Tag: fitness

Working Out Week 20 of 2014

May 18, 2014 kimberlee 9 Comments

Well, I usually try and get my weekly workout post done on Saturday. I am a day late this week because of a pipe fiasco that occurred yesterday at our house. We had a little gardening to do out front of our house and I went out there around noon to help my husband till up the front flower beds and add in some new dirt. I figured this would take a couple of hours and then I would come in and do my blog post. Well, I was out there for about six hours instead. You see – right after I got out there my husband was digging and chopping through some roots from our big Magnolia tree that he thought were causing our front walkway to crack (which they are). In the process of doing this he hit a pipe that goes to our outdoor sprinkler system and it cracked and started shooting water everywhere. So, off goes the water for many hours and lots of digging and trips to Home Depot (like 3 or 4) to fix this problem.

Thankfully my husband is handy and can figure these things out and fix them himself – although I am sure that is not how he planned to spend the entire Saturday afternoon. There was a point in time, around the third trip and at about 4pm, that he said he may have to call someone – but with some more hard work, a few prayers from me and another trip to the Home Depot he got it repaired and our water was back on. I was able to finish the garden work while he dealt with the problem and made multiple trips to the store. We have a rain barrel and I was able to use water from that to get my flowers planted.

So, now on to the workouts I did the past week. I am still doing the Betty Rocker Challenge and it was week 2 and the beginning of week 3 workouts. In addition to those I decided to do a dvd free week and use one of my workout books instead. On the days I was not doing the Betty Rocker exercises I did my Flat Belly Yoga book routine. Below is my schedule for the week:

Monday 5-12 – Betty Rocker challenge wk 2 exercises + foam roller stretches – 40 min
Tuesday 5-13 – Flat Belly Yoga book – 20 min
Wednesday 5-14 – Betty Rocker challenge wk 2 exercises + foam roller stretches – 40 min
Thursday 5-15 – Flat Belly Yoga book – 20 min
Friday 5-16 – Betty Rocker challenge wk 3 exercises + foam roller stretches – 40 min
Saturday 5-17 – Flat Belly Yoga book – 15 min

I really like the Flat Belly Yoga book by Kimberly Fowler. So does my cat as you can see. He is all dressed up in a scarf my sons have decided he needs to wear – I don’t think he really likes it that well but puts up with it. This book is an excellent book, in my opinion. I got it back in the fall of 2013 and used it for a while then. I decided this week to get it out again. All of the routines concentrate on the core and most of the exercises use light hand weights of 2 or 3 pounds. The exercises are great for strengthening your stomach and back and really lengthen your whole body. All the exercises are explained well and it is an all color photo book with multiple photos of how to do one particular move. I like books like that.

Betty Rocker week 2 and the beginning of week 3 challenge was a “challenge” for sure! There is this skinny sumo move in week 2 that I could hardly get through all of those for one minute. One minute of doing one particular move does not sound hard until you actually try it. I really like how this challenge is all body weight exercises and requires no equipment. I like using my weights, step and other things but sometimes it is a nice change of pace to not have a lot of things to lug out and put away.

I also tried a new healthy muffin recipe this week from Pink Recipe Box. The recipe is for Healthy Double Chocolate Oat Bran Muffins. They were really good – made with oat bran and some whole wheat flour so they have lots of fiber. My oldest son liked them, too. I also took my friend Karen one when we met on Friday at Starbucks to knit and have coffee and she liked them as well. I will probably make them again this week. You can click on the highlighted link and it will take you to the recipe for them.

I hope everyone had a great week and you are able to get in some fitness time for yourself. I would love to hear about your workouts – you can click on Leave a Reply and tell me about them.

Have a great day!

