(Happy New Year!)

Today I decided to work off some of the good luck noodles and not-so-good-for-me desserts from 2009. I put my kid on my back and took a brisk warm up walk through the hills of Hawaii Kai. Then I came home to complete a ladder consisting of clean & press and swings:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaygUps4QRc

And that’s how I did a 15-10-5 on 1-1-10!

I hope the turn of the calendar year reinvigorates you towards your life goals. Let 2010 be the most productive, healthy, prosperous and happy year for you yet! I believe that it will be for me!

Leave a reply here, on youtube, or on facebook. See you tomorrow!

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_37oEsIVqo

Okay, it’s not really a weight vest (I’m still waiting for Warrior Hardware to import some  to Honolulu), but it really is a workout. I love my kelty carrier, and my child loves being packed on my back.

I hope you’re also finding creative ways to incorporate your family into your exercise routine! Send me a comment below-- I look forward to hearing from ya!

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Friday’s workout at FitPro was killer, just in the sense that Bill timed me on the circuits that I’ve learned over the past few weeks, and set goals for each. For some reason, I conveniently didn’t know that building up to your highest weight and counting your reps while timing yourself is actually part of kettlebell training.

See, I’m one of those folks who, for better or worse, learns best in the “classroom.” In this case, the studio. I’m not going to do a lot of extra research once my curiosity’s been satisfied. I guess that’s why I was a “B” student in college.

Anyway, back to my workout. I was timed with the 12kg and two 8kgs, depending on the exercise. For those of you just joining us, 1 kilogram is just a little more than 2 pounds of weight.

I walked away with this worksheet:
Warm Up: Stretch deadlift with 12kg for 2 minutes, swing for 1 minute; Thrusters with two 8kg for 1 minute, Cleans with two 8kg for 1 minute
Exercise 1: Alternate Cleans with two 8kg (15, 20, then 15) with Chest expander exercises
Exercise 2: Long cycle (clean and press) with two 8kgs: 10, 10, then 8 reps in 1 minute, with 1 minute of rest in between

It’s no wonder I felt like I had a good workout!

Saturday, I got my “wakey wakey” wake up call from Lia, my power partner. I got up to “544,” but realized that I had started to fall asleep again, and I could not keep my eyes open. That was a sign.

I asked and was granted an hour extension. We met at the Farmer’s Market at Kapiolani Community College, two kiddos in strollers.

Our walk downhill to my favorite cafe was uneventful, and once we got our lattes, we were ready to roll… Well, we were ready to roll, but my nephew decided to tell me he needed to “544″ when we were halfway up the hill.

Rather than chance it, we rolled back down hill, went to the restroom, did a quick change, and then meandered back to the Farmer’s Market. According to Lia’s pedometer, that turn-around added about 1/2 mile to our walk, so we did about 2 miles that morning:

View Larger Map
I had a great Friday training and Saturday morning walk, and I’m actually eager to get back in the gym and kick these flu blues in their behind!

Thanks for joining me… and feel free to comment about what you do to get rid of the flu!!!!!

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• 20+ minutes of cardio
• warm up with deadlifts and swings
• 20- 15- 10- cleans/ push presses
• 1 minute of four-touch in between
• stretch!

I convinced my oldest nephew to take a 1 1/2 mile walk/run with me. He went ahead on his scooter, and I jogged to catch up. Did I mention I was pushing a double stroller?

My brother-in-law was kind enough to manage the kiddos while I worked out. Directly quoting him, “Ang, you got 1/2 an hour before Curious George ends and they come looking for you.”

So, I jumped on the opportunity to challenge myself and complete my homework. I wasn’t able to do 20 cleans/push-presses without rest, but I did manage to do the 15 and the 10 without putting the kettlebells down! And for me, that’s a victory.

Enjoy this video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTm1ZngKas8

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Okay, enough griping. The good news is that I was extremely focused for 20 minutes, and learned a killer exercise called the “four point touch.” It’s so simple. Aren’t the killer ones always simple?

Placing the kettlebell on the ground, position yourself in a plank above the kettlebell, with the handle lined up just below your hips. This is a pretty sensitive area-- all the more reason NOT to break your plank position to rest!

Keeping your body in as close to a horizontal line as possible, (don’t make an inverted “V,” that’s cheating!), touch the kettlebell with your left hand, then your right hand, then your right foot, then your left foot. Don’t open your legs in a V either-- keep them perpendicular to the floor, as if you are cycling.

The key is to tighten your abs and concentrate on keeping the plank form. It also helps to groan when you are working hard! You will NEVER see video of me doing this… okay, maybe you will, but not today, because I only had 20 minutes to workout.

