Month: June 2013

Wednesday Workout: 10 Stations Circuit

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Well hello! Greetings from Atlanta! It’s so much hotter here than it is back home- yeesh! I’m not complaining, I just wish I could sunbathe poolside with a cute cabana boy bringing me cocktails and treats all day. What? Don’t tell me that doesn’t sound lovely!

Anyway, since I won’t be around to teach tonight, I wanted to share a fun workout that I taught last week in SHRED. I was feeling Monday’s BodyPump & Wednesday’s 3 mile run and UXF Burn workouts, so I wanted to teach something where I could instruct and demo, rather than actually DO all of the workout with the class. This ended up being perfect because I could jump in at the stations I liked and needed that day (core ones, in particular) and avoid the ones for which I was sore or the high cardio ones since I was teaching Kickboxing after.

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When teaching circuits, I always like to throw in a little HIIT action in between each round to get everyone’s heart rates up and get them pumped for the next round. These are most of my favorite exercises (at the moment- I seem to get new favorites every couple of weeks), so I thought it was a pretty fun workout! If you have any questions, obviously let me know! This can totally be done at home, too. You can do a plank hold on the ground if you don’t have a stability ball and you can do biceps curls balancing on one leg (which still works your core like balancing on a BOSU does) and normal jump squats.

In other workout news, I had a really awesome workout on Monday at the Wellington BSC after work. As I have mentioned, I’ve been really into lifting heavier when I can and since I ran 5 miles on Sunday, I decided to make Monday a light cardio day and focus on heavier lifting. I warmed up with 15 minutes on the elliptical and then did the following, which you’ve seen many times on the blog!

  • 5 stair runs (up and down=1, so repeat 5 times)
  • 25 reps of lower body exercises: squats, lunges (each leg), dead lifts, plié squats. I did 50lbs here, which is about as much as I can do unless I am using a machine and don’t have to lift the weight over my head to get the bar in place!
  • 5 stair runs
  • 25 reps of upper body exercises: isolation curls (25 each arm) while sitting on a BOSU, 1 armed triceps extensions while balancing on 1 leg (25 each side), front & side lat raises (on each side) and reverse flys. (I couldn’t find the weights I needed, so I did 12.5lbs for everything except the lat raises- I used 8lbs as I am still babying my shoulder
  • 5 stair runs
  • 25 core exercises: BOSU plank tilts, weighted side dips balancing on BOSU, Russian Twists, straight armed plank with leg lifts
  • 5 stair runs
  • 25 squat & chest press, 25 curtsy lunges with OH press, 30 second side plank each side, 1 minute plank to finish it off

Fun workout and I was SO sweaty, mostly from lifting!

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(yes, I am that weird/crazy girl taking pics of myself at the gym!)

Questions for you: What are you currently loving at the gym? Do you like stations workouts?

A Productive, but Relaxing Sunday

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Hey everyone! How’s it going? I’m headed to Atlanta today for work, but I should have time to blog at the airport or hotel. I want to post my recent stations workout for you tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll find time to get that together!

I was in bed embarrassingly early on Saturday night, but the couple of cocktails I had in the afternoon wiped me out! I woke up Sunday feeling more rested than I have felt in a while- it was great! After breakfast, Danielle and I got right to the most dreaded task of the weekend: cleaning the apartment. Since we’ve all been gone for a number of weekends, the apartment cleaning sessions were severely neglected! I always at least wipe down the bathrooms once a week, but we needed a deep cleaning in a bad way. Luckily, when there are two of us doing it, we can do it in a little over an hour.

After cleaning, I drove Danielle to the airport since she is traveling for work all week. Before I came home, I swung by the Cambridgeside Galleria because I wanted to get new sneakers and a new dress from H&M. I got to the mall at 11:25 and was shocked (and really annoyed) to see that the mall didn’t open until 12:00!!! I understand a late opening on Sundays, but 12? That seems a little late! I had to practice some serious patience while I waited for the mall to open. I grabbed an iced coffee, wandered around and as soon as the clock struck 12, I was in H&M. I grabbed the dress and headed to Olympia Sports. I have and Edge card with them and had a $10 birthday gift card and a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. I wasn’t supposed to combine them, but I put on my nicest smile and asked if there was any way they could combine them. Score for me! I got $20 off my sneaks! I tried on Reebok’s that I really loved, but they were more aimed for cross training, which is great for me, except for the fact I went there looking for new running sneakers. I ended up getting the same ones that I currently own, just in a different color.

