I’m back!

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Kara

Oh. My. Goodness…

Reading over these old blog posts may just be the funniest thing I’ve done in a long time.

I’ve come a long way.

I have a lot to share! Stay tuned!

Cardio/Leg Fatigue Workout

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Kara

I just completed this workout aimed at getting my heart rate pumping, my legs exhausted, and my body dripping sweat. I definitely accomplished what I set out to do. Give it a try! It took me about 1.5 hours, but I was in no hurry. Do just one set of the whole workout for less time, or 2 for the 1.5 hours. Vary the speeds and weights on your workout to fit your fitness ability. Mine are listed as examples.

5 min warm-up
10 minute treadmill interval:
- 1 min walk @ 4.0
- 30 sec jog @ 6.0
- 20 sec sprint @ 8.5
- repeat until 9 minutes
- 1 min walk @ 3.5-4.0

3 Sets of:
- 15 dead lifts with 35 lbs
- 15 squats with 20 lbs
- 1 min plank

10 minute treadmill interval:
- 1 min walk @ 4.0
- 30 sec jog @ 6.0
- 20 sec sprint @ 8.5
- repeat until 9 minutes
- 1 min walk @ 3.5-4.0

3 Sets of:
- 15 front squats with 20 lbs 2x, without weight 1x
- 15 side squats with 20 lbs
- 1 min leg/hip lift and lower (focus on using your abs and your hips, not momentum)

Repeat entire sequence for a total of 4 intervals and 4 sets of weights.

Fitness, lately

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Kara

It has been awhile since I’ve posted. Especially about fitness! I have lots of new and exciting things happening in my life in regards to fitness, currently:

1. I started boxing! I don’t know how many times I’ve gone now, maybe 10, but I do know I haven’t missed a Monday class, have added a sporadic other day class a few times and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon! It’s such a rush and makes me feel strong and powerful. Plus, I needed a change-up in my workout.

2. I ran a half marathon in Atlanta. This is the farthest away I’ve ever run. I loved it. That makes 5 states. Only 45 more to go.

My friend caught me RIGHT after crossing the line. I wasn’t ready for this wonderful photo…

3. A friend from the gym has convinced me to do a triathlon. I signed up tonight. Oh brother, I am not a swimmer. One time in college I did what was called “Swim Across Indiana” with a team of 5 others. We had to all swim the distance of Indiana (total as a team). In the pool. I got a terrible ear infection and called it quits. It was terrible. But this guy, he’s convincing. He took away all my excuses. So here I am, signed up for a July triathlon. Aye.

4. I signed up for an online personal training study course so I can finally be certified! About diggity-dang time! Now I just need to actually getting to studying!

5. Running the first Nike Women’s Half in DC at the end of the month!

6. My heart and prayers go out to all those involved with the Boston Marathon bombings today. Much prayer and love. May God do mighty works through this tragedy.

Looking for a May fitness challenges! Any ideas? Pushups? Plank? Speed?

You are not your choices.

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Kara

I work with young children, ages 2-7, as a behavior and mental health therapist. I have one little client who was telling me about how bad of a kid he is. I was trying to explain to his little 3 year old mind that he is not a bad kid, but his choices were bad. His 3 year old brain didn’t comprehend.

And then today I realized, neither did mine, for myself. I have been upset lately about the consequences of my living a selfish life. These regrets about living for myself and ignoring God’s plan had gotten me down, had made me feel so unworthy of God’s continued pursuit of me. I mean, it is true – I am so unworthy. BUT! Just because I have made bad choices I am not bad. As a redeemed follower of Christ, I know that my decisions hold weight in my life but they do not define my life.

So it’s hard for a 3 year old to understand that he is not a bad kid because he makes bad choices – his heart is good and he is kind, but he messes up. And so do I, a 26 year old woman. But thankfully, I am also a follower of Christ which means my mistakes and choices post-salvation also don’t dictate where I’ll spend eternity.

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.

Friday Favorites

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Kara

Below are some things that got me through this heck of a week.

Goodness, my job may just kill me. So. Tired.

Happy Friday! It’s the freakin’ weekend bout to have me some fun (by laying in my bed tonight watching movies…)!

1. This little hilarious piece might perfectly describe my life: What It’s Like to be a 20-Something as told by “Mean Girls,” “Bridesmaids,” and “Girls.”

One of my faves:

And with your girlfriends it’s a lot of,

What It's Like To Be A 20-Something As Told By "Mean Girls," "Bridesmaids," And "Girls"

But for you it’s more like,

What It's Like To Be A 20-Something As Told By "Mean Girls," "Bridesmaids," And "Girls"

2. Trust Fall Fail. Hilarious. Thanks to my roommate for this one!

http://youtu.be/wPOgvzVOQig

I laugh every time.

3. I don’t watch Honey Boo Boo, but I can totally relate to her. Hormones, lack of sleep, lack of working out and being bizzzayyy this week = terrible decisions in regards to food. My dinner last night consisted of about 3 pieces of chicken and 5 chocolate chip cookies. Balanced to the tee! Quite frankly, Honey Boo, I agree:

4. There is one reason this next picture made it to the list: See Justin Beiber.

4. My life at work:

“Drop Your Crutch” God Calling for February 4

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Kara

This post is from God Calling.