Kimberlee

Categories: Baking Exercise

Tags: Betty Rocker Challenge, betty rocker spring challenge, exercise, fitness, healthy muffins, muffins, working out, workouts, yoga, yoga book, yoga cat

Working Out Week 19 of 2014

May 10, 2014 kimberlee 11 Comments

The past week my workouts were a little different than previous weeks. I mentioned last week that I decided to do the Betty Rocker Make Fat Cry Spring Challenge so instead of doing all workout dvd’s like I normally do I did three days of the Betty Rocker workouts. The challenge is running from a Thursday to Thursday so I did two days of week 1 workouts and one day of week 2. My schedule for the past week is below:

Sunday 5-4 – rode bike around neighborhood – 15-20 minutes
Monday 5-5 – Betty Rocker wk 1 workout + foam roller stretch – 35 to 40 minutes
Tuesday 5-6 – Shiva Rea AM Daily Energy Yoga dvd bonus Radiant Heart sequence – 20 minutes + rode bike to store for groceries approx. 2 miles
Wednesday 5-7 – Betty Rocker wk 1 workout + foam roller stretch – 35 to 40 minutes
Thursday 5-8 – Shiva Rea – More Daily Energy dvd Evolution Heart Flow sequence – 20 minutes
Friday 5-9 – Betty Rocker wk 2 workout + slide and glide disc stretch – 35 minutes
Saturday 5-10 – Shiva Rea Creative Core Abs – water and spontaneous core sequence – 18 minutes

Last Saturday I was getting my sons’ bikes out and putting air in their tires and decided it was time to start riding my bike again and use it to go to the store to get some groceries. I usually try and do this every Spring and Summer as it is a great way to get some exercise and be outdoors and it saves on gas, too. There is a Walmart that I ride to that is about a mile away and they have a bike rack for me to lock my bike up. I really enjoy riding to the store. It also kind of limits what you can buy so you only buy what is necessary and not all those extra things that tend to catch your eye. I can usually get three bags of groceries – large bags that I made myself from fabric – on my bike.

The Betty Rocker Challenge was a pretty good “challenge” this past week. All the exercises are body weight exercises. There are 7 exercises that you do for one minute each and repeat them three times. I definitely worked up a sweat every day I did those exercises. My faithful workout friend was usually present to supervise me (my cat).

Week 2 of the Betty Rocker challenge began for me on Friday. The exercises were similar to last weeks but with some add ons to make them more challenging. They were definitely more challenging for me. Especially this one called skinny sumos – by the third round on those I had to slow down to make it through.

Quote from the Betty Rocker Challenge: “Fit is not a destination – it is a way of life.” I really like this quote as that is how I look at fitness – as part of my daily routine so therefore it is a part of my life.

After a couple of the Betty Rocker workouts I did a foam roller stretch routine. I mentioned a month or two ago that I had gotten one of these. I really like it for lengthening and stretching out the muscles after a workout or even just in the evening while I watch a TV show. The quad stretch in the upper left photo is great and I also really like the upper back roll out in the upper right corner photo. The middle photo is a glute stretch – another good one.

The yoga workouts I chose to do were really good ones. I didn’t realize it until after I did the Thursday session that both the Tuesday and Thursday routines were “heart” related sequences. On Tuesday is was the AM Energy Radiant Heart which is actually a bonus on this dvd as it is from the Radiant Heart dvd (one I do not own). Thursday the session from the More Daily Energy dvd was called Evolution Heart Flow. Both of these routines had some great heart opening poses and some good hip openers, too.

I made a new smoothie this past week that I just kind of threw together in my Ninja blender. It was really good in my opinion. It is made with rhubarb and strawberries.

To make this smoothie you will need:

1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen rhubarb
1/2 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1Tbls Spectrum ground flaxseed with mixed berries Omega-3 & Super Fruits

Place all the above ingredients in a high speed blender and blend 1 or 2 minutes until smooth. If you use both frozen rhubarb and strawberries this is almost like a strawberry milkshake.

I really like how this smoothie tasted. It wasn’t too sweet and I love having the rhubarb in it. I guess if you wanted to sweeten it a little more you could add a spoonful of honey or agave to it.

Rhubarb is really good for your digestive system as well as keeping your skin from premature aging. It is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, oxalic acid and fiber. I have been buying it frozen from Kroger. It is one of the few places I was able to find it last summer.

Let me know how your workouts are going by clicking on Leave a Reply.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day!

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Recipes

Tags: Betty Rocker Challenge, bicycle, fitness, make fat cry challenge, rhubarb, Smoothie Recipe, smoothie with rhubarb and strawberries, working out, workouts, yoga

Working Out Week 18 of 2014

May 3, 2014 kimberlee 5 Comments

Another week has flown by it seems. I can not believe it is Saturday already. This past week I had my workouts scheduled to follow a rotation of Cathe Friedrich workouts and Shiva Rea yoga workouts. I had not done much yoga the past few weeks other than on Saturdays and I realized I was missing that so I added more in.

