This week was a shorter workout week for me.  We went on a three day trip down to San Antonio, Texas to see the Alamo and stay in the Riverwalk area and do a few things with the kids before school starts back.  It was a nice trip and a beautiful area but I am also thankful and glad to be back and home and in a routine.

My workouts this week were:

• Monday – Ride Bike + Yoga – 38 min.
• Tuesday – off – driving to San Antonio – walking once got there to Alamo and 1 mile to eat dinner
• Wednesday – a lot of walking around San Antonio
• Thursday – off – driving back from trip
• Friday – Jari Love – Ripped and Chiseled workout – 40 min
• Saturday – Ride Bike + Yoga – 33 min.

The middle of the week I didn’t do any set or scheduled workouts but I did a lot of walking on Tuesday and Wednesday around the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  We stayed right down on the Riverwalk so everything was close by and in walking distance.  The first day there we walked down to The Alamo which was about two or three blocks away and I think we had to walk almost a mile one way to eat dinner that night.  Lots of complaints from the kids on that one but I told them this way we could walk off our dinner on the way back to the hotel.

The photo above is of the mug I got from the Alamo gift shop and the beads I got in the clearance bin for $2.00 a strand at a little shop in the other direction from our hotel.  The shops were called the Shops of LaVillita and they were these cute small little boutiques and art galleries that you don’t see in the mall or just on any street corner.  I thought I would make some knitting stitch markers with the beads or maybe a bracelet.  I really like the mug as it is a nice shape and I like the art work and wording on it – it says Remember the Alamo on the bottom and the year 1836 on the mug and the handle.

The two photos above are of me and my oldest son – this was our little shopping trip to the Shops at LaVillita on Wednesday.  He found this hat in one of the shops and wanted it.  I told him he could get it if he intended to wear it more than twice.  He says he will.  He is driving now so I told him it could be his driving hat.  The other photo is of me in front of this pretty little fountain in front of a quaint cafe.  I wanted to take my sons photo in front of the fountain but getting him to have his picture taken is difficult.  I barely got the one in the hat.  He will probably be mortified when I tell him I put it on my blog…

The above photos are of the Riverwalk area.  It is really neat how all of these hotels, restaurants and shops are on either side of the river.  You can take a river boat tour which takes you on a 30 or 40 minute ride with a guide but we didn’t end up going on that.  My one son observed that it might be costly for the five of us and also the boats don’t go very fast and you could probably walk along side one and hear what the guide says, is what one of my 13 year old son’s told me.  He is kind of right.  I really enjoyed just walking the area and seeing the ducks and other birds and all of the green foliage that borders the sides of the river.  It is pretty open and easy to get around during the day but it gets pretty crowded in the evening with everyone going to eat at the restaurants.

So back to the regular routine of workouts on Friday.  I decided to do an older Jari Love workout that is called Ripped and Chiseled.  It is a weight training workout and it is very high reps.  I had forgotten how hard this one is and the results you feel later on in the day and the next day, too.  The whole dvd is about 60 minutes and I choose to do about 40 minutes of it.  The reps are high but you don’t get too bored with the exercises because she varies the count and does single, 2 -2 count, 3 and 1 count and 4 and 1 count.  My legs, arms and upper back are feeling this today.

I have decided that with my weekly workout post I am going to start including some tips for success in working out on your own, or anywhere really.  These are tips from me, a real person and mother of three sons – I am not nor have I ever been a professional fitness trainer or belonged to a gym.  I just choose to be healthy and workout and do my workouts at home – on my own – making my own schedule.

Fitness Tip for the Week – Commit to exercising starting now!

-Schedule you workouts for at least 4 days per week for 30 minutes or more per day and you will see results – maybe not overnight but within 3 to 4 weeks.

-Start out small in the beginning – just go out for a walk or ride your bike or do some stretches or yoga.  There are lots of free videos on You Tube or you can go to your local library and check out dvd’s or books on working out – that is how I started out years ago – by utilizing what my library had to offer.  There are also lots of great routines and information on workouts on pinterest.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  It looks like it is going to be a pretty nice day here today so I may be doing some swimming this afternoon for a little extra workout.

Have a great weekend!

Kimberlee