Month: February 2013

Catching up!

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TGIF! What a week this has been! I think I am finally feeling totally better now… I thought I was better yesterday, but shortly into teach kickboxing, I realized it was a false alarm! I think the high impact, constant cardio mixed with trying to yell AND breath was what really did me in. Thankfully, the class has lots of “regulars” now and I don’t need to do as much of the class if I don’t have the energy (which, last night, I just didn’t).

Let’s do some catching up, shall we? Wednesday I worked from home because I was still not feeling well.  Since I am traveling for work 2 times in March and will be missing 2 Wednesday UXF classes in a row, I had to still teach at night.  Luckily, I am not supposed to actually do any of the class (Since it is so intense, I am supposed to walk around, coach, correct form, etc)… I usually try to do about 3/4 of the class because I think members like to see me huffing and puffing too, but on Wednesday, I really didn’t do any of it.  We had record numbers at the gym on Wednesday… Look at this group!

001I had 29 members in class!!! There is nothing like the energy from teaching a big group! I was so bummed I couldn’t sweat with them, but at least I could wear one of my new lulu tops;)

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(Creeper spotting in the background!)

When I got to work yesterday, I was greeted with this amazing treat box:

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Ummm… YUM! I received a Winston Flowers gift when I was first hired, so as soon as I saw the ribbon, I KNEW it was going to be good! Of course, as soon as I got home I had to open everything up and try a bite of them all (thankfully my stomach welcomed these bites with big, hungry arms!).

The Effie’s Oatcakes were by far my favorite. I remember when Athena had an Effie’s Giveaway on her blog… such a good giveaway because these things are amazing! Especially dipped in the chocolate hazelnut spread!

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And, who doesn’t love chocolate covered Oreos??

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This hot chocolate is legit little chocolate pieces, so I am not sure how I will like that, but I’ll definitely give it a shot!

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Finally… marshmallow pops!!  I tried a bite of the Honey Pecan last night and it did not disappoint!

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Phew! What I am trying to say, is that gift basket was amazing!

Today I am working from home and then teaching UXF Burn in Allston tonight.  My sister and roommate are both returning home today after a week of travel, so I have pizza dough thawing in the fridge now and cannot wait for homemade pizza night! Be on the lookout for that post soon!

Questions for you: Have you ever received a Winston Flowers gift package? Were your classes busy at the gym this week? What are your Friday night plans?

Have a great Friday!

12 Days of Fitness Workout…

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… a little late! I did this workout right around the holidays and recently got a request to put it up on the blog, so here ya go!

The “12 Days of Fitness” workouts were flying around all over the blog world for a while, so I decided I had to try one and see what the craze was all about.  I did a bunch of research and ended up putting together, what I think to be, a pretty good workout!  Most of the “12 Days of Fitness” workouts that I saw started with the “1” move first and then worked their way up to the “12,” but I decided to start with the “12” and work out way down to the “1”.  What can I say? I wanted to make my class work harder:)

New 12 days of fitness

Yes, you did the math correctly: in this workout, you will do 144 lunges, 121 bicep curls, 100 mountain climbers… you get the point!

This workout can easily be done in the comforts of your own home… or at a gym with a friend! Let me know if you try it:)

Can’t catch a break!… and weekly workouts!

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Ugh, what is it about this winter and sickness for me?! I came down with pneumonia and an ear infection on Christmas and just yesterday I came down with the stomach bug. These were my best friends last night:sick

Now, if anyone knows me well, you know that I cannot go more than a few hours without a snack or a treat… I have had 2 saltine crackers since lunch yesterday.  Yeah, not good.  I called my sister and apparently she had come down with the same thing! Poor girl is traveling for work, too:(

I stayed home from work today with the hopes that rest and not having to trudge through the city will help get me back to normal ASAP!

On another note, I had a friend suggest that I write a weekly “Monique’s Class Schedule” post where I would post the classes I am teaching and subbing for the week.  For those of you with the BSC Passport membership, you can come to any BSC classes that I teach, regardless of the location!