The schedule for my past week was as follows:

Monday – Cathe – High Reps – entire workout 64 minutes
Tuesday – Shiva Rea Daily Energy – Chakra Namaskar and Core session – 27 minutes
Wednesday – Cathe – To the Max – 54 minutes
Thursday – ~~Shiva Rea More Daily Energy – Evolution Heart Flow~~ Betty Rocker Spring Challenge week 1 of workouts + foam roller workout – 35 minutes
Friday – Cathe – Butts and Guts timesaver standing and stability ball abs – 49 minutes
Saturday – Shiva Rea AM Energy – Vira Flow – 20 minutes

I really enjoyed adding in more yoga to the week of workouts. When I was doing P90X3 you did yoga or pilates at least once a week or more and I definitely missed that.

I think my cat missed yoga too – here he is supervising my session in a couple of the photos.

To The Max was a new Cathe workout for me. I believe it was actually released in 2012 but I just bought it a few weeks ago and had not tried it out yet. It is a very fast paced workout that uses the step at 2 and 3 risers high for much of the workout. The end of the workout finishes with some creative core and upper body moves that I really liked – so did my other cat as she decided to sit and watch for that part with her fish toy by her side.

As you will notice in my listed schedule there is a strike through for Thursday. That is because I decided in the middle of the week to do the Betty Rocker Spring fitness challenge after receiving an invite to join via email. I had done a previous challenge of hers that was the whole month of October and saw good results with getting much more lean so I have decided to do another one for the month of May. Therefore. starting next week I will probably alternate the Betty Rocker workout, which consists of 7 exercises that you do for one minute each for 3 rounds, and my Shiva Rea yoga dvd’s.

So far I have only completed one session of the Betty Rocker exercises since it will run Thursday to Thursday. Also, after doing the workout on Thursday I started to get a tight and stressed feeling in my upper back between my shoulder blades. I am not sure if it was because of the push ups in the workout or maybe my form wasn’t right. I did stretch really good afterwards by doing my foam roller routine. I woke up Friday morning and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do my scheduled workout but I took some Advil and pushed play and once I got moving the pain subsided drastically. Thankfully it stayed away the rest of the day. I did wake up again today with a little bit of the same feeling but once I did my yoga I felt fine.

Part of my workout on Friday consisted of a stability ball ab routine that I really like – it is a bonus workout on the Butts and Guts dvd. I also got to use my crochet yoga strap in part of the routine.

Well, I hope everyone has had a great week and you were able to get in some workout time for yourself. The weather is getting nicer here so I am able to be outside more and garden some and do some walking in the evenings with my husband.

Have a great weekend!

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: Betty Rocker Challenge, fitness, working out, workout routine, workout schedule, yoga

Working Out Week 17 of 2014

April 26, 2014 kimberlee 5 Comments

This week was a really busy week for me – I can not believe it is almost May… The workout schedule this week was still the Cathe Friedrich April rotation – week 4 of the rotation. The schedule I completed was as follows:

Monday – Athletic Training Leg Cardio Mix -35 min. + Ab Circuits Weights & Plates 19 min
Tuesday – All Out Low Impact Hiit (Xtrain series) – 39 min.
Wednesday – ~~Legs and Glutes~~ – Great Glutes timesaver 4 – 46 min.
Thursday – ~~Cardio Kicks~~ – Cardio Supersets (LIS series) – 41 min.
Friday – ~~Power Hour~~ – Circuit Blast – 44 min.
Saturday – Yoga Max – premix 1 – 32 min.

The ones listed above that have a strike through are ones I do not have so I subbed in another one that I figured would be similar. Below are photos from this past weeks schedule: Athletic Training workout Kimberlees Korner

Monday was the longest session of workouts this past week since there were two on that day. My cat was once again supervising my efforts. I guess watching me working out tired him out because after taking my three sons to school I came back home and couldn’t find him – he usually comes out to greet me when I get home from somewhere. I had not yet put away my fitness gear and went in the living room to do that and here he was sleeping among the weights, discs, weighted gloves and mat. He just loves those slide and glide discs – every time I have them out he sits near them.

