Fitness Friday - Kym Gym

Anyone try those yasso bars yet? Anyone who knows me knows that I am all about the food and when it's time to eat, but I'm also all about that fitness. 💪🏻

 So I figured it's time to share my favorite at home HIIT workout for when I'm crunched on time but still want to sweat. Plus with Aruba in less than a month, I'm really trying to step up my game. 

This has been my go to especially on the days I workout before work. 35 minutes may not sound like a lot, but any bit of sweat is worthy!

Coined "Kym Gym" by Anthony - I am able to do this in the comfort of my den with Anthony's help sliding the coffee table to the side of the room. 

Equipment needed:

Jump Rope

3lb dumbells 

Yourself

The workout: 

Warmup: 1 minute of the following exercises 

- running in place

- cross jacks (jumping jacks with crossing the arms in front instead of above the head) 

- butt kicks 

- karaoke across the room 

- standing oblique crunches with knee raise (YouTube it 😬) 

Jump rope 20 seconds

Rest 30-60 seconds 

Complete each of the following exercises for 45 seconds each. 

- burpees 😄💃🏻 

- squats with over head arm press (holding dumbells)

- jack presses (jumping jacks with dumbells in hands pressing up) 

- push-ups on knees 

- lunge jumps (20 seconds right leg lead - 20 seconds left leg lead) holding dumbells

- air punches with dumbells 

- squat jumps with dumbells

Jump rope for 20 seconds. 

Rest 1 minute 

Repeat circuit for however many rounds you have time for. I usually do 2 rounds and then abs and stretch for cool down. Of course everything can be modified - no weights, shorter blocks, etc. 

Now, I really don't like working out at home. It's a lot harder to get going and even worse thinking of the alarm going off at 4:45am to do this. 😳  I just think of how good I feel after. It actually goes pretty quickly. Plus the smell of coffee brewing from the kitchen helps. ☕️ 

Put on a good playlist and I am enjoying breakfast before I know it. 

You can really make this workout as short or long as you want based on the number of rounds and how long you make the blocks. So there are no excuses😄. Cutting out the travel time to the gym can still get you a great workout. 💪🏻

Workout Wednesday

Let me get you up to date on my workouts for the week. Since I know you are all DYING to hear so you can try them.

Sunday Funday Workout: Started with the treadmill followed by weight training. I am getting ready for my next 5k which is a little over 2 weeks away. I got 4.2 miles in. I like trying different things like running at a faster pace and holding it then recovering, sprints, adding incline, etc. My goal though is to not stop and walk. So no matter how slow my jog is as long as I am not walking that's what I am going for.

I have learned that running is just as mental as it is physical. I always make it to the 5k mark (3.1 mi) but then I just tell myself farther. I have that inner dialogue in my head like "Who are you kidding you don't want to stop" or "Just a 1/2 mi more!" It works and as I finish I feel so much better.

It was on to legs. 3 rounds of this set with plyometric moves in between. WOAH!

15 lunges each leg (15 lbs each hand)
20 sumo squats - stop for 5 bicep curls at 15 & 20 (15 lbs)
15 side lunge pulses (15lbs)

20 Jump Squats after round 1, 20 Burpees after round 2 , 20 Side to Side Jumps after round 3.
Abs, stretching and I called it a day.

Monday Madness: I went to a UFX Burn class at the gym. I haven't been since the spring because I would go Weds at 6am, but they added a Monday 6am class so now I can get back to it. This is basically a boot camp style class. There was a warm up, 4 sets with 2 exercises and cool down. We would perform exercise 1 for a minute, 10 secs of jogging in place then 1 min of exercise 2. Do that for 4 sets then 30 secs recovery. We ran through that 4x. It sounds really confusing, but it worked because....

O...M...G I am still sore. The back of my legs from my calves to the back of my knees kill.

Bummer was my blood sugar SPIKED right after so my Monday morning was spent trying to get my numbers down. 

