* * * Kettlebell Check In * Monday * * *

[deanie]

Good Morning gals

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The sun was shining here, and we got all our sports in, so it was a fun weekend for us!

Today was the Diva workout, fun as always.
I dead lifted 100# 8x
and finished off the workout with a jumprope tabata!

Rhonda::: I hope your stress is less today and you are back on track. Everyone has times we fall off the wagon. Don't stress about it

Missy::: Hope you are feeling better today. Have you noticed any results from SIM?

Jane::: THanks for the link to the slam balls, didn't know they were so expensive, will have to think about it!!

waves to Marcy, Gayle and Andilynne!!

Have a great day!!

 

[pink_fortitude]

Good morning ladies! Thank you all so much for your well wishes, it means a lot to me! I slept all night for the first time last night, and I will work out today for the first time since Wednesday. I was on prescription strength cortisol, tried everything from apple cider vinegar, benedryl, shea butter, etc. and the only thing that worked to get rid of the itching and swelling was Tecnu - it is incredible! If you guys are every unfortunate to run into poison sumac, oak or ivy get this stuff! The relief it gives is incredible and it is homeopathic. I used Technu scrub in the shower and within a minute of drying off I felt completely normal again and an hour later the horrible swelling was to a minimal. I showered at 9 and didn't get my first itch until 4, and even then it wasn't insane. It is also a scrub to get the oil off before you even get symtoms, so if you garden it may be good to have it on hand just in case. I didn't know what poison ivy really looked like (I knew it was leaves of three, but never saw it) until this weekend, when I identified it ALL OVER MY SHADE GARDEN INFESTING MY ASTILBES AND COLUMBINE!!! I had pulled a ton out of my daisies and lilies, connected and adjacent to the shade garden, just 2 weeks ago bare-handed and never even knew what I was touching, silly me . I will never forget now!

Today's workout is going to be something out of the navy seals training program:

2 mile run
4 rounds of:
5 pull ups
20 push ups
20 sit ups

Not super intense, but I did a rotation of this after I had DS (now 10) so I have good memories. I also don't need to be doing something all that tough, anyways, after the sleepless nights and how hard my body has been working to fight the wretched plant oils

I didn't get to finish week 4 of SIM, but here is what I did find with what I have done:
Pros:
Increased strength in upper body, big time
A seriously defined back - holy cow it's awesome!
Stronger, more muscular core
By the end of the rotation I was able to get through the workouts much easier even with shorter breaks
Can do 20 pushups like it's nothing
Have stronger, more muscular quads

Cons:
I lost some definition in legs
Have a flabbier butt

I love the strength gains, hate the lower body results. I am a pear shape so I always struggle with my lower body anyways, but I am still sad. I am going to work on butt and legs more this next two weeks as well as try to maintain upper body strength. Maybe I will have to just tack on legs to the end of SIM days... what are your thoughts?

Deanie, you are tempting me with this Diva workout! I really want these downloadable workouts, but we are going on vacay in a month so I will have to wait until after then. Thanks for the links to the ropes; I think those will have to wait until after vacay too, but they are on the list now; they are so much cheaper!!!

Rhonda, don't feel bad about falling off the wagon! We ALL do it. Today is a new day, a new start - heck, this second is a clean slate to start again! Do you keep a journal? Sometimes when things are hectic it helps when I write down my feelings, and then immediately after that write down the things in my life that are wonderful and make me happy, even simple things like a large hot water heater so I can take loooooooong hot showers, that live in an era of washing machines, running water and dishwashers unlike my great grandmother (who had to pluck her own chickens, live how her husband told her to and couldn't get a fair paying job). It helps put things in perspective for me, and I realize that this too shall pass, that something better is going to happen soon.

*waving hello to Gayle, Jane, Marcy and Andilynn!

Missy

 

[Farmer]

Good Morning

Andilynn, Deanie,and Missy-

Thanks for the kind words. I will be going through this situation for a few months (at least) and I realize that there will be good days and bad days. I definitely count my blessings and I know it sounds crazy but I am very thankful for indoor plumbing, hot water, and electricity. I also have a job, food to eat (too much ) and a strong relationship with the Lord.

Today I did rounds 1-7 of Providence and Classical Stretch #26 Injury Prevention.

Waves to everyone.

 

[lioness]

Hi Everyone!

Today is a rest day for me.

Deanie ~ Those med balls are expensive. My sister and I have a fitness account where we each put in $20/month so when we have enough money, we buy another piece of equipment. I try to go to Play It Again Sports to see if I can find what I'll looking for first.

