Tag: workouts

EOM Fitness for February 2015

February 28, 2015 kimberlee

This past month my fitness routine was a combination of P90X3 and yoga. I had completed the entire schedule of P90X3 last year and the whole thing takes about three months of working out six days a week. I did not want to do the entire thing so I started out my first two weeks of February doing just P90X3 and making up my own schedule with the workouts. Well, by the third week of February I decided to do P90X3 along with a yoga book I own, Slim Calm Sexy Yoga by Tara Stiles. So, I alternated P90X3 then the yoga book every other day for the last two weeks of this month.

The above photos are of the Total Synergistics workout from P90X3. I really like this workout and did it a couple of times this month.

Here is the cat – my faithful workout buddy sitting by the weights waiting to workout. He too seemed to like the Total Synergistics workout.

There are yoga and pilates workouts in the P90X3 series and I did some of those along with the cardio and weight training workouts. I decided to use my yoga book though because I was getting tired of doing a dvd workout every day. There are lots of great routines in the Slim Calm Sexy yoga book by Tara Stiles, too. I had not used it in a while and I am glad I decided to incorporate some of those yoga routines into my schedule for February. Check your library for the book – that is where I first learned about it a few years ago and I liked it so well that I bought it at Barnes and Noble.

I didn’t watch any health documentaries this past month like I did back in January but I did read an interesting book on health called Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. He is a doctor and I first learned about him and his books by watching the health documentaries last month on Netfilx. This book is filled with lots of great information for taking charge of your health and learning to eat better to feel and look better and not following some crazy fad diet that is the latest rage. His concept is focused on more of a plant based diet. The acronym for his eating plan is G-BOMBS which stands for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. These are the foods that you should be focused on consuming daily. I really learned a lot from this book and there are some interesting recipes at the end of the book that I will be trying out.

I also have another book checked out from the library by Dr. Fuhrman called Eat To Live. I will be reading that next.

For March I think I will go back to my Cathe Friedrich workouts. She has some of the best workouts on dvd in my opinion and I always look forward to using them. I have not decided yet which series or sets I will use but I will probably mix in yoga every other day since yoga makes my body happy and I love doing yoga at least a few times a week. I have also found that doing yoga the day after a hard cardio or weight workout really helps my body and my mental focus.

I hope everyone had a great month and you were able to find some time for fitness. Remember even 15 minutes a day of doing something is better than nothing at all.

-Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health

Tags: books on health, exercise, exercise routine, fitness, working out, workouts, yoga

Working Out Week 49 of 2014

December 6, 2014 kimberlee 2 Comments

Well, another week has flown by. After being out of town last week I felt like half of this week was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping and cooking for our family. My workouts this week were:

Sunday – off
Monday – Cathe X-10, Hi Lo & Fat Burning premix – 42 min.
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – Cathe Lean Legs and Abs timesaver 1 – 37 min.
Thursday – off
Friday – Cathe – Party Rocking Step disc 1, timesaver 2 – 31 min.
Saturday – Cathe X-10, Low Impact – 25 min.

I am still getting used to this 4 day a week schedule. I am so used to working out at least 5 or 6 days per week that on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I feel like something is off or missing since I am not working out. I have been doing a little light stretching or yoga on those mornings but not a full workout. I thought that cutting back on workouts would help me get more done during this holiday time but so far it is not helping – so I may go back to 5 or 6 days a week. I think I have made exercise such a part of my daily routine that it is hard for me to stop – I guess there are worse things to be addicted to.

The above photo is of the cat on Monday morning – waiting for me to workout by my weights. I guess he really missed me last week since I wasn’t at home to workout with him all week. I can almost always count on him to keep me company for at least half of my workouts.

The above photos are of the X-10 workout on Monday morning. This is a great cardio and weight dvd. There are lots of premixes on this dvd and you can do shorter or longer versions of the various workouts. This is one of my favorite Cathe dvd’s.

Lean Legs and Abs is another great workout. As you can see it is also cat approved – he was on me like glue that whole morning. The ab work on this dvd is a combination of traditional ab exercises mixed in with some using an 8 pound dumbbell.