That's better.. 

It really dragged out my Monday because I had a headache all day. It really makes you feel like you just can't win. Try and workout because it is the healthy thing to do (and I enjoy it!), but deal with high blood sugars for unexplained reasons. Another example of a T1D frustration.

Tranquil Tuesday: was an off day. Felt great sleeping in til 8am!

Willpower Wednesday: (this morning) I taught spin. I almost didn't because there was a mishap with the music!! I almost cried. I thought, this CANNOT be happening. I turned on everything for the sound system, set up the microphone, all of the lights for everything were on, but NOTHING was making noise! AH! Luckily a spinner discovered a hiding switch that was not turned on. She saved the class! 

Besides the rough start it was a good class (so I'm told). :) There was some MJ, JT, Aerosmith, Bruno Mars, Adele.. want to know more then come to my class!

Sharing this just because I think it's really pretty! 

Tabata Tuesday

Ta-ho? That's right, Tabata. I mentioned yesterday that I have been trying some crazy new workouts. This method is a form of high intensity interval training and is so effective. I looked up some workouts on Pinterest and this is what I found. 

Basically you do each exercise with all out effort for 20s then take a short 10s recovery. These have been great while traveling because I still get a great workout in and feel accomplished in a shorter amount of time. If you read this months edition of Shape Magazine, Jillian Michaels gave some great tips on how to exercise and still enjoy vacation. These shorter grueling workouts were one of them! 

I put them to the test and can say they definitely make you SWEAT and I mean like where it just doesn't stop. Not only do they switch up my usual routine, but I am still able to get outside and spend time by the pool. As we all know I do like to eat, (see yesterday's post) so these Tabata workouts help to undo some of that eating! 

These are also great because you don't need a gym, just a little but of space, a towel and water. So there are no excuses for not exercising when away from home. :) 

If you are daring enough, give them a try! 

Sayonara Sausage

This holiday weekend always calls for a lot of BBQ food. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, etc. Although I LOVE everything on the above list and then some, I have been making sure to step it up in the gym. Here is a recap of my workouts to help me say Sayonara to all of that BBQ.

Thursday (July 4th): Usually I take two classes on Thursdays as mentioned here, but I decided to just do the first class as I felt like I had no energy after it. This class is called Step Interval and using the step on one set of risers we do a non-stop hour of cardio. Step, kick-boxing and weights...my favorite are the plyometric jumps! (Thank you skating). I like this class not only because of the instructor, but because it sends your heart rate up, down and all around. Perfect for blasting away calories.

After class I did about 10 minutes of core work followed by some stretching.

Friday (July 5th): With all of the fun mentioned in my July 4th post I know I needed to get to the gym on Friday. I did a 30 minute treadmill interval workout followed by a circuit drill I found off of pinterest. 

*Note- I only ran through this circuit once. 

I do not use pinterest a lot, but there are some great workouts on there! I love resorting to them when I am getting a little bored with my usual workouts. I could tell it was working because I was DRIPPING. So much that there was a puddle around me (oops). Don't worry I cleaned it up! :D  I am naturally a sweater, but I can tell the difference when I mix up my workouts.

After, I went to yoga. Every Friday I try to make it to the Yoga class offered at my gym. I like this particular class because of the stretching and it is more of a fitness style yoga rather than a spiritual one. I just can't take myself seriously in the "I'm floating on a cloud" style yoga.

Saturday (July 6th): Time for some Spinning!! My gym rearranged some of the classes for the holiday weekend, so there was only 1 spin class to attend. Such a bummer. However, the instructor Joanne did a great "Super Spin" and made it an hour class instead of 45mins. Great music and a challenging ride! There was even a hill to MJ's "The Way You Make Me Feel." Reminded me of Erin's class from last Monday!

Sunday (July 7th): I was thinking about taking off, but I was feeling too motivated and after celebrating my brothers birthday the night before I knew it was the right thing. I had a glass of wine AND dessert. So unlike me.

