore tomorrow!!

The past week, the boys and I have spent almost every minute together during our trip to TX while Chris was on his own trip for work. I started thinking about all the things we have done and how much we have laughed together – a lot!!! Knowing that my boys are having fun and that we can all laugh together makes me HAPPY!!!

I watch the boys and know that when they are grown and no longer live with us they will have 1000s of happy memories from the time spent at home and with their family!!!

Whether we are spending hours together in a car, playing one of the 100s of games that we have played over the years (Monopoly, Life, Uno, Skip-Bo, Head Bandz……..), sharing a meal together

or just hanging out – I want the boys to keep storing up these fun/happy memories!!!

Last night we added more memories!! A week of firework fun has begun!!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Rp7azuDgs’]

So, even though sometimes I have to give up things that I would like to do – FitBloggin’ conference – in the big picture, the things that matter are these everyday fun times that I get to be part of with my boys!!!

There are huge chunks of my growing up years that I have completely blocked from my memory and I want to make sure that my boys have full memory banks of awesome family times!!!