Circuit Blast is a challenging workout using the long step 4 risers high and doing various cardio, weight and push up circuits for 44 minutes. I can tell that doing P90X3 and T25 have given me a lot more stamina and strength. I was able to complete all the box jumps – there are like 12 or 16 in a row – and all the various push up circuits without having to go to the knees like I used to for some of them. I got a few cool photos of the box jumps too and was able to make the above collage – I thought that was neat.

I had my root canal (first one of those) on Wednesday and that went fine. I think the anticipation and anxiety over having it done was worse than the actual procedure which took about an hour. At least my tooth is feeling better now and I can eat on that side of my mouth without it hurting anymore.

I read something I thought was a good quote – motivation from a facebook friends post the other day. It said: FIT MOMS: WE DON’T HAVE TIME, WE MAKE TIME. Lisa Olson posted this and she has a great facebook page called Live Life Be Active, that I follow.

I feel like the above statement is true for anyone who is committed to working out and making sure they get it done 5 to 7 days a week. I don’t have an extra hour every day to workout I just choose to get up earlier than the rest of my family and get it done. I think that everyone nowadays is busy and if you are serious about getting fit and being healthy then you have to make the time to Get IT Done! Once you make fitness a habit and stick with it that just becomes part of who you are and what you do. There are a lot of workouts out there that only take about 30 minutes of your time or you can even just start walking for 25 to 30 minutes a day. My husband has started doing this 10,000 steps a day commitment with a program through his work and I can tell he has lost some weight and he seems to be sleeping better and feel better. Exercise has so many great benefits.

Well, I hope everyone has had a good week and got in some type of exercise. I would love to hear about your current workout program – click on Leave a Reply and tell me about it.

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: April rotation of workouts, cardio workout, Cathe workouts, exercise, fitness, workouts

Working Out Week 16 of 2014

April 19, 2014 kimberlee 2 Comments

This week I continued with my workout schedule of the Cathe Friedrich April rotation of workouts. I have continued to challenge myself to do the entire workout dvd instead of a shorter premix this past week. I did pretty good at the beginning of the week but toward the end of the week I did have to do a couple of the shorter premixes due to time constraints in my schedule. I got up early every day so I could do the whole dvd but there were a couple of days that my kids had to be to school earlier than normal so I had to shorten the workout time a little.

The schedule for the past week was as follows:

Monday – Cardio Leg Blast – Xtrain series – 56 minutes
Tuesday – ~~Pyramid Upper Body~~ Total Body Trisets – Upper Body – 55 minutes
Wednesday – Bootcamp (original dvd) – 60 minutes
Thursday – Tabatacise (minimum 35 min) – premix 3 tabatas + core – 42 minutes
Friday – ~~MMA Boxing~~ Rockout Knockout premix 1 – 38 minutes
Saturday – ~~Lower Body Blast~~ Yoga Relax premix 1- 28 minutes

The above workouts that are crossed out are the ones on the actual rotation but I don’t own those so I subbed in ones I have that were similar.

As you can see from above my cat loves the step – he didn’t seem to want to move off of it very much until I started doing some serious jumping on it – which there is a lot of is this cardio blast workout. This workout – Cardio Leg Blast – is a lot of fun and the time flies by. I did manage to complete the entire 56 minutes without collapsing!

I don’t have Pyramid Upper Body on dvd – only VHS and I don’t have that hooked up anymore so I subbed in another workout from the Low Impact Series – Total Body Trisets – Upper Body. The workout consists of a rotation of 3 different exercises for 3 different muscle groups like back, bis and core that you do 2 sets of. I like this workout because it is effective and it uses the exercise ball with weights which I really like a lot. One of my favorite core exercises is the ball exchange as seen in the lower right photo.

Rockout Knockout is a new Cathe workout that I just got back in October of 2013. I don’t own the MMA boxing so I subbed in this one. I really like this one but by the end of the week I was tired and just couldn’t bring myself to complete the entire dvd which is 55 minutes long so I did premix 1 which is 38 minutes and is the cardio kickbox and the cardio kickboxing with weighted gloves for the second half. As you can see I had a little workout buddy again that didn’t want to move so I had to workout around him. You would think with all the kicking and punching I was doing he would get nervous and move but not him…He did decide to get up toward the end when I had to do pendulum kicks (side to side). I guess he thought I might get him then with my foot. I really like this workout and how it gets your heart pumping and you sweat a lot. It is a lot of fun with the various kick and punch combos.