My goal of the workout was weight training. Beforehand I did 25 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. 5 min warm up jog, 2mins of walking on an incline of 14 and 3.8mph, 2mins of sprinting at 8.5. Cool down was walking for about 3mins.

I worked abs, legs then arms.
Abs: I am so random with abs. Let's just say I do a lot of different forms of crunches and moves to target all parts of the core.

Legs: 15 squats (15lb weights in each hand)
          15 Lunges (each leg- 15lb weights in each hand overhead)
          20 Sumo Squats (holding 15lb weight at chest)
          Repeat 3x.

Arms: 12 forward arm extension (knuckles facing out) 10lbs each hand
           12 side extensions - 10lbs each hand
           12 bicep curls - 10lbs each hand
           Repeat 3x.
Ended with a good stretch and I called it a day.

Spinning with MJ

Yesterday was one of the best spin classes ever. Not only was it a butt kicking, sweat pouring workout, but it was an ENTIRE class of Michael Jackson music! Say what you want about him, but I love him lol. When I was ice skating I even did a showcase program to Billie Jean. 

The profile played some if his greatest hits and included 4 intense hills. As a future spinning instructor, this really helped me to see the importance of music. I felt myself pushing myself harder and sweating even more than I usually do (hard to believe I know). Now I'm sure not everyone is as big a fan of MJ as I am, but it is important to play a variety of music and switch it up every class. (Although I was perfectly fine with 45 minutes of the King). Throwing in themed rides (MJ for example) and all genres of music is what makes spinning fun! A bunch of people seemed to enjoy the MJ profile! 

My two favorite hills were to Billie Jean and The Way You Make Me Feel. There was just something about the beat to those songs that made it perfect for a climb. 

You have heard me mention the instructor Erin before in other posts. I always feel challenged by her rides which is important because one never wants to feel bored in a workout. 

Here is Erin with a big smile after kicking all of our butts! 

Don't let her small size fool you, she is a BEAST!! 

Thanks Erin for another GREAT class! See you next Monday. :) 

Workouts and Ice Cream

Great combo right? Well that was the highlight of my Thursday. 

Thursdays include my 2 favorite workout classes at the gym. The first is a cardio mix class that includes step, kickboxing and some weights. The second is a standard weight training class. After the 2 solid hours I am spent! The instructor is the most intense woman and I love her classes. It took me awhile to finally get myself to start going to them because of how intense she is, but now after a year of regularly attending I am always wanting more! It really means a lot when she pays me a compliment on my efforts in front of the class. When she sees a person working hard on any level she takes notice which is really motivating! 

There comes a point where all of a sudden my body just starts pouring sweat. Gross yes, but so good at the same time. 

However, as long as I have been going, these high intensity workouts send my blood sugar for a ride. Before the classes began (and after bfast) I was 175 which is perfect for working out. However afterward was a different story.... 

Yikes.. But as Ryan says... 

It's crazy how every type of workout will have a different affect, but I just gotta deal. Things got better by bar time... 

Now onto that ice cream I mentioned. 

Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory again and this time I just couldn't resist one of my favorite desserts. Here are some snap shots from dinner.

Appetizers: spinach and artichoke dip and some lettuce wraps. 

Chop salad, yum! 

And my favorite....

I very easily could have eaten it all, but mom and I split it. As the saying goes... YOLO ...

The night ended with watching one of my favorites. The Sex and the City movie was on e! which meant I was up til 11, way past my bedtime. (It is actually on again now as I write this, win!). 

I love the messages is this movie. If it is meant to be it will be, true love and friendship. I LOVE the scene where Carrie is in those gorgeous dresses for the Vogue shoot. 

(Love this shot above!) 

No movie is complete without a little drama and some running mascara...

I bet everyone is looking forward to the weekend. I know I am! Race day tomorrow and off to Myrtle Beach on Sunday!