The Legs Feed the Wolf (3/1 – 3/7)

Screen Shot 2015-03-07 at 9.43.45 AMMiracle might be one of my all-time favorite movies!!  When the head coach has the team skating lots of suicide type drills he tells the players, “The legs feed the wolf.”  When it came time for the big games (Olympics), they were better conditioned than any other team on the ice!!!

So, I tell myself the same thing when I’m running high mileage and also when I back off a little to rest my legs for a couple weeks!!!  This week I had much lower mileage but I did a number of workouts and exercises to strengthen my legs, especially my hips.

Sunday 3/1  45 standing crunches – lift one leg straight out and bring hands to foot while holding a medicine ball – crunch on the forward bend.

start position
start position
lift right leg and crunch
lift right leg and crunch
lift left leg and crunch
lift left leg and crunch

I like that this move  works your core and also your hip flexors!

I ran 8 miles in 59:58 followed by 0.6 easy miles.

Monday 3/2  45 push-ups while kneeling on a stability ball (shins rest on the ball and your butt stays down on your heels).

set-up
set-up
down
down

These look a bit awkward but it was a really good move.  You can tell that it was hard for me to keep my butt on my heels during the down part – need to work on that!

I did Cathe – Turbo Barre.  Talk about a workout for your hips and legs – this one is great!!!

Tuesday 3/3  45 side leg abduction while in a semi-squat.

Partial squat with left leg - right leg ready to lift
Partial squat with left leg – right leg ready to lift
stay low and lift right leg - squeeze butt
stay low and lift right leg – squeeze butt

There is a bit of balance involved with this move too!!

ready to squat right and left left
ready to squat right and left left
lift the leg while staing low
lift the leg while staying low

Running day – 10 miles in 75:44 followed by 1 easy mile.

Wednesday 3/4  45 single leg step-up on BOSU then circle opposite leg back-front-back before stepping down.

step up with left leg and start with right leg pushing back
step up with left leg and start with right leg pushing back
sweep leg around to front
sweep leg around to front

From the above position, sweep the right leg back so that it is behind you and then step off the BOSU.

I did all 45 reps stepping up with my left leg and then switched and did another set.

step on with left right leg, left leg squeezes back
step on with left right leg, left leg squeezes back
sweep leg to front
sweep leg to front, then back behind you before stepping off.

The hardest part of this move was staying balanced while sweeping your leg around!!!

I did TaeBo Amped – Rockin’ Buns.  There isn’t a lot of cardio involved in this workout but it is great for strengthening your hips, legs and even your core.

Thursday 3/5  45 BOSU superman lifts.  Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) featured this move as one of her Wednesday Workouts.

Place a band under your BOSU with enough slack that you can lift it but still have a challenge.  I decided to add an extra challenge and stay in a partial squat while completing my arm lifts.

ready
ready
lift your arms above your head
lift your arms above your head

After about 25 reps I had to give myself a little more band to work with because this was hard!!!

This was another running day – 8 miles in 60:20 followed by 1.05 miles easy.

Friday 3/6  45 quad/knee raises while pushing foot down with bar.

ready to start
ready to start
lift knee up and push down on the bar at the same time
lift knee up and push down on the bar at the same time

By pushing the bar down it makes the resistance so much harder than just lifting your body weight.

ready to work the other side
ready to work the other side
lift knee and push down on bar
lift knee and push down on bar

This day was the closest to a rest day that I took this week.  I did Caribbean Workout – Core Pilates for an hour.

Saturday 3/7  45 “first position” monkey squats.  (I had to google what the position was called!!!)

stand in first position (heels touching - toes turned out) and touch toes
stand in first position (heels touching – toes turned out) and touch toes
go down into a squat while holding on to your toes
go down into a squat while holding on to your toes

By holding your toes for the entire move this feels different than just doing normal squats!!!  Turning my toes out made the move different from a standard monkey squat.

And, I did one more run for the week.
6 miles – 45:17 followed by 1.75 easy miles.

I think overall it was a good workout week even cutting back on my running.
32 miles of hard running
4.4 easy miles

Happy Saturday!!

Kim