I broke in a new pair of shoes this week. I actually got them a couple of weeks ago but hadn’t wore them yet. They are Nike trainers. They are the same style as my other Nike trainers but a different color. It is amazing how after wearing these I realize how much my others have wore down (the inside cushioning, support) after only about 8 months. I don’t want to give up my old ones yet though as I like the color combo and they are so comfortable. I will probably alternate wearing them along with the Sketchers Go Fit shoes I got a couple of months ago and these new trainers. I am getting to have quite the fitness shoe collection it seems. I try and get them on sale though and for these new Nikes I had a $10.00 off coupon.

Well, next week will be week 4 of the April rotation of Cathe Friedrich workouts for me. I may have to take a day or two off or sub in a couple lower impact workouts after Wednesday because I am having a root canal that day – not looking forward to that… What are your workout plans for next week? Click on Leave a Reply and let me know – I’d love to hear about them.

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: Cathe workouts, exercise ball, exercise cat, fitness, new nike trainers, step workout, weekly workout, working out, workout routine, workout schedule, workouts

Working Out Week 15 of 2014

April 12, 2014 kimberlee

This week my workouts were all Cathe Friedrich workouts using her various dvd’s that I own. I have decide to follow her April rotation of workouts for the rest of this month since I am all done with P90X3. I really enjoyed and toned up so much using P90X3 but I have missed my Cathe workouts.

I began this week with the second week in the April rotation since I missed the first week. I did have to substitute a workout or two for the month with a different one since I didn’t have a few of them. I did end up ordering a couple more of her dvd’s at the beginning of the week and got them by Thursday so I was able to use one of those for Friday – Cross Fire. Below was my schedule this past week:

Monday – Flex Train – 57 minutes
Tuesday – Hard Strikes (Xtrain series) – 47 minutes
Wednesday – Party Rockin Step – 46 min premix
Thursday – Afterburn (Low Impact Series) – 54 minutes
Friday – Cross Fire – 55 minutes
Saturday – Yoga & Foam Roller stretching – 15 minutes

I did not do the workout on the schedule for Saturday which was Supercuts. I decided after this hard schedule this past week I needed a little break and my oldest son had to be at a band tryout for school at 7 am.

My goal for this week was to try and do all of the workouts in their entirety which is something I don’t always do with the Cathe workouts since there are so many premixes that offer shorter versions of the workouts. The premixes are still tough but just shorter – like 25 to 40 minutes versus 45 to 60 minutes. I am so pleased that I was able to do all of the workouts in their entirety except for the Party Rockin Step – I did a version that was 10 minutes shorter that day.

Cross Fire was a new workout for me that I had not done yet. It was HARD! Lots of cardio circuits and tabatas with and without weights. You even had to do speed skaters with 3 pound dumbbells – that was a lot hard than doing them without the weights. I enjoyed this workout a lot and look forward to doing it again – maybe not the entire 55 minutes, though.

My cat loves Cathe workouts, too. He especially loves those slide and glide discs – whenever I have them out he sits by them.

Below is a photo of the front and back of my shirt after the Cross Fire workout. I have not sweat that much in a while – maybe since T-25 or a Cathe workout I did back in the fall.

I also decided to get a foam roller this week. A few people in my facebook fitness group have them and really like them. I came across a workout in an older Shape magazine I had and that reminded me that I still hadn’t gotten one yet. I was recycling some magazines and before I get rid of them I like to go through and rip out the articles, or workouts, I want to save and then I store them in 3 ring binder.

I used the foam roller and the workout a couple of evenings this past week and on Saturday morning. I have been walking in the evenings a few times a week with my husband in our neighborhood and this foam roller routine is great after walking. It really stretches your muscles.

I will be continuing on with my Cathe workouts using week 3 of the April rotation next week. If you are not familiar with her workouts they are lots of fun and always very challenging. I also really like that you can see 5 to 10 minute clips of the dvd on her website so you know what you are getting. I have been using her workouts since 2006 after my sister-in-law told me about them.

I hope everyone had a great week.

