Tag Archives: tabata

The Best Part of Christmas

December 26, 2013 Kim 57 Comments

Today’s 44 was nearly a fail!!! Not long ago I did push-ups using my foam roller for the 44 of the day. The wonderful and super fit Jody suggested trying the same move but with my feet on a stability ball. Well – I’m always up for a new way to challenge myself so today I tried it!

I could not even hold the pose with my toes on the ball so I just went with the tops of my feet and still struggled!!!

This move was beyond HARD!!! I struggled and by the end my push-ups were barely going down – I’m going to have to work on this move for sure!!!

My neighbor’s daughter (she is a few years younger than me!) is still in town and she came over to workout again this morning – so much fun!! Today we did Cathe XTrain – Tabatacise!!! This is definitely a great workout. After we were done Erin asked about a challenge move (since we did the plank hold last time) so we did 10 Manmakers.

(This video clearly wasn’t today since I had blond hair!)

Yesterday we hosted our first annual Governor’s Row House Christmas Day Open House.

We had no idea if any one would come or if it would be just the 4 of us hanging out over there.

It turned out to be a really fun day. Some great friends came and hung out most of the day!

kid's playing HeadBandz — kid’s playing HeadBandz

The boys (Chris, Jordan and Hunter) played trumpet and cello tunes for us! Plenty of food (lunch and dinner!) and fun!!!

Last week I put fliers in our 3 tenants mail boxes and 2 of them came down for awhile (the 3rd, a young couple, had gone home to Chicago!).

Kelvin lives on the 3rd floor by himself (he is going to be 65 next month) and called me around 5 to see if we were still there. He came down, brought Champagne to share (nice!), ate and visited until we started packing up around 8.

He had been by himself (other than his cat) all day and would have spent the entire day that way if he hadn’t joined us. After a couple of hours he said he felt like he had an adopted family!! That comment made my day because all along, my whole goal had been to help make someone’s Christmas better than it might have been otherwise. When he got ready to go back up to his apartment he hugged me and said it had turned into a wonderful Christmas for him!

And, the best part – on the way home Jordan rode with me (I had gone earlier to clean since we had an event Christmas Eve, too) and he talked about how glad he was that we had done the Open House!!! This is big because when I first mentioned it to Jordan he did not want any part in it.

After seeing how much it meant to Kelvin, he realized that sometimes taking the time to be available to someone is the best gift you can give. (Plus he had a good time all day!!)

Happy Thursday!!!

Kim

Fitness, Push-Ups, Triceps

Welcome Sun – Let’s get Reaquainted

August 10, 2013 Kim 20 Comments

Today I did a push-up for my 43 – but not just a regular push-up!! I used a stability ball

for an added challenge. And it was definitely a challenge!!!

By the time I finished all 43, my arms were shaking and I’m lucky I didn’t bust my face!!! Trying to support yourself on the ball really elevates a push-up!!! Plus, you have to keep your hands fairly close together and end up working your triceps a lot, too.

I also did my 3rd round of this week’s challenge with Taylor. I really enjoyed this week’s workout because it was Tabata – 4 rounds plus a finishing plank set. I love Tabata because it is easy to tell myself that I can go 150% for 20 seconds!!!

We have been home from Florida for about a week and a half and most of those days have been cloudy and either unseasonably cool or extremely muggy. What they haven’t been is SUNNY!!!

I have missed the sun and the beach!!!

This past week has been busy since we are getting ready for school to start on Tuesday – eye appointments, orthodontist appointments, well-checks/physicals, some shopping, band camp for Jordan, hair-cuts, and just normal everyday life activities.

What hasn’t been included is any sun and beach time!!! And I miss it!!! The sun is shining this morning and will hopefully stay out today so that the afternoon can include a little bit of my favorite activity

Happy Saturday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

Doctor Appointments – How Long Is Too Long in the Waiting Room?