Read it.

Today, I needed it. Big time. Biggest time.

Get on it:

Just go step by step. My will shall be revealed as you go. You will never cease to be thankful for this time when you felt at peace and trustful, and yet had no human security.

That is the time of the True learning of trust in Me. “When thy Father and Mother forsake thee, then the Lord will take thee up.” This is a literal dependence on Me.

When human support or material help of any kind is removed, then My power can become operative. I cannot teach a man to walk who is trusting to a crutch. Away with your crutch, and My power shall so invigorate you that you shall indeed walk on to victory. Never limit My power. It is limitless.

Tabata Bootcamp

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Kara

This is a good workout to do at home, as it’s essentially without, but dumbbells are recommended. The workout is a great cardio go-to but also is pretty booty-intensive. Make sure to focus on form during the 20 second intervals, as it’s easy to forget when you’re doing it for such a short period of time.

Here’s how the workout works:

Do the pairs of exercises (alternating between each) for 16 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off.

Do the single ab exercise for a single tabata (20 seconds on, 10 off for 8 rounds = 4 minutes).

NO REST INBETWEEN! In tabata style workouts you are getting breaks after each 20 second work interval. You don’t need to add extra rest, as the ab circuit is used as active recovery.

floor jacks
jumping jacks

russian twist (with or without dumbbell)

burpee
squat (I added a dumbbell swing; this is optional)

full plank

step-ups (onto table or chair, step or stool – whatever you have) right leg
step-ups left leg

side leg lift obliques (put one leg on top of a table or chair and the other stacked underneath. holding a side-plank, lift the underneath foot up and down, touching the floor then table, floor, table, repeat.

forward lunge, one leg, with biceps curl (with or without dumbbells)
square hops (jump both feet at the same time in the shape of a square; switch up the direction or which corner you jump to and from)

Total time: 44 minutes

It’s best if you do this watching Lie to Me or Breaking Bad on Netflix. I mean, that’s at least what I found to be most beneficial! 🙂

Be Still, beautiful : the thing’s God is teaching me currently

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Kara

You know how I know when God is trying to teach me something? When I hear the same thing over and over.

At the beginning of 2013 I was a very self-serving Christian. I consider myself strong in my faith, but that doesn’t make me perfect. On January 1, 2013 I decided to radically change my pursuit of God. Of course I’m still no where near where I want to be, but I am encouraged by God’s pursuit of me at the same time. Brothers and sisters, I am learning how deeply God is in love with us.

I’ll admit I am a bit of a sucker for romantic love scenes, both in movies and real life. In November I went to the wedding of a dear friend who’s now-husband I met for the first time at the wedding. The groom performed a song he wrote for his bride during the ceremony which chronicled how he fell in love with her, from the first time he saw her. He was in awe of her from the day he first saw her. It was a beautiful picture, but then I think of God feeling the same about me… Only even more extreme!

“The King is enthralled with your beauty; honor Him for He is your Lord.”

Psalm 45:11

Did you catch that? He’s enthralled with you. So madly in love with you. More than we can imagine with our human minds. Read it again. Here’s the screensaver for my phone:

You can’t fathom it. You just can’t. He loves you and finds you worth more than you can even begin to understand and especially more than you can compare to some human love story.

So,that’s one of the things God has been teaching me, but there are numerous other verses that keep coming up in my daily life. To me, that means God wants me to know them, to take them to heart, and to obey them. They include:

“The Lord will Fight for you, you only need to be still.”

Exodus 14:14

“Be still and know that He is God.”

Psalm 46:10

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:17

And then last night at church, we discussed giving glory to God through our lives. I was reminded that if there is something I am wanting, I need to check my motives. Do I want to be married for myself or for the glory of God? Do I want to have a better paying job so I can buy more things, or do I want a better paying job to somehow give God glory through the extra income? Seriously, I am reminded to examine my motives. When I finally am able to pray for God’s will in those circumstances, then should I pray for them at all. Until then, I am praying God give me a heart to do His will.

But, two things have been made clear this past month:

1. I need to be still in the situations of my life – right now God has me where He is getting most glory. I believe that because despite my itch to move out of various circumstances He keeps telling me to be still. Stillness is not a strength of mine.

2. God thinks I’m dang beautiful.

What is God teaching you right now?

Snow Day – workout links and recipe link

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Kara

I woke up way to early today and accomplished a lot before work so I could come home and have a good workout before dinner with friends. I drove to do a school visit for one of my clients in some terrible snow, only to arrive and be told she didn’t come to school today. Dumb. The dumbest. I should have known. But, while I made the mistake of not calling to see if she was at school beforehand, I made the smart choice of checking my work voicemail from my cell phone and found out my 11 o’clock was canceling. Perfect. That was my last appointment of the day. So, I journeyed back out in the snow and came home for a good at home workout while watching Lie To Me. I also made cookies for a friend’s birthday and some cute little Valentines for my coworkers:

Inside those cute little bags is some YUMMY Strawberry and Chocolate Puppy Chow from Life Love and Sugar. I doubled the recipe because I had a lot of gifts to give. It turned out perfect for 1/2 cup in each of the 24 bags.