I tried a new recipe this past week for dinner one night. I got looking through my pinterest boards and decided to make this Firecracker Chicken. The recipe is from another blog called Kitchen Meets Girl and if you click on the highlighted recipe title it will take you to it. I reduced the brown sugar to half a cup instead of one cup and it was just fine. I just thought that was too much sugar for my taste and my diet. My whole family loved the recipe – I will be making it again and it was really very easy – another bonus.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Take Time for Yourself and Time to De-Stress During the Holidays

– Take time to do a few things for yourself each week – even if it is just something little like taking a relaxing bath

– Take a break from social media – sometimes looking at what everyone is doing or has done makes you feel overwhelmed and like you are not keeping up – if that is the case avoid going on those social sites that drag you down. It will be there the next day or week for you to look at when you want to

– Remember to get enough rest

– Drink lots of water – staying hydrated helps you avoid fatigue and headaches

I hope everyone had a great week. Today I am going to help my husband get our outdoor Christmas decor up, thankfully it is a nice day for it.

– Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health

Tags: chicken recipe, fit tip, fitness, fitness tips, recipe, weekly workouts, working out, workouts

Working Out Week 44 of 2014

November 1, 2014 kimberlee 1 Comment

The first day of November has arrived along with much cooler temperatures here in Texas. I am glad though – I am ready for a seasonal change. It seems like the weather was cooler for a few days here and there in October but for the most part it still seemed like summer.

Workouts this week were all from my Cathe Friedrich X-train dvd set. They were as follows:

Monday – Cathe – Hard Strikes – 46 min.
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – Cathe Supercuts premix 10 – 39 min.
Thursday – Cathe – Legs – Barre, Ball and Chair and Floorwork – 48 min.
Friday – Cathe – Tabatacise – premix 2 – 37 min.
Saturday – Cathe – Bi’s and Tri’s – premix 6 – 32 min.

I once again changed my pace of workouts from the past week. The X-train dvd’s are all great and provide a challenging workout for your body. I also like how these dvd’s have so many premixes on them so you can do a longer or a shorter workout.

Hard Strikes is a super fun kickboxing workout that uses weighted gloves or actual boxing gloves. I don’t have any boxing gloves so I just use the weighted gloves. As you can see the cat likes this workout and is making sure I get it done.

The Supercuts workout is a total body workout using weights and the slide and glide discs. Another cat approved workout.

The Cathe Legs workout was one I had not used in a while. I chose to do the Barre (uses a chair), Chair and Ball and Floor portions of this dvd. This was certainly an excellent workout for all parts of the legs and rear. I was feeling it well into the next day. The cat loves the chair and has to sit on it whenever I have it out.

I usually do yoga on Saturdays but decided to stick with the X-train workout dvd’s and chose a heavy weight workout called Bi’s and Tri’s. As the name implies it is a bicep and tricep workout. You alternate and do a bicep exercise and then a tricep. There were a couple that used the band with the handles and also a 5 pound weight with the band – those were pretty tough. Once again my faithful workout cat is there to cheer me on.

I am so glad fresh cranberries are in the stores again. I use the above combination of apples, cranberries and a lemon to create a really tasty juice in my juicer this past week. I juiced 2 apples, one granny and one gala, 1 lemon, and about a cup of cranberries. I also tried this recipe heated and it was really good for a warm and healthy drink on a chilly morning. To make it even more healthy I stirred in a teaspoon of manuka honey that I recently bought at Trader Joes. The manuka honey has lots of health benefits and is also suppose to strengthen your immune system.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Don’t Weigh Yourself So Frequently

– Quit obsessing over how much you weigh – everyone fluctuates a little for various reasons

– Consider getting rid of the scale -mine broke years ago in moving and I never replaced it, one less things to have in the bathroom

– Measure your progress in how you feel, how your clothes fit and in measuring inches lost not a number on a scale

I hope everyone had a great final week of October and you were able to find some time to workout and create some healthy meals. Remember it is important to plan meals and stay on track especially during the holiday season – which is now here since all the stores are stocked with Christmas decorations!

Take care,

– Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Food Health

Tags: exercise, fit tips, fitness, juice, juicing, working out, workouts

Working Out Week 43 of 2014

October 25, 2014 kimberlee 3 Comments

This week I switched up my workouts and chose to do my Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s and some Shiva Rea yoga. This was also a really busy week with a lot going on so I feel like the workouts I chose to do worked well with my schedule.

