Weekly Workouts: Hotel Gyms & Preparing for Mania & Spartan

November 11, 2013November 10, 20132 Comments

Hi Friends! How are you doing? Did you enjoy Meredith’s guest post on Friday? It’s worth a read if you missed it!

I am still in Chicago, but heading back today. I’ve had a great week of travel, but I am reallllyy ready to be home. I’m ready to not have wine or beer at every meal and I am ready to not eat out. Does anyone else feel that way at the end of a vacation?

With that said, I tried to counteract the cocktails and restaurant food by getting in some solid workouts. The Westin I stayed in while I was in Dallas was great! It was big, there were lots of cardio machines and a good selection of weights. I got up before my training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday and took advantage of the gym. I headed to Chicago on Thursday night and met up with my sister at a hotel near the airport and was able to get in another hotel gym workout before heading into downtown Chicago.

I took the weekend off from any formal exercise. This wasn’t my intention, but it worked out for the best since this week is going to be an intense workout week between attending Mania on Friday and Sunday and doing the Fenway Spartan race on Saturday. I’m also subbing a class tonight, so resting on Saturday and Sunday (besides walking a lot!!) was a good thing.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I went to the gym after work and ran 4 miles on the treadmill. I ran it about 40 seconds faster last week than I did the week before! My muscles were sore from Sunday’s “Y Pump”, so a good run was perfect.

Tuesday- I got up before work and did the 25 rep cardio & core I posted a few weeks ago. Before completing that, I did 10 minutes of random cardio in my apartment.
Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill at the Westin and then completed some core and strength exercises.

Thursday- I did 20 minutes on the stair stepper (I haven’t used that machine in SO long. I forgot how much it makes me sweat!) and then did a superset workout: upper, lower and core.

Friday- I did 10 minutes on the bike and 20 on the elliptical and then did 2 rounds of my Got 20 Minutes? workout.

Saturday- Lots of walking around Chicago! My feet hurt by the end of the day!
Sunday- More walking around Chicago… lots of walking again!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- Subbing a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC… pending that my flight isn’t delayed!
Tuesday- Not sure! Something quick after work I assume so that I can grocery shop after.
Wednesday- Cardio and teaching UXF Burn- I missed my members!!
Thursday- SHRED and Kickboxing… ready to be back at it!
Friday- Spending the day in Danvers at the Boston Mania fitness event. I signed up for a bunch of courses so I am excited to be in my “happy place” all day learning lots of new information about workouts!
Saturday- I am doing the Fenway Spartan Sprint… eek! I hope I am not too sore from Friday’s fitness events!
Sunday- I signed up for more courses at the Mania event, but I think I chose lectures and information sessions more so than fitness ones… I have a feeling I’ll be very sore on Sunday.

Questions for you: Are you ready to go home by the end of your vacation? Is anyone else attending the Boston Mania event?

PS- Thank you to all the Veteran’s who protect our country!

Guest Post: Starting Over At 27

November 8, 2013November 5, 20134 Comments

While I am in Chicago, I thought it would be fun to have a guest post for you guys! My friend, Meredith, blogs over at What Meredith Makes and is one of my most favorite people. Seriously, you cannot get a much sweeter, kinder, more genuine person. Meredith has always been one of those friends that makes me feel so much better, regardless of what I am going through. We spent many summers and many, many, many hours working together at Shaw’s Ridge Farm and I couldn’t have been happier when she moved to Boston because that meant we got to hang out more! There was one summer where I literally went out every Thursday with her and her work friends after work. Looking back, I have no idea how we did that, Mere, and then went to work on Friday… I definitely cannot manage that anymore!

Anyway, I think you’re going to love this post from Meredith. She has made some huge life changes over the past year and I couldn’t be more proud of her for them! It takes incredible strength to completely change your life, not to mention move across the world. With that said, I’m happy to have you back on the east cost in the US, Mere!

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Starting Over at 27
Hi there! I’m Meredith and I blog over at What Meredith Makes. A few fun facts: I’m a twin, I just moved back to the USA after a 9-month stint in Australia, and I love all-things dessert. Monique is one of my closest friends from home, so I was ecstatic when she started her blog, and especially honored that she asked me to guest post!

