WORKOUT #3 GET ON THE BALL, PEOPLE!!

Betcha thought I forgot about you, huh??  I didn't, I swear.  I've had puking kids, houseguests, work, volunteer commitments, blah blah blah...but y'all are my peeps and I've been thinking about you, putting together this little gift of sweat special for you :)

This workout involves a yoga ball and a set of dumbbells (5-8 lbs).  Most exercises can be modified if you don't have a ball, HOWEVER, if there is one piece of equipment that is cheap and versatile, it's one of these balls.  You can get them at Target, Walmart, etc.  I'm just sayin', I know the economy blows and you need to mortgage your home for a tank of gas, but dig around in your couch cushions, or ask around and see if someone has one you can borrow, it is SO worth it, and still WAY cheaper than a gym membership, and let's not forget you have ME--and I am also free--how lucky are you, right???  As for the dumbbells, I can almost guarantee SOMEONE you know has a set they don't use, if not, improvise and use a couple of cans of food from the pantry or some full bottles of water.  I have given you a range of repetitions and times for these exercises so you can adjust it to your fitness ablility and the size weights you are using.  Again, this workout is designed to be done with each exercise in quick succession, and ideally you should run though all the exercises at least twice, but do what you can with the time you have, K???  Make sure you read everything through first so you don't waste time trying to figure out what you are doing, I posted a quick list of the exercises at the bottom for quick reference once you know the moves.  There are a few without pictures, so make sure you don't skip over them accidentally (I know you'd never intentionally skip my exercises, correct?)

WARM IT UP:
50 SQUATS in fast succession--get your heart pumpin'
50 ALTERNATING LUNGES (25 each side) -quit cryin' and do it.
RUN IN PLACE FOR 2 MINUTES

WORK IT OUT:
20-25  'GOOD MORNINGS' ON BALL-  Lay on your stomach on the ball, placing the ball under your hips.  You can brace your feet against a wall if you need to.  Lift your upper body until you are straight, but not arching. Say 'Good Morning!' with a giant smile on your face (optional).  Lower back down bringing your upper body toward the floor and repeat 25 times.

12-15 SUMO JUMPS- Stand holding the ball with your feet wider than hip width apart, toes pointing OUT.  bend your knees (knees should NOT go over toes, if they do your feet aren't far enough apart!) until thighs are paralell to the floor.  As you bend, lower the ball  (don't bend forward) and 'tap' it on the floor.  Now JUMP up, bringing the ball over your head and springing up OFF THE FLOOR!  Keep your feet wide so that as soon as you land you can begin to lower back down into the squat.

20-25 FITNESS BALL PUSH UPS- Rest your legs on the ball, somewhere between your knees and ankles.  The closer to your ankles you are, the harder this exercise will be.  Place your hands under your shoulders on the floor and do 25 push ups.  Keep your abs tight to support your back, don't arch.  Tight abs will keep you stable as you balance on the ball.

RUN IN PLACE w/ BALL OVERHEAD- uh...pretty self explanatory.  Hold the ball over your head and run in place for 1-2 minutes. Try to kick your booty with your feet as you run. (I figured you could do without a photo on this one!)


20 -25 TRICEP "SKULL CRUSHERS" ON BALL- Lay on the ball, the ball should be under your upper back and shoulders.  Keep your booty pressed to the sky, back flat, don't leg your rear sag toward the floor! With a dumbbell in each hand, extend arms straight in the air, palms facing each other.  Slowly bend elbows and lower the dumbbells toward your head, then straighten back to start.  The only motion is in the elbow!

BALL JOG- Sit on the ball, lift knees one at a time while bouncing on the ball for 1-2 minutes, like jogging, only while sitting. (Almost impossible to capture this in a still photo, so I didn't...)


