This morning I was scrolling through twitter and saw one of my kettlebell buddies tweet, “911 swings done”.

My heart sunk.

This evening, I headed to the beach alone with two kettlebells to do 911 swings in honor of those who lost their lives 10 years ago today.

In Honor of Heroes Workout – 911 Swings

30 – Two Handed Swings
30 – One Handed Swings (15 R, 15 L)
30 – Two Handed Swings
30 – Alternating Swings
30 – Two Handed Swings
30 – One Handed Swings (15 R, 15 L)

Repeat 5x for a total of 900 swings.

For the last 11 swings I brought my heaviest kettlebell and finished those 11 just as the sun was setting.

I hadn’t planned it that way.

Then I walked down to the water’s edge.

And inhaled the salty ocean air feeling grateful and alive.

As the moon began to replace the sun I sat down in the sand and prayed…

…and thought

…and remembered.

Hugs and High Fives,

Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we plan to take a year long road trip through the United States!

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Subscribe to the RSS Feed 2. “like” on Facebook, or 3. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. Simple dimple!

Last week, I said I was doing a four week “Fit(ter) for the Fourth Challenge.  I just looked at the calendar and saw that the 4th of July is four weeks from yesterday.

Silly me…I have an extra week.

Last week went well.  I got in all my workouts except for one and I reached one of my goals- multiple dead hang pull ups.  Woot woot!  Yep, yesterday morning I knocked out two.  I actually should be able to do many more by now because two and half years ago I shocked myself by doing multiple pull ups when I didn’t think I could do one. Then for some reason (life) I quite doing them and lost them.  Quick.  It took MONTHS to be able to do just one again.  For me, developing upper body strength has been like connecting to the internet with dial up. S.L.O.W.

My workout plan for this week…

Monday – Full Body Workout w/kettlebells and suspension trainer (Done and my glutes are worked.)
Tuesday – Taekwondo w/some sparring and Walk with a friend (Done)
Wednesday – Full Body Workout
Thursday - Sparring and walk
Friday – Full Body Workout
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – Rest

The schedule may not look much different from last week but I’m always doing different full body workouts and “cardio”.  Here is my cardio from last Tuesday when Brent and I headed over to the beach for a short workout while the boys were in their taekwondo class.  We didn’t have much time so we did a short 20 minutes circuit but we enjoyed laughing and sweating together as the sun took off for Japan.

Ropes 40/20 (40 seconds of work/20 seconds of rest)
Swings 40/20
Sprints (We sprinted to a nearby sand dune and back.  It took about 30-40 seconds)

We set the gym boss at the desired intervals (40/20) for 20 rounds (2o minutes).

Short and simple.  That’s what I’m all about. (Quite literally.)

Me working the rope.  (Glad the lifeguard wasn’t on duty.)

Swings and pugs

(Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE this guy?)

The dark bring spots in the distance was where we sprinted to and back.  Brent likes to let me “think” that I can win and then takes off leaving me in the dust sand.  Punk.

I hope your week is going well!!!!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed

or

Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

I haven’t mentioned it because I try not to complain to you guys but I have had a pulled hamstring and some serious lower back pain the last few months.  As a result, I had backed off and modified some of my training.  During my Thanksgiving vacation, I took it easy and stuck with light kettlebell work, videos on Exercise TV, (I would sooo love to make an exercise DVD of my own someday!), and lots LOTS of stretching.  All of it paid off because my leg and lower back are now pain free.  (I’m going to try and do a post on getting rid of the pain in my lower back soon.)  So this weekend, I did the first high intensity workout in almost 2 months.

Part One

Descending Rep Ladders – Pull Up/Clean and Press

Pull Ups 5
Double Clean and Press 5  (12kg/26lb bell)
Pull Ups 4
Double Clean and Press 4
Pull Ups 3
Double Clean and Press 3
Pull Ups 2
Double Clean and Press 2
Pull Up 1
Double Clean and Press 1

Repeat 2x.  Total of 30 pull ups and 30 clean and presses.  Took roughly minutes.  When I couldn’t do a strict pull up (which, sadly, after a month of light work wasn’t long), I switched to negatives.  (Jump to the top of a pull up position and slowly lower yourself.)

Part Two

I set my gymboss on 30 second intervals.

