Tag Archives: small wobble balls

Core, Fitness

Bring Your Personal Best to the Table Every Day!!

75 Comments

I combined my 44 and the challenge of the day for Angela’s Happy Fit March Challenge.  The goal today was a max plank hold and I decided to have some fun with it.  I used 2 of my small wobble balls to set up the plank – 

combining the 44 and max plank hold
combining the 44 and max plank hold

I let the timer run while I did my 44 which was to stay in plank and alternate lifting my legs – 

lift right
lift right
back to plank
back to plank
lift left
lift left

The hard part was trying to keep my body still when I lifted and lowered my legs.  I counted a right and left lift as 1 rep.  Counting my reps made the time pass quicker than just trying to hold plank!!!

I decided to spend some time with Jillian Michaels this morning – Extreme Shed & Shred!  I did both parts (Level 1 & 2) of this workout to get just over an hour of hard work!!  This workout was a fun mix of kickboxing, yoga holds, plyo, HIIT, a few moves using weights – Fun Stuff!!!

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 6.57.41 AMDuring the workout today, Jillian said something that I really liked.  She said, “Bring your personal best to the table every day.”

First, I love that she put the emphasis on personal best because we shouldn’t compare what we do to anyone else!!!  As long as we are striving to be the best form of ourselves that we can be then that is good enough!!

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 6.57.55 AMDon’t get me wrong, I’m a very competitive person but I think that the biggest competitions I will ever have involve beating myself!!!  Sure, when I do race, I want to win but I know I’m not a world class runner and will never win every race.  However, I can continually work to be the best that I can be!!!

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 6.57.22 AM

 

The other thing about that quote that I like is the every day part.  Some days and some tasks it is easier to just put in a half effort but the only person we are hurting is ourselves!!

Today is another day of cleaning and setting up for an event over at our venue and it would be easy to just do a half-ass job but then I would look around and know that I hadn’t done my personal best and I wouldn’t have the sense of satisfaction that comes from doing the best I can no matter the job!!!

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 7.07.20 AM

Do you do your personal best everyday no matter how small or big the task?

Happy Tuesday!!!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Hamstrings

What’s Your Minimum?

74 Comments

I used 2 of my small wobble balls again for the 44 – 

so many possibilities!
so many possibilities!

This time I stood on them and did dead lifts.

ready
ready
down
down

This was a good challenge – staying balanced on the little balls was tricky.  Dead lifts are one of my favorite moves and I loved the challenge with the balls!!  15 pound dumbbells was plenty today since I was trying to balance.

Finished the February challenge – 50 push-ups and 50 walking lunges today.

Today I did another old DVD (remember I’m trying to go through my DVD workout library this year!!!) – The Firm, Dangerous Curves Ahead.  This workout uses a small band for some extra resistance!

small but powerful
small but powerful

I actually didn’t do the entire workout today.  About 30 minutes in I was dragging and thinking about all the things I needed to get done before taking  the boys to school so I just stopped.  

Not gonna lie – it is rare for me to cut a workout short!!!  And, it made me wonder – what is the minimum length to work out and count it as a workout?

Screen Shot 2014-02-28 at 6.35.22 AMI actually read a post earlier this week that was talking about running and what is your shortest distance.  Now, I’m wondering about your shortest time to call a workout a workout!   (Sorry, I can’t remember whose blog!!)  

(Update – Miss Zippy wrote a post called When is a run a run?  asking a similar question about running.)

I track all of my workouts (not just my running) and I like to keep up with how many days I actually workout.  If all I do is my daily 44 then I don’t count it as a workout day.  Normally I get at least an hour (or more) of working out on the days I count.

However, today I stopped the DVD around the 30 minute mark.  
So, does it count??

Screen Shot 2014-02-28 at 6.41.32 AM

 

30 minutes has always been my minimum!!  I see tons of workouts that can be done in 12 minutes or 14 or 17 or 20 and I think they look like great workouts but I always feel like I have to combine several of them to actually count it as a true workout day.

I don’t have a set number of miles that I’m trying to run this year because I have learned by now that if I try to push too hard I end up injured.  But, I do have a goal to workout over 300 days this year and I do use my 30 minute minimum as part of the criteria on what counts.

Do you have a minimum time that you use to count a workout – weather it’s a DVD, something from Pinterest, a walk – whatever?  Or do you even track how many days you workout?

Happy Fun Friday!!

Kim

BTW – I have worked out 52 out of 59 days so far in 2014.