Weekly Wrap Up + Ugly Ducks

Hey Hey!  I haven't posted in a few days, but rest assured that I've been keeping up with my consistent fitness routine.  I got early to walk every morning this week.  I didn't hit my 13,000 step goal every day, but I got at least 10,000 steps every day.  Now, that's not counting the weekend.  I was out of town over the weekend and didn't do quite as well, but I'm still on track.

I also completed a kettlebell workout two days this week.  The first day, I worked my legs hard.  Lots of squats, lunges and single leg deadlifts.  The second day, I worked my upper body with lots of one arm rows, presses and cleans.  I did some ab work both days.

For some reason, the kettlebell felt extra heavy this week.  I still used the 25 pounder, but it felt extremely difficult to lift this week.  Isn't it interesting how the same move can feel so different depending on your mood/week/hormones/life at that particular time?  I admit I don't understand it all yet.

Ugly Ducks

So, the neighborhood that I live in has a community pond.  It's home to a lot of different fish, turtles, ducks, geese, and other wildlife.  But there are these particular ducks that are super friendly, but they are also just really ugly.  Sometimes they'll come right up to me while I'm walking.  They won't even get out of my way.  They just stand there like they own the place.

According to the neighbors, they are Muscovy ducks and they're all females.

How was your week?

Suggestions on Kettlebell moves?

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Well, Today Did Not Go As Planned + My Fitbit Blaze

Well, today did not go as planned. I woke up at my normal time, but I was not even out of bed before I heard the thunder out the window.  I just rolled over and went back to sleep.

A few weeks ago, I woke up on a similar morning and got dressed and went out for my walk and I immediately noticed that it had recently rained.  It was much cooler than the previous mornings so I thought "Oh! This is wonderful, I will have a fresh cool walk this morning."  And how naive I was.  I was about a half mile from home when there was a huge crack of thunder right behind me.  It scared me half to death and I took off running back toward the house.  Of course, it started pouring down rain and I was soaked to the bone by the time I got back to my house.  I am just glad I made it home without getting struck by lightning. I think getting struck by lightning is one of my biggest fears.  Completely frightening.

That day was on my mind this morning when I decided to sleep in instead of working out.  I got out of bed with just enough time to take a quick shower and grab my breakfast before time to get to work.

But my schedule was off and my day did not go well. I think it was at least partly because I didn't get my workout in and my day just started off behind the curve.  Work did not go well.  Nothing really went my way today.

We're nearing the end of the day and I am not even at 3,000 steps for the day.  This is by far my worst step day in a long time.

Do you like my Fitbit?  It's a Fitbit Blaze.  I love this thing!  I got a new metal mesh band for it so that it will look a little dressier than the blue plastic band that it came with.


I like the fact that it tracks my steps, my sleep, my heart rate, and so much more.  And it's right there on my wrist. I don't even have to look at my phone.  It also alerts me to phone calls, text messages, meetings, and alerts.

Fitbit also has a new iPhone app. I like their new dashboard layout.  It has a nice clean look but shows everything I need to know at a glance.  I like it a lot better when  my stats are up to par though.



Do you have a Fitbit tracker? If so, which one?

What's your biggest fear?  

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Nicely Sore + Finally Hit the New Step Goal

Okay so that kettlebell workout yesterday turned out to be a good one.  Did I mention that I intended to do 3 sets of the workout, but could only manage to complete 2 sets?

Today my deltoid muscles are nicely sore.  Deltoid muscles?  Yeah. You know ... those muscles on the back of your shoulder that wraps around the back of your arm?  Am I the only one who Googles the names of my sore muscles?  Hurts so good.  That's all I'm saying.

Tomorrow is another kettlebell day so I need to start Googling a good full body kettlebell workout.  Maybe this one? Or this one looks good. Or what about this pumped up workout?

I also managed to meet my new 13,000 step goal today for the first time.  I started with a 3 mile walk this morning then I had to jump on my exercise trampoline several times during the day to keep on track to reach my goal.  I try to remember to pay attention to the Fitbit feature that tracks how many hours I walk at least 250 steps.  Some days I do better than others.  Today I did pretty well and hit 11 of 14 hours. (I've set 7am to 9pm as my active hours.)