30 seconds of kb swings (20kg/44lb bell)
30 seconds of rest
30 seconds of sparring the bag (kicking the crap out of an imaginary person)
30 seconds of rest

Repeat 10x for a total of 20 minutes.

Oh. My. Goodness.  This was so fun.  Want proof?  The picture at the top?

Posed.

This is what I really looked like!

And I wonder how I pulled my hamstring.

Hope you got in an awesome workout this week!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

(source)

Last Thursday, I hit the track at a local park.  My kettlebells were at home snuggling so I decided to make do with bodyweight only.   It was a perfect morning for a workout grey and misty.  I felt like a racehorse up before dawn for a morning workout.  <=== Next to my junior high”secret book of poetry”, that is probably the corniest thing I have ever written in my life. Anyway speaking of racehorses…I was the second fastest kid in my kindergarten class, only losing to Josh Skillman, which made me the fastest girl in my class.  This 5 year old’s claim to fame was attributed to The Black Stallion.  Remember that movie?  I was obsessed (ODDLY OBSESSED) with the The Black Stallion and every time I would race, in my head,  I pretended I was “The Black” galloping down the track against Cyclone and Sun Raider.  The joys of childhood.

The Workout
(Secretariat just came out.  Feel free to pretend.)

1 lap (1/4 mile) easy jog

100 m sprint, 100 m walk x4
(Sprinted the straightaways & walked the curves2x around the track)

(rest)

Tabata Pushups (Click on the link if aren’t sure what Tabata is)

(rest)

100 m sprint, 100 m walk x4
(Sprinted the straightaways & walked the curves 2x around the track)

1 lap (1/4 mile) easy jog

For Time: I decided to time it so next time I can try to beat my time.  Mine was 27:39

Regarding time,  I used the stopwatch on my phone and the Gymboss Iphone app which is FREE!

The total distance is only 1.5 miles when broke down includes a 1/2 mile easy jog, 1/2 mile sprint, 1/2 mile walk.  (I just wanted to show off my mad math skillzzzz!)

I loved this workout.  I felt it the rest of the day and I nearly cried when my taekwondo teacher asked us to do pushups that evening.

(source)

What was your favorite childhood movie? Did anyone else LOVE The Black Stallion movie?  Horses still make my knees go weak and, truth be told, I still have this little dream of riding my own black Arabian stallion in a loin cloth on the beach some day.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

Brent is shooting some children’s music videos today and tomorrow.  Like last year, I’ve been hired to do “crafts service”.  Like most normal people, I brought my kettlebells along and slipped away for a workout.

While Brent was doing this…

…I was  doing this.

(Don’t tell him.)

The Gym
12 kg Kettlebell
16 kg Kettlebell
Workout Journal and Pen
iPhone Gymboss App
Bodybugg (Gowear Fit) Display  (more on that later)
(the cigarettes were not part of the arsenal)

The Workout
Clean and Press Ladder – 4 rungs x 4
100 Kettlebell Highpulls
1 Round of Tabata Squats
4 Hill Sprints

I sprinted (jogged) up the trail to those two poles that are close together.  It may not look very far but trust me the lactic acid buildup was BURNING when I got to the top.

On the way up I passed these.

When Brent was done I thought is would be good for him to walk up with me once before going home.  You know so, I could burn a few more calories,…err…he could decompress.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox

If the Bodybugg taught me anything, it taught me I have NO patience need to move more.  After wearing it for a few days, it was evident that I’m part sloth.

Truth be told, I’m sort of sedentary by nature.  Many of my favorite things in life, such as reading, cuddling, writing, thinking, internet surfing require about the same amount of energy as sleeping.  I’m not a busybody.  I’m not a gardener.  My house is a mess. I don’t have toddlers anymore.  I don’t have a job that requires lots of physical activity.

Once I saw, in black and white, that I needed to increase my activity level, I decided to walk more because I didn’t want to clean my house over exercise.  I’ve discovered something I LOVE walking.  Here are a few reason why.

-Feeling my body move without any impact.  Feels like my body is doing exactly what is was designed to do.

-Seeing things I normally miss.

-Hearing birds chip and leaves rustle.

-Strangers who let me pet their dogs.