The 4 point touch was merely a “rest” between swings and cleans, with a few push presses thrown in for good measure. Even though I spent 1/3 of my usual time working out, I have to say, I felt like it was an hour’s worth of work.

I left FitPro Hawaii with homework- complete the same circuit over the weekend, adding 20 minutes of cardio. Unfortunately, I was unable to do it. And that’s why I have the weekend blues.

I did manage to get my cardio in- hiking until I got rained out, and walking 1 1/2 miles the next day. (Which is not bad for someone who never got out of the house to exercise just two short months ago!)

As you will see, Saturday began with a rainstorm, which matched my mood. Later that morning,  I attended the funeral of a family friend, Honolulu City Councilperson Duke Bainum, MD. He watched over the island, its people and resources, and of course, he worked closely with my sister. I imagine that he is watching over all of us now.

Enjoy the video, and I’ll see you soon!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4V-HJH9mJQ

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I had an amazing Saturday, kicked off by a great walk around Magic Island at Ala Moana Park with my Power Partner. We took it easy- me, nursing my pulled hamstring, and Lia, carrying her oldest dog.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgyy6k9YUig

My next walk was a pretty brisk one, around the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. My guesstimation is that we did a 2 mile walk, with the sun beating down the asphalt. It was still enjoyable, especially the local kine snacks.

I closed the day in Waikiki, listening to live, local bands, and just hanging out. It was great to get out of the house-- just to get out-- not to work out! Part of the reason I gained weight is that I became more of a home body after having my child. On Saturday night, I was able to get out and get active, opening new doors.

So, I had a good time going into Sunday, and first thing in the morning, I jumped on the scale and took my measurements. The next post will have more detail about Sunday in general, but here are my stats!

You’re not looking at a typo. I lost two inches in my hip area in a week, and one in my waist. Wow! See, working my abs due to a pulled hamstring wasn’t all that bad!

I got so motivated after taking my measurements. What a great feeling. Even Father’s Day brunch couldn’t hold me back. I came home and redid them, just to be sure, and then jumped into a quick workout, which I’ll chat about later.

Oh, and my friend, M.C.? He’s still doing great! (See below.) But, be warned, M.C., it’s time for some action! “I’m hummin’, comin’ atchya!”

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We had the best walking partners- a 3-year old dog and my 2-year old son. This week, I wanted to try out the new little kettlebells, so I packed the original orange 4kg (8 lbs), the new yellow 5 lber, and the red 10lber.

Lia and I warmed up with a brisk walk and then stopped in the shade to let all the  Army runners pass. While we were there, I pulled out the kettlebells and used them to loosen up.

We did circles around our body (I still don’t know what this is officially called) in both directions until we got tired. I did a little knee slapping (no butt slapping today) to get my heart rate up, and then we took off.

Around the first bend, two Army women were cheering on the runners, and gave Lia and I a “Good job!,” clapping for us. 

Having recently taken my son to an orthotics appointment, I was especialy conscious of how I step; I noticed that I walk with my right leg in a turnout. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced pain in my right calf, hamstring and glutes for as long as I can remember.

I think there’s a link between not walking toes forward and this pain. I concentrated on correcting my gait, especially while pushing my 30lb son and the kettlebells in the stroller.

About 3/4 of the way through, I stopped again to loosen up. I practiced the warrior pose that my trainer had taught me on Friday, using the 10lb kettlebell.

Pointing my toes towards Queen’s Beach and bending my left knee, I racked the kettlebell on my right side and pushed it vertical to my ear. Pushing my hips outward towards the right, staying long in my torso, I continued to keep the kettlebell above me.

The movement of my hips to the right causes my left side to move towards the ground. Turning my palm outward, my fingertips eventually touch the cement. (In this position, I feel like Rodin’s “The Thinker” statue in A Night at the Museum 2.  I almost want to yell, “Boom! Boom! Fihyah powaahh!”)

After repeating the pose on the left side, I stretched and was ready to roll (literally). We took a shortcut in the pond area and enjoyed the ducks and their brood.  Not much later we were back at our starting point. I’m estimating the walk to be 1.7 miles due to the shortcut.

When we stopped at our cars, I pulled out the 10lb kettlebell and practiced some swings. I heart the new vinyl covered kbs!

I also did about 10 Zercher squats with my 30lb real kettlebell, as did Lia. These are essentially squats with a baby.

Of course, none of this is demonstrated in the video below, since I was focused on walking correctly and working out. You can check it out to get an idea of where we were and what I was pushing around! (Oh, and to listen to a Hip/Hop R&B flashback from about 1999.)

