Tag Archives: side lunges

So Many Workouts, So Little Time

July 6, 2013 Kim 10 Comments

Today for my 43, I did a side lunge and a knee lift with the opposite leg.

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

The nice thing with this move was that it required a bit of mental work, too – I had to think about each part of the move as I did it otherwise I leaned the wrong way or lifted the wrong part!! Plus, the knee lift was a small bonus for my core and hip flexors!!

I did all 43 to the right side first (with a left knee lift) and then switched and did 43 lunges to the left with a right knee lift.

Today I did another round of Les Mills Body Pump – Pump and Shred. This workout is 45 minutes of lifting including a squat track (about 5:30), a chest track (5:00), back track with dead lifts and clean & press (5:15), lunge track with more squatting (5:00), shoulder track (4:45) and core work (4:00). One of my favorite parts of the Body Pump workouts is the final stretch – they always include at least 5 minutes of stretching and after all of the lifting it is a treat (even for someone, like me, who doesn’t really like to spend time stretching!!). I am enjoying these workouts so far, as they get me in the mood to stay in shape and actually stick to it. Plus, with the awesome inner chest workout that I am currently doing, I have a feeling that I may be seeing positive results sooner than I think. It’s all about being consistent with it.

One of the many things that I love about reading other blogs is the AMAZING workouts that so many bloggers share. My Pinterest workout board is getting bigger and bigger!!

412 pins – of those, I’ve probably only done about 30. I’ve pulled some ideas out of different ones for my daily 43 and even for my boot camp but there are still LOTS of great workouts that I want to try.

Plus, I have a few workout DVDs to choose from. I’ve done all of them at least once but still want to do them again (and again!!!). I have a nice variety of really intense workouts (Insanity, P90X, Body Pump), Pilates and Yoga, shorter workouts (lots of the 10-minute option DVDs where you can do from 1-5 of the sections), Tae-Bo (love!!), The Firm, some Denise Austin (old school!!), Biggest Loser workouts, Jillian Michaels, Cathe Frederick…..

This summer I have been creating a lot of my own workouts for my Boot Camp classes. I come up with 3 new classes a week so that takes time to figure them out, practice them and then teach the 6 classes (and I do the workouts every time!!).

And, then there is my top favorite option – RUNNING!!! I don’t run as often as I used to because I’ve found that when I run too much I end up injured (usually with a stress fracture – I’ve had 6 or 7 in the last 10 years) but I still love running!

So, while I have MANY options every day, I don’t have enough time for all the workouts I want to do!!! Sometimes even when I really want to do a workout or challenge, I have to realize that time is still a limited resource and I can’t do it all!!!

One of the workouts that I really wanted to do and just couldn’t make it work with my current schedule of running, boot camp, lifting and, at the time the program started, I was finishing Insanity Asylum – is Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp program. I signed up (paid and everything!!) for this round (I even have the badge on my sidebar!) but when it was time to start I realized that I couldn’t add it in and give it 100% with the other workouts that I have going now.

It was really hard for me to let myself off the hook and know that it was OK to save it for another time but I know that was the smart choice!!!

What is the thing you wish you had more time for?

Mine is obviously fitness/working out but I know that it is not just about time but about physical energy which is also not limitless!!!

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Fitness, Lunges, Recovery

Final Thoughts on Insanity: The Asylum

June 22, 2013 Kim 28 Comments

Today’s 43 was as much about stretching as anything!!! I did a side lunge with a toe touch and counted a right lunge and left lunge as 1 rep so it was 43 each side.

Here is a side view – all my weight is back in my butt (pretty much true all the time but especially when I lunge and squat!!).

Nice to do a move that doesn’t require a lot of jumping!!

Today I did my last Insanity Asylum workout – the Fit Test. I did this same test the day before I started the program and now after completing the program – I improved in all 9 drills!!!

