Month: September 2013

Weekly Workouts: Lots of Booty Burner Workouts!

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Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? I was totally lovin’ the weather- how perfect was it?! I went apple picking with some of my college girlfriends and we had a blast, but I’ll catch you up on that tomorrow 🙂

Last week, even though I had planned to take it easy on Monday or Tuesday if I needed to, I realized that I was feeling refreshed and ready to be active. So, active I was, but always being mindful and listening to my body. With a that said, a few workouts left me sore, in particular, my booty and my abs… 2 areas that I love being sore after a workout! Athena said I should post my “Booty Burner” workout, so I think I’ll do that for you Wednesday!

This week’s workouts are going to be a little “TBD” for the later half of the week since I’m going to Michigan with my parents, but I’m hoping to come up with a few hotel room workouts that I’ll be able to share with you!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- After my tour of Eastie last weekend, I was itching to run to Piers Park and use the little outdoor gym area that they have. It was a nice, cool, fall night so it was great weather to run and I got to “play” in the gym which was an added bonus! Let me tell you, my abs were SO SORE for a few days after some decline leg lifts and sit ups. WOW. loved it! This gym area is a really neat resource to have for the public. They offer different level, 4 move strength and stretching workouts using all sorts of different pieces of equipment.

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  • Tuesday- I got the schedule mixed up for the East Boston YMCA and Pilates was actually on Tuesday, not Monday, so I hit up the 6:15pm class Tuesday after work. It was very slow-paced, but it was nice to stretch and work my incredibly sore core. The class incorporated weights and I was able to take some of the moves into my classes- win, win!
  • Wednesday- I went for a really hot 2.5 mile jog before teaching UXF Burn. Lots of members told me how sore they were on Thursday from the class, so I guess it was a good one!

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  • Thursday- I taught this workout followed by cardio kickboxing. A member asked me to include my “Booty Burner” since skinny jean weather is coming up, so I was more than happy to oblige 😉
  • Friday- I’ve decided that I don’t like to go to the gym on Fridays, so, I did 10 rounds of this work from home workout which was plentyyyy. 10 rounds ends up being 100 reps of each, which is a lot!
  • Saturday- I taught the same kickboxing routine, including the Booty Burner, from Thursday at the YMCA. I also had time to squeeze in abs at the end!
  • Sunday- I planned on going to BodyPump, but I realize I was a little sore so it wouldn’t make sense to go to a muscle class. Also, once I walked outside and saw how nice it was, I knew I wanted to go for a walk or run. I ended up running 4 miles (no idea where that came from), and felt great! I wore my older running sneakers and they felt so big and bulky and I felt like I was stomping around! I guess I’ve just become accustomed to running in the more “minimalist” style of sneaker.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday-Since I didn’t do weights yesterday and did lots of cardio, I’m going to go to the gym after work and do just strength and maybe this ab burner that Athena posted yesterday.
  • Tuesday- I have after work drinks with my team at work and then dinner at Jessi’s, so I’ll get up and run before work.
  • Wednesday- I am subbing Kate’s 5:30 Sports Conditioning class before teaching my UXF Burn class. Since I won’t be teaching on Thursday, I figured I’d pick up an extra class!
  • Thursday- I’m going to get up and do something before my parents pick me up. Or, maybe not. I feel like I’ll want to workout before being in the car for 8+ hours, but I may also need a break! If I do anything, it will be light (maybe yoga).
  • Friday- Not sure. I think we are getting on the road early to make the last leg of the trip, so if I haven’t slept well, I won’t get up to workout.
  • Saturday- Hopefully my sister will want to workout with me in the morning, and then hopefully lots of dancing at the wedding!
  • Sunday- Likely nothing. I have a 12:30pm flight and will probably be ready for rest.

So, there you have it! I hope you all have a great week!

Questions for you: What’s a good Pilates studio to try out? Are you interested in seeing “Booty Burner” workouts now that skinny jean season is coming up? Does weather influence your workout?

Road Trippin’… With my parents…

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Yes, you read that correctly. Next week, I’ll be embarking on a very long car ride with Sue and Al. My cousin Mary is getting married and she lives in Michigan (as does her whole family. Her dad is my mom’s brother… in case you wanted the whole story!) and when my sister and I decided that we wanted to go, too, I started looking into flights. Mom and dad were planning on driving all long because they love adventures like that, but since I’m not retired and don’t have as much time as they do to have extended vacations, I figured I’d just fly and meet them on Friday.

Well, roundtrip flights were outrageous, so when I started to hint to my dad about potentially hitching a ride with them to Michigan and taking a one-way flight home, he couldn’t have been more excited. To quote him, the convo went like this “Nickie, you have NO IDEA how much I would love for you to do the trip to Michigan with us. Really, it would mean the world to me. We’ll have a nice picnic lunch and if you just chip in for gas we’ll be in good shape.” So, I mean, how could I not agree to that?!

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So, mom and dad are picking me up next Thursday morning at 8am sharp and we’ll drive until our picnic lunch (which, when you’re with the Gagnon’s, is always an event with lots of snacks and fun things to eat… and plenty of wine!) and then keep driving until we get to the Buffalo, NY area (I think). We are spending the night there and then getting back on the road early Friday morning to make the final trek to Sterling Heights, MI, making a pit-stop first at the Detroit airport to pick up my sister (she’s flying from a client site).

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In all honesty, I’m really excited about the trip- even the ridiculously long drive! I always have such a great time with my family and I love weddings because there is so much love and so much dancing!! 🙂

But, here’s where I need your help… I’m bringing my iPad and am in need of a good book or two to download. In addition, I’d love to download a movie to watch. So…

  1. What’s the best book you’ve read lately? I need help picking one!
  2. Can you rent movies from iTunes? Or do I have to buy them? What movie should I buy/rent?