Monday – Exhale Core Fusion – Abs & Arms – 40 min,
Tuesday – yoga in evening – 15 min.
Wednesday – Exhale Core Fusion – Lean and Toned – 20 min.
Thursday – Shiva Rea Surf Yoga Soul – 30 min.
Friday – Exhale Core Fusion – Body Sculpt – 40 min.
Saturday – Shiva Rea Surf Yoga Soul – 20 min.

Here is the cat – all ready to workout on Wednesday morning. He was scared to get on the new rug I bought in the past but he seems to be okay with it now.

I had not done the Lean and Toned dvd in a while. I really like this workout. I only had a few minutes to workout that morning but 20 minutes of this dvd was awesome! The core pretzel part that I did really worked deep into some core and glute muscles that had me feeling it well into the next day.

The yoga dvd I used this week was Shiva Rea’s Surf Yoga Soul. I think this was actually one of the first of her yoga dvd’s I ever bought. I have not used it in a while and forgot what great yoga sequences are on this program. As you can see my cat really likes her dvd, too. He didn’t even want to move off the mat at the beginning as seen in the one photo of me bending over him.

I also created a new smoothie this week. It is a “green” smoothie and I thought it had a really good flavor to it. I also felt quite energized after drinking it. Below is the smoothie and the recipe:

I am also continuing to make juices in my juicer and try to drink one or two per day. I have found that the juices or the green smoothies are a perfect mid afternoon snack that give me energy. One of my knitting friends has also now pulled out her old juicer and bought the same juicing book I bought and mentioned in my post last week – Juicing. You can read more about that book and a few of the recipes I have made from it in my Week 42 workout post.

This week I am not going to do my Fitness Tips. To be honest with you I have not prepared anything for that part of my post that I have been doing lately and I am too tired to think of something right now. We spent half the day over in Fort Worth at the Alliance Air show that my husband wanted to attend. It was nice and we saw some neat planes and planes flying and doing tricks. Today was very hot here though for October and the heat made the whole event less pleasant – and there was not a cloud in the sky today (which is good for an air show) or a speck of shade to stand in at the air field. I am glad we got to go though and spend time together as a family.

Have a great weekend!

– Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health Recipes

Tags: core fusion, exercise, fitness, green smoothie, green smoothie recipe, smoothie, working out, workout cat, workouts, yoga

Working Out Week 42 of 2014

October 18, 2014 kimberlee 9 Comments

Well, another week has flown by. I can’t believe we are more than halfway through the month of October. This week my workouts were:

Monday – Cathe Friedrich – Rockout Knockout – 38 min.
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – Cathe – Greatest Hits Step bonus circuit workout – 45 min.
Thursday – Cathe – Lean Legs & Abs – 37 min.
Friday – Cathe – Great Glutes – premix 4 – 46 min.
Saturday – Shiva Rea Yoga – AM Energy Vira Flow + Shavasana – 26 min.

All of the workouts this past week were with my Cathe Friedrich dvd’s that were part of a series I bought last fall. The exception was my Saturday workout which was a yoga workout using one of my Shiva Rea dvd’s. I love doing yoga on Saturday mornings.

The Greatest Hits Step workout is a combination of several different Cathe step workouts and compiled together on the one dvd. The premix I did on Wednesday also used some weights mixed in with step cardio – the cat joined me for most of the workout. He was either on or next to the step.

Lean Legs and Abs dvd is one of my favorites. Even though most of the emphasis is working out the legs and core you still work the upper body a little with having to use the 8 pound dumbbells and doing a lot of compound moves.

The day after Lean Legs and Abs I did the Great Glutes workout. This really works your back side and the hamstrings. I was definitely feeling it by the end of Friday and into Saturday morning (and into the day Saturday). The workout uses minimal equipment and is a combination of light cardio and toning moves that use the 8 pound dumbbells. The cat of course was around to supervise my form. I think he is scared of the new rug I bought for the room though as he won’t walk on it.