-Saving on gas.

-Conversations with Brent or my kids.

-Conversations with myself.

-Time to pray.

-Humming to myself.  Zippidy doo da….

-Burning extra calories.

-Requires no equipment.

Walking is now near the the top of my list for exercise right under weights.  I’ve been walking any chance I have, to the store, around the neighborhood, while my kids are at taekwondo…

Thing 2 and I on our way to vote.

People who live in big walking cities are lucky.  A few years ago we visited some friends in NYC and I don’t think I had ever walked so much in my life.

While there I saw the coolest thing ever.  A guy walking his cat on a leash!

I know Meow Cow wouldn’t go for that but I thought he may enjoy taking a walk with me.

I think he enjoyed the ride.

All this walking is helping me get closer to my goal of being able to test with the lighter kettlebell at the RKC.  Working out yesterday I noticed that my delts are finally starting to develop.  I love feeling stronger but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I love looking stronger too.  ;-)

What about you?
What do you like about walking?
Does anyone else feel ridiculous self-conscious taking pictures of themselves in the mirror?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

Time for another treadmill workout.  I really like this but it’s really hard to emulate on the ground.  If you don’t have a treadmill try this in a park or this sprint workout instead.

20 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout

Warm Up
2 Minute 30 Second – Walk at 15% incline.

Workout
1 Minute: Jog – 15% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint or Run – 15% incline (By sprinting I mean faster than your jog but it will certainly be slower than if you weren’t on an incline.  Be careful don’t fall!)
1 Minute: Walk – 15% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 10% incline
30 seconds: Sprint – 10% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 10% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 5% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 5% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 5% incline
1 Minute: Jog – No incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – No incline
1 Minute: Walk – No incline
1 Minute: Jog – 5% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 5% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 5% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 10% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 10% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 10% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 15% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 15% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 15% incline

All done!!!!

(Don’t forget to stretch.)

xoxo
j

What is Tabata training?

For years, I had read references to the “Tabata protocol” but it sounded more like a code of conduct for elite special forces than a way to tighten my butt.  People would rave about how great Tabata was and the skeptic in me would think, “4 minutes…yeah right.”  Finally, I decided I had to see for myself.

Enlist me.  I’ll follow the protocol.

I was sore for days.  The best part was that it was only 4 minutes and those 4 minutes went by really fast because I was focused on the short time segments (and it is just 4 minutes).

Tabata what????  Time segments??? A Tabata workout consists of high-intensity 20 second work intervals  followed by 10 seconds of rest.  You repeat this pattern 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  I’ll use sprinting as an example.  (I recommend not doing Tabata on treadmill for safey’s sake.) Sprint 20 seconds.  Rest 10 seconds.  Repeat 7 more times (8 total) for a total of 240 seconds or 4 minutes.  You can Tabata almost anything squats, burpees, pull-ups (yeah right), sit ups, push ups, lunges, probably even cartwheels although I’d suspect I’d get dizzy and  break my neck.  I’m going to try Tabata side kicks for extra taekwondo practice.

I  ”score” my Tabata workouts by adding the highest and lowest reps out of the 8 intervals.  For example, in one 4 minute session, I may get 18 reps as my highest number during one 20 second segment and 12 reps as my lowest in another 20 second segment.  If I add them together my total “score” would be 30.  The next time I do the same workout, I can try for a higher “score”.

Or not.

Tabata Training was developed by  Dr. Izumi Tabata while doing research at the Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports.  Dr. Tabata and his team were studying the effects of aerobic (with oxygen, i.e., slower steady state cardio) and anaerobic (without oxygen, i.e. HIIT cardio) conditioning.  Those doing in the  high intesity anaerobic test group (Tabata group) saw a 14%  improvement in their aerobic capacity and 28% in their anaerobic capacities.  Those in the 60 minute moderate intensity cardio group showed an aerobic capacity improvement of 9.5% and no anaerobic capacity improvement. Here is an nerdy excerpt from the article published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal. (You are probably smarter than me…it took me 15 minutes to understand it.)

What does this mean??  It means less time on the cardio machines with better results….YAY!!!!!!!  I came across this article Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week? last week that supports the effects of Tabata training.  I don’t think I’ll be switching to 6 minute a week workouts but it always makes me feel good to read research that supports what I’ve been doing.