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I tested them out later that afternoon for a 5 mile run and I loved them!

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Between shopping and running, I was able to catch some rays on my back patio! I also enjoyed lunch out there, finally.  The weather this spring has not been conducive to patio dining, unfortunately. I also spent time cleaning up the side of the apartment. There is a path along the apartment from the patio to the driveway, but it gets overgrown with weeds SO quickly! I hate the looks of it, so I cleaned it up for the 3rd time on Sunday.

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Since I knew I was traveling this week and would be gone two nights, not to mention I won’t be around Friday night- Sunday night for dinners, I decided to keep dinner easy: spaghetti squash, sautéed veggies and the chicken tenders from Saturday night. I didn’t measure anything, just eye-balled the veggies as I cut them.

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Paired with a glass of vino and I was a happy girl! The whole time I ran, I thought about enjoying a glass of wine when I finished… hey, anything that gets you through a run, right?

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Other than that, my Sunday night was pretty quiet. It felt great to have a clean apartment, clean room, no laundry, etc. to start the week. Anyone else feel this way? Food prep and cleaning and organizing might be a pain to do in advance, but to me, it is SO worth it once it’s finished!

Questions for you: What kind of sneakers do you run in? Do you wear different ones for running than you do when you take a class? Do you have any “mantras” or anything that gets you through a run (or a walk!)?

Weekly Workouts

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Monday, we meet again! Too soon, might I add. How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good! I didn’t do anything too big or exciting, but it was nice to just be around the apartment and the city… good mix of relaxation and fun things!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Ugh, not what I had expected! I was supposed to sub BodyPump, but there was a mix up and a crazy lady ended up teaching it. I didn’t want to be a sore sport, so I stayed and took the class, which was actually good because it reminded me how great BodyPump is for a muscle workout! I ran 1 mile beforehand and did 20 minutes of the elliptical after, as well as stair runs and TRX abs. It was a good workout day!
  • Tuesday- I woke up and did 16 minutes of core and cardio before heading into work. I had my photo shoot with Dan after work, so I wanted to squeeze in a little something. I did 60 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 60 seconds of ab work (all sorts of different exercises) and I repeated that until 16 minutes.
  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles for National Running Day and then taught a fun UXF Burn class. We are supposed to teach by timed intervals, but I decided I wanted to switch it up so I taught by reps (12) and it was a fun change of pace!

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  • Thursday- I was feeling pretty sore from my workouts on Monday and Wednesday, so I taught a stations workout in SHRED and was able to pick and choose what exercises I wanted to do. It was a really fun workout! Kickboxing was good, but the energy wasn’t there in the class. Hate that!
  • Friday- I did a Deck of Cards workout on my lunch break at home. These workouts seem easy, but they never fail to leave me a sweaty mess at the end!

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  • Saturday- I went to another BodyPump class! I didn’t do any cardio, but I still felt like my heart rate was up the whole workout.
  • Sunday- Since I didn’t do any cardio on Saturday, I went for a run. I bought new running sneaks and wanted to try them out! Plus the weather was perfect for a run. I ended up covering 5 miles, which was a nice surprise! I’m definitely not a distance runner, but sometimes I like to see how far I can run. I could’ve run longer, but decided to not push it!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I am not sure what I am going to do. I might go to the gym after work and do machine cardio and weights, but I might run? Who knows!
  • Tuesday- I am traveling to Atlanta for work and my flight leaves around noon. I might try to get up in the morning and do kickboxing or go for a run or do a Deck of Cards, or I might wait until I get to Atlanta for the workout. My flight leaves at 12:15 and I am traveling alone, so I have plenty of time after I finish up work for the day in the hotel to work out then. My manager said that in the same business complex there is the 8th largest gym in the world and you can get discounted passes from the hotel, so I definitely want to check that out!
  • Wednesday- Likely going to the gym before we are in meetings all day… I can’t wait to try it out and see how big it is! BSCers- I will not be there to teach UXF Burn- George Moore is subbing for me. He’s a hoot- have fun!
  • Thursday- SHRED and Kickboxing… I need to make up a new kickboxing routine!
  • Friday- REST 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA! Always love that class!
  • Sunday- I will be in Maine for Father’s Day and am not sure if I’ll work out or not. It will likely depend on how I’m feeling physically after the week’s workouts.