Each move/exercise is done for 1 minute. 6 of the 9 drills use the agility ladder –

#1 – Agility Heisman – (using ladder) I went from 7 to 9.5

#2 – In & Out Abs – these are all done to the 2nd rung – I went from 20 to 35

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwAhBLoDw0′]

#3 – Lateral Push-Ups (alt. sides) – 16 to 25

#4 – Standing Mountain Climber Switch Kicks – (heel has to come up above waist to count) – 54 to 70

#5 – Agility Push-ups (using ladder – down & back = 1 rep – touch hand to opp. shoulder for each move) – 4 to 6.5

#6 – X Jumps (squat down and touch toes – jump into X) – 42 to 49

#7 – Moving Push-Ups (using ladder – down & back = 1 rep) – I went from 3 to 5

#8 – Agility Heisman (different version than #1) – 11 to 15.5

#9 – Bear Crawls (with ladder – hop feet in at top and hands in at bottom) – I went from 7 to 10

Calvin & Hobbs sum up perfectly how I feel to be completely done with Insanity!!! I think the program is great but it was HARD!!! At some point ~~in about 20 years~~ in the next year or so, I will probably go through the program again but for now I need a break from it!!!

My favorite thing about both Insanity and Insanity: The Asylum is ~~Shaun T~~ when Shaun T says “Dig Deeper!!!”I will keep telling myself that while I move on to other workouts and finally get back to running!!! (I’ve been on a running break to try to reclaim my love of running – part of why I’ve been so focused on this crazy program!!)

And, on the running front – I’m ready to get back at it!!! Yesterday I even got these cool shoes because I ~~needed~~ figured that it was as good a time as any to add another pair to my collection.

I haven’t run in Asics since college (that’s been a LONG time!!!) but the guys (at the store) convinced me to give these a try and see how they compare to Mizunos so I agreed because I love the colors!!! (oh, and they feel good, too)

Gotta get moving on Saturday – lots to do today!! Chris just left for a trip – I can’t say where all he is going but I will say that this

is involved in part of the trip. I’m trying really hard not to be jealous!!! The boys and I will spend some of our day here

but it’s not quite the same!!!

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Lunges, Quad, Squats

Silver Linings

May 19, 2013 Kim 27 Comments

Today for my 43 I did some squat and lunge work because yesterday I caught a glimpse of my backside and realized that I have lost a lot of butt toning the past few weeks (TMI??) and swimsuit season is here!!! Yikes!!

So today, I did a 4-step move to try and start back in the right direction (ie – not saggy!!!). I held 12 pound dumbbells during this move to add some extra intensity and weight!

I started with a side-lunge to the right –

Then I stepped my foot back to the center for a squat with feet together –

A side-lunge to the left –

lunge to the left (don't mind the fact that I'm not going super low - wraps get in the way!) — lunge to the left (don’t mind the fact that I’m not going super low – wraps get in the way!)

And finally, another center squat to finish the rep –

One thing I love about doing lower body work like this, I can get my heart rate up while toning!! By the time I finished all 43 reps, I was breathing hard for sure!!

I’m giving myself another recovery day because between being an idiot last week, the storms last night, and being awake from 2-4 this morning while waiting for Jordan and the rest of the band kids to get back, I think it will be the best idea for the day!!

A couple of weeks ago I read the book The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and loved it!! It is pretty intense but the concept is awesome (I’m not going to do a book review here because you might want to read it yourself!!). The other day, Chris and I watched the movie!!! Awesome movie – great story (and enough humor that Chris even enjoyed it!!).

A lot of times, I don’t like to read a book then watch the movie – it drives me crazy when they don’t match up. However, in this case, I didn’t mind the differences between the 2 (and there were plenty!!). I enjoyed the movie more – it wasn’t as intense (plus, hello, Bradley Cooper!!).

One thing I noticed, though, the concept of Silver Linings is brought out a lot more in the book. Pat (Bradley Cooper), is convinced that he will have a silver lining after all of the hardships he has gone through. I tend to agree with this idea most of the time. I think the times that we need the silver lining the most are sometimes the times it is hardest to really remain positive and believe that every bad situation has some good aspect to it. I think we all have different ways of “looking for the silver linings”. Some of us run! Some of us pray. Some of us turn to friends and/or family. I think the main thing is to keep looking for that Silver Lining because it’s there!!Without the trying times in our lives, we would never fully appreciate the happy times!!