I bought this new Juicing book a couple of weeks ago at Barnes and Noble in the sale section. I think it was $10.00. There are lots of great recipes in this book and I have made at least a dozen of them in the past week. I like how the book is set up – it is alphabetized by the name of the fruit or vegetable and gives at least two recipes per one fruit or vegetable. There are also color photos – not of every recipe but at least one or two per page. I have been trying to make up about three or four recipes every other day and store them in mason jars in the refrigerator so I only have to get the juicer out once a day or once every other day. This is a real time saver. It is also helpful to label the juices and put the name and page number of the recipe so you can remember what it was and note if you like it or not.

The above recipe was from the book and called Peach Spice Pie. It was just a peach and 3 carrots juiced and then you sprinkle a little cinnamon on the top. I LOVE this recipe. It is very good! I always feel so healthy and energized after drinking a juice each morning, too.

The other recipe I just made this morning from the Juicing book was called Orange Beet. It is made with the ingredients of the title – 2 oranges and 1 beet. In the one I made my beets were sort of small so I used 2 oranges, 2 small red beets and 1 small golden beet. I love how you can add or take away something from the recipes to create something a little different. This juice here had an earthy flavor to it because of the beets in it. I also felt so great after drinking this juice. Fresh juices are really the way to better health, I think.

I also finally tried a juice with some red cabbage in it. The verdict is still out on that one. It is okay but not one of my favorites. I think I will have to try it again in a different combination of ingredients to determine if I like the red cabbage. The juice was a really pretty color though.

I have fallen of the green smoothie challenge I was doing. I think I had a few at the beginning of the week but I am really into juicing lately and not so much the smoothies. I did try to drink at least one “green” juice a day for an afternoon snack to make up for not having the green smoothie – so I am thinking I didn’t completely drop out of the challenge. I am just having a green juice instead of a smoothie.

Fit Tip of the Week – Eat Well for Better Health

– try out some new healthy recipes

– go to the library for some healthy cookbooks or magazines – or look up some recipes on pinterest

– make it a goal to eat only whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and limit sugar, caffeine and avoid alcohol for at least 5 days and notice how much better you feel

– try out juicing to see all the health benefits

– try out green smoothies to increase your daily intake of greens and fruits

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice fall weather in their area. It is finally cooling down here and the past few days have been beautiful.

Have a great weekend!

-Kimberlee

Categories: Books Exercise Health

Tags: exercise, exercising, fit tip, fitness, fitness tips, juice recipe, juicing, juicing book, step workout, weekly fitness tips, working out, workout with weights, workouts

Working Out Week 40 of 2014

October 4, 2014 kimberlee

This week was not exactly a working out week for me. I did manage to fit in a few workouts and a bike ride but we were in the process of redoing the floors in my dining room and living room so the whole week was spent living in a construction zone. The below photo shows what the room looked like when we ripped out the carpet last weekend.

You can see in the left in the background of the photo the boxes of wood floor that were waiting to be installed. Of course that didn’t go exactly as planned since our house is over 30 years old the floors were not completely level – they had to add some more concrete day 1 of install and then let it dry.

The above photo is day 2 of the install – things did not go well as the floor was not locking in place correctly – so we decide to get rid of the underlayment (that black and red stuff) and go with a glue down. Of course this requires more time, supplies and money so it will now be a couple of more days, they say, before they can finish.

cat ready to workout on new floor — Cat is ready to workout on the new floor

View of dining room into living room of new bamboo floor

The above photos show our new, almost, finished floor. They still need to come back tomorrow and nail in the trim – they didn’t have the right kind of nail gun with them today for that part. I am so glad it is finally finished and in a couple more hours I can get all of this extra furniture out of my sewing-computer room. It has been very crowded in here for most of the week!

So, in dealing with all of this the past week I was able to get in a few workouts but not the normal amount.

Monday – workout with exercise bands with door attachment – 25 min.
Tuesday – ride bike to store for groceries
Wednesday – off
Thursday – yoga in evening before bed – 15 min.
Friday – yoga in morning – 20 min.
Saturday – off

I was very stressed out this week on Thursday when things were really falling apart with the floor installation. The yoga really helped calm me down that evening – so glad I decided to do a short routine before bed. I think it also helped me to sleep better.

