5K Recap: I did it!

I’m about a week late posting the results of my first 5K. The best part was my kids got to run prior to me heading to the starting line. It wasn’t a long run but both of them participated. It was great to see that they wanted to be like mom! My older son finished his race and told me that he wants to practice running so he can run a 5K with me.

It wasn’t the best of weather. There was a steady rain for most of the morning. Actually, up until the start of 5K the rain stuck around. I was nervous to say the least. I had two friends running with me. We were all going to start together but take off at our own pace once the crowd spread out.

The race started… Within the ½ mile, I had gotten a cramp in my calf and had to walk. It wasn’t a good start but that wasn’t the end of the bad. The 5K flyer had mentioned a flat course but when we turned the corner there was a hill. It was course that you ran out turned around and came back the same route. I knew if I ran down it – I was eventually going to have to run up it but not before having to run up a steeper hill. What happened to the flat course?!?! Flat because it was pavement versus a trail? I walked more than I had planned. My plan, since I hadn’t run since Thanksgiving Day, was to run a couple minutes, walk 1 minute. At times my walks were much longer.

I finished in 39:07 minutes. Not great but I finished which was my goal. My goal is to keep getting quicker and better because my ultimate goal is to run it without walking.

Since the day of the race, I have not run any! It’s sad but right now there are things going on in my life that are way more important. Hopefully within the next couple weeks (or maybe even today), I can take a half an hour and put it towards running so I can get on with my next 5K!

Freebie: 15 Mini Workout Downloads

Download 15 Free Mini Workouts from Jillian Michaels & Exercise TV. These workouts are a sneak peak of her new Ultimate Body Makeover workouts.

My Workout 1/23/09 - 1/25/09

Well, Friday and Saturday were more of the same Wii Fit, My Fitness Coach and my fav - Samba De Amigo. I did do weights on Friday and Saturday too. Friday I worked upper body and Saturday was lower body. In other words, not much of a workout. I did take the day off on Sunday and do a lot of my monthly cleaning around the house (family was gone for the day). It snowed almost all day on Sunday so we couldn't move the treadmill again. Hopefully at some point the snow stops and clears up again so I can get it moved to the detached garage.

My Workout - 1/22/09

Well, I didn't get as much of a workout in as I would have liked. I did go out and shovel away some snow and ice that was on the driveaway though.

I lifted weights for about 30 minutes.

I also played Samba De Amigo on the Wii. I have the Wii Maracas to use with the game. This was so much fun. I did it for over an hour. It was actually probably close to an hour and a half. It works your arms.


Then it was 30 minutes of the Wii Fit.


It was a lot of arm work today. I can feel it too. It feels great! Hopefully there won't be any under arm jiggle when I'm done!

My Workout - 1/21/09

To show that I am actually making progress in the world of working out, I'm going to post my workouts here. I'm going to spare you the details of what I eat each day...I'll leave that to the notebook that I'm logging it in. What did I do yesterday? Honestly, not much. I did workout for almost 2 hours on the Wii.

I did the Wii Fit for 45 minutes.

My fitness coach for 15 minutes (2x).


Then I did Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for 30 minutes. (I didn't get a picture of it...no real time tracking.)

I'm hoping to get my treadmill moved out of the family room and into the exercise area this weekend. We've got everything else set up back the ready to be used.

Workout Outfits @ Walmart

Are you looking to buy some new workout clothes? If so, head to Walmart! I found some great workout clothes there. I've been wearing the same clothes that I've been working out in for 5 years! It was time for some new workout clothes...now if only I would exercise! They are Danskin - very comfortable and light. It was reasonably priced too.

Here's what I got...

Danskin Now Hooded Zip Jacket $9

Danskin Now V-Neck Cap-sleeve Tee $6 (online price is $8)

Danskin Now French Terry Pants $9 (online price is $13)

Oh, I did it again...

Sorry for the almost Brittany Spears line there. I wanted to share with you that I had another butt bustin', thigh trimmin', leg achin' workout again today. Ok, it really wasn't that bad but it sounded good, didn't it?

Here's how my workout broke down today...

AM - Elliptical – 35 ½ minutes, 3 miles, 430 calories
Afternoon - rode by to the school .8 miles, walked home from the school .8 miles (a few hills) - my oldest son would rather ride his bike than walk (we did the same thing yesterday)

Not as good as the other day but you know what? It's progress! I haven't worked out since the end of May (I blame our beach vacation for that one). Now that my son is at preschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, I have time to go workout!

Hooray, I did it!

I was off to a rough start this morning. I had no motivation but I got my rear in gear! I worked out not once but twice today. We even walked to the school to get my son today. I don’t really count that as a workout. I didn’t really break a sweat but it was hard keeping up with the young one as he sped off on his bike.

Here's how my workout broke down today...

AM - Elliptical – 33 ½ minutes, 3 miles, 427 calories
Afternoon - walk to school 1.6 miles (a few hills)
PM - Treadmill (walking) – 45 minutes, 3.15 miles, 400 calories

If I keep this up, I should be able to report a weight loss this week! I've still need to adjust our schedule with preschool starting this week - it was a little crazy around here today.