12-15 HAMSTRING CURLS- Lay on your back with the heels of your feet on the top of the ball, legs straight.  Lift your booty off the floor by pressing heels into the ball, then slowly bend your knees and pull the ball toward your rear.  SLOWLY straighten legs back to start.  Keep abs tight throughout for balance.  Repeat 12-15 times WITHOUT LOWERING YOUR REAR END IN BETWEEN REPETITIONS!  These curls are meant to be done slow and controlled, do not whip through the reps, you will only be cheating yourself, and if you're gonna do it, you may as well do it right, no???

12-15 LEG RAISES- Lay on your back, legs straight, ball between your feet.  Put your hands under your hips for support if you'd like.  Lift your legs while squeezing the ball until legs are straight in the air, then slowly lower until the ball BARELY touches the ground, then repeat.  Keep your abs tight and press your back into the floor and keep your legs as straight as possible.

12-15 BALL TWISTS- Sit on the floor, legs in front of you, knees bent, holding the ball.  Lean back until you feel your abs engage (tighten), then lean back a leetle more.  Hold the ball in front of you and then slooooowly, twist your upper body to the right, tapping the ball on the floor to your right, then twist sloooooowly to the left, tapping the ball on the left side--that makes 1 repetition.  Use your obliques (you know, the muscles under your love handles...yes, those.) to twist your body and make sure you stay leaning back. If it's easier for you to count each rep (twist right=1, twist left=2), go for it, just make sure you do twice as many!  It's all about the speed (or lack thereof) here people, you should be able to count to AT LEAST 6 as you twist to EACH side.

At this point you can either stay on the floor, continue to cool down and stretch...OR...if you want to make me SUPER-DE-DUPER proud (or if you are keenly aware that swimsuit season is looming, which it TOTALLY is...)  Then you can repeat the sequence from the beginning (minus the warm up) 1-2 more times.   THEN you may stretch....and then post that you love me.....or not... 

Here's the quickie list:

WARM UP-

50 SQUATS

50 ALTERNATING LUNGES

2 MIN. RUN IN PLACE

WORKOUT-

20-25 Good Mornings (low back raises) on ball

12-15 Sumo Jumps with ball

20-25 Push ups on ball

Run in Place with ball overhead 1-2 mins.

20-25 Skull Crushers (triceps) on ball

Ball Jog 1-2 mins

12-15 Hamstring Curls on ball

12-15 Leg Raises with ball

12-15 Ball Twists

WIWW Lucky #7

Hola!  Happy WIWW!!  Linking up with The Pleated Poppy http://www.thepleatedpoppy.com/ and anyone else that will have me (that's a short list.).  For my readers who are anxiously awaiting a new workout, I've got one, I just need to get my son  assistant to take some photos before I can put it up and he's been a little under the weather. 

Wednesday I was back at big dude's school...

Denim Jacket- Forever 21  Navy Tee- Forever 21  Khakis- Aeropostale  Flats- Indigo by Clarks (these were FREE!!!  My husband designs exhibits, and Clarks is a long time client so I have a few pairs of 'sample shoes' because I happen to wear the size they use in their exhibits--yay me!!

Thursday I had a webinar for work in the morning (at home), a training client in the afternoon, then carpooling the boys home from school and big dude to his music lesson.  I really didn't see the point in wearing 'real' clothes, since that training session was right smack in the middle of the day so I just slapped on my workout gear first thing in the morning.  Besides, I figured if I was in my workout clothes, if I actually managed to find a chunk of time to run at some point I could just seize the moment and go!

Cropped Sweats- Ross White Tee- Old Navy  Tennies- Saucony via Fleet Feet

Friday I attempted to move crap from one spot to another clean house and got some groceries.  I actually got a compliment on this outfit at the Costco checkout, which is funny because I put almost NO thought into it at all...why is that always the way??  I made sure to get a close up of my gold sandals...please pay no mind to my nasty feet, first off, this is their first "debut" of the season, so they weren't really camera ready.  Secondly, the harsh truth is I am a runner and runners just generally don't have cute feet, sorry, that's just the facts.  I promise they will get a little better now that I can't hide them in boots and tennies all the time and I have to show y'all, but for now just concentrate on the shoes, ok??