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: Cathe workouts, exercise, exercising, fitness, foam roller, working out, workout routine

Working Out Week 14 of 2014

April 5, 2014 kimberlee 5 Comments

Week 14 of 2014 – and the final week, week 13, of P90X3 is complete for me! I am so pleased with myself for accomplishing this 90 day program that I began in January of 2014.

The workouts for this past week were only for 5 days and not 6 as in the past. The final weeks workouts were:

Monday – Isometrix
Tuesday – Accelerator
Wednesday – Pilates X
Thursday – X3 Yoga
Friday – Dynamix

Below are my final photos from the program:

I really love the Isometrix workout and I was so glad we got to do that one in the final week.

Accelerator was the final cardio workout for the week. I have missed doing this one as it had not been in the rotation for the past 4 weeks.

Dynamix was the final workout on Friday. A great total body workout to end the P90X3 program in my opinion.

My overall assessment of this workout program is that it is an excellent program that gives you a wide variety of workouts and you will see results if you stick with it. I committed and stayed with the program for the full 13 weeks – even taking it with me on my spring break trip – and can tell you I have achieved positive results. My body is much more toned than it was before.

I have been working out regularly for the past 10 years so I was not going for a total body makeover and weight loss. My reason for doing this program was because it looked interesting, fun and challenging and it was all of those and more for me. The program really increased my fitness level and I lost a total overall of 4 1/4 inches. I don’t own a scale so I don’t know about the amount of weight I lost. I do know my clothes fit a little loose and I even have a couple of pairs of shorts that were snug around the waist and aren’t anymore. I have also noticed that my core and back are so much stronger and toned than before and my arms and shoulders are much more defined, too. My hips have had the greatest weight loss of 1 inch as well as my thighs that have gone down 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.

This program works – so if you are interested in learning more you can click on the link in the sidebar. Also, my tips for success in staying with it are:

Write down or post the calendar they give you and commit to doing it every day 6 days a week
Do your workout out in the morning before the rest of your family gets up – its only 30 minutes so you just set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier and DO IT! Sleep in your workout clothes if you have to…
Get a friend or family member to do it with you and hold each other accountable
Join a facebook fitness group and participate in posting your fitness journey – this is a great motivator, in my opinion
Make sure you include a healthy eating plan when doing the program for increased success and results

As far as dieting goes I DO NOT diet. I just choose to workout and eat healthy. While doing this program I did increase my intake of protein by including protein shakes and foods that are higher in protein. I also tried to eat a high fiber diet – which is something I try and do anyhow. I do enjoy eating dessert a few times a week – in small portions. There are some great websites and recipes you can get from pinterest for healthy foods and meal planning. If you are going to make the commitment to workout you also need to make the commitment to eat a healthy diet and you will see amazing things happen to your body in 13 weeks.

I read this book recently called “7 Days to a Positive Attitude.” I got it on sale at Barnes and Noble, it is a Blue Mountain Arts book. Anyhow – there is a great paragraph in there about half way through the book about measuring your progress:

“It’s easy to get discouraged when you compare yourself to those who seem to have gone so much farther down the road you’re traveling. Remember that we’re each on our own individual journey to a unique destiny – not competing in a race to see who arrives first. So measure progress by your own milestones. Keep your spirits upbeat and your heart full of hope – because you’re on your way to a beautiful destination.”

I really like this quote and I think it just reminds us that each of us is different and that life has its ups and downs. You need to measure your own progress and results and not compare yourself to others and you will be much more successful in all you do.

Well now that I am done with P90X3 I plan to go back to using my Cathe Friedrich dvd’s and Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s. I have created a schedule for myself alternating the weeks with them. I will plan to do P90X3 again in the future but I will probably just make up my own routine using the dvd’s I enjoy the most. I also realized that in the Lean schedule that I chose to do that two of the dvd’s were not used so I need to go back and try those out sometime in the near future.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: exercise, fitness, fitness program, P90X3, working out, workouts

Working Out Week 13 of 2014

March 29, 2014 kimberlee 1 Comment

This week I finished week 12 of P90X3. I can not believe there is only one week left to go in the program. The variety this exercise program has makes it go really fast and with the workouts only taking 30 minutes a day, six days a week, it is easy to fit into a busy schedule.

This week the schedule was the same as week 10. You can look at my post on that to see the exact schedule. Some photos are below of the workouts.