I could really use your help, so please leave your suggestions in the comments 🙂

also, don’t worry- I’ve already decided that if I get bored, I can raid the cooler and snag some vino to keep things interesting… or put me to sleep 😉 jk… kind of…

“Shepherds Pie” {with a healthy twist}

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I say “Shepherds Pie” in quotations because even though this recipe follows the general idea of Shepherds Pie, I made some healthier substitutions where I could. The traditional recipe calls for regular white potatoes and ground beef and while there is nothing wrong with either of those items, I prefer to use sweet potatoes (or a combination of sweet and regular) for their nutritional value (and, ok, taste- I think they taste so much better than regular potatoes) and ground turkey as I am not a huge beef person. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good, juicy burger or piece of steak every now and then, but most of the time I use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef since it’s a little more in line with the way I like to eat.

What made this meal even more delicious was the fact that I used carrots, onions and potatoes from my dad’s garden! There’s something about eating things fresh from the garden that makes them taste so much better. I swear, his carrots are a million times better than those “mini” carrots that are loaded with preservatives and whatnot to keep their shelf life longer.

With all that said, let’s get to the recipe!

Healthified Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

  • 1lb. ground turkey- tip- I got the “Italian Style” version and oh my goodness was that a good choice! it was so full of flavor I didn’t have to add any extra seasonings to it!
  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • 3 small yellow potatoes
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) canned corn (if you want a lot of veggies in the pie, use 1.5 cups!)
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) chopped carrots
  • 1- 1.5 cup(s) chopped onions
  • 2tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup milk

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Directions

1. Peel and chop your potatoes. Place into a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it boil until the potatoes are soft.

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2. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 350* and chop your carrots and onions. Heat a medium skillet with a tbsp. of olive oil and add the onions and carrots. Add in herbs/seasonings of your choice and cook until onions are translucent and carrots are soft.

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3. Once the onions and carrots are cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the pan again and add the ground turkey. Cook until no longer pink.

4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water from the pan, add in the butter and milk and mash the potatoes. I didn’t have a masher so I used my hand mixer and it worked great! I also added a dash of salt & pepper for flavor, but that’s optional.

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5. At this point, everything should be ready to assemble. Place the meat at the bottom of a casserole dish, then layer the carrots, onions and corn. Finally, top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes or until the top has browned up.

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Serve yourself a big heaping of this deliciousness and enjoy!

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This was the perfect meal to kickoff the cooler, fall weather that’s starting to stick around (well, except for yesterday. Where did that 90 degree weather come from?! I want sweater and boots weather!). I’ve already started to collect more fall recipes that I can’t wait to make!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite fall weather meal? What’s your favorite healthy substitution?

Want to learn more about becoming a fitness instructor?

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If so, head on over to On and Inhale blog for my guest post today! I talk about why I started, what certification I chose, what I did leading up to test day, what test day was like, and what I did once I was certified. I am honored to have had a chance to guest post for Kendall while she is on her honeymoon!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a fall weather recipe 🙂 Enjoy your day, friends!

Wednesday Workout: 2 Circuit at Home Workout

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Hey there! Before I get into my workout for today, I want to take a moment to remember all of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack in NYC, think of those who lost someone and thank those who helped save people. I can still remember exactly where I was when news hit and I’m sure that’s the way it is for most of you reading this post today.

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It’s Wednesday- woohoo! It’s also my friend, Tim’s, birthday today so I want to wish him a very happy birthday!!! I’d say this workout is for him, but he hates all my workouts (except my ab ones) 😉

Anyway! I mentioned on Monday that I did an at-home workout on Labor Day when I was home in Maine. It literally left me sore for a few days and I am still trying to figure out why. It could possibly be because I focused on each move and worked diligently throughout the motions since I was only lifting 5lb weights. When I lift heavier weights in class and on my own, I don’t think I work through the movements as well and effectively as I should; definitely something to be mindful about going forward.

With that said, here’s the workout:

2 circuit at home workout

I warmed up with 5 minutes of dynamic stretches and cardio before starting my 3 rounds of circuit 1. You don’t want to rush through the moves, but you want to go at a good pace where you’re keeping your heart rate up while still getting the full range of motion in each move. After 3 rounds of circuit 1, perform the cardio blast then move on to 3 rounds of circuit 2.

Couple of notes on the moves:

  • Below parallel squats- you can use weights here if you want (I did), but you don’t have to. The point of the squat is to expand your range of motion and squat deeper and lower than you normally would. In other words: drop your butt and get it as close to the ground as possible!
  • Incline Push-Ups- I did these against the coffee table 🙂
  • Monkey Curls- I did these a while ago in one of my UXF Burn classes. You can see pictures of the move in this post (bottom right picture). The key with these is to stay in that super low “monkey” sit/squat, but to make sure you aren’t resting your hamstrings against your calves- that’s way too easy 😉
  • Spiderman plank- There are multiple ways to do this, but all I want you to do is stay in a high plank and try to touch the same knee to the same elbow (right to right, left to left). Really focus on squeezing your obliques to get the knees as close to your elbows as possible!
  • Front Lat Raise into Wide Row w/ Calf Raises- phew, right?! Let me break it down for you: hold light weights in either hand down by your legs. Lift up onto the balls of your feet while your lift your arms up to shoulder height out in front of you. From there, and while still balancing on the balls of your feet, squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your elbows back (like a bent over wide row, but in standing position). Straighten arms back out in front of you and lower them and your heels until you get back to the starting position. This is my new favorite move- I felt it in my back and lats fa’ dayyyssss.

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you try this- I like to know what you like these posts and that they are valuable to you- are they?!?!

Questions for you: What’s the last workout you did that left you super sore? Move that you’re currently loving?