I did keep up with my juicing this past week. I tried several new juicing recipes. There are a couple of them below but I made so many different ones this week I can’t remember what these were called. I know the orange one had carrots in it. My kids are even starting to like the ones with carrots in it – especially if there is pineapple in the juice. The pineapple makes the juices really sweet.

One of the other juices I made was this green one above. I have found that if you get out the juicer and make a few of the juices ahead of time and store them in 12 oz. mason jars they keep well for at least a couple of days. I like the juice cold better, anyhow. You just need to shake it up good in the jar before you go to drink it. Also, it saves me from having to haul the machine out more than once a day.

I also started the 30 day green smoothie challenge this past week on Wednesday. The challenge is through a website (click on the highlighted green text to go to site) and if you sign up they give you free recipes to try. So far they are just okay with me. I think I have gotten used to juicing and prefer the juice over the smoothie but I am trying to do this to increase my fruit and greens intake. So, I am having a green smoothie a day and at least one juice, usually with breakfast or as a snack. The one I made yesterday, on the right in the photo below – was strawberry lime and it was pretty good and refreshing – a great afternoon snack. I am not sure if it is the type of spinach or kale I have or the fact that I am using some frozen fruits in the smoothies but mine are not turning out very “green” – more of a brown to me.

Fitness Tip for the week: Fit exercise in where you can

We all have days or weeks when regular scheduled workouts are not possible. On those days or weeks try and get workouts in during your day. Here are some ideas:

– Go for 20 or 30 minute walk after lunch or dinner

– Ride your bike to the store for a few groceries

– Walk your kids to and from school if possible – this is also a great time to talk to your kids about their day

– Do a short yoga routine or stretching before bed – you will also sleep better

– Do some ab exercises while watching TV

– Do some stretches while waiting for your morning coffee to brew

Also, if it isn’t possible to squeeze in any type of physical activity don’t stress about it – just start up again the next day or week to get back on track.

I hope everyone is having a great week! I am so glad my floor is mostly complete. I am also looking forward to working out in there on Monday!

– Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health

Tags: exercise, fit tips, fitness, fitness tips, green smoothie challenge, juicing, new wood floor, smoothies, wood floor installed, workouts

Working Out Week 38 of 2014

September 20, 2014 kimberlee

It is September 20th already. I don’t know where the time goes but it seems to be flying by this month. My workouts this past week were:

Monday – T-25 Total Body Circuit + 2 Ab Moves on Ball – 28 min.
Tuesday – off/ Rode bike to store for groceries
Wednesday – Cathe CrossFire dvd – fitness blast & firewalker premix + 2 Ab Moves – 29 min.
Thursday – Shiva Rea Daily Energy – Solar Meditation & Chakra Namaskar sequence + 2 Ab Moves – 27 min.
Friday – T-25 Ab Intervals + Yoga Breathe For Joy Sequence from Yoga Journal magazine + 2 Ab Moves – 45 min.
Saturday – Shiva Rea Daily Energy – Heart-Air sequence + Core + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min.

For the next twelve weeks I will be taking Tuesday’s off or just doing a bike ride or light yoga in the evening that day. The reason being is that I am doing a group Bible Study at our church and it meets on Tuesday mornings – I don’t think I want to show up at that all sweaty and in workout clothes. I also don’t want to get up any earlier than I already do, 6:00 am, so I have decided that I am okay with taking that day off and just working out 5 days a week for the next few months.

Monday I did T-25 Total Body Circuit. I remember this one as being a tough workout and it still is for me. Lots of cardio and lots of planks and push ups in this workout. Tons of sweat at the end.

Look who was waiting to workout among the workout bands on Wednesday – my faithful workout friend. He sat there on and off during the workout.

The above photos are part of the Cathe CrossFire workout. I was able to catch some of the jump turn squat sequence in my photos. This is where you start out facing forward and then have to jump and turn 180 degrees to face the back into a squat and then repeat – many times. I really like the CrossFire workout. It is a total body workout. On this particular day I got up about 10 minutes later than normal so I only did one of the premixes that is about 27 minutes long instead of the whole entire workout that I think is over 50 minutes long. That is one thing I love about her dvd’s – lots of premixes so you don’t feel like you have to do a whole hour long if you don’t have the time.

