Hamstring Killer!!

OK, so here is the exercise that is for the hamstrings that I promise works better than any machine you have ever tried!
What you need: exercise ball, and yourself!

Lie flat on the floor on your back, placing the ball under the heels of your feet.
Lift your butt off the ground keeping your body in line. DON'T LET YOUR BACK DROP!!
Holding your butt up off the ground, keeping your stomach and glutes tight, pull your heels towards you. The ball should roll under your heels. Your heels are digging into the ball. Then extend your legs back out rolling the ball away from you. Do this 10-12 times.

Alternate: Do same as above, except on each forward roll, drop the butt down to the ground in a controlled motion. Make sure you keep your abs flexed and glutes tight. (Not keeping all those core muscles tight can risk back injury!)
If you have not tried this movement...now is the time to start!! You will not be disappointed with the results!

Off and ON the Wagon!

OK, wow--didn't realize how much time passed since I last blogged on here! Crazy, that time is! Anyway--there have been some very low days..such as about 3 days ago when I ate an entire HUGE Hershey bar. yeah, I didn't intend to, but piece by piece i chiseled that thing away! And then it was gone. YIKES!! On a good note I have given up my ice cream for the most part. I have not bought new ice cream in a LONG time! I did go out for ice cream with a friend over the weekend, but that is not as terrible as chowing down a half gallon a week! (yes, that is how much ice cream I WAS eating!!) I have also given up my pretzels! These are another snack i would munch on so much through out the day, I would not even notice that I had inhaled about a pound of pretzels ever other day! I am grateful that summer fruit season is upon us! Watermelon works well to aid in the thirst relief department, and grapes are great for snacks. Not to mention I don't sit long enough to get munchy nearly as often!
My workouts: Going well when I can get to the Y. We had a hiccup a few weeks ago where my son had bitten so many kids we had to take a break from the gym. Then I was able to go back and got about a week in, and now I have sick kids..again. My 5K is on Saturday-so up til now when i have been at the gym, I am taking my running pretty seriously. I have been able to do not quite 3 miles in 30 minutes. My joints are KILLING me, and I have an injury on my foot. My knee is hurting bad on the opposing leg. Yes, I am in great shape to run a  race! I have been concentrating on Performance on the treadmill at a steady pace and am able to run the whole 30 minutes. Outside, the air slows me down a bit. I wonder how I will do on Saturday!? While on break from the gym, I did take advantage of the outdoor track at my son's elementary school. It is a quarter mile track. I would run based on time not so much how far I could go. Watching children and running for purpose are 2 activities that do not mesh well.
I am feeling some improvements on my body, which is a definite positive!! My jeans are not tight when I pull them straight from the dryer! :) And I have been able to increase my push ups! (When I began this journey I sadly could only do about 5 proper push ups. Now i can confidently do 20!) I feel much stronger! I am lifting weights alot. I LOVE that!! The ball has also been a great tool! There is an exercise I love doing (well I hate doing it because it BURNS bad, but I love it too!) for hamstrings! Check the next post for instructions!
Mentally, the gym is the best stress reliever for me! I cannot explain how that hour I have away from my kids while I work out is so.....hmmm, I don't even know the right word. Its not just being away from the kids, because that in itself does not give me the same satisfaction. And its not just the work out because that by itself doesn't do it either...it is definitely the combination of the both of them.
So I am on the wagon again.... and I am sure I will fall off again. (We are going on vacation soon!) But I will get back up again, and begin again....and again...and again!
I hope you are getting up and moving around in a purposeful way to increase your heart rate, feel stronger or just do something that is JUST FOR YOU! at least 1x a day! (BTW: If you don't have 30 minutes to spare, surly you can find 10 minutes 3x a day!)
Eat Well, Drink Well, Sleep Well~

All Signed up

I have registered for my first 5K. I have been saying for YEARS I am going to do one, well it is scheduled for June 4th. All proceeds go to the Caring Hearts Pregnancy Center. Pregnancy Centers have a warm spot in my heart! We can -but don't have to- collect sponsors for additional funds to help the center. If you would like to donate anything, I would love it! If you don't know much about Pregnancy Care Centers, they are PRO-LIFE centers that help any pregnant woman in crisis. (And a crisis can be a teen or a 30 year old mom of x# of kids!) Crisis can happen at any age to any woman. These centers are critical for the unborn children! AND most centers like this are Christian...they share the GOSPEL plan with each client. They do NOT judge your actions or mistakes; they shower God's love on the clients!! If you don't donate to this center, I BEG you please find one in your area that you can help out! You have NO idea who is around you, near you or you may be friends with that will or have benefit from the center's services! THANK YOU!!

