Tag Archives: Home Fitness

December 30, 2012 · 3:11 PM

Working On Goals For 2013

2013resIt’s that time of year where you begin to reflect on the past 12 months and start deciding what direction you would like the next 12 to go in.

For me, the focus has been on a few areas, but I’ve put a lot of thought into doing more “fun races”.

I did my first “fun run” this past September and I loved it. The Color Run was so much fun and I had never participated in anything like it before…especially due to my phobia of group fitness activity.

As I perused my 5k options on Active.com and RunningInTheUSA.com, I discovered many different types of “fun runs” and quickly started making a list of ones I’d like to do in 2013!

So far, my goal is to do the Glow Run, Foam Fest and The Color Run.

I, being the Pinaholic I am, have already started collecting ideas for my run attire, for the Glow Run…

I LOVE this idea for the Glow Run!

I LOVE this idea for the Glow Run!

I also like that I now have goals to train for. I tend to need something to focus on in order to keep on track. I know that I will need to make a solid run schedule as well as a lifting schedule for myself. Somewhere in that mix, I’d like to at least do month 1 of Insanity again, because I know how well it builds up my cardio endurance.

2013 has the potential to be amazing. A year for me to finally break out of my shell and start being a social fit person. I survived a group workout with Tony Horton in 2011 and Bikram Yoga classes in 2012. I even attended a BlogHer party by myself during the summer. Maybe there is hope for me yet!

Do you have any fitness goals for 2013? How about any “fun races” that you may have done in the past?

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December 18, 2012 · 9:24 AM

The Perfect 10

As usual, I was trolling around Pinterest and stumbled upon this. I used it instead of a run since the weather around here has been yucky. I felt a major burn in my lower body and teamed up with a plank hold. I really need to get back to my plank challenge, I seem to have lost some of my strength here.

The Perfect 10

I’m not a fan of the treadmill, nor do I have one (or access to one) anymore. I’m also not a fan of running in the rain, which is why I’ve been looking for short, yet solid at home workouts. What are your favorite workouts to do instead of running when the weather doesn’t cooperate? 

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November 25, 2012 · 8:17 PM

{Workout} Shapely Squats

Once again, I’ve been trolling around on Pinterest and I stumbled upon this workout that I thought you guys might like.

I love doing lower body workouts when I’m short on time. They work so many major muscles, that you really feel your heart-rate increase and know that you are working hard, even if you are short on time.

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October 9, 2012 · 9:20 AM

Do It Daily Workout

This morning I decided to take my own advice from yesterdays post “Progress and Change”. I haven’t had to leave for work as early the past few shifts and I was either reading in the morning or wasting time on Pinterest. (Neither is an awful thing, but I have recently set some fitness goals for myself and neither was really helping me reach that goal, know what I mean?).

While on Pinterest, I tend to look for healthy recipes and new workouts to try, so it’s not a total waste of time, but I could be doing the workouts I already pinned and haven’t tried before looking for new ones, right?

This morning I tried this one:

It’s a perfect before-you-take-your-morning-shower-workout. I felt a great burn in my core from it, and since I had extra time, I held the plank till I couldn’t anymore, which resulted in 5 minutes 10 seconds of plank. (Not too shabby)

I’m in my rest week for P90X right now, so I’ll be doing Core Synergystics later tonight. Phase 3 starts on Monday….I can’t believe how fast this round is going by!

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September 22, 2012 · 9:16 AM

{ Fitness Friday }

Yeah, yeah, yeah….I know. It’s Saturday. This week has been a hectic one for me so this post is a day late. Sue me.

This week I conquered the new Phase 2 workouts, CST (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps) as well as, Back & Biceps. My arms have felt sore as hell all week from them, especially my triceps since Tony neglects to stretch the triceps BEFORE you begin the workout! I forgot all about that since it’s been a while since I’ve done P90X, but a mental note has been made and I’ll be sure to stretch them before I start the workout on Monday. Back & Biceps had me feeling a little weak. I don’t know if it is because my arms were already fatigued from work on Wednesday, if my biceps really are not as strong as I thought they were or a combination of both, but I felt defeated at the end when I couldn’t finish the last move, which I believe were called Strip-Set Curls.