Missy ~ I'm so glad you are feeling better!!! Your workout looks fun. I am also a pear and I'm struggling now with getting more definition in my legs. Running used to be the trick but I think my problem may be stress but I'm upping the leg workouts to see if that will work.

Rhonda ~ {{{Hugs}}} to you. I'm dealing with an ongoing stressful situation (with my dad) and there are days that you can push through and others that you can't. Saturday was that day for me. Just do what you need to do to take care of yourself and the next day just jump right back into it. I've learned so much in dealing with this situation with my dad. I would have preferred not to go through it but the lessons I'm learning are amazing.

Waves hello to Gayle, Marcy and Andilynn.

Have a great Monday!!

 

[Gayle]

Hi everyone! I had a pretty busy weekend so didn't get any workouts in. I slept really badly last night, so don't know if I'll try a workout tonight or not.

Deanie- Nice workout. Your DLs just keep going up!

Missy - Thanks for the info on Tecnu. DH manages to get into something every autumn when he hunts. I think I'll get some of that to have on hand. Very cool UB results from SIM! I'm a pear, too. I kinda end up doing something leg-centric in every workout even if I don't plan it. Those walking lunges I did last week stayed with me for several days.

Rhonda - {{{HUGS}}} Take care of yourself, and don't beat yourself up for falling off the wagon. We all do it.

Jane - Nice run yesterday! Enjoy your rest.

Waves hello to Marcy and Andilynn.

 

[andilynn67]

Good morning everyone! Today is the start of my recovery week from STS I'm aching for a kettlebell workout but I lifted yesterday so I pulled out a dvd I have not touched in forever and a day-G Force 2- I needed to dust of my rebounder anyway,LOL! It was alot of fun and a good workout to start my week with. I'm thinking Santa Monica is calling me for tomorrow, I miss my ropes!

Gayle- Hope you sleep better tonite!

Jane -Enjoy your rest day!

Rhonda-Hang in there!

Missy- My lower body is a trouble spot for me too, but the leg workouts in STS are giving some improvements.

Deanie-Great job on the 100# deadlifts!

Waves to all!

 

[mj476]

Good Afternoon!

Today I did Tear It Up from the Slim Series. This is the 2nd workout I've done from this series and so far I like them. I always used to like lifting heavy but I'm really starting to like the high rep/low weight workouts now. These go non-stop without any breaks but the exercises are usually only about a minute each and I like them since I'm able to go through them without any rests. I used 5s, 8s and 10s throughout the workout:

Upright rows: 5#; regular rows: 8#
Chest press - 5#
Rotator cuff (elbows in; dumbbells go out to sides) - 5#
W press - 5# tough, burning!
Rear delt - 5#
Bicep curls - 5# (I can't believe I'm saying this but I was really feeling these with only 5#!)
Overhead extension (French Press) - 5# - tough!
Cardio - Knee pulls, upper cuts, punches, alternating lunges, low knee pulls, jog, jacks
Squats and squats with knee ups - 5#
Front lunges - 5#
Deadlifts - 8# (fast count)
Plie squats - 8#
Calf Raises (slow and fast) - 5#
Front and rear kicks
Side kicks
Squat jumps, job, 1/2 jack, jog, march
Front raise with pull back - 5#
Lift arms with palms up - dumbbells together - 5# - hard!
Bicep curls, hammer curls, arms out curls - 5#
1-arm delt raise and kickbacks - 5#
Medium stance squats - skipped these, running out of time
Low pulsing squats
Deadlifts - 10# (2-2 count)
1-legged deadlifts and straight leg deadlifts - 10#
Plie Squats - 10#
Didn't do 2nd set of calf raises
The last 25 mins. was a resistance band segment which I didn't do.
Abs were just crunches. I'll be doing abs tomorrow - thinking about doing Abs/Core + from P90X+.
Stretch

Deanie - Great job on the deadlifts! Love the KB complex. I've done it before - fast and effective.

Rhonda - Congratulations on getting Core Rhythms! I hope you like them. Sorry to enable! I'm sorry to hear about your stressful situation. Take it easy and don't worry about a cheat day here and there. Which season of CS do you have?

Andilynn - Congratulations on your DN's graduation!

Missy - I'm also a pear/hourglass shape and lower body always gives me a hard time. I agree KBs gave me great definition in upper body but didn't do too much for my lower half. I also gained endurance and strength but wasn't happy with my look. My core strength really improved as well.

Thanks for the info about Tecnu. I went through a terrible time a couple of years ago where I itched non-stop. I was going crazy - no sleep and my chest looked like an alligator's skin. I don't know if it was stress or not but since I moved from NY to GA, my itching has completely stopped.

Jane - I hope you are enjoying your rest day.

Gayle - I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight.

Marcy