Here is my schedule for this week:

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  • Monday- 7-8pm Dynamax Boot Camp at the Oak Square YMCA (this is a fee based class, but if you’re interested in what it’s all about, message me!)
  • Wednesday- 6:30pm UXF Burn at the Central Square BSC (I will be teaching tonight, but definitely not doing the workout!)
  • Thursday- 6:30pm Cardio Kickboxing at the Central Square BSC
  • Friday- 5:30pm UXF Burn at the Allston BSC
  • Saturday- 9am Total Body Conditioning at the Allston BSC

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That’s it for the week! Much more manageable than the 7 classes I taught last week:)

Questions for you: What do your workouts look like this week? Would you like it if I posted my weekly teaching schedule?

Dynamax Workout 2.18.13

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I love when my week starts on a Tuesday and not a Monday:)  Especially since my mom and cousin are coming to the city tonight… slumber partyyyy!

I wanted to share with you what we did in Dynamax last night.  I have a whole post designated to professing my love explaining my Dynamax class and what a Dynamax workout is all about, but until I finish that, I thought I’d share this workout since it can be done in pieces and with or without equipment!  If I were you, I would swing over to the Dynamax as it has loads of tips and workouts and instructions on how to use the balls… they are my FAVORITE exercise tool right now!

Dynamax 2/18/13-

Please note that this can be done with any type of medicine ball or weight if you do not have access to a Dynamax ball. Also, if you do not have access to a partner, skip the partner work.  Instead, maybe try 1 round of the Supersets, followed by 3 rounds of the 45 second moves, and end with another round of the supersets… This workout can be done in different pairings as you wish!

Dynamax 2.18.13

And then we ran out of time:) I know some of these moves might be a little confusing, so try putting them into YouTube or going to the Dynamax website! Also, I’m always available for questions… I hope to have pictures of these moves up on the blog soon:)

Weekend Catch Up, Family Dinner, Lulu…

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Hello, hello!

How was your weekend? I really enjoyed my long weekend at home in Maine with my family! Saturday night we had a blast drinking wine and having lots of laughs. Mom always wants to know what I teach in my classes and when I showed her lunges, she wanted to show me what she does when she does lunges in class:

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Yes, she is doing the sign of the cross while lunging.  I nearly died with laughter when she showed me this.  Apparently all the Catholics in class really get a kick out of her when she does this. Haha, still laughing as I think back to that!

Anyway, Sunday we woke up to snowy, windy, COLD weather… yuck:( Mom and I went to church and then to the grocery store.  Hannaford had French Toast K-Cups- holy yum! That made the shopping process so much better!

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All my groceries for the week! Love that I can buy wine, on a Sunday at 10AM at the grocery store.

When we got home, we did lots of cooking- I made brownies and this and mom started to prep our dinner: Pork and Chicken Wellington, mashed butternut squash, fancy mashed potatoes and asparagus with roasted red peppers. Here are some pictures from the process… I wish I had a recipe for you, but neither mom or dad used one.

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While we prepped the food, a couple of my mom’s friends came over for happy hour- have I mentioned how much I love being home and with my family? I wish I made more time for “happy hours”.  We had a blast laughing and drinking delicious bubbly (what else?!) and snuggling sweet little Emma:

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I drove back down to MA relatively early today. I had to stop off at the Burlington Mall and clean the apartment before teaching tonight, so I wanted to make sure I had time for everything! I had too much fun at Lululemon… oops! I mean, the damage isn’t as bad since I get 15% off for my instructor discount, right? Shhh… that’s what I keep telling myself! Here are my goodies:

011I didn’t end up buying this water bottle, but I am totally obsessed with it.  Guilty pleasure: I love muffins. Donuts? Yuck! but muffins? I just love them so much! This water bottle is seriously perfect for me.

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I am home alone all week, except for my mom and cousin coming to spend the night tomorrow, so I spent a few hours deep cleaning. There is nothing better than a sparkly clean apartment!

012 013And, I finally did something I have been meaning to do for so so long:

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I FINALLY organized all of my workouts into a nice, organized binder:)  This makes me a happy, happy fitness instructor!

I was going to post my Dynamax workout tonight, but as this post is already ridiculously long (if you’ve made it this far, THANK YOU!), I’ll post that tomorrow!

Have a great week!