Overall, this week felt pretty good and I know I have to really “bring it” this month so I can see more results. This week was just kinda shaky as I started it off not feeling well due to a slight cold and I was mentally not stoked to workout each night. Thankfully I have been doing this round with the hubs so we keep each other going.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter & Instagram might have noticed I haven’t been doing my plank challenge, and I didn’t reach my goal. Well, I started to feel like I tweaked my left shoulder and the scar from my surgery (which is still healing) started turning a very angry purple color, so I decided to back off and give my body a break. The P90X workouts I’m doing are hard enough on my still healing body, especially since my rest week workouts focused on my core. I’ve been doing shorter planks in the workouts, just not pushing to the point of injury!

As for nutrition, I messed up yesterday and forgot to eat lunch because I was busy trying to finish things at work. I should know better than to do this, but it happens. I ended up with an awful headache (which sucked) but I managed to live and get my workout done with it. The rest of the week was pretty good and I did have a “cheat day” last weekend. We went out for dinner and drinks with some friends. I had a burger, fries and a few beers and I enjoyed every bite of it! NomNomNom!

This weeks goals are to plan our dinners and prep them all in advanced to make my life easier. I planned everything out two weeks ago and had all of the ingredients on hand and it really helped. I want to take it a step further and have everything prepped and in bags, already measured out and labeled. I always do better when I’m organized and I’m at the point where nutrition trumps workouts, so this could really benefit me and help me reach my goals quicker.

I’d also like to find the time to run. I haven’t ran since the Walk With Joe 5K, two weeks ago. The weather has been perfect for running, but between me not being a morning workout person, work and it getting darker earlier, I’ve failed to do it. I know, that is a lot of excuses, but it’s all true.

As always, I welcome those of you who take the time to read my posts to share your week in fitness and your upcoming goals with me. I’d really love to hear what you have going on too!

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September 3, 2012 · 4:01 PM

Plank Challenge

I recently saw my friend and inspiration, @MariaPaulercio, doing a Plank Challenge on Instagram and I decided I had to join in.

What’s the Plank Challenge, you ask?

Well, everyday you push yourself to hold a proper plank form (see image at the end of this blog for proper form) for as long as you can. By as long as you can, I mean until your core muscles can no longer hold you up. Not, “my mind says I can’t do this“. Your mind is a liar most times. You are capable of doing some pretty epic stuff if you push yourself to your absolute max, which is way past when your mind says “I’m done“.

*Please don’t confuse using common sense with pushing past your mental max. There is a difference here and I’m not telling you to push till you hurt yourself. I’m trying to get you to leave your comfort zone, cause THAT’S when the magic happens.*

Each day I do my challenge, I set my iPhone stopwatch to zero, select music that is going to get me pumped up and in the zone, get into my plank pose, press start and then I zone the hell out. You will shake while doing this. You might not last all that long, either. The important thing is proper form and a positive attitude. Each day you’ll see an improvement and you’ll begin to feel your core strengthen.

Here is what plank should and should NOT look like. I recommend using a mirror or have someone check your form, if you are new to it, until you know what correct form feels like.

I have chosen to post my daily results on Instagram with the hashtag #PlankChallenge. I use a photo collage app to show my time, song I listened usually a pic of myself. There is no need to do all of that, but if you are on IG, you know how fun it can be and I think it’s a great way to stay accountable with friends. If you don’t follow me on Instagram but are curious of my progress with this so far, feel free to look me up. My username is Bronc787 or you should be able to Click Here to view my photo stream via Statigram.

If you decide to join the plank challenge, please let me know! I’d love to keep each other motivated, challenged and to push each other to the next level of fitness!

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August 26, 2012 · 10:43 PM

P90X: Day 7 Round 3.5

A little out of order to finish up the week, but it was truly worth it. Normally I’m not a fan of switching up the routine, but last night, the hubs and I had a wonderful date night that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I usually enjoy Xstretch to start my Sunday morning off but our dinner at a Hawaiian burrito joint followed by a walk on the beach, fireworks and some delicious frozen yogurt at Red Mango was well worth the change up.

Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut!

That was the theme to today’s workout!  There is something about kicking and punching for an hour that helps your stress levels to go down. (Not that I was stressed at all today but in the past it has really helped.)

To be honest, I was tired during this routine. My booty and hip flexors are still really sore from Friday nights Legs & Back and my balance wasn’t as good as it normally is. I was also in bum mode since I had just spent 4 hours on the couch watching my Broncos lose a preseason game to the 49’ers. Sigh. Needless to say, I got up, we pushed play and 58 minutes later, we were done, I felt accomplished and I could officially close the book on week 1! I was also done just in time to plop myself back down and watch the season finale of True Blood.