Top- Lucky Brand via Lucky Store (clearance section of course, you know Mama doesn't pay full price!)  Jeans- Lucky Brand via Lucky Outlet   Sandals- Chinese Laundry via Ross

Friday night my bigger dude came down with a fever...bigger dude rarely gets sick.  The last fever he had was 4 years ago, which was when he had his first and only ear infection.   Needless to say, he wasn't pleased with being laid up.  So on Saturday hubs took little dude to his cub scout Pinewood Derby and football and I stayed home with sickie.  I am in desperate need of a haircut, and that combined with sheer laziness created the mess on my head that looks like a nesting place for gerbils.  I stayed home all day, and around 5 I changed into running shorts, covered that hot mess with a hat, left hubs in charge and ran a cool 5 miles.  The weather was gorgeous, and here in Texas we all know it is only a matter of time before it changes from gorgeous to hot as the bowels of hell, so I plan to enjoy it while it lasts!

"Trees are 4 Hugging" tee- Aeropostale   Jeans- Lucky via Lucky outlet (yes, same as yesterday, whatevs.)  Seashell flops- Corona via surf shop in Florida

Sunday bigger dude was still under the weather, and I teach bootcamp at night, so I just went ahead and tossed on my running shorts and tank.  Seemed pointless to bother with anything else.  I thought I took a photo, but now I can't find it...you really aren't missing anything, trust me on that.
Monday we were back on track, bigger dude was better and off to school.  I had some work to do from home, I also grabbed a few groceries, made a killer chicken tortilla casserole, and ran 5 miles...I thought that was pretty productive!  I realize this outfit needs more color, the necklace I wanted to wear was too short, the scarf was too warm...I just had serious accessory issues. Hey,  I managed to tame my overgrown hair and put on lip gloss, so it's all good.  AND LOOK!  I cleaned the top of that little drawer thing that was covered in junk...you're welcome, friends :)

Dress- Old Navy Clearance $5.00!  Belt- Bui Yah Kah  Leggings- Target  Flats- Ross 

*Note- Someone asked about  Bui Yah Kah last week, it's a mall store, they have quite a few locations, but only in TX.  They sell all kinds of clothes and accessories, and a huge selection of their own brand of jeans in different styles, fits, and lengths.  They also sell a lot of "club" style clothing, "ghetto fabulous" if you will....not really my thing, but if lycra dresses cut to yo' belly button ring are for you, then this is the place--fo' sho'.  I stick to the jeans and the side of the store with clothes that don't look like they came straight outta Chaka Khan's closet.

Tuesday was Girls' Day Out...met some friends for a little shopping and lunch.  This outfit is a  product of WIWW inspiration, I tend to have set 'outfits' in my closet and don't do a lot of mixing and matching.  I typically wear this skirt in the summer with white espadrilles, wide white belt, and a navy tank top, but today I decided to try to change it up and I made it more spring-y with boots, tee, scarf and denim jacket.  Thanks WIWW friends for helping think outside the box...er...closet!

Skirt- Francesca's  Navy tee- Forever 21  Scarf- Ross  Boots- Francesca's  Denim Jacket- Forever 21

Thanks for stopping by, I am getting my hair cut on Friday so I promise next week there won't be quite so many crazy bun days!!! 

Let me just say...

Kim Kardashian...or one of those Kardashians...at least I think it was a Kardashian, okay, I don't really know, that's soooo not the point.

The point is the advertisement was for Sketchers' "Shape Up" shoes and it ends with her saying "Bye, Bye, Trainer...hello Shape Ups"...

What...EVER.

Okay, now listen, this has nothing to do with me being threatened by some stupid looking shoes...my days of training to support myself and my family are over.  I train VERY part time now because I LOVE fitness, and I LOVE helping people get fit.   Trust me...if you knew what I charged you'd know I wasn't in this for the money.  I teach a few bootcamps a week and do a leeeeetle bit of private home training occasionally.  This new shoe craze isn't affecting me, aside from the fact that I find the shoes visually assaulting.  Let's be serious, I don't think ANYONE who has worked out regularly, with a trainer or without, is abandoning their fitness routine to embrace these shoes. It ain't happening...trust me.

