Tag Archives: stability ball

My Kind of Day!!

May 13, 2013 Kim 26 Comments

Today I worked my triceps with the 43. I also really had to use my core because I included a stability ball. I put my feet on the ball – I tried to keep just my feet and not let my calves rest on the ball to make it more difficult!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7iSDp6cWKs’]

I nearly lost the ball a couple of times but I made it through 43!! It took quite a while after I finished for my arms to quit shaking!!!

I also spent some time on the elliptical again today. I’m telling myself that even though it is not my favorite it is much better than nothing!!! I did 45 minutes at a harder pace than the other day. My legs feel very tingly again but I really think it is just the blood flowing!!!

So yesterday was just one of those perfect kind of days! I got cards from Chris and the boys:Both boys were very sweet with what they wrote –

And – they gave me a Garmin!!!

I can’t wait to actually start running again so I can test it out!!!In the meantime – I will just pretend!!!

The weather was gorgeous – no wind so the lake was perfect!!! And – WE PUT THE BOAT IN THE WATER!!!! This always make me happy because it means we made it through winter and now it’s summer – my favorite!!!We didn’t actually take a ride – Chris just put it in and drove it to the marina. It was a little chilly – plus we had stuff to do still!

We had some friends over for dinner – grilled steaks and chicken, campfire potatoes and this super easy summer corn – a perfect ending to a great day!!!

Now, I’m ready for a great week!!

Happy Monday!!

Kim

Cardio, Core, Fitness

6:00am Show Time for Surgery – Yikes!!

April 24, 2013 Kim 37 Comments

Today’s 43 was a challenge!! I did mountain climbers on a stability ball. The mountain climbers weren’t bad – it was staying balanced on the ball!!

I did them with my hands on the ball.

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

I counted 10 as 1 rep so to do 43 reps, I did 430! Just for fun, I did some (430 so that I had a double 43!!) with my elbows on the ball – these were harder for me. I think because I had to keep my elbows in close to keep them both on the ball – much less stable than the wide hand stance!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZV306bUOU’]

About half-way through my workout I decided I’m not too bright. I can’t have any water this morning and here I am working up a sweat! If you look closely in almost all of my pictures you see this

I carry this cup everywhere – always full of ice water. I usually refill it between 6-9 times every day. This whole no water thing in the morning is not cool!!!

That is all I did for working out today because I have to be at the hospital by 6:00am – EARLY!!! (and because I can’t have any water!!)

Today I’m having my veins stripped. Several weeks ago, I talked about my varicose veins and whether or not I should have them treated. Since then, I’ve had several more appointments including an ultrasound to do more testing on my veins. The DR said that I have numerous breaks in several veins and a number of valves that aren’t working correctly. Her recommendation was to do surgery and strip (remove) some and ligation (tie off) on some.

The way I understand things – I will have an incision in my left groin to remove the greater saphenous vein. On my right leg, the incision will be behind my knee.

The only part of the surgery that bothers me out is being intubated!! I realize that I will never even feel it since I will be put to sleep – just the idea of a tube shoved down my throat freaks me out!!!

Oh well – hopefully I will be back to at least light workouts in a few days and then my normal stuff soon.

I do plan to continue my daily 43s – they will just be upper body only for a few days!!

Happy Wednesday – see you when I “wake-up”!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Plank

Abdominal Training Epiphany!!!

March 22, 2013 Kim 12 Comments

My 43 today was nice – it was core work but also a semi-stretch!!! I used a stability ball to hold plank on my forearms.

From the start position, I just did a plank roll – I rolled forward on the ball (you have to hold your abs in tight here so that they don’t rest on the ball!)

pull the abs in - don't cheat! — pull the abs in – don’t cheat!

and then back on the ball for each rep.

The biggest challenge in this 43 was keeping my balance on the ball while staying in plank. I tried to keep my body level (feet a little wider helps!).

Today I did a Boot Camp workout for the rest of my workout. I used one of the 10 Minute Solution DVDs (love these) – Ultimate Boot Camp and did all 5 sections for a really great workout.

If you have never tried any of the 10 Minute Solution DVDs, I highly recommend them. They are great if you just have 20-30 minutes since you can do a couple of the sections. I also like them as a complete workout – all 5 sections.

The 5th (and final) section today was Six Pack Ab Attack. Because I was tired by that point I had to really focus on putting 100% into it. Then I started thinking about all of my ab/core work. It is at the end of my workout usually. I can’t think of a single workout DVD that I’ve done that has ab work at the beginning (or even during the middle) – always the end.

