Mat Pilates

Monday morning I did not make it to the gym. Instead I took Wendy to the mat Pilates class at 7:30pm. It’s an hour long class, and the instructor was a sub - so it was not just new to us, it was new to everyone since her style was a bit different from the regular teacher. She turned the overhead lights off and just had a desk lamp focused on her, so we could look over and see if we needed to. It was not a very intense class. The reps we did for each exercise were enough, but I could have used more sets. Nothing felt tired or sweaty, no heart rate raising going on. But my overall temp warmed up (which was nice because my hands felt cold all day) and I was very loosened up (in terms of flexibility).

My Side Plank form.

My Side Plank form. But I stack my feet.

The pose we held the longest was side plank. She showed many different options for different fitness levels. I can still only manage about 10 seconds with my upper foot in the air, so maybe that should be something to work on in the 2nd half of 2010 for me.

but without touching the floor...

but without touching the floor...

We also did a core twist while in a lunge position with our arms airplaned out. By raising my back leg off the floor and balancing on my toes I increased the level and used more core.

Today was a regular morning workout. A little less than 2 miles on the treadmill, some light Stairmaster to cool down, some crunches on the ball with my feet against the wall, and basic stretching. Tonight is karate so I didn’t overdo anything.

Crunch - Ball - Wall

Crunch - Ball - Wall (but I'm not in short shorts!)

For some reason I am craving coffee today. I don’t usually drink coffee - maybe 3x / year. So I made a coffee/hot cocoa mixture to sip on while helping a client through some Outlook problems.

Yesterday was a fun day at work. We created a promotional video for www.plus-sizebra.com, and today I will probably be hunched over a PC doing lots of video editing. (Sony Vegas anyone?) The video involved lots of bras, fruit, ad libbing, and a wire mesh model we nicknamed Chuey. Chuey was wearing this undershirt, which Brian ran in the other day and said it kept him steaming hot. He wore it under a long sleeved running shirt in 50 degree weather, but it may be better if you run in 30 degree weather. He said the directional seaming really did help keep his shoulders rolled back.

It was a fun 4 day weekend for the kids, end of the trimester, and now it’s back to focusing before the school year wraps up. I can’t believe it’s 2/3 over!

Oh, and the pilates instructor thought I was 24 and that my daughter was my sister!!! That my friends is a combination of sunscreen, drinking water, working out, and someone being really sweet!

2010 goal update: 3050 crunches, 76 minutes of plank remaining.

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Partner Planks

partner-plank

In Friday core class we did a new kind of plank. We split into pairs, and each pair had 1 band.

Person 1 was on elbows and knees, with the center of the band in a bicep curl position. That person was the “anchor”.

The person working out held the band handles in a plank position.

First you hold the plank for 30 sec count. Then you walk backwards in plank on your toes and hands with the handles still gripped and get as much resistance as you can and hold for 30 more seconds. Then you walk back toward the partner and drop.

Switch partners until you’ve each done 2 sets.

2010 goal update: 4270 crunches, 93 minutes of plank remaining.

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Friday’s workout

I did not work out on Thursday. Crazy, I know! But I felt like I needed that hour to get my brain organized - so I caught up on some house reorganizing, blog reading, etc. It was quite rejuvenating. Wish I could say I was having hot sex for an hour - but cleaning out closets is good too, eh?! ;-)

Today I hit the gym. I did 14 mins on the elliptical machine. Still not ready for that level 7 yet. Walked on the treadmill for 10 mins. Stretched and did pushups. Then Core Conditioning class. We had a different teacher today. She set up stations around the room. Most had NO equipment, save for a mat, so you can do all of these at HOME or on the ROAD! We did each exercise for 1 min but went through the circuit twice.

1. The first exercise used the big inflatable ball. Lie on your back. Hold the ball between your feet. Raise your feet and upper body. Grab it with your hands and bring it over your head while lowering. Then raise your feet and upper body, pass it back to your ankles. Upper body has to come up!

2. We held a small inflatable ball for this. You can use a tiny hand weight or can of food or nothing. Lie on your back. Raise your right leg about 1.5 ‘ off the ground. At the same time reach with your right hand to touch the raised leg, weight/can/ball in hand. Lower your leg while lowering your arm. Move the  weight/can/ball to your other hand. Raise the other leg, and touch with opposite arm.

3. Bridge with a booty squeeze at the top.

4. Lie with your legs straight up, reach for your toes - upper body lifts off mat. Lower body goes back to mat. Reach for toes again, etc…

5. Plank. I’m so planked out, so I did 10 seconds of plank, then raised my right leg for 10 seconds, then switched legs for 10 seconds. Then 30 seconds of plank. When I came back around to this station I did 10 seconds of plank, then raised my right leg and left arm for 10 seconds, then switched legs and opposite arm for 10 seconds. There is usually a way to increase intensity!

6. Side plank. Lowest intensity is lower leg bent with knee on floor. Next level up is both legs extended, one in front of the other. Next level is both legs extended but one stacked on top of the other. Next level is both legs extended, but one is on the floor and the top leg is up in the air. Keep the upper arm straight up with palm facing the same direction as your chest. If you can, start to tilt the extended arm - not in front of you but closer to your head.

7. The Bug. I never did this before. Put a BOSU ball flat side to the floor and lie on the rounded side on your back. Try to balance with all 4 appendages extended to the ceiling.

It was a 30 min class and it felt good!