New to me (cross training challenge)

It's pre-race taper weekend in the i run like a girl household, which means that Hubby and I spent the day doing anything but running (...or even leaving the house. Heck, it's 6pm and I'm still in pajamas gym clothes!)

But don't let the pajamas clothes fool you. It has not been a lazy day.
We did our taxes and budgeting for the year. Washed laundry. Cleaned closets and bathrooms. (Now you know why I didn't bother getting all gussied up into grown-people clothes...)

With no 2-hour-long training run + brunch + post-run-nap this weekend, knocking items off the To Do List seemed sensible. Showering and changing into real clothes, however, seemed totally illogical.

Speaking of To Do Lists, Kim at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls reminded me that February is drawing to a close and I hadn't yet mentioned any cross training for her New 2 U Cross Training Challenge. Last month I tried burpees for the first time (not a fan, but at least I tried).

This month, well... begin argument in my own head that goes something like this:

Um... about that. Does Speedminton count?
No because I've done it before?
But the last time I played was years ago. And we went to a new park. I've never played there before!

Could I really count Speedminton as new-to-me cross training? Notsomuch.

So Hubby suggested cardio kickboxing.
Yep. I totally missed that fad in the 90s, so it counts as "new to me" even if the concept is more than 20 years old.

YouTube got us started with this video:

Honest assessment: The trainer makes it look easy, but with 20-something moves in a row (jab, jab, hook, back push, march, front push, right left, right left, dribble, hook 3 times, whattheheckareyousaying?) I spent more time jittering like a Mexican jumping bean and laughing at my lack of coordination than I did working out.

At one point, I was pretty sure that by the end of the 30 minutes - in the confusion of the kicks and hooks - either Hubby or I would end up with a poorly-placed jab to the eye. Try explaining that black eye at work on Monday: "We were doing cardio kickboxing in the living room. Seriously!"

This video would be great for a more coordinated kickboxer or for someone who has the patience to watch it a few times to pick up the steps, but I won't be going back anytime soon.

When that video ended, brilliant YouTube suggested some other kickboxing videos.

Enter Jillian Michaels.
Those of you who are Biggest Loser fans are probably going to laugh at what I'm about to say, but...
Holy hell, her videos are FANTASTIC.

How have I been living under a rock for so long?


(Then again, I did mention that it took me 20 years to try cardio kickboxing...)
So thank you Kim - for your challenge - which has brought me up to, oh... 2004?

Anyone else a fan of Ms. Michaels?

Staying in pajamas all day to get housework done: the height of efficiency or something I should never again admit in public?