The yoga dvd I used this week on Thursday and Saturday was the same one – Daily Energy from Shiva Rea. This dvd is set up with many different 20 minute yoga sequences that you can pick to do and also some core work, forward bend and some meditation segments to add on to one of the 20 minute ones. I really like this dvd and I love yoga days!

I am trying to continue with my weekly two ab moves after each of my daily workouts. This week I decided to use my exercise ball and do the two exercises with that – the cat approved.

I also watched this documentary dvd that I checked out from the library. I had seen the guy, Joe Cross, who made the movie on Dr. Oz a while back and I also had heard of the dvd. It was a really good and interesting documentary on his journey with following a strict juice cleanse to help himself lose weight and to get his health back as he had a debilitating condition that was causing him to have to be on quite a few medications. After watching this dvd I learned the following day that a sequel to this one was just released this week so there is now a Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead part 2.

The documentary really impressed me as to how juicing can really help you become and be a lot healthier. I had been thinking of getting a juicer a while back but decided not to since I had my Ninja blender. Well, after learning more about the benefits of juicing I decided to buy a juicer. I got a Breville one like the one in the dvd, I think. I had a 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond so I used it to buy one. I am impressed with how well it juices fruits and vegetables and how easy it is to clean. There are kind of a lot of pieces but they clean up pretty fast.

So far I have made three different kinds of juices since Friday evening. I am amazed already at how I am feeling and how the juices seem to really fill you up, give you energy and make you less hungry. I was not having any hunger or snack attacks at the normal times I usually do – like around 4 pm. I am not sure I will do a full Juice only cleanse like many people do for a certain amount of time but I am considering doing a partial diet of juices for a few days – like for breakfast, snacks and lunch and then eat a sensible dinner with my family.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Don’t compare yourself to others

– Focus on your goals and realistic exercise programs and time frames not on what others are doing

– Fitness is a journey, not a race. It is okay to start out or go slowly, just do something and don’t give up

I hope everyone had a great week and you are getting a chance to workout and cook some healthy meals.

-Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health

Tags: cardio workouts, exercise, fit tips, fitness, fitness tips, working out, workout routine, workouts, yoga

Working Out Week 36 of 2014

September 6, 2014 kimberlee 10 Comments

This week was kind of short since there was the Labor Day holiday. I kept thinking Tuesday was Monday and Wednesday was Tuesday. Therefore when Friday got here I was wondering how the week went by so fast.

For week 36 I decided to pull out my T-25 workouts and alternate those with yoga. So my schedule was one day cardio and the next day yoga. This was similar to last weeks schedule but I used different workouts. I really liked my schedule this week and the workouts I chose.

Monday – T-25 Alpha Cardio + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min.
Tuesday – Shiva Rea Yoga – AM Energy dvd – bonus segment Heart Salutation from Radiant Heart + 2 Ab Moves – 22 min.
Wednesday – T-25 Ab Intervals + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min.
Thursday – Shiva Rea Yoga – AM Energy dvd Shakti Flow + 2 Ab Moves – 22 min.
Friday – T-25 Lower Focus + Find Instant Calm Yoga workout + 2 Ab Moves – 50 min.
Saturday – Ride Bike + yoga + 2 Ab Moves – 35 min.

The cat and I have missed Shaun T and his T-25 workout. I forgot how much you can sweat in just 25 minutes! I did the entire workout last year from August to October – the whole 10 week schedule with my facebook fitness group. Most of it is written about in my past blog posts. I also attended Shauntervention here in Dallas last year around this time. It was an awesome all day event where I got to meet Shaun T and learn more about him and his positive motivation.

Tuesday we (the cat and I) did the Shiva Rea AM Energy dvd that I own. This one contains three different 20 minute segments plus one bonus 20 minute segment from the Radiant Heart dvd. We did the bonus Heart Salutation and it felt awesome after the fast paced cardio the day before. I love the Shiva Rea style yoga and have many of her dvd’s. I guess the cat missed doing her yoga too as he was around on and off my mat for most of the workout.

Ab Intervals was the second T 25 workout of the week. This one is a combination of floor abdominal work and then some cardio in between. A great session for the abs and the back to strengthen the whole core.

