Hi there! Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was busy, but really fun. Friday night I babysat and Saturday I taught kickboxing, drove to NH for a family friend’s surprise 60th (more on that later!) and then came back to MA for a gym friends party at Athena’s. I love getting a chance to hang out with those girls because they “get” me and the gym thing. There was LOTS of delicious food at both parties and even though I tried to pace myself and choose healthy options, I definitely splurge! Well worth it, though 🙂
Since I know this week is going to be pretty crazy busy, too, (I am leaving for Dallas on Tuesday and then going straight from there to Chicago on Thursday for a long weekend getaway with my sister), I took advantage of a wide open schedule yesterday and RELAXED… can you believe it?! I got up, lounged around, blogged, went to the gym and grocery shopping then vowed to not leave the house for the rest of the day. It.was.awesome! And so necessary.
Last week, I got a last minute sub request for the Wednesday sports conditioning class which is right before my UXF Burn class. Since I am missing my classes again this week and am in need of some extra money, I agreed to sub for her. I love that class, but teaching a double on Wednesday and on Thursday is a lot! When I have weeks like this were I teach 5 classes (2 Wednesday, 2 Thursday and 1 Saturday), I wonder how I ever survived teaching Monday and Wednesday- Saturday. That was so silly! Now that I have cut back on teaching, I’ve learned to really appreciate MY OWN workouts and have started to see some great changes in my body because of that.
Last Week’s Workouts
- Monday- I had a bad day on Monday and was in need of some serious exercise endorphins, so I headed to the East Boston YMCA for a treadmill run and core exercises. After 4 miles, I felt much better!
- Tuesday- My legs were super tired from my run on Monday (not sure why) and my upper body was still a little tight from Sunday, so I decided to just go to the gym in my office building and do a superset core-focused workout with my Fall Into Fitness moves in between (crab walks, bear walks, duck walks, 1-legged burpees). It was a great workout!!
- Wednesday- I taught Sports Conditioning and UXF Burn. I did an AMRAP workout in sports conditioning and a Halloween themed workout in UXF Burn- people may have made fun of me, but I think they actually had a lot of fun 😉
- Thursday- Taught SHRED (another Halloween inspired/themed workout) and Kickboxing. I taught a super high intensity cardio class in kickboxing and finished with lots of glute and core work.
- Friday- Nothing 🙂 Well deserved rest!
- Saturday- Taught another high intensity cardio kickboxing class… I gave them the option to do more cardio or more core and Mary said cardio, so I blamed it on her 🙂
- Sunday- I went to the Y Pump class again since I hadn’t really done a “real” strength workout since last Sunday. Granted, I did lift in my classes, but when I teach, the workouts are not for me, so I don’t get to lift to my potential. I have to use whatever weights are available and jump around to correct form, so I never end up finishing a full set.
This Week’s Workouts
- Monday- Since I did strength yesterday, I’ll probably do cardio today… likely another treadmill run since it’s definitely too dark to run outside after work now.
- Tuesday- I have a 2pm flight to Dallas, which means I will work from home in the morning, which also means I will do an at home workout. Not sure what I’ll feel like doing, but I’ll figure it out!
- Wednesday- I will be in Dallas and I have a full day of training (business writing development- I am actually really excited about it!), so I will have to get up and do an early hotel workout. I’m hoping the Westin has a good gym!
- Thursday- Same thing as Wednesday!
- Friday- I will be in Chicago with my sister, so I hope she will get up and do a workout with me before we meet up with our friend JP for site seeing!
- Saturday- Not sure. We are staying at a Sheraton, which generally has a great gym so I would like to workout, but it depends on what we do Friday night and what the agenda is for Saturday. Since I am going to be “on vacation”, I am going to try to be more relaxed and not plan my day around my workouts (at this point, it’s so part of my “schedule”, that I have to make more of an effort to not do it than to do it!).
- Sunday- Again, I am not sure!
Questions for you: What is your favorite “on the road” workout? Have you ever been to Chicago? What’s a “must see”?
Burpees to Bubbly 
Have fun in Chicago. We go there often on the train from East Lansing and always have a good time. The broadway shows that run in NYC often open in Chicago. We saw Mamma MIa there before it went to NYC. Navy Pier is interesting – there is a stained glass museum there that I love and if you can, ride the Ferris Wheel – interesting view of the city, Millenium Park is awesome. The Art institute of Chicago is fabulous and so are the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry , Shedd Acquarium (where Mary interned as a college student for a summer) Shop on Michigan Avenue – “the Gold Coast” north of the river, and Water Tower Place. There are a gazillion great restaurants and for night life the cool places used to be Rush Street and State Street. Most hotels have great concierge service. I just read that Mario Battaglia (sic) will soon or has just opened a new restaurant called “Eataly.” The Chicago Architecture tour boats might still be operating and the take a really nice tour through the city. The perspective they offer on the buildings there is interesting. Check our Trump Tower, and go to the top of the Hancock building and/ or the Sears Tower (different name now) at night if you can. That’s the stuf that old farts do, but really we’ve been going there since we were in our thirties. You have the Boston culture to compare, Chicago is not as old, but still very cool!
Thanks Aunt Sue!! So many good suggestions, most of which are on my list of “must see’s”. I am so excited to explore the city… I just hope it isn’t TOO cold 🙂 and I hope the boat tours are still open! I’ll be sure to recap everything- thanks again!