I really love the Pilates program. It is fun and challenging and I always look forward to doing this workout when it is on the schedule. The pretzel exercise at the end (lower right photo) is one of my favorites in this routine.

The Decelerator workout was on the schedule twice this week. I like this workout but twice in one week I do not like so much. There are some really great exercises in this routine though – like the starfish push ups (lower left photo) and the superman-bow (lower right photo). There are also some that are super hard and I can not do completely like the crane cracker push ups (upper left photo) – I am doing the modified ones there with just the knee on the elbow. The full move is to go forward and raise your leg that is behind you up, extend your leg on the elbow out straight and do a push up. I think if I tried that I would land on my face for sure. My cat seemed to like doing this workout twice in one week.

I also did my Exhale Core Fusion a few times this week. I did the Abs & Arms dvd this week. The segments I did were Upper Body with Band, Abdominal’s with band, Abs with Leg Curl Variations and Band. The segments are 10 minutes that I did after P90X3 a few of the days this past week. A couple of days I was too busy with having to get my kids to school early to be able to do an extra 10 minutes.

The Pilates book I checked out from the library a couple of weeks ago was also used a couple of times this week. I am trying to do between 6 and 10 of the different exercises in there at least three times a week. The pilates is so good for strengthening your core and leaning out your body. The book is called Pilates Practice Companion by Alycea Ungaro. A great book with color photos of each exercise.

Also, on the subject of books I finished reading the Tony Horton book The Big Picture.

This book was an excellent read full of positive and motivating advice and information. One of the main things that sticks with me and one of his 11 laws is to “Do your best and forget the rest.” I am trying to remember this when I get stressed out about everything I have to or want to do or accomplish. I need to remember that doing my best is the main focus – not doing more just to say I did more. I am not talking just about fitness here – about things in everyday life as well. Another great chapter in the book is Law 4 “Variety is the Spice of…Everything” I totally agree with that. I am a person who is creative and I get bored easily doing the same thing (especially when exercising) over and over. Take the Decelerator workout for example. I have done that one 6 times in the last 4 weeks and to be honest with you I am tired of it. I like it okay but I have done it so much lately it is starting to annoy me. Tony mentions in his book that you should not do something just because everyone else is doing it – I tell my kids this all the time. He also talks about how adding variety to everything in your life, not just with exercise but in all areas, makes things more fun and interesting – another thing I totally agree with. You can click on the book link to read more information about the book if you are interested in learning more.

This week I also became an affiliate of Beachbody programs. The icon is in the sidebar for P90X3 if you are interested in learning more about the workout or in ordering it. I have really enjoyed doing this program and all my previous posts about it can give you more information. I do not endorse things I do not like or believe in.

Well, I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. It is finally getting warmer here in Texas. I am ready for spring and was actually able to wear sandals a couple of times this week.

Have a great day!

Kimberlee

Categories: Books Exercise Health

Tags: books, exercise, exercise books, Exhale Core Fusion, fitness, P90X3, reading, Workout program, workout routine

Working Out Week 12 of 2014

March 22, 2014 kimberlee 6 Comments

I am back into the workout routine at home once again. This is end of the 11th week of P90X3. I can not believe there are only 2 weeks left in the program. It seems like it has gone by pretty fast, in my opinion. I guess having the variety in the workouts has kept it interesting and makes you want to keep up with the schedule.

This week the schedule was the same as week number 9. To see that schedule you can look at my previous post on that week. Below are a few photos from a couple of the workouts this week.

Do you see my black cat in some of the photos? He worked out with me almost every day this past week. I think he really missed our morning workout sessions when I was gone last week. He seemed pretty happy to be hanging out with me again every morning. It is interesting how our pets get into a routine. My other cat was pretty close by too for most of the workouts but she is camera shy and tends to stay toward the side of the room by the wall – or maybe she is smart and just doesn’t want to get stepped on.

I also incorporated some of my Exhale Core Fusion workouts a few of the days this week using the Body Sculpt dvd. I did the Upper Sculpt, Stretch Sculpt and Ab Sculpt this week. I really like how these dvd’s are divided into those short 10 minute segments and it is easy to fit one in after I finish my 30 minutes of P90X3.

The black cat is once again working out with me – right next to my side in the above photo. He is kind of hard to see as he blends in with my navy shirt.