August 7, 2013 Kim 54 Comments

Today’s 43 was another move from Nellie at Brooklyn Active Mama. This was last week’s Wednesday Workout – the dumbbell jackknife. A regular jackknife is a hard move for me and adding the dumbbell just made it crazy!!!

From the start position – fold your hands and legs together in the middle.

I only used a 5 pound dumbbell and even with that I struggled to finish all 43. This move could definitely be done very effectively without a weight!!!

Today was Boot Camp!!! However, we did it in the garage because it had been storming and I didn’t want to take a chance with lightening. It was like being back in Florida because it was so muggy!!! Today we did the resistance band boot camp – I figured it had been awhile on the boot camp thing so we eased back in with more toning and just a few cardio bursts!

I also did my 2nd round of the weekly challenge with Taylor. This week is Tabata and I like it but the tuck jumps were brutal after my 12 miles of speed work yesterday!!! I was happy to improve my reps on all of the moves -hopefully I can still improve when I do round #3!!

Yesterday I took Jordan for his well-check. We had to rush to get there because I picked him and a friend up at 10:00 from Band Camp, dropped the friend at his house and was supposed to be at the DR’s office by 10:15 for a 10:30 appointment. Well, we made it but….

Then we sat and waited and waited and waited! We watched other people come in, check in, get called back, check out and leave. Finally at about 11:15 (45 minutes past our appointment), I went up to the desk and nicely (I was still trying to be pleasant) asked how far behind our DR was running.

The ladies at the desk were a bit rude in their response and said she was just running a little behind – DUH!!!! I said, I realized she was behind (she is always behind but this was getting excessive) I just wondered how much longer.

I actually got a response similar to the one above because they didn’t want to deal with me. Jordan and I continued to wait and finally at 11:55 (1 hour and 25 minutes late) the nurse came out to get us.

I said something about how far behind they were and asked how much longer we were going to have to wait in the little room – she said it would be awhile and that they had “had a morning.” I told her we would wait about 5 minutes and then we were done! I also said that when they are running that far behind they really should let people with appointments know what’s going on – she said they would never do that!!!

The nurse actually got quite snippy with me and said that if patients knew they were behind and then came late it would throw everything off. Basically she told me that my time was not nearly as important as their time!!!

The only reason we haven’t switched doctors (we have always had to wait – but yesterday was excessive – 2 hours for a visit that took less than 15 minutes!!) is because I really like our DR (when we finally get in to see her). She is very personable and knowledgeable.

However, yesterday might have been the last straw. The fact that I tried to be very polite in asking “how much longer” and both the desk people and the nurse were extremely rude after we were the ones who had been waiting FOREVER did not go over well with me!!!

What are your thoughts? How long after a scheduled appointment are you willing to wait? Would you switch DRs if your’s was always running behind?

Happy Wednesday!!!

Kim

Fitness, Thighs

Based on a True Story

August 5, 2013 Kim 51 Comments

Today’s 43 was a new to me move and one that I don’t think I will repeat. It is supposed to work your inner thighs but mostly it was just kind of weird and awkward!!

Start on all 4s with your right leg between your left hand and left knee –

From the start position, lift your right leg (it’s a really small lift!) and lower it (x43).

And, of course, I had to switch sides and do the whole thing again!!

It is hard to tell in the pictures how high the lift is – it is only about 2 inches. Amazing how very heavy your leg can feel when you do an awkward lift like this!!

I decided that I haven’t been getting enough weight work in lately so I’m going to start Chalean Extreme back up!! Today I did Burn Circuit 1 – lots of lunges, oblique work and lat work!! I have a feeling that I will be a little sore tomorrow – not a problem since my chest is still sore from the commando push-ups I did last week!!

And, since it’s Monday, we started a new workout of the week with Taylor’s challenge. This week’s workout is a Tabata one (love it!!) – 4 different Tabatas plus a finale of 2 minutes worth of planks!

My favorite movies are the ones based on a true story (usually about a sports team or sports hero)!