Workout Wednesday - Stability Ball

Workout Wednesday: Stability Ball

I call it a Stability ball but you may know it as a Swiss ball. Stability balls are simply large, vinyl balls on which you can perform a number of strengthening exercises. By learning to balance your weight on the ball, your back, stomach/ABS and buttocks areas all get a workout.

There’s nothing quite like a stability-ball workout. It's easy to learn basic moves, and you don't need a lot of space or special equipment.

Early last year, I took several fitness classes that incorporated the use of the stability ball. I will share 7 of my favorite (I could write about many, many more of them) that do not include the use of weights. Using weights with a stability ball will be posted in a different Workout Wednesday post.

If you have questions about these exercise, leave me a comment.

Crunches:
Lie on your back on top of the ball with your legs bent at a 90-degrees and feet firmly on the ground. (The stability ball should be between your hips and shoulders following the curvature of the spine.) You can pick where you put your arms - across your chest, behind your neck, or out in front of you. Do NOT pull on your neck, if you decide to place your hands behind your neck. Relax in this position to obtain a stretch of the abdominal wall. Now flex your midsection raising your shoulder blades off the stability ball. Squeeze the abs at the top of the motion and slowly lower yourself back to a fully relaxed and stretched position.

Pass the Ball:
Lie on your back on the floor with your arms over your head holding the stability ball and legs straight out. Don’t let it touch the floor. Begin to raise your arms up at the same time begin to raise your legs up until the two meet. Now pass the ball from your hands to your feet and lower your arms and legs back to the floor. Again, do not allow the ball to touch the floor. Continue passing the ball from feet to hands, lower, raise, hands to feet using your midsection. Repeat.

Crisscross:
Lie on your back with the ball in your hands, above your stomach. With your back against the floor, raise your legs to a 45 degree angle from your hips. Raise head, neck and shoulders off the floor. Bend your right knee and bring it towards your chest. As you do this, bring your hand and the ball down towards your left knee (which should still be straight at a 45 degree angle). Continue switching legs as the ball moves up and over toward the straight leg. Repeat.

Side Bend with Straight Leg Side Lift:
Begin on both knees. Hug the ball into one hip. Lean sideways over the ball (hip and side against the ball) with you hands behind your head. Straighten and lift the leg that’s away from the ball to hip-height while leaning into the ball. Don’t move away from the ball. Do 10 times before switching to the other side.

Diamond Hip Lifts:
Place your ball against the wall. Lie on your back, with your feet on top of the ball and soles of your feet together, knees open out to the side (your legs should look like a diamond). Apply pressure to the ball with the outside of your feet, pressing your knees open wider, lift your hips up and squeeze your buttocks (maintain the diamond shape with your legs). Lower to the starting position. After repeating a couple times, hold your hips up, squeeze your buttocks and pulse for 10 counts.

Grasshopper:
Lie over the ball in a prone position with your upper thighs slightly turned out on the ball, feet together and knees pointed out in a slight V, with elbows on the floor. Lift both knees of the ball, while squeezing your buttocks (pelvis will remain against the ball). (You might think you are going to flip over…my first try, I did.) Return to starting position with your knees on the ball. Repeat.

Reverse Crunch on the Floor:
Very similar to Pass the Ball except you will not pass the ball. The ball will stay on the ground over your head. Your legs point up to the ceiling, as straight as possible. Hold you legs firmly together in a parallel position by lining up your ankle joints, the inside of your knees, and your upper thigh bones. Lower your legs halfway to the ground (your core will be engaged). Don’t let your lower back leave the floor! At the point where you feel your muscular control is about to run out, roll your legs overhead (to the ball), and exhale into the muscles surrounding the rib cage. Your feet end up resting on top of the ball (you should have legs straight from your buttocks to your heels). Exhale and roll down one vertebra at a time. Remember not to let your legs/feet touch the floor!

Sorry that I don’t have pictures. I’m not in shape to have my picture taken and couldn’t talk anyone else into it. If I can come across some, I’ll post them.

Workout Wednesday: Jumping Rope

Workout Wednesday: Jumping Rope

I forgot to post this yesterday so I’m going to post it today rather than wait until next Wednesday. I already have other plans for next Wednesday.

Jumping rope is a great fat burner. Even in a short amount of time, jumping rope expends a large amount of caloric burn – more than walking! You get an upper and lower body workout. To me, it’s like two workouts in one.

Those of you that know me know that I used to be on a double dutch team back in my elementary years. It was so much fun. I would love to get into it again by teaching younger kids how to double dutch. In the meantime, I’ll jump my single rope in hopes of burning many, many calories. If you are too clumsy to jump using a jump rope, you could always fake it or purchase a JumpSnap.

Below is a 15 minute workout routine. I like to get at least 30 minutes in so I double the time or repeat the routine.

15-minute Jump Rope Workout
Skip Time Variation Recovery Time
30 sec Double Jump 45 sec
45 sec Side-to-side 45 sec
60 sec Running In Place 60 sec
90 sec Alternate Jump 45 sec
2 min Double Jump 60 sec
90 sec Alternate Jump 45 sec
60 sec High Step 30 sec
45 sec Side-to-side 30 sec
30 sec Running In Place Cool down

Variations
Double Jump = both feet take off and land together
Side-to-side = alternate landing from left to right
Running in Place = jog in place motion but a little faster and more intensity
Alternate Jump = alternate feet in a skipping motion
High Step = jog like with high knees