I love variety!

I really do love variety in my training. I know I probably don't need to do as much cardio as I do for weight loss/muscle building, but I love to be fit. And I love to be fit to give me the ability to do whatever I want.
To be able to go hiking and see a hill and say - heck - lets run it.
To be able to hop of the bike and go for broke and cycle for as long as I want
To be able to take on any challenge that i want - knowing I have a reasonable chance of success.

This week I've had some nice variety. I work trip to Adelaide meant that I was able to do a 6km run around the lake at West Lakes, followed by a lovely spa in the hotel (had the whole complex to myself -wish I'd had more time to do a workout there as well)
Friday I hopped on the bike and rode around the town scouting locations for a high tech GPS Easter Egg hunt.
Saturday I got up early and headed off for a 14km walk as my last prep for WALKING a half marathon next weekend.
Planning on swimming this arvo
And during the week I've also been doing Jillian Michael's weights/plyometrics workout. This started out as being quite challenging but I've noticed lately that I've been finding it a bit easier. Either the first couple of days were designed to be killer workouts to put you off, or I've adapted to them (or worst case scenario - I'm no longer doing them properly)
Anyway - its a circuit workout which I'm finding doesn't seem to challenge the muscles as much as straight sets with the same muscle group - but its good to push your body through change. At the end of each circuit (there are five in each workout) there is a cardio element. More often than not, this says - 60secs run at incline of 12 at 9km/hr. Now I've been thinking that an incline of 12 must be a typo - or maybe in USA they have different measurements of incline - because on my treadmill this is as high as it goes. So to be honest, I've only been doing an incline of 6. But on Thursday I decided to give it a go. And it certainly is possible. The first 30 secs were fine, but by the last 15secs it was a major push. I really was gasping - to the point when you feel the oxygen burn in the throat afterwards -you know the feeling? I've realised that whilst I get my heart rate up in interval training - I don't push it this hard. This was really pushing me to a new level - and I'm sure this will really help to challenge my fitness. Yeah!

Anyway - as I keep trying all sorts of new and wonderful exercises, I thought I might post some every now and then.
So here's my exercise for the day. I've noticed that this one seems to work a different aspect of my abs and back to other exercises and I can see an improvement in my form every time I do it.

Pike crunches:
From a kneeling position, place your abdomen on a body ball and roll the body along the ball until your nkles rest on the top of the ball. Your shoulders should be aligned directly over your hands. Contracting your abdominal muscles, exhale and pull the ball forward using yoru legs. As your glutes rise, keep your upper body stable so that your shoulders stay aligned with your hands. In the finished position, your toes should be resting on the. Return to the starting position. Repeat.