13 Ways to Amp Up Your Push-Ups (Plus a cameo from the Girl Scouts!)

Not pictured: Me almost beaning myself with that dumbbell while I wobbled for 20 seconds trying to get my balance. 

13 Simple Ways to Amp Up Your Push-Up. If you’ve been exercising for any length of time you are probably a little sick of regular push-ups. Here are a few ways to add some flavor to your routine and get some awesome looks at the gym. (Ok, awesome only if you don’t eat it. I’m still working on that part.)

Other stuff I wrote this week:

Fitness 

9 Reasons to Skip Your Workout… Sometimes. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, if people only learn one thing from me (when it comes to fitness) I hope they learn that more is not always better. Whether you are mildly over trained or a compulsive exerciser like I was, the physical and mental problems are real. Rest is good!

7 Ways to Change Your Luck With Weight Loss Not only did I find a way to give decent health tips but I also name-checked Lucky Charms and my editor added a reference to Skittles – all in a St. Patrick’s Day-themed “weight loss” article. Awesome.

Parenting

Should Moms Sell Girl Scout Cookies For Their Daughters? Yeah, my mom made me sell my own cookies back in the day (until I got kicked out of Girl Scouts for calling my leader “Caca Carla” which is terrible, I know, but I was 8 and didn’t speak Spanish then!) so maybe I was a little bitter this past weekend when I saw a group of moms manning the cookie table at the store — and no girl scouts in sight. 250+ comments and counting, I think this one touched a nerve!

Young Girls in Burlesque Number: Horrifying or Innocent fun? Do I really need to ask this question? 9-year-old girls + burlesque dancing seems like a pretty bad idea to me but apparently other moms are okay with it. And did I mention they were in nude-colored bras?

Kristi Yamaguchi’s Tips For Winning the Bedtime Battle. Yes, that Kristi Yamaguchi took some time this week to share her new book/kids’ bedtime routine with me. And let me just say that she makes it look as easy as she made those triple axels look in the Olympics!

Do Grandparents Know Best?

I Parent Differently Than My Mother. I’m not saying anything about my mom, here. She is wonderful and I love her! (Hi Mom!)

Scaring Kids to Teach Them a Lesson: Ethical? When I tried it? Epic parenting FAIL.

Is It Weird to Nickname Your Baby… In Utero? Considering I still call my bean “Jelly Bean” you know where I stand. If this is wrong then I don’t ever wanna be right.

Do you have a fave push-up variation? What’s your opinion on moms selling cookies for their Girl Scouts??

 

 

 

16 Comments

  1. I am seriously thankful for Holly on Dance Moms… besides her Anthropologie laden wardrobe that makes me swoon (and provides a game of I-Spy) she also does stand up for those children. As she explained on Twitter, she managed to get the costumes revised… if you watch the episode you do notice the costume change visually — the bra becomes more than just triangles that barely cover, though still not the best — even though they don’t address it in a vocal manner… choosing not to air that part.

    I think it’s incredibly important for parents to advocate for their children (coming from someone with only a puppy and no children — so multiple grains of salt needed)

    • Odd random follow-up?

      Lifetime pulled that episode. No longer airs. No longer available online. Not available on Amazon Prime either.

  2. bows.in.awe.at.yer.prolificnessment.

  3. When my sister was pregnant, we all nicknamed her son “Peapod.” Since being born, the name hasn’t stuck all that much, but it did make for a super cute Halloween costume this year!

  4. My Aunt and Uncle nicknames their kids when my Aunt was still pregnant. I think it wasn’t JUST a straight nickname- they were waiting until he was born to give him a name, and I don’t even know if they knew it was a boy or a girl, but they called him “sprite” and it stuck.

  5. LOVE those dip-dye capri tights! Where did you get those? Just looking at them makes me feel like I want to work out–or dance or something. Those happy pants have to be almost as effective as anti-depressants!

    • Yes these are my FAVE pants!!! They’re the Nike Combat capris and they come in like 300 amazing patterns/colors/fun. Go get you some, girl!

  6. 9 year olds in burlesque? What? Fan dancing and stuff like that is one thing, but nude costume parts? A nine year old should not understand the subtle nuances of sexual enticement in dance form. The last thing I would want a 9 year old to be thinking while dancing for others is “I’m hot! Look at my crotch! You can’t have or afford me!”. I’d be mad if someone wanted ME to think that way while dancing.

    Thanks for the pushup changeup ideas. I’m so proud I can do some now…but it’s nice to change them up a bit.

  7. OMG, so much awesomeness! And hey, somehow I’ve missed the Today show thing which I so want to watch, is there a link somewhere?

    As to pushup variatons, that’s a very SORE subject right now, as I did something werid to my back doing renegade rows and now can’t seem to bend down to tie my shoes. Owwww…..

  8. LOVE it!! Love that push-up post too!!! Pinned away!!!!!!

  9. You got kicked out of girl scouts?!? Laughing 🙂

  10. I’m still working on mastering more than three normal pushups in a row without falling flat on my face, so I tend to not try to spice them up any more than usual.

    As for the girl scout cookies, the one year I was a girl scout in elementary school my parents sold the cookies for me. I got back into it my four years of high school, but then I sold the cookies to my teachers and friends who wanted to keep stashes in their lockers. I think it works better for the little ones if their parents sell, but around fourth or fifth grade the girls can start taking over most of the selling.

  11. I’d love to read “I Parent Differently than my Mom’ essay but the link doesn’t work!

  12. Now that looks like a really interesting position 🙂

  13. Little girls doing Burlesque and talking like prostitutes does NOT a healthy environment make! I’ve only seen a few minutes of that show, but it was quite enough. That “teacher” is nuts! So she gets kids jobs on Broadway. Great. By the time they’re 18 they’ll be begging outside the theaters they once performed in.

  14. When I saw the picture I’m interested to workout, excited doing what you did…like push-ups, I know fitness is good for everyone…