The Spick and Span Workout Plan

This is what happened to me this weekend.

My husband was sick and he turned into a waa waa baby.

My girls were all over the place.  “Mom, can I go to the mall?”  “Mom, you forgot the birthday party at the pool!”  “Mom, I have that Girl Scout thing at the school, are you going to let me go?”

The laundry and housework was slowly but surely beginning to consume me to the point I couldn’t breathe.  (You know, if mamma doesn’t do it…..no one does it. Grrrrrr.)

My plans for the weekend included a long run, some one on one time with my Kindle, and a hilariously witty blog post.   Yeah.  Not so much.  After getting the kids where they needed to be, loving on the sick sick boy, and catching up on the laundry, I only had about an hour left to do something for myself……and the house was STILL a disaster.

I have really been getting good at my exercise routine, so I was most disappointed that I wasn’t going to get a little work-out in.  So, I improvised.  I worked out WHILE I cleaned and I have to say it turned out AWESOME! 

The Spick & Span Workout Plan

This is a workout anyone can do.  (Cheesy name, but don’t knock it until you try it.)  You don’t need much, some comfy shoes and some imagination.  Put on some good shoes……something you can jump around in.  Fill up a nice big glass or bottle with water and you are ready to go!

To begin I made a little “workout station” on my dining room table.  Here, I put a notebook to write my plan on, a pen, my glass of water, and some hand weights.  (The weights are optional….depending on what your plan is.)

With my notebook I quickly planned out 4 exercises to include cardio, arms, legs, and abs.   For my workout I did jumping jacks (cardio), bicep curls (arms), squats (legs), and sit-ups(abs).  You can do whatever exercises you want though. 

For the cleaning portion of the workout you will be dividing your cleaning area into small sections.  The object is to do a burst of cleaning, and then an exercise.  For example, when emptying the dishwasher, you may want to divide it into two sections…..the top rack, and then the bottom rack.  Keep each cleaning job short, so you can get in all your workouts! 

To begin, start with 20 jumping jacks.  This will get your heart and body warmed up.  Then, let the cleaning/workout begin!  For my example you will be cleaning the kitchen.  This list includes your first set of jumping jacks.  Just follow along, or change the jobs according to your own kitchen.

·        20 jumping jacks

·        Empty the top rack of the dishwasher

·        10 bicep curls

·        Empty the bottom rack of the dishwasher

·        10 squats

·        Fill the dishwasher

·        10 sit-ups

·        Fill the sink with warm soapy water

·        20 jumping jacks

·        Wash around the sink until it is all clean and shiny

·        10 bicep curls

·        Wash off any counter-top appliances (coffee-pot, Kitchen-Aid, etc.)

·        10 squats

·        Wipe down half of the countertop

·        10 sit-ups

·        Wipe down the other half of the countertop

·        20 jumping jacks

·        Wash off the stove-top

·        10 bicep curls

·        Wipe off the half of the front of your cupboards (outside)

·        10 squats

·        Wipe off the other half of the cupboards

·        10 sit-ups

·        Wipe down any handles on drawers and the front of the drawers

·        20 jumping jacks

·        Empty the sink of dirty water, and re-fill it with hot soapy water

·        10 bicep curls

·        Wipe off refrigerator doors and handles

·        10 squats

·        Throw away any old food in the refrigerator

·        10 sit-ups

·        Take out the trash

·        20 jumping jacks

·        Take out the recycling

·        10 bicep curls

·        Sweep the kitchen floor

·        10 squats

·        Mop half of the kitchen floor

·        10 sit ups

·        Mop the other half of the kitchen floor

·        End your workout with 50 jumping jacks!

Whew!!!  The Spick & Span Workout plan is complete! Following this plan, you will have done 50 bicep curls, 50 lunges, 50 sit ups, and 150 jumping jacks!  Total time for the clean AND workout was just one hour! Just imagine if you did this three or four times a week while cleaning other rooms of your house.  Do it with whatever room you need to clean!  I PROMISE, you will be sweating and needing a shower when it is all over but you will be proud that you worked out AND cleaned!

Have I gone totally crazy?

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Spilled Milkshake!



1000 Ummmm Er....500 Miles In 2011

I finally have started running again.   I stopped for awhile. I stopped for four months.