The photos above are from my second session of Shiva Rea’s AM Energy dvd. This time I did the Shakti Flow session. This one has a free flow yoga dance at the beginning and then goes into the yoga poses. Another great workout the day after T 25 and my lower abs were really feeling it after Ab Intervals the day before and the core work in this yoga workout.

Friday I did T 25 Lower Focus, a combination of leg cardio and toning moves. Another sweaty workout session. After this I did a 20 minute yoga workout from a Yoga Journal magazine called Find Instant Calm. This was a good way to stretch out and “calm” down after the cardio.

The entire week I also included these two abdominal moves at the end of my workouts. You can see the cat liked those as well. I found these two moves from a popsugar video last week and decided to make it a goal to do 20 reps of each every day this past week. I almost forgot to do them yesterday but got them in – even though it was a couple hours after my finished workout.

Last Saturday I made some really good sourdough bread using some starter I made earlier in the week. My oldest son has discovered he likes sourdough bread for sandwiches so I decided to make the dough in my bread machine and then bake the oval shaped loaves in the oven. It made two loaves so I was able to freeze one. Everyone has decided (all 5 of us) that the bread is really good. I will be making it again in the near future.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Endurance, Discipline, Determination – Keys to Daily Success

Starting an exercise program and then sticking with it are one of the keys to becoming more fit and healthy – Endurance
Getting your workout in regularly is not always easy or enjoyable but the end results are worth it – Discipline yourself to Just Do It and you will be glad you did
Remember that exercise daily repeated over time will get you results – Determination

-I think that once you begin a regular exercise regime and stick with it that it becomes part of who you are and what you do. There are days I wake up and feel tired (didn’t sleep well) or just not very motivated to do my scheduled workout – but I choose to get up, get going, and get it done – which makes me feel so much better afterwards.

I hope everyone had a great week. The weather here is still hot so I am not sure about getting ready for fall yet but it looks like I need to start thinking about it. I have started stocking up on cans of pumpkin to try some of the new recipes I recently found on pinterest. I also need to make a new fall wreath so I will probably work on that later this coming week.

Take care,

Kimberlee

Categories: Baking Exercise Food Health

Tags: baking bread, baking sourdough bread, exercise program, exercise routine, fitness, fitness motivation, fitness tips, T 25 workouts, working out, workouts, yoga

Working Out Week 35 of 2014

August 30, 2014 kimberlee 14 Comments

I am not sure if it is because it is the end of summer approaching or what but the last couple of weeks have gone by so FAST! I feel like I was just posting about week 34 and now it is week 35.

This past week I chose to vary my workout schedule with some Exhale Core Fusion workouts, Cathe workouts and riding my bike. The change in the schedule was just what I needed.

Monday – ECF (Exhale Core Fusion) Power Sculpt dvd – 40 min
Tuesday – Cathe X-10 dvd – 42 min
Wednesday – Ride Bike + Exercise Ball book – 36 min
Thursday – ECF Lean and Toned dvd – 40 min
Friday – Cathe X-10 dvd – 38 min
Saturday – Ride Bike + Jump Rope + yoga – 35 min

I went back to using some of my Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s this week. I haven’t used them in a couple of months. I have mentioned before how I love the set up of these dvd’s. Each one contains five 10 minutes segments that work a different part of your body. Monday I did the Power Sculpt dvd and did four of the five 10 minutes segments. All of their workouts are done in bare feet and give you excellent toning over your whole body. They are a nice change from the high rep weights I have been doing the past couple of weeks.

So then on the days after doing the ECF workouts I did a tough cardio plus weights workout from Cathe Friedrich called X10. This workout is also kind of set up in segments where you can pick and choose what one or how many you want to do. Usually I do the premix ones that are two workouts combined to make a longer workout. You can do them single if you are short on time and need a 27 minute or less workout. On Tuesday I did the X42 premix which is Hi-Lo plus Fat Burning Circuit. On Friday I did the X38 premix which was Low Impact plus Step. Both of these workouts also have a nice warm up and cool down that is the same. I was very sore on Friday after the step session. I woke up kind of sore in my legs and hips from the ECF workout from Thursday and this workout added to that soreness. It is a good sore though – means I know it is transforming my body.