Over the weekend we finally watched 42 – The Jackie Robinson Story. I loved it!! There were so many great lines in the movie. One of my favorite lines was when PeeWee said, “Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear #42, that way they can’t tell us apart.” Sadly, it took awhile for some of Jackie’s teammates to come around and accept him but there were some truly great moments in the story when they did!

Another one of my all time favorite movies is Miracle! We have probably watched that movie 20 times (or more!).

I love the part in the movie where the team has to take the ice right after a game (because they weren’t focused during the game!) and start skating and skating and skating…. My favorite line is when Eruzione says –

“Mike Eruzione! Winthrop, Massachusetts! I play for the United States of America!”

Classic line!!! And, I sometimes remind myself when I’m logging lots of miles on my treadmill, “the legs feed the wolf!”

Another family favorite is Remember the Titans. I think that we watch at least part of it every time it comes on TV (which is probably at least once every couple of weeks!). There are so many great quotes and scenes from this movie but I think my favorite is the relationship that developed between Julius and Gary.When Gary is in the hospital and tells the nurse that Julius is his brother (can’t you see the family resemblance?) – I always get goose bumps!

And the team warm-up is awesome!!

Rudy is another movie that just makes you feel good! A story showing the ultimate success of a true underdog with an amazing attitude!!I could go on and on with movies based on true stories that I love. I find them so inspiring and I like movies that we can watch and enjoy as a family!!!

* 8 Seconds
* Prefontaine
* October Sky (not sports but an incredible story!)
* A League of Their Own – “There’s no crying in baseball!”
* Radio
* Friday Night Lights (my old stomping grounds during my high school years!!)
* Cinderella Man
* Glory Road
* The Blind Side
* Secretariat
* Soul Surfer

Do you like movies based on a true story? What is your favorite?

Happy Monday!!

Kim

Core, Fitness

Jumping, Kicking, Squatting all Night Long

June 18, 2013 Kim 26 Comments

Today for my 43, I did a plank with some extra stability work. I started in elbow plank, pulled my right knee into my chest then extended my right leg into a leg raise. Then, I did the same thing with my left leg. I counted a right leg and left leg move as 1 rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma7agAXug6w’]

I should have timed my plank!!! This took awhile to complete since it was 43 knee pulls/leg raises per side!

I did Insanity Asylum – Vertical Plyo before heading to the swim beach to teach Boot Camp. I only have a few days left of Insanity – WooHoo!!! Today I actually enjoyed the plyo workout more than I have other days – maybe because I knew it was my last time doing it for awhile!!

Boot Camp at the beach always makes me happy – the lake is peaceful early in the mornings. Today we did Tabata boot camp and it was so much harder in the sand than it was yesterday morning in the garage!! The sand gave us some bonus toning work!! Plus, with all of the jumping and kicking – I pretty much took a shower in sand!!! Good Times!!

Lately, every time I wake up during the night (it’s always a lot of times!!!) – I’ve been dreaming about jumping and kicking and squatting. It’s not always me that’s jumping – sometimes I’m watching people (or maybe animals) jump – but there is always action and movement in the form of jumping and bouncing!!!All night long – jump, squat, kick…..I don’t know if it’s because I go to bed thinking about the next day’s boot camp or Insanity workout or even just trying to decide what my 43 will be or what the deal is but I’m ready for some different themed dreams!! Sometimes I feel like I might be a ~~little~~ obsessed with all things fitness related – that doesn’t mean I want to dream about it every night!!!See – everyone’s jumping and moving – just like in my dreams!!!!And, everyone is running through the list of proper form and technique – over and over. I guess if this little guy is doing it then it isn’t that bad!!But all the nighttime jumping is wearing me out!!! I need a night where I dream about and maybe if I dream hard enough I will wake up and find myself actually relaxing in this gorgeous setting instead of jumping and kicking and squatting and doing burpees!!!!!