Questions for you: Did you try any new workouts last week? Do you like to workout when you travel? If so, do you go to the gym or do something in your room?

I Bought A Computer, Bruins game, Apartment Hunting & Day Drinking in the City

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Hey everyone! How has your weekend been? Mine has been pretty good so far. I have to say, the feeling of knowing that I had NO plans that I absolutely had to do was really nice. Like, really nice. I spent yesterday afternoon having cocktails and hanging out with friends in the city and I kept feeling guilty for “hanging out” because there were so many other things I could be doing, but then I gave myself a little pep talk and told myself to relax and enjoy the moment. There was nothing urgent that I had to do; sneaker shopping, cleaning, grocery shopping… those were all things that could wait until later in the day or not at all! I’m just so used to always being on a tight schedule that it takes a bit for me to feel ok with having free time to spend however I want.

Anyway, let’s catch up. As I mentioned yesterday, I was on a mission to find a new computer. Well, I found one and I’m currently blogging from it! I ended up going with a Lenovo, thanks to my work IT department’s suggestion (and Jean, I got excited when you said you had one, too!) and I think I will be very happy with it. As much as I wanted a Mac, I needed to be financially smart about this purchase and try to find something within my budget. Some day I’ll get a Mac, but for now, I think this Lenovo is going to do juuuuust fine! It’s pretty fancy and unlike any computer I’ve ever used (the screen display and settings), but I think I’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

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It’s a pretty fun new toy! After I bought this beauty, I decided to swing by Old Navy since I heard they had cute shorts and bathing suits. I mean, why not keep spending, right? I scored some pretty sweet deals, though! Shorts were on sale for $12.50 each (!!!!) and bathing suits for $10 each. I couldn’t believe it!

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Cute right?! I was happy with what I got and how little I spent! I was also amazed with myself for the fact that not only did I run errands in the pouring rain, but I also tagged along with my sister and her friends for a night in the city! The Bruins were playing game 4 and we thought it would be fun to go to a bar near the garden and watch it there. The lines were incredibly long everywhere, but we were able to get into North Star fairly quickly. I still can’t believe I went!

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Bruins for the win! It was fun being in the midst of all the crazy sports fans, because anyone who knows me knows that I am so far the opposite of that. This was the first game I actually watched all season!

Yesterday morning, I knew I wanted to work out, but wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted t do. I decided to go to the 10am BodyPump class with one of my favorite instructors. Normally, I do cardio before or after BodyPump, but yesterday I opted to just do the class. I went heavy on the weights and it felt great! (well, minus the bar on my back during squats… does anyone else get so uncomfortable during the squat track? Now that I am lifting heavier- 20lbs on each side- the bar really hurts my upper back!).

Post BP, I showered quickly and my sister, Kelly and I headed to East Boston to look at an apartment!!! So exciting that I am finally starting to look at places to rent come September. The whole thing is really stressful (it’s so expensive to live on your own in Boston), but I am excited for the change and to live alone. The apartment was awesome and I actually really liked the area of East Boston that it was in. The only problem was that the bathroom was TINY. Like seriously tiny, BUT the kitchen and back deck did make up for it. I am going to see another one in that building (a little cheaper) next week I think. If any of you have suggestions or know of any open apartments, let me know!

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(Wore my new shorts!)

We grabbed lunch at Jerry Remy’s in the Seaport. The weather had warmed up and we were able to get a table on the deck! Beautiful views!

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We had beers and shared sliders and nachos… calories don’t count on Saturdays 😉

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My friend Jessi met up with us so after we finished eating, we decided to find a new spot to have another drink. We tried to go to the Legal’s roof deck, but it was closed for a private function. Boooo. We ended up going to the Mexican restaurant next door and sat at the bar. They had all the windows wide open so it was almost like we were sitting outside. Such a fun Saturday afternoon!!

I dragged Danielle to the grocery store with me on our way home. Where do you guys usually shop? I like Market Basket because it’s SO cheap, but I’ve been going to Stop n Shop lately because it’s less crowded. We stopped in at the Star Market today and it was SO expensive compared to most grocery stores. Chobani’s were on sale for 88 cents which was the only good thing about that trip. Whomp whomp.