Wanna try  a workout with Tabata?  Here’s one or here’s another.

Hugs and High Fives,
jenn

If you enjoyed this this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up for up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

I have two treadmills.  One I bought and one that was given to me for free.   The one I bought broke.  Go figure.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a treadmill workout so here ya go.  I like intervals, they make the time go by faster.

20 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout

Warm up
4 Minutes and 30 Seconds : Walk at highest incline.  Don’t hang on to the rails. Use your arms.

Workout
1 minute:  Get off treadmill and jump squat or squat depending on your level of fitness.  (Yes.  The entire minute.)
1 Minute: Walk  or jog –  no incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – YOUR fastest speed.
1 Minute: Walk  or jog – no incline
1 Minute : Get off treadmill and do jump lunges or lunges.
1 Minute: Walk or jog – no incline

Repeat the above sequence (squats – walking) 3 times.  You’re done!!!

If you don’t have a treadmill you can do this at a track or large park.  You can even run around in circles in your backyard.

Almost every workout can be customized to your fitness level.  Can’t sprint?? Then jog.  After a while you WILL be able to sprint.  Can’t do a minute of squats?  Then squat for 10 seconds, rest 20, and repeat.  Work your way up.  You CAN do it.  It’s only 20 minutes and you are worth it.

xoxo
j

Sprinting is good for you.  Or so I’ve read…

This weekend I decided to go to the local highschool track to get in a sprint workout in hopes of carving my log-like thighs into something more shapely like tubas.  I was disappointed to find the local track surrounded my 8 foot fences and locked.  So I drove to the local city college and found the same thing.  Luckily, I ran into one of the faculty and I asked what’s the deal with all the locks and fences.  She explained “vandals”.  Grrrrrrrrr.  I will refrain from ranting.  Anyway, more determined than ever to do my sprint workout I drove back to the highschool and drove along like MacGyver in my mini-van.  I came across a gate that I thought I could squeeze myself through.  I was right.  ”Ha ha!”, I grunted victoriously.  So I did my workout (see below), stretched, and exhausted I got up to leave.  I walked back to the gate where I had easily slipped through and look at the opening in the gate.  Hmmm…it looked smaller. I had fit through that?  I kneeled down and tried to squeeze through.  No luck.  Great.  I starting getting mad thinking someone tightened the chain while I was working out. Because it’s couldn’t have been my fault.  I quickly became sure someone was thinking “I’ll teach that lady a lesson not to use the track when it’s locked.”  Humph.  I think not.  I held my breath and got one leg, my hips, and chest through but my head started to get stuck.  My defiance quickly turned to “oh crap”.  I backed out again.  This was harder than pushing out a baby.  I thought about climbing the fence but my legs were so exhausted I didn’t think I’d make it.  So I decided one last time to try and squeeze myself through the gate.  I got down really low (near the ground) and tested squeezing my head through, praying to God it wouldn’t get stuck.  Sure enough if my head was two inches from the ground I could shimmy it through.  So I backed out and prepared for my escape.  Slowly, I squeezed one thigh through and then inhaled and shimmied my hips through.  My shoulders and other thigh followed.  Kneeling with my face practically scraping the ground I got my head through.  Then I looked back and  saw my cell phone was just out of arms reach on the other side of the fence.  Not really.  Ha!  But, lemme tell ya, that would have just been simply hysterical.  I stood up and looked around for someone hidden in the bushes laughing their fool head off at me.   For a moment, I even thought about twirling around with my middle fingers up in the air giving a general you-know just in case someone really did tighten the chain and was watching.  But then I decided that’s not the kind of person I want to be so I let my Houdini move speak for itself.  

Anyway here is the workout I did and it was awesome.  (Yes I still say “awesome”.)  My hamstrings are still sore.

Sprint Workout

1 lap (400 m) slow jog
4 laps sprinting the straight ways and walking the curves.  (In other words 100 m  sprint alternating with 100 m walks or thereabouts for a mile.)
1 lap (400 m) slow jog 

For fun I threw in 10 sets of bleachers.  

Stretch

If you don’t have access to a track just go to a park and estimate.  I think this is what I’ll do next time.

xoxo
j