While doing my workout, I received a text from a friend who asked if I would be interested in doing a Color Run 5k next weekend. After checking out the website and exchanging a few texts, team “Color Us Awesome” was born! I’m excited to do this colorful 5k on September 1st. It looks like a lot of fun and it’s an excuse to be healthy and have fun with some friends.

I’m not sure if I will keep up the daily P90X blog entries or do a weekly recap…I guess my schedule and mood will dictate that. I will at the very least have some fit-spiration posts and a recap of my Color Run!

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August 25, 2012 · 5:18 PM

P90X: Day 6 Round 3.5

I had to switch things up a little here today. The scheduled workout for today is KenpoX but since the hubs and I are spending an evening out together, I decided to do Xstretch today (he’s not a fan of it and prefers a full rest day) and move KenpoX to tomorrow so we can remain workout buddies.

I love Xstretch. To me, it’s a relaxing hour that rewards my body for all of the hard work it’s done during the prior 6 days (5 days in this case). The stretching helps to ease all of the soreness of the week and it’s something that helps me to clear my head.

The only move I didn’t feel comfortable doing was Shoulder Stand to Plough. It’s a move I’ve always been leery of and I certainly am not taking any chances since I am still recovering.

Overall it was a wonderful hour of stretching. My booty, hip-flexors and especially my hamstrings are all very happy that I opted to do this today and not just make it a rest day.

Tomorrow will now be KenpoX which means I’ll finally be jab, cross, hook, upper-cutting my way to happiness and hopefully the ab definition I’ve always dreamed of.

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August 24, 2012 · 11:04 PM

P90X: Day 5 Round 3.5

Wall squats, sneaky lunges and skaters….oh my!

Three reasons why I curse on Fridays and walk funny while going up and down the stairs on Saturday.

Tonight was a tough one. I don’t know if I didn’t give myself enough time after eating one of the Gluten-free Brownies I blogged about earlier, if I was just tired or if I was just pushing my body to it’s max, but I was exhausted and wanted to puke when this routine was done.

Now that I’m showered and in bed, I feel great and I’m happy I pushed myself to do the workout. It’s so easy to get tired, feel unmotivated and not want to push yourself to press play. Chalene Johnson had some great advice in ChaLEAN Extreme. She said even on the days you don’t feel like working out, just press play and give it five minutes. If you still don’t feel into it, stop, but she guarantees you’ll end up feeling better about yourself and you’ll complete your workout for the day. So far, she’s been spot on. There have been many days that I haven’t felt like doing my workout, but I get up, get into my gym clothes and press play. An hour later, I’m done, sweaty and feel like a million bucks and that is something to be proud of.

Anyway, Legs and Back is a lower body killer. I bitch about wall squats often, but as a female, the one legged ones have come in handy many times while using public restrooms. You ladies know what I’m talking about. We hover to pee as it is when using these restrooms and there is nothing worse than ending up in a stall with a broken lock… enter the one legged wall squat and give a huge thank you to Tony Horton for being the prick of all pricks by making you do them every week for 90 Days, cause now you can squat to pee AND hold that door shut with one leg!

Tomorrow is my FAVORITE workout in the P90X program, KenpoX! There is something about jab, cross, hook, uppercutting, that makes me very happy!

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August 22, 2012 · 10:48 PM

P90X: Day 3 Round 3.5

My favorite line this workout.

I entered Day 3 with a sore upper body and core, which I absolutely love! Nothing beats that post workout soreness. To me, it lets meknow I am doing something right and that means I’ll start to see some progress before I know it.

Today we worked the glamour muscles with a little Shoulders & Arms.

This is one of my favorite P90X workouts because when I’m done with it, I feel strong and I tend to see quick results in my shoulders.

The workout is broken into 3 rounds plus a bonus round for those of us who really want to Bring It! Each round works the shoulders, biceps and triceps (in that order) and repeats itself before giving you a 30 second water/ballistic stretch break.

Since I’ve done this program a few times, I tend to keep us laughing by reciting many of the Tony-isms that are in each DVD. From “like a Pterodactyl coming for a landing….kaaaaaa!” to his fawning over the “fabulous Dreya Weber”, we toss the lines back and forth to keep the workout fun and help pass the hour.

Tomorrow is supposed to be YogaX but I’m not gonna lie….I’m not doing it. I know Tony LOVES yoga and I know how important it is, but I know my core is not ready for 90 intense minutes of it. I will most likely do a shorter yoga DVD and hopefully go for a walk/run. I guess you’ll have to come back tomorrow to find out what I actually end up doing.

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