I also went to the library the beginning of this week and found a new PIlates book that I had not seen before. It is called Pilates Practice Companion by Alycea Ungaro. I really like the book and how it is formatted into beginner, intermediate and advanced workouts. I used the book a few times this week and plan to use it more in the next couple of weeks. I really like how the Pilates lengthens and strengthens my core, waist, hips and legs.

I have also gotten back into eating better this week since we are at home and I am still trying to incorporate lots of protein and fiber into my diet. I found a really good oat bran muffin recipe from another blog and have made it twice this week. It is from the Pink Recipe Box and the recipe is for Healthy Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins. I did not have the exact ingredients so in place of the applesauce I used a 1/2 cup of almond milk and the first time I made them I added a little extra brown sugar as I didn’t think 1/4 cup was going to be enough since I didn’t use the applesauce. The second time I made them I did reduce the brown sugar to 1/4 cup and I thought they were just as good. I really like how this recipe is low sugar and high in fiber. The oat bran I used was NOW brand the first time and Bob’s Red Mill the second time.

My family also liked the muffins and so did my friend Karen. I met her yesterday at Starbucks for our coffee and knitting get together that we have been trying to do a couple of times a month and she really liked the muffin and wanted the recipe.

I hope everyone had a great week and got in some workouts. Have a great weekend!

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Food Health

Tags: exercise, fitness, muffins, P90X3, pilates, working out, workout routine, workout schedule

Working Out Week 11 of 2014

March 16, 2014 kimberlee 4 Comments

The past week I was on vacation for Spring break with my family and we traveled to Destin, FL to see my parents and then traveled to Ashburn, GA to see my husband’s family. I took the P90X3 workout dvd’s, my exercise mat and my exercise bands with me so I could stay on track with my workout schedule and not get behind. I am proud to say I worked out every morning of our vacation with the exception of Saturday, since we had a 15 hour car trip back to Texas. I am going to try and fit that workout in today, Sunday, to make up for not doing it on Saturday.

This past week the schedule was as follows:

Monday – MMX
Tuesday – Decelerator
Wednesday – Triometrics
Thursday – Pilates X
Friday – Decelerator
Saturday – CVX

Since we were out of town I was not able to take any photos the past week of the workouts. I did take photos of our trip though. The weather was nice enough in Destin the first couple of days that we were able to enjoy a little time on the beach. The above photo was taken by one of my twin sons of me and my mom sitting in a gazebo by the ocean.

We also went to the Gulfarium and saw a dolphin show and some of the other features in the various tanks around the place. They had a shark moat but it was kind of dark in there so I was not able to get any good photos of the larger sharks. I was able to get a couple in the other tanks of a smaller shark and a hammerhead as seen in the above photos.

I am really pleased that I was able to maintain the workout schedule even though we were out of town. I brought the dvd’s and my laptop so I was able to workout where I could find room and thankfully at the condo in Destin there was a nice TV with a blueray player and enough floor space to workout. The workouts only take 30 minutes of your time so it was easy to just get up and get it done – just like I do when I am at home. I will say I did not get up quite as early since I had to consider the other people around me in the small place we stayed in. At my in-laws in Georgia I was able to get up at pretty much my regular time since they operate a farm and are early risers. I would take my laptop into their spare living room and use the dvd’s on there to workout. My oldest son was sleeping in there on the pull out couch so I did kind of wake him up but he is a teenager and just put a pillow over his head and went back to sleep. He wasn’t too interested in getting up and working out with me.

Eating a healthy diet while traveling is always a challenge. I tried to plan ahead on the drive over there and had healthy snacks and even packed our lunch so we didn’t have to stop for fast food for lunch and dinner, only dinner. When we did stop for a meal during the whole trip I tried to make healthy choices and get a grilled sandwich, no fries and a water to drink. It is possible to eat fast food and not overeat if you are careful about your choices. I am looking forward to getting back on track this week though with cooking healthy meals at home and will be planning my menu today and probably shopping today or tomorrow since we don’t have much food in the house.

Well, I hope everyone is having a nice month of March so far. I will update again at the end of the week on week 11 of P90X3 – only a few weeks left in the program.

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Vacation

Tags: exercise, fitness, P90X3, spring break, traveling, Workout program, workouts