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WtWyk0VejM

After feeling successful with Saturday’s walk, I decided to try out the 5-10-20lb kettlebell set again on Sunday. Check out the next blog for that home workout!

Thanks for visiting! Be sure to sign up on the e-mail list!

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I actually started out on the right side of the bed, waking up early and meeting my power partner for a walk around Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.

The sun shone brightly and I found parking right away. Even my son was agreeable. 

I decided to try out the new heart monitor that my trainer taught me to use. After all of these years in Education, I just learned that there’s a specific heart rate that I can aim  for in order to maximize my workout– my target heart rate. (Thanks, Quoc!)

My resting heart rate is about 60 beats per minute (bpm). According to the formula, I can work at a 50% – 75% level when my heart rate is between 122 and 165 bpm.

As I worked with my trainer, I also learned that anyone, “even Lance Armstrong,” will feel fatigued at a heart rate of about 170 bpm. In my case, my form starts to degrade and my chances of injury increase.

This Saturday morning, I wore the heart rate monitor and walked around the Park, stopping to stretch and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, my heart rate was steady in the early 120s, never reaching higher than 125 bpm.

What does this mean? I’m not that efficient yet. 

What does that mean? All it means is that I’m burning less fat than someone who has higher cardiovascular efficiency. Bummer.

The good news is that this training will pay off. By working with kettlebells while monitoring my heart rate, I have already seen a slight improvement.

I can easily increase the value of my workout with different exercises, both static (the grinds) and dynamic (ballistic).

As I increase the weight of my kettlebell, although my heart rate stays about the same, my cardiovascular efficiency is actually improving, since essentially, I’m doing more work!

Now can you guys see why I heart kettlebells? With such a simple tool, I can gain (and lose) so much!

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Luckily for me, I have my 2-year-old and my sister’s 3-year-old to keep me company. Even if I wanted to lie in bed with the flu, it’s just not an option. After about 5 days of this mess, I decided to get the heck out of the house!

I’m still motivated by a really good latte. (Yes Bill--it’s sugar free!) So I strapped the kids in and, on a really hot morning, took a brisk walk to my favorite Coffee Bean. My little guy weighs in at 31 pounds, and his older cousin is 29 pounds, so I was pushing about 60 pounds for 3 miles in the Hawaiian sun.

Well, I started out briskly and we did okay for the 1.5 miles on our way there.  I think the mistake was stopping for too long to watch the car wash. After a period of too much rest, who wants to hurry up and get moving again? Not me!

But, it got done. And that’s all I have to say about that. At least I can go to my workout tomorrow knowing that I did something. (Exercise does not have to be complicated!)

If you like kids, or, if you’re just curious, enjoy this video of my excited nephew, my laid-back son, me and my freckles:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxtl4dLQfk

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(Quick Side Note:  I’d love to hear from other parents who work their kid(s) into their workout. I was really inspired to read about an 11-year old who can kick his dad’s butt in the gym. Comment to this blog, or send me an e-mail with the link above!)

Mahalo, see you after my next kettlebell workout!

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His reply to my e-mail? “Fat doesn’t take a break,” or something like that.

So, while not extremely enthusiastic about it, I did agree with his reasoning. I didn’t gain these extra 55 pounds Monday through Friday. In fact, I probably ate more on the weekends.

It’s been a busy family day, but I finally was able to carve out some me time, or so I thought. I went through my mental checklist:

• Is the baby sleeping?       
  

  Check! (Hanging off the bed, sound asleep!)

• Do I have my running shoes?        

  

  Check! Another pair of barely used shoes!

• Is the weather cooperating?        

  

  Looking okay!

• Where’s the babybell?        

  

  In the baby seat!

Okay, I’m good to go. Here was my first assignment:

Briskly walk from the house for 8 minutes. At eight minutes, turn around and go back home, except this time, in 7 minutes.

Now, give me an inch and I think I’m the ruler, so I decided:  I can walk on flat ground instead of uphill, and, the instructions were to walk briskly, not run. ‘Cause I don’t run.

I set out to go for my first walk with a goal since, oh, 2003. Did I make it back in 7? No. Did I run? A little! 

When I got back, my little guy was stirring and the backyard was getting hit pretty hard by some rain, so I decided to work out in our makeshift storage area during the home remodel. 

The assignment:  

Using my 4kg kettlebell, complete Counterbalance Squats, leading into the Forearm Plank, and ending with a Shoulder Press. Complete as many rounds as possible within 20 minutes.

I’d like to say I finished everything I was asked to do in the manner it was assigned. However, the rain and home construction in the background posed a challenge. Not to  mention that my son had a different idea about how I should be spending my Sunday.

Enjoy this montage of my first attempt at working out at home!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN_D4JaeJ3s

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