It is a little harder for me to ride my bike in the mornings with having to make sure the kids get up and off to school. I managed to do one day during the week and then another on Saturday. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it was light out a little earlier. I can’t really go until 6:45am because it is dark before that. So, for now I am just going to be riding one or two days per week.

I did my jump rope workout once this week. I am getting more stamina with the jumping rope. I found a good workout video on YouTube that is from popsugar for a 10 minute jump rope workout. I also found some other really good workouts on their YouTube channel.

I also did some food prep on Friday (yesterday). I like to buy really large packages of chicken breasts and divide them up and freeze already cut up or marinated so that part of the prep work is done. It is a good way to save some time – that way when you thaw the chicken out it is already marinated and ready to be cooked in the oven, grilled or stir fried. I have been doing this for several years. I also have begun using this meal prep book again for some recipes. The book is above in the photo and is called Once A Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. I bought this book several years ago from Sams. There are one month meal plans in the book with shopping lists and the directions for all of the recipes. Some of the recipes are pre-cooked and then frozen and others are just marinated or seasoned and then frozen to cook on the day of, as the ones in my photos. The book also offers tips on making menu plans and shopping lists.

Weekly Fitness Tip: Eat Healthy – one of the best things you can do for yourself, in addition to regular workouts, is eat healthy.

– try eliminating all or most processed foods or pre-packaged foods and replace them with fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds. A friend of mine once told me if you stick to shopping the store on the outer parts where the produce, dairy and meats are you are less likely to buy the processed, boxed items. Of course we all need a box of cereal, some olive oil or flour so that method doesn’t always work for everything. One thing I try to do though is not go down the chips and soda aisle at Walmart.

– learn to prep some foods and meals so you will have healthy choices available and be less tempted to go through a “drive thru” for a quick meal. Remember “failure to plan is planning to fail” I know that if I take an hour or two each week to get some meals prepped and in the freezer or just prepare some healthy snack options I am more liking to stick with healthy eating.

I hope you had a great week and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

-Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Food Health

Tags: cardio workout, exercise schedule, fit tips, fitness exercise routine, food prep, food prep cookbook, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, working out, workouts

Working Out Week 26 of 2014

June 28, 2014 kimberlee 2 Comments

This week marks that we are halfway through the year – can you believe it? I was able to workout for a few days this week but not the entire week like usual due to our ceilings being redone. Our house was built in the early 1980’s and we have those horrid popcorn ceilings in most of the house. We decided to hire a company to remove them from the lower level and that meant my workout room, also our living room, would not be able to be used for several days – which looks like now it will be five or six days.

The photo above is what my workout room aka living room looks like the past few days – the objects in the middle are our furniture covered in two layers of plastic. This is a really messy process and I will be glad when it is all done.

The photo above here shows the ceilings scraped of the popcorn – its hard to get a good photo as the windows are covered in plastic and they have removed all the light bulbs.

I was able to workout the beginning of this week since they started working on Thursday morning. I did a couple of my Cathe Friedrich dvd’s and rode my bike one day.

Monday – Cathe X10 premix X41 – 41 minutes
Tuesday – Ride Bike + exercise ball routine for abs – 33 minutes
Wednesday – Cathe Lean Legs and Abs premix compound legs+bonus barre+core – 50 minutes

I love the Cathe X10 workout – tons of variety and lots of sweat with this dvd. It is a combination of cardio and weights and lots of creative and fun moves. The cat is supervising my moves, as usual.

Today, Saturday, I am hoping to ride my bike this afternoon or evening if it doesn’t rain. The ceiling workers were here until about 1pm – they get here early like at 8:30am so I am not able to get up and get in a workout before they come unless I want to get up before 6 and I don’t. I like to at least have a cup of coffee and breakfast and do my daily scripture reading before the workers get here. They are also working in our kitchen so I have to be out of there by the time they show up.

It looks like the ceilings will not be finished until Tuesday of next week so I will only be working out half of next week as well, unless I can do some outdoor activity in the evening. I will be really glad when we get this project finished and our house back together.

I hope you had a great week and got in some exercise. Have a good weekend!

Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise

Tags: ceiling work, ceilings redone, exercise, fitness, working out, workout dvd's, workouts