One of the things I’ve always admired about Monique is her work ethic. I mean just reading about her weekly adventures makes me tired sometimes! Balancing a full-time job in the city, plus teaching multiple classes per week and making time for her own daily work-outs, plus having a social life…that’s a lot on her plate. However, she’s doing what she loves, and loving what she’s doing, which is something I think a lot of us struggle with as we enter adulthood. I know I do. Anyway, I wanted to share why I started over at 27 and some tips about how I did it in order to pursue what I love. Whether you’re 27 or 47, I hope these help!

It seems natural as a 20-something and in the current economy to take a job out of college simply because we have to. Whether it’s because we need the money immediately, or we’re simply settling for now, we all have our reasons. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do for a career when I graduated. My degree was a BS in Business Administration, concentrating in Accounting and Literary Studies, neither of which were things I was sure I wanted to do.

Anyway, I ended up accepting a position at a financial services company in Boston and ended up working there for 4.5 years. While I loved my co-workers, I just wasn’t happy in my job. That’s not to say I didn’t try. In fact, I held four different positions over the course of those four years, trying sales, product marketing, and editorial marketing, anything I could to get more experience and find my ‘nitch’. All the while, I was researching ways to go back to school and earn a master’s degree for my true passion, nutrition. I quickly learned that a financial services company wasn’t going to reimburse me for going back for a master’s of nutrition, and they certainly didn’t support me leaving work early to do that either. I thought I was stuck, but I wasn’t. An opportunity to move abroad and begin studying overseas was what ultimately prompted my decision to ‘start over’ in my career, but here’s a few other things I did along the way:

1) I asked for help
Everyone’s situation is different, but for me, my parents knew I was unhappy at work. They just didn’t know how to help me. While it was intimidating to ask, I’m so happy I did and forever grateful. For example, when my apartment lease was up I asked my grandparents for a place to live and they took me in for two months. This helped reduce my living and car expenses greatly. Plus, my sister and parents loaned me money for a school enrollment deposit that I couldn’t have made without them, and my old boss hired me for part-time work during school breaks to supplement my income stream.

Source

2) I did my research
Going back to school can be very pricey. If you’re considering it, I suggest doing your research. I have a daunting list of undergrad science classes I need to complete in order to even apply for my desired Master’s program this spring, and I wanted to achieve this in the most affordable way possible. Community Colleges are the way to go in my opinion. I did price comparisons, researched the classes offered, worked with admissions, toured a few facilities, and within days I was registered for classes. Doing your research pays off, I promise!

3) I stopped comparing and instead I focus on the now, not the unknown
So your sibling gets 5 weeks off paid vacation time this year, or your friend is making x$ amount this quarter…don’t compare yourself to them. Be happy for them, and then re-focus on your goal and where you are now. At 27 years of age, I couldn’t be happier to be a student again. Having a specific goal of graduate school in the near future helps me focus, and it is also very invigorating to study a subject you love. Although it’s terrifying to not know what program I’ll be in or where I’ll be living at this time next year, worrying about that right now isn’t going to get me anywhere!

source

4) I’ve made my schedule flexible
Unsure of when to take your classes? I opted to take all night classes so that I could have my weekdays and weekends free. Plus, night classes are generally full of students my age or older, which I appreciate in terms of maturity levels. In addition, taking night classes leaves an ample amount of study time for me during the day and it offers any employer a flexible schedule to work-around. I love working back in the hospitality industry after being at a desk job for almost 5 years. Change can be so refreshing! Plus, I appreciate that my schedule isn’t “set” every day. I can sleep-in a few days a week, and wearing athletic clothes all day is a plus, too. That surely didn’t happen in corporate America!

Thanks again to Monique for asking me to guest-post today. I hope you’ll head on over to my blog every now and then, too!

Thanks again, Mere, for such a great guest post topic! B2B readers- I hope you enjoyed this!

Questions for you: Have you ever made a life changing decision or move? Do you struggle with doing what makes you happy and not comparing yourself to others?

Fall Into Fitness Challenge- Recap

November 7, 2013November 6, 20137 Comments

As most of you are probably aware, throughout the month of October I participated in Athena’s Fall Into Fitness Challenge. I had previously participated in her April Arms Challenge, but only after coaxing myself into it. If you remember, when I recapped that experience, I told you I was hesitant to join the challenge since I did not want to add any more to my already busy workout schedule. Well, I am so glad I did because that challenge was what really started to get me interested in adding more lifting to my workout schedule. Since then, I have made a conscious effort to incorporate more lifting into my schedule and I’ve learned to really LOVE strength training and I look forward to my strength-only workouts. Because of this shift from cardio junkie to a more balanced approach to working out, I have noticed amazing results with regards to my arm muscle definition, ab definition and overall strength capabilities. Strictly cardio is NOT going to get you the body you dream of having; it’s a balance between cardio and strength training (and what you put into your body… that’s huge!)… trust me, I’ve been working out for years and have not seen the results I have seen recently until I got off the “cardio only” workout bus.