Every little bit helps.  The main thing is to keep putting in work every day.

Do you embrace your sore muscles?  

Have you ever used a foam roller to try to roll out the soreness?

Do you have any suggestions on kettlebell workouts?

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Happy Monday + Kettlebell Weight Training

Happy Monday!  I don't know about you, but this has been a long Monday for me.

I started out with 3.16 miles outside in the neighborhood.  That got me a little over 7,000 steps toward my new 13,000 daily step goal.  A long walk followed by a nice big fruit bowl for breakfast.  That's what I call a good start to the day.

After a busy day at work, I had to end the day with a sweaty kettlebell workout.

Tonight, I used a 25 pound kettlebell and it is no joke.  I'm not gonna lie - when I use this thing, my arms and legs just shake and I sweat so much.  My shirt is soaked through.  My arms just feel dead.  AND I LOVE IT!  Anybody with me on this?

Yes, I like to do my kettlebell workouts in my bathroom.  Kinda crazy?  I'm a mom - it's one of the few places I can get any privacy!

See the picture below? This is the heart rate monitor on my Fitbit Flex during my kettlebell workout today.  The kettlebell is NO JOKE.  It's hard work.

This was my workout tonight.

Warm-up then two sets of the following:

1. Two-hand Kettlebell Swing - 20 reps
2. Kettlebell Cleans - 10 reps left,  10 reps right
3. Military Presses - 6 reps left, 6 reps right (My goal was 8, I could only do 6)
4. Front Squats - 8 reps left, 8 reps right
5. Renegade Lunges - 10 reps
6. Kettlebell High Pull  - 20 reps (WOW!)
7. One-leg Deadlift - 10 reps left, 10 reps right
8. One-arm Rows - 10 reps left, 10 reps right

REPEAT!

Then I did a bit of ab work - 20 rolling kettlebell situps, 15 kettlebell situps, 20 rolling kettlebell situps.

BOOM.

I'd never done the Kettlebell High Pull before.  I will probably be feeling that workout tomorrow. My shoulder is already feeling it.  Yikes.  I better go get my foam roller and pray for the best.

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Weekend Goal Results and a Walking Buddy

Well, the weekend results are in and I crushed my step goal!  I was aiming for at least 30,000 steps over the two days and I hit just over 32,000 tonight.

My long walk tonight was with my daughter, Emily.  She's a great walking buddy and it gives us a nice opportunity to chat.  I'm not sure how much longer she'll be willing to go for walks with me, but I'll take it while I can get it.  You know what I'm saying?


Tonight, though, it was way too hot!  My MapMyRun app has been messing up so I don't know exactly how far we walked, but we were out for just about an hour.  We had to stop and take a break at this turret for a few minutes.  Luckily, we were able to find a spot out of the sun that had a pretty good breeze.  Yeah I'll take that wind on my face.


This week, I'm upping my step goal to 13k steps per day.  That's almost 2000 steps more than my current goal, but I think I can manage it.  My only concern is the heat - we're expected to see temps at or near 100 degrees most days this week.

What's your strategy for exercising outdoors in the heat?  Got any good tips?

Based on the shadow picture in this post, can you guess how old my daughter is?

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Setting Exercise Goals for the Weekend

Hi guys!  Happy weekend!

Don't you just love the weekends?

I love weekends because I get to spend more time with my family and I don't have to conform to my work-week routine.  But weekends are also harder from a diet and exercise standpoint because I don't have my routine to rely on to keep me on track.

During the week, I get up before 6am and put in 3 miles before I start my day.  But on the weekends I like to sleep in.  Once I get up, I usually fix a nice breakfast for the family and it's so easy to just skip my walk and go about my day.

I've been trying to set fitness goals for myself on the weekends to push myself to do more than I normally would. This weekend, I'm striving for a 30k step weekend.  I hit 20k steps today so I'm well on my way to my goal.

If I don't have a goal, I'm lucky if I get 10k steps over the weekend.  That's no good.

Are you a Fitbit user?  If so, which Fitbit do you have?

Find me on Fitbit.

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