May 8, 2013 – Burpees to Bubbly

Happy Wednesday! Two posts in one day… how do you feel about that?!

So, last night, I did something I haven’t done in a long, long, LONG time. I went to the gym. For a class. That I wasn’t teaching! Can you believe it? Back before I started teaching, I would go to the Wellington BSC 6 or 7 times a week for classes and for my own workouts. On Tuesday’s, I would go to Mary Beth’s Kickboxing IT class at 6:30. For those of you who have been reading for a while, you know that Tuesdays used to be my go-to rest days since I was teaching Mondays and then Wednesday-Saturday. Now that I don’t teach on Friday’s anymore and am only teaching every other Saturday, it gives me the option to workout on Tuesdays if I want, which is kind of fun… and also why I went to the gym last night. It was SO good to see all of my instructor friends at that gym… boy have I missed it!

Although Mary Beth’s class is quite different than how I teach, it was really nice being able to workout for ME. I didn’t have to worry about sounding like I was sucking air as I was giving cues and pointers in my mic, I didn’t have to worry about watching everyone and checking form, I didn’t have to worry about remembering the next move. As much as I LOVE teaching, last night was a reminder that I need to get back into the gym to TAKE classes, because I really love that, too.

Post workout, I went home, watered my flowers and made a quick and easy dinner, using leftovers from Sunday’s Cinco de Mayo meal.

(from Instagram. Are you following me yet?)

All I did was take the leftover “chili” mixture (it thickened up in the fridge) and put it in a honey wheat tortilla (Fiber One- love them!), added some cheese and grilled it up. Quick, easy, delicious.

Workout

Ok, let’s get to that workout that I promised you, ok? As most of you probably know, I teach a UXF Burn class for the Boston Sports Club once a week. As much as I love the workouts, I get bored quickly and need to change-up the format sometimes. While the basis of the workout is consistent with the “Keep It Moving” format, I changed it up in that we kept the 60 second time intervals for the strength portions throughout the whole workout (instead of dropping them down to 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and then 2 tabata rounds).

In the Keep It Moving, the workout is set up in the following format:

1. Lower body

2. Upper body- pull

3. Core

4. Compound Movement- RIGHT

5. Compound Movement- LEFT

6. Upper- push

7. Compound Movement- both right and left together

8. Core

90 Seconds of Cardio

Although, I kept the moves somewhat consistent with how the format is laid out above, I did change it a bit in that I used moves that were not on “the list”… tisk, tisk, I know!

I had a really hard time trying to explain moves for #’s 3 and 4, so refer to THIS post for a better description, but it sort of looks like this:

If you have any other questions, please let me know! A couple of members told me that they really liked the exercises I chose for this workout, so try it out and let me know what you think!

Questions for you: Instructor friends- think it’s easier or harder to take a class vs. teach it? Do you like leftovers? Ever taken a UXF Burn class?

Also! Check in tomorrow for a special recap of the April Arms Challenge I participated in last month:)

Hi there! So remember how I said I was in a bit of a funk on Friday? I was talking to someone about it last night, and he gave me some really good advice. He told me that what has helped him when he’s been going through a rough time, is to make a list of everything he is thankful for and try focusing on that. Well, I did that last night and you know what? It totally helped! Unfortunately, I think we tend to focus on the negative and the issues at hand, rather than focus on the positives. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in being angry or frustrated or sad, but sometimes all we need is a reminder that there are so many happy things to think about and focus on and be thankful for!

With that being said, here is my current list of things I am thankful for:

1. My family and their never-ending support.

2. My friends- college, home, high school, work, fitness… I’m so blessed to have so many!

3. A flexible “real” job that pays my bills.

4. The ability to have a second job that is all about my passion.

5. Being able to teach a variety of classes.

6. My body, and all that it allows me to do.

7. Being able to be a source of inspiration and motivation for people in my classes (and maybe even some of you who read my blog?!).

8. Burpees to Bubbly. ‘Nuff said. I love this little hobby and love all of you who read and support me!

9. My health (knock on wood!).

10. Wine. Again, ’nuff said.

11. Cooking and trying new recipes.

12. Being from Maine.

13. Working in Boston.

14. That spring weather seems to be FINALLY showing it’s pretty little face.

15. Ice cream and cookies.

Ahh, even just writing them out and reading back through them makes me feel so much better! I could go on and on, but those were the first 15 that popped into my head today.

Your Turn!! You tell me- what are 5 things you are thankful for right at this very moment? I’d love to hear them, and I promise you’ll feel so much better once you write them down!