Now I will officially be on the wrong side of the depressing statistic, “that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions will be completed.”  Boo.

I am not really surprised at myself.  I go through various phases of being in shape ….and not so in shape.  It’s no secret that I am hopelessly addicted to unfinished projects.  I even blogged about it once.

Back in June, I decided enough was enough, and I went out for a short 2 miles.  My fat cells screamed the whole time, but I did it…….and that “runner’s high” gave me the tiniest pat on the back when I was finished.

Gradually, I worked up to three miles, then four, until last week I finally did a 6 miler.  It really doesn’t sound like much, but considering the I-never-want-to-run-again-for-the-rest-of-my-life mindset I had adopted in February, it is pretty good progress.

In an attempt not to burnout again, I am setting some new goals for myself.  First off, I am slowing it down a bit. 

Instead of getting mad at myself when I don’t go faster and longer, I am simply putting one foot in front of the other until I get to the finish.

Secondly, I am resting more.

(This says, “Stop for traffic.”, in Japanese)

At the beginning of the year I took on too much too fast.  My knees hurt, my shins hurt, and my hip was begging me to stop.  I have finally figured out that listening to my body isn’t following the voice in my head that says, “Ummmm, it’s sort of hot outside this morning, do you really want to go on a run?”  (That’s laziness talking.)  It is more like being able to FEEL your body telling you it has to heal and letting it take the time to do the healing.

Finally, my third goal is to set new goals…..and I am aiming high.

My new goal is 500 miles in 2011.  I love this quote….. “Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.”  In other words, I would rather make a goal and not quite reach it than, never make a goal and not accomplish anything.

What goal are you going to set today?

*The pictures in this post were taken on my usual running route on our Air Force base in Japan.  Can you tell I love my new smart phone and photo editing apps?

1000 Miles in 2011 - Day 4

I busted out a whole whopping mile this morning on a run. 

It wasn’t pretty.  I was underdressed and thanks to giving birth to three 8+ pounders….I peed myself the entire time.  So, I decided to turn around and walk home with pee chaffing and freezing on my thighs.

Too much information?

Running isn’t always pretty, but just when you think you might stop….something happens.  Maybe you win a pretty medal for being a finisher or reach a new PR.  Maybe you get some much needed quiet time away from kids.  Maybe you meet a new friend or you get an old friend to run with you.  Maybe you think it’s going to be a bad day and are having a pathetic run and you look up and see this…..

Mt. Fugi…Jan 4^th, 2011 running the flight line on Yokota Air Force Base, Japan

What happens when you go running?

1000 Miles in 2011 - Day 1

I made a New Year’s resolution to run 1000 miles in 2011.  Not to be left behind, my husband has decided to tag along.

So yesterday, 1-1-11 we headed to the gym to run our first three miles on the dreadmill treadmill.

We ran and it was tough, but my resolution was now in full swing, and I was feeling pretty good walking out of the gym…..until my husband saw a poster for a kickboxing class.  It had a girl on it, who sort of looked like this…..

“Hey can you do that?” he said sort of teasing and amused.

“Sure.” (Geez, I may not be 19 but I’m not 40 either.)

“Uh yeah, let’s see it.”

So, I sort of braced myself in the middle of this brightly lit gym hallway and kicked as high as I could.

Dear sweet blog readers....for the love of the muscles that run between your thighs and through your right butt cheek, don’t try this maneuver unless you are a professional.

I feel like I had a baby and then rode a horse for the last 24 hours.  I wish I could use some icy hot “down there”, but I’m thinking that might be a worse idea than doing the kick in the first place.

You know what though?  I am still going through with this resolution.  I miss running and what running brought into my life.

I have made best friends and we get skinny together.(Me the tall one, and Melissa at the Rock-n-Roll San Antonio Half Marathon...she's still skinny so I don't like her as much now. :P )

We paint our fingernails black for races.

I have been cool places.

I win medals. (Melissa, Jen, & I...doin' Dallas!)

I get free beer. (Me with my bestie Natalie in San Antonio.)

For some reason I left running behind in 2010.  I just have to bring it back.  To put it simply, running makes me happy.  And maybe just maybe at the start of 2012 I will be able to do this……



Only 996 more miles to go.