sweat is good!

this workout will make you sweat. there, that's all the warning you're going to get!

warm up
15 min jog at 5.5 speed 3 incline

20 walking lunges with 15 lb dumbbells
20 jump switch lunges
20 back lunges with step with 15 lb dumbbells (start by standing on 12 inch step. step back into a lunge with right foot, leaving left foot on step. step up. switch feet)

10 pull ups
10 push ups
10 tricep dips

20 crunches
20 mountain climbers
20 russian twists

20 sumo squats with 15 lb dumbbell
20 box jump
20 squats with 15 lb dumbbells

10 bicep curls 15 lb
10 overhead tricep extensions with 10 lb dumbbells
10 shoulder press with 10 lb dumbbells

20 mountain climbers
20 leg lifts
20 superman

repeat

cool down
15 min jog at 5.5 speed 3 incline

today i did this workout from youtube. instead of resting between each set, i threw in some ab work (ie crunches, plank, bicycle, etc). also, i did 10 reps of each move.
it took about 40 mins. and that included setting up for each circut. if i was more organized it would probably be faster. :)

life long book list

i majored in english in college. not the technical writing english that will actually help in finding employment; but the kind of english where all i did day after day was read and read and read. i loved it...it did nothing for me career wise, but i did get a degree and it kept me in school long enough to meet my husband. so, all in all, it wasn't a total waste of time.
so i used to spend all my time reading great (and not so great) literature. i would spend hours pouring over passages trying to extricate the smallest meaning from them. it was fun to dissect dickons, austin, cunningham, and flaubert. but since graduating my reading has taken on a certain juvenile quality. i read for quick pleasure. i don't have time to delve into tolstoy or woolf, to glean life altering meaning from their work.  i stick to mostly young adult fiction. don't misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with young adult fiction, but really, it's mostly fluff, like cotton candy. every once in a while i want to really sink my teeth into a meatier novel. something more satisfying. that being said, i am creating a life long book list, one that i will add to grow with as time passes. here are a few i've been thinking of:

War and Peace
Mrs. Dalloway (read this in college but i can't remember it well)
Count of Monte Cristo (currently reading)
Complete collection of Shakespeare's plays
Works by Thomas Paine
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

i'll add more as i think of them.

50s

50 squats (w/ 30 lbs)
50 russian twists (8 lb ball; each touch on right side = one)
50 lunges
50 mountain climbers (each touch with right foot = one)
50 sumo squats (w/ 15 lb dumb bell)
50 lying down hand to foot
50 standing side leg lifts
50 superman
50 inner thigh lifts
50 crunches

abs and butt

usual warm up

1 min for each move; run through 3 times

1) 1 leg squat

2) Russian twist w/ 8 lb ball

3) jumping squats

4) plank jacks

5) squat w/ 20 lb ball throw

6) scissor crunch

7) back lunge (alt. legs)

8) plank to pike (start in plank, walk hands to pike, walk back to plank)

9) standing side leg lift (switch at 30 sec)

10) side plank (switch at 30)

finish with 1 handed plank (30 sec each side) and 1 min wall sit

i finally went to the gym!

i finally made it to the gym! which means i was able to integrate the treadmill into my workout. here it is:

run .5 miles at 5 incline
50 squats
100 mountain climbers
10 bicep curls w/ 15 lbs

repeat 2 more times and finish with .5 mile run

not the most challenging workout ever, but i haven't felt well the last few weeks and after not running for so long, those two miles at an incline were hard!

stability cardio

i miss running! hubby is injured and on light duty so his schedule is different and i haven't been able to get to the gym much. "run outside," you might be thinking...well, you run outside in subzero temps! i know, i know, there are people who do. well, those people are buck nutty and i refuse to be one of them! so, because i haven't been running i decided i needed to kick up the cardio at home; and what's the best way to up your heart rate without a treadmill? JUMPING!!! so i came up with this workout to get my blood pumping.

warm up
100 jump rope
50 high knee
50 jumping jacks
50 standing cross hand to foot

20 reps of each move; 3 times through

chest press on stability ball
jump squats
side leg lift on stability ball
box jump
bent over row on stability ball
squat with ball throw
push up on stability ball
sumo jumps
bridge on stability ball
pull ups (10 reps instead of 20)

ab work on stability ball from pinterest
not sure who came up with this originally, but it's a good one. thanks, whoever you are.