As I struggled (no other word today) through the ab training I decided that I’m going to try mixing up my ab work some and putting it at the beginning of a workout when I’m fresh! I did a little research about why abdominal work is usually at the end of the workout – the biggest reason seems to be the fact that so many exercises require you to use your core and if you have already trained your abs then you might not be able to perform the exercise safely.

But, I’m still planning to try and change it up some. I’m always exhausted by the time I really focus on my abs so I want to see if it makes a difference training them first.

Screen shot 2013-03-22 at 9.30.54 AM — not my abs – I WISH!!!

When do you work your abs/core – beginning or end of a workout?

Happy Fun Friday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

Nutrition Drop-Out

March 17, 2013 Kim 12 Comments

For the 43 today, I used my stability ball and did sit-ups with alternating toe touches. Reaching for my toes made this more of a complete sit-up than a crunch.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uECwYXF9S1s’]

I counted a right toe touch and a left as 1 rep so I did 86 total sit-ups in order to complete the 43.

Today is a rest day – I might do some more foam rolling later but no working out!!

Sometimes I feel like Frenchie in Grease:

Except I’ve never been to beauty school – I’m talking about nutrition. Don’t get me wrong, we actually eat healthy and nutritious meals the majority of the time. But I also think that everyone has different definitions of what counts as healthy nutrition and according to lots of those ideas I’m a definite drop-out!

Even the national standards change (frequently!).

In the newer version of a healthy plate, fruits & vegetables are the main part with carbs playing a small roll.

But, in the old-school food pyramid – carbs are the biggest group! (And I love carbs – pasta and bread!)

Meat is another area where people have very different opinions. We eat meat at just about every meal in our home. We actually buy 1/2 a side of beef every year:

We eat lots of chicken but we also eat pork, lamb on occasion, seafood and beef. We are definitely carnivores here!

All the different flavored butters on the market and yet this is what we eat:I have never tried any of the MANY different supplements on the market.

And, even on my long runs (like yesterday), I don’t refuel with any of these:

I know I’m going to have to figure out something for my 50-mile race but usually I just drink water while I run. (I know – it goes against everything out there but it works for me.)

The other day I heard someone say, “No margaritas for me – I don’t want to undo the work I’m doing during my workout.” I’m totally supportive of that approach but I’m also the opposite – I work out hard so that I can enjoy the things I like (margaritas, wine, chips…..).

So, even though I fail at nutrition according to many standards, I do what works for me and my family and am perfectly OK with it. Today we will have lettuce wraps at lunch and they will have ground beef in them just the way we like them and I won’t feel at all guilty about it!

What are your views on healthy nutrition?

Happy Sunday!

Kim (not really a nutrition drop-out just one with a different point of view than others!)

Fitness, Triceps

Rainy Day Randomness

March 10, 2013 Kim 11 Comments

I had a great circuit planned for my 43 today but I woke up not feeling great so I changed the plan and made my 43 a little less challenging (no jumping today!!!).

I decided to do triceps dips but make them more difficult by putting my feet on a stability ball.

start - full extension — start – full extension

Keeping my feet on the ball was difficult enough but then I did 43 dips – my arms were shaking!!

down - butt close to stool — down – butt close to stool

Putting my feet on the ball really did change the move from the way I normally do dips – fun to try new moves!!!

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2UMRwnvNs’]

You can tell in the video that it is hard to keep your body straight and the ball in place (or at least it was hard for me)!!

And, who knew that this stool could be such a great work-out tool?!

After I finished, Jordan started messing around with my stability ball – check out his mad balancing skills:

Not gonna lie – I tried this after he did it – I could have been seriously injured!!! It’s not nearly as easy as he is making it look!

It rained all day yesterday and today is supposed to be more of the same with some snow mixed in (good thing it is warm enough that the snow won’t stick!!).

Here is a view of our rainy day entertainment:

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1RK7MiUVhQ’]

Hunter just keeps getting faster and faster on the Rubik cube (all types!) and now he is combining his brain power with a little ab work – LOVE it!!!

Last night, Jordan was with some friends so it was just Hunter home with us for awhile. After dinner we decided to watch a movie together.This was a great movie!! It was a little sad at times but I loved the overall story (and the little girl was so cute!!). Movies based on true stories are usually some of my favorites. Of course, Hunter said that he prefers Matt Damon in the Bourne movies over this one. Really??!!