Day 5, Gitter’ done!
Day 5/100, yesterday. My wife and oldest daughter tried to go for a walk in a park near the house. As they were walking across a footbridge over a swampy area, they were attacked by yellow flies. Recent rains has caused them to hatch.
My youngest daughter and I humped a bit further than we’d planned. She got 1/4 mile down the road and had to go to the bathroom, so we turned around and retraced our steps. She was holding both her front and back while she walked, as if she could hold it in! After she took care of business, it was back out for the walk, so we went 1.5 miles. Not bad for a 5-yr old.
I also did my Mountain Climbers, which turned out to be a little harder than I expected. I definitely felt the workout in my lower back, with a little additional benefit in my abs from bringing the knee up to my chest. I can easily see it get more strenuous by increasing the angle of the body lean.
This week’s final core exercise is one I’m going back to Crossfit for: Overhead Squat. Start off with a broomstick. Keep your arms extended above your head with the broomstick, and squat so your butt goes below your knees, like Monday’s Air Squat. You can increase the load you press above your head as your fitness level and strength improve. I managed to get to the point where I was using a cinder block, last year. Today, though, it’s back to the broomstick.
I’m not sure if I’ll be posting or not over the weekend because I’ll be back on the road visiting my father (yes, I remember I owe you a post about his condition!). In case I don’t make it back here while I’m gone, the exercises for Saturday and Sunday will be stretching exercises. Just some simple one’s right now: Toe touches, and hurdler’s stretch. Remember, though, don’t stretch a cold muscle - it’s best to warm up for 5 minutes before stretching. I like to do my stretching at the end of the workout, when the muscle is nice and warm and limber so I get a good stretch and keep the muscles from getting tight.
Anyone with me on this thing? Anyone? 
Tuesday’s Exercise Tip
Last night, the whole family went out for the walk, even my wife!
Guilt is a powerful motivator…
Also, I got my girls to try yesterday’s exercise, Air Squats. They weren’t too sure about the whole thing, but gave it a shot when I started calling it the “Egg-laying exercise”. Done properly, your butt goes below your knees, so to get the kids to do it right, I told them to pretend they were chickens and squeeze eggs out of their butt.
Yeah, I didn’t think about the potential for “accidents”, but thankfully there weren’t any.
I don’t know about them, but I’m really feeling it in my quads this morning after only doing 10. But, that would be like doing 10 x 290 lbs on a leg machine, so thinking about it that way makes it make sense.
So, we’re at 2 days now in the hundred day head start.
Today’s exercise is sticking with this week’s Core Strength theme. I found a fitness site through Diet Pulpit, and found lateral step downs as their exercise of the week. I don’t have one of those overpriced steps that they have at the gym, so I’ll use a cinder block or my porch steps. Be creative on this one if you don’t have a step - use a bench or a chair or even the stairs in your house. Try not to hold on to anything if you can because the muscles used to balance you during the movements will help your core strength - but, do so within the limits of safety. You can still get a good workout from this even if you’re balancing, as long as you’re keeping your weight off your arms.
Tags: diet, exercise, fitness, kids