So, anyway, back to the stupid shoes....  FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY PEOPLE!!!!  Do you really think these shoes are the answer to your fitness goals...REALLY??  You want magic fitness shoes? Do yourself a favor and go to a reputable shoe store and get yourself fitted for a good running shoe.   Many stores have treadmills where they can analyze your stride and figure out exactly what you need in a  running/walking shoe.   I promise, like magic, if you put them on and move your feet regularly until you break a sweat they will work.  As a bonus, your feet won't look ridiculous.

If there is one thing that irritates me, it is all these quick fix, lazy man solutions to fitness.  C'mon now, you know if any of them worked, everyone would look like *insert whatever random fit person appeals to you here*.  Not to mention with the right lighting, a good photographer, an excessive amount of strategically placed spray tan and enough baby oil to lube the entire state of Texas almost any of us could appear to have a body like Kim Whatsherface. 

Okay, rant over.  Feel free to post below how much you love these dang shoes and I will feel free to make sarcastic comments under my breath at the computer screen...

WIWW #6

***Edited to say, SORRY if you clicked on me twice because I accidentally posted 2 links...technical difficulties with the photo..thought the first one didn't work, but it did...****

Happy Wednesday!  I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy again!  Hop on over and check out the other lovely ladies at  http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/

Hump Day!  It was cloudy and I was tired...spent most of the day moving in slooooow motion!  But, I taught bootcamp that evening and ooooh boy....it was a little crazy.  The sky was reeeally spooky looking, the bats were out, AND...there was a snake...dear God, I hate snakes...like a lot...no seriously, snakes freak me out.  It was a huge man-eating copperhead, okay, apparently it was NOT a copperhead, and some might feel I am exaggerating it's size, but the only good snake in my opinion is a dead snake.  So there.  DO NOT comment to me about how they are good for the environment, blah, blah, blah...you aren't changing my mind on this so don't bother.  Anyway, this was my 'daytime' outfit, pre-snake attack, if you will.  My apologies for the booty shot, but the jeans have a cute detail on the back that I felt would be negligent to ignore, just look at the bling, ignore the bum...

Shirt- Bui Yah Kah    Jeans- Miss Chic via Anything Bling boutique 

Grey booties (no pic, oops)- Target    Belt- Gift from hubs

Thursday I ran in the morning and spent most of the day in my running clothes attempting to clean my house, sorry, no photo, but you've seen me in my oh-so attractive workout gear before.  I showered (you're welcome, world) and changed in the afternoon for carpool and to take both boys to two seperate activities, in two different places of course! 

Tunic- Forever 21  Orange Cami- Forever 21  Leggings- Marshall's  Boots- Francesca's

Friday I had to go into the office in the morning, then I went shopping and had a tasty lunch with my girlfriend!  I picked this outfit for two reasons- 1) I figure it's only a matter of time before it's waaay to hot for cardigans and boots so I am trying to squeeze in as many wears as possible! 2) Dressy enough for the office, but comfy for walking the mall!   Full disclosure:  Later on in the evening I changed into sweatpants and went over to her house so our little dudes could play and we watched a chick flick and drank a lot of wine.  (Her husband was out of town on business and mine was camping with my oldest son and the Boy Scouts).  We watched "You Again" with Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Sigourney Weaver...it was pretty cute! 