A weak week!

This past week has been more than trying on every part of me. As far as the work outs go, its tough. I am now "on break" from the gym until my child stops biting-however long that takes? I have signed up for a 5K on June 4th. How will I practice now without the gym? I do have the school to go jogging--and i can't really make an excuse for it. Not to mention the slew of work out DVDs I have here at home. It is SO unmotivating though to do it on my own. The DVDs get boring and at the track I have to take numerous stops to reprimand a child or redirect them or rescue them or take on potty. So if when I cross that finish line, it truly will be a miracle of miracles! Back to the grind stone tomorrow.

Food/Fitness today

Everyday Health > Food and Fitness > Journal

Food and Fitness Journal

New Features!

New Food & Fitness Journal Features:

• • Nutritional information changes automatically as you change your serving size.
• • Calories burned changes automatically as you change your exercise time.
• • You can use decimals and fractions when you enter serving size.
• • Search is faster so you can find the foods you want to add more easily.

More improvements coming soon!

Welcome!

Track the calories you eat and burn everyday. Just choose the appropriate mealtime and click the "add food" button.

Fri 4/29/2011

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Today's Calorie Balance: 383 (2,007 eaten/848 burned) Edit calorie target »

Food Journal

Hide Nutrition Details Show Nutrition Details

Breakfast

Food or Recipe Name Calories Fat (g) Chol. (mg) Sod. (mg) Crb. (g) Fib. (g) Sug. (g) Pro. (g) BREADSMITH BAKERY Muffin, Pumpkin Walnut 1 item(s) 540 23.00 30 670 79.00 3.00 48.00 9.00 Onion Bagel, Enriched 0.5 item(s) 91 0.58 0 159 17.93 0.78 1.79 3.56 FOLGERS 100% Colombian Coffee 16 ounce(s) 4 0.00 0 9 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Add Food Total: 635 23.58 30 838 96.93 3.78 49.79 12.56

Mid-Morning Snack

Food or Recipe Name Calories Fat (g) Chol. (mg) Sod. (mg) Crb. (g) Fib. (g) Sug. (g) Pro. (g) Add Food Total: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lunch

Food or Recipe Name Calories Fat (g) Chol. (mg) Sod. (mg) Crb. (g) Fib. (g) Sug. (g) Pro. (g) CHICK-FIL-A Chicken Sandwich 0.75 item(s) 323 12.75 49 1,028 29.25 2.25 5.25 23.25 Water, tap, drinking 66 fluid ounce(s) 0 0.00 0 78 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Slice Cheese Pizza 1.5 item(s) 1,050 42.00 113 2,055 105.00 4.50 10.50 66.00 Add Food Total: 1,372 54.75 161 3,161 134.25 6.75 15.75 89.25

Snack

Food or Recipe Name Calories Fat (g) Chol. (mg) Sod. (mg) Crb. (g) Fib. (g) Sug. (g) Pro. (g) Add Food Total: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Dinner

Food or Recipe Name Calories Fat (g) Chol. (mg) Sod. (mg) Crb. (g) Fib. (g) Sug. (g) Pro. (g) Add Food Total: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Exercise Journal

Activity and Exercise

Activity or Exercise Name Calories Walking (4.5 mph, Level Surface) 30 min -211 Raking the Lawn 30 min -144 Trimming Shrubs or Trees 60 min -269 Carrying Wood 40 min -224 Add Exercise Total: -848

Food and Exercise Balance

Set Your Calorie Targets

Today's Totals

Category	Calories	Fat (g)	Chol. (mg)	Sod. (mg)	Crb. (g)	Fib. (g)	Sug. (g)	Pro. (g)
Today's Budget	1,542	67	300	2,300	250	30	30	100
Today's Food	2,007	78.33	191	3,999	231.18	10.53	65.54	101.81
Today's Exercise	-848
Over /Under Balance: 383

I really like this calorie counter/ food journal... and now i found a place where i can add in exercise i have completed for the day. It even has things that you do around the house and calculates what calories are burned for them! When i saw how many calories i ate today, i was thinking OH MAN! I REALLY OVER ATE! but then when i see how many calories i burned doing the yard work today and running errands carrying a 28lb child... the food doesn't see  so bad!