My friend Meredith just posted this fun recipe for chicken tenders so I decided to make some for dinner last night! I didn’t follow her recipe, but it helped me remember that I love making chicken tenders! I also made sweet potato “fries” and had corn on the cob (sorry, it seems like I eat this all the time, but I am obsessed with it lately!!). Fun, easy, healthy Saturday night meal!

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In other news, I need to take a second to say that even though I had a great day yesterday, I had a very heavy heart. Our cousin’s wife passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Katrina and Sean had love like we all dream of having, and I cannot imagine what Sean is going through. Katrina was one of a kind; the most caring, energetic, fun loving, giving, wonderful person whom we will all miss so much. We were lucky enough to share a cabin with the two of them when we were at our other cousin’s wedding in Vermont last September; we were definitely the “fun” cabin. Sending lots of love and support to my cousin, Sean, and everyone else who was lucky enough to know Katrina.

Questions for you: Did you buy anything fun this weekend? Where do you go grocery shopping? Any suggestions for where I should move in September?

A Fairly Boring Week… And Plans [or lackthereof] For the Weekend

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Hi there! Happy Friday! What’s going on for the weekend? I, surprisingly enough, don’t have anything planned. Can you believe it?! I can’t. I was g-chatting with Athena (per usual), and told how I was stressing about having no plans and that I was worried about getting bored, but she kindly reminded me that there are plenty of things I can do to keep busy, but that I should also embrace an empty weekend! Knowing me, I will fill up my weekend with random things (ie: my “to-do” list will look like this: gym, shower, lunch, go computer shopping, go sneaker shopping, go to the Christmas Tree Shop, buy wine… etc. etc. yes, I put showering on my to-do list. I like crossing things off, so the more I add, the more I can cross off!), but what is nice is that there is nothing I HAVE to do.

Well, besides buy a new computer. For the past year or so, I have been using my work computer as my personal computer, which is probably a big no-no, right? Well, said work computer got the virus of all virus’ last week and I realized how bad it is to not have that computer since it has my iTunes and all my blog settings and everything like that. Since I am taking more pictures and downloading more music (for my blog and for teaching), I should really have my own computer. So, I am going to bite the bullet and do that. Only problem, is that I don’t want to spend a lot of money. Originally, I wanted a Mac, but I don’t NEED one right now. What I need is something super basic just to blog from and download music to. In a few years, once I am hopefully more settled down (Dear God please let that be the case!), I will spend more on something nice, but for now, something to “get by” with is all I need.

Anyway! How has your week been? Mine has been, well, rather boring! This was a week where I had to look through my phone to see if I had any pictures that would help remind me of what I did. I’ll let the pictures do the talking now!

On Tuesday, a college friend, Dan Brown, and I met up to do a photo shoot so I could get some new head shots. Our first location was on Acorn Street, the post popular photographed street in Boston!

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Unfortunately, I don’t have any sneak peeks from the shoot, but from what I saw on his camera, I am going to be very happy with the results! Dan was phenomenal and so knowledgeable. I’ll get you all his contact info when I reveal some photos… can’t wait!

Wednesday was National Running Day… did you run? I was able to sneak in a quick 3 miler before I taught UXF Burn. It was an awesome run.. I wasn’t focusing on the stats on my watch at all, which was a nice change! The weather was beautiful, the scenery was great, and there was great people watching! Win, win, win!

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I ended up doing most of the class on Wednesday, and boy were my legs burning by the end! I love this group:)

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We did lots of fun things like Surfer Burpees and Spider-Man push-ups! (Hi, Becca! Hope you don’t mind these pics on the blog! 🙂 )

After class, we came home (Danielle has been able to come to my Wednesday night classes!) and I watered my garden. Can you believe how much everything as grown already?!

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Zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, broccoli, scallions, tomatoes and green peppers. I cannot wait for fresh veggies all summer long!

While I was showering, Danielle made me this drool-worthy Pita Pizza.

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Right? I mean, how good does that look?! She bought some mini Pita Pockets (80 calories!) last week and they turned out to be the perfect base for a healthified pizza!

And, that’s about it! I have got to get a workout in at some point today, preferably this morning. I am thinking a deck of cards with cardio and abs since I think I am going to go to BodyPump again tomorrow, but we’ll see!

Hope you have a wonderful friday, even though it’s raining 😦

Questions for you: What kind of computer do you have? Did you run for National Running Day? Do you have a garden?