Lace Dress- Target Clearance  Sweater- Target  Tights- Target 

 Boots- Francesca's  Toothpaste on the towel- Colgate Total

Saturday was GDO...Girl's Day Out!  My mad firearm skillz (yes, "skillz"..I'm fly like that) inspired a few girlfriends to learn how to shoot a gun.  So we wrangled up some ladies and headed to the range so they could learn how to properly handle a handgun and of course how to shoot.  Happy to report they all did well, and everyone had fun and no one got shot!  After spending the morning at the range we grabbed some lunch and then I headed off to the football field for little dude's game.  I took these photos at the END of the day,  after pulling my ear and eye protection on and off 100 times at the range and sweating my butt off in the sun at the football game, so I am not looking so cute...the hair was in need of a wash and pulled in to a nasty bun and the makeup was long gone...probably should have cut my head off in these pics, but I'm keeping it real, y'all...

Camo shirt- Bui Yah Kah  Lace Tank- Bui Yah Kah  Skinny Jeans- Bui Yah Kah (apparently that was my theme today!)  Boots- Kohl's  Belt- Bob's Store back in MA

Sunday was the Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner for little dude's troop.  Reality check-I got dressed approximately 1 hour before we needed to leave--like 4:00 pm...ish.  I made little dude pancakes for breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, checked email, and then hubs and bigger dude got home from a weekend of camping which meant I spent the rest of the day washing stinky clothes, sleeping bags, camping dishes, and trying to pick up all the crap they dumped in the back door before they headed to shower.  It was really warm out so I let my legs be free, that's correct, those aren't white tights, folks, they're my legs...shut up.

Dress- Target Clearance  Cardi- Target  Boots- Francesca's

Monday I took Miss Piggy (that's my SUV, she really is very cute, but a total oinker for sure) in for new tires, which I desperately needed but hated paying for...ugh.  Hubs followed me there and drove us home.  A little later we picked up my truck and dropped off his car for an inspection sticker, and on the way home we stopped at the grocery store because we were almost out of milk, even though we practically JUST bought 3 gallons..I mean, what the heck??  And then...this is the best part, I had to turn around and go BACK to the grocery store  because I realized when we got home that we'd  left a bag at the checkout...and it was the bag with the wine in it *gasp*...not acceptable, no way.  Add in the trips to take kids to and from two different schools and I probably spent like 3 hours just trolling up and down the main drag in my subdivision-  AWE.SOME.  I did somehow manage to get some work done from home in between all this, and a 4 mile run in the afternoon.  I did NOT manage to put on makeup or remove my goofy ponytail...

"Boy Moms Rock" tee- boutique  Jeans- Highway via Plato's Closet thrift  tennies- Nike via Famous Footwear  Belt- Kohl's clearance

The there was Tuesday, and I had *insert giant groan here* jury duty.  Hubs told me I should dress homeless looking and they would probably send me home, but I was all "it's my civic duty, blah, blah, blah"  Mostly, I just feel if I have to drag my butt out of bed at the crack of dawn to haul my booty downtown in traffic for this they had BETTER pick me.  They did not. So I went to lunch with the hubs and got a few errands taken care of.    

Dress- Bui Yah Kah  Boots- Kohl's

And because I love y'all so much, I have some bonus features this week, remember how I told you about the spooky sky??  Okay, well in case you don't believe me here is a picture of the moon I took this past week!

And here's an action shot of little dude at football!  He's the one in the middle with the evasive moves...look at those chicken legs...heehee...I love that kid!

That's all, have a great week!  ~Kristen

Who's Ready for a Workout??

You ready?  Su-weeet!  Read through everything first to make sure you've got everything at the ready!  The main workout here should only take about 7 minutes to complete, so you can do it 3 times plus the warm up and stretch after and STILL be done in a cool 30.  If you don't have 30 then gimme what you got, this is designed to be a quick all body blast that you can customize whether you have 10, 20, or 30 minutes to spare!  And for the record, if you do it 3 times in one day but NOT in a row, that's okay too!

First things first, let's get your blood pumpin'...

JOG IN PLACE for 3 minutes...doesn't need to be exact, just glance at the clock...we're just letting your body know something's comin'....and what's coming is----

50 SQUATS.  Yes 50...shut up and do it...keep a decent pace, your heart should be working and your breath should be a little more 'huffy puffy'

HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YA??  YOU ROCK! 

Got yourself a set of dumbbells??  If not find something to substitute, two (full) water bottles or two gallon jugs of something (sealed up, let's not make a mess) will do the trick.  Ready?

ONE LEGGED BENT-OVER ROW  Here's how-- Stand on your RIGHT FOOT, bend at the waist, extend your left foot behind you.  Make sure your back is straight, not hunched.  Holding a weight in each hand, slowly bring the dumbbells towards the sides of your ribcage, bending your elbows and keeping your arms close to your body.  Be sure to concentrate on squeezing your shoulder blades together as you lift.  You are using your BACK to pull the weight up, NOT your arms.  Here's how I want you to count as you lift--

TWO COUNTS-bend elbows and bring weights to body
ONE COUNT-hold at the top and squeeze through your back
THREE COUNTS-slowly lower the weights back to start

Got that?  6 COUNTS TOTAL for each repetition.  It's all about quality people, trust me :)  Repeat 10 times, then switch legs (LEFT LEG on floor, RIGHT in the air) and repeat 10 more times.  My weights were in the car and I was on my way out to teach a bootcamp, so I used diced tomatoes :) Sorry these pics aren't the best, I had my son take them right before I had to leave!

 ****BALANCE TIP- Find a focal point to look at on ground and concentrate on that spot.  If your balance is terrible just do the best you can, it will get better.  As we age, balance becomes more and more important and (think about all the elderly who fall and break a hip), and it will continue to worsen, so if your balance stinks now, it is not going to get better on its own, but it will get more dangerous...so for the love of God just keep at it, okay??  ****

KNEE-UPS-  Put your arms out in front of you about waist high and jog, only lift your knees up so they hit your hands each time...60 TIMES TOTAL, which means you will "knee up" each side 30 TIMES, alrighty??  You will probably hate this more than the squats...but think about the fact that bathing suit season is looming....

 20 CHAIR PUSH UPS- Find yourself a sturdy chair, face it towards you (the back of the chair is FURTHEST from you) hang on to the edges of the seat and do 20 push ups.  If you are worried about the chair sliding push it against a wall.  Lower down for ONE count, up for TWO.

20 JUMPING LUNGES-  Place yourself in a lunge position, right foot in front, left in the back, knees bent,  front knee doesn't go over front toe.  Now JUMP and switch feet in the air so you are in a lunge again, only leading with the left now.  20 TIMES TOTAL, which of course is 10 each side.  Yeah, this isn't likely to be one of your favorites either...but I sure bet you will like the way your jeans fit if you push through it!

20 AB CRUNCHES ON CHAIR- Get your chair again, sit on it sideways so your shoulder is against it's back.  Scoot your (soon to be) fine booty to the edge of the seat, lean back until you feel your abs engage (tighten, if you will) and grab the seat with your hands.  lift legs off the floor and slowly bend legs and bring your knees toward your chest as you move your upper body forward.  It's like a scissor motion-- upper and lower body come together as you bend your knees, and then they seperate as you straighten your legs back out and lean back.  Move slowly, these aren't meant to be done rapid fire, even though I know you'd love to get it the heck over with FAST...don't hold your breath.  20 TIMES.  ****Note:  If you find the chair uncomfortable or don't have a chair that works well for this, you can modify it and do it on the floor, just put your arms on the floor behind you! ******

Now go back to the one-legged rows and do it again! 

Here it is without the descriptions to make it easier to follow once you know what you are doing:

Warm up:
JOG IN PLACE- 3 MIN.
SQUATS- 50x

Main Workout:
ONE-LEGGED ROW 10x EACH LEG (one side at a time, not alternating!)
KNEE UPS 60x
CHAIR PUSH UPS 20x
JUMPING LUNGES 20x
AB CRUNCH ON CHAIR 20x
REPEAT 2 more times!

Don't forget to drink water and stretch afterward :)

So??  Did you do it???  How do you feel?  Stick with me, I promise it will be worth it!  I'm working on a little somethin' somethin' about fat to show y'all...