With that said, it should come as no surprise that when Athena started throwing around the idea of another challenge to me, I was very encouraging of her idea, and absolutely all on board to join whatever challenge it was that she was going to do. Athena and I often bounce workout ideas (formats and exercise moves) off of each other, so I knew that anything she put together would be well thought out and different from the regular ol’ boring/basic exercises we may resort to when we go to the gym.

What I loved most about the Fall Into Fitness challenge was that rather than dedicating a whole month to a certain muscle group (abs, arms, etc.), the goal was just to complete a single exercise each day for the whole month. The exercises ranged from lower body to upper body to core to cardio and everything in between! In addition, the challenge was not set up to stand as a whole workout for you, but rather just an extra move to supplement your current workout for that day. This was PERFECT for me since the last thing I really need is another 10-20 minute workout to add to my schedule. I need something that can take the place of a different exercise I was planning to do in a workout I already created… and this is exactly what I did with the “move of the day” each week.

I wasn’t the only one benefiting from “new to me” or “hey I totally forgot about that exercise!” exercises Athena had us doing throughout the challenge- my members did, too! As a fitness instructor, being introduced to new moves or reminded about old moves I hadn’t done in a while was awesome because it helped give me some new moves to incorporate into the classes that I teach each week.

It was also great motivation to do SOMETHING even on my rest days (not that I need that- if anything I need more rest, but you get the idea… it’s good to move and do something light once a day, every day in my opinion). Friday’s tended to be glute days and even though I usually rest on Friday’s, a little extra glute work is never a bad idea 😉 There was one Friday where I almost copped out on the bridge and crunch exercise because of a bad and busy day, but I sucked it up and did it and was happy I did. I may have been in jeans and drinking wine while I did the exercise, but that’s ok in my book 😉

Lastly, I loved the community aspect of the challenge. We were all encouraged to share photos of ourselves doing the various daily exercises and since I follow a number of the people participating in the challenge, I loved seeing them doing the exercises, too! It was like a virtual cheering section and showed you that EVERYONE could participate in the challenge. It didn’t matter your age, your schedule or your fitness ability because Athena offered various levels for each exercise. All that mattered was you getting out there and trying something new! That right there should serve as enough motivation to join her next challenge (rumor has it there will be one in December! 😉 )!

Thanks for such a fun way to make fitness fun, Athena! Looking forward to the next one!

Questions for you: Did you participate in Athena’s Fall Into Fitness challenge? If so, what was your favorite move? Are you motivated by challenges?

Wednesday Workout: Fenway Park Spartan Sprint- feeling nervous!

November 6, 2013November 3, 20137 Comments

It seems as though obstacle course races are all the rage these days. Whether it be Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, Savage, Spartan Races, or something else, it seems as though everyone’s doing some type of race that involves mud, electricity, climbing or something else that isn’t something you would generally choose to do unless it was part of a race. My friend Tim has been encouraging me to do these races ever since he started doing them a year ago. One would think that I, as a fitness nut, would have one of these races on the books for a while now, but for some reason, I have yet to do one!

Well, my friends, that’s about to change. I signed up for the Fenway Park Spartan Sprint, held IN Fenway Park next weekend, and I couldn’t be more excited. But… also a little nervous! While I workout A LOT (no surprise there), I have no idea how I will perform in an obstacle race. And, although I like to think I am in pretty decent shape, I don’t do CrossFit, so I have no idea how well I can row and how well I can climb.

My goal for the race is not to finish in a certain time. It is not to beat anyone on my team (Yes, Dave, that means you). It is not to do every obstacle without needing to do a penalty round of burpees. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if those things happened, I’d be ecstatic, but my goal for this race is really quite simple (and quite the opposite of how I usually approach things like this): to have fun, to push myself and to finish the race HAPPY and wanting to do more. If I go in there with an open mind and no expectations, I’ll end the race far better than I will if I go in with expectations that go unmet. Anyone else out there like this?

With that said, I want help from you guys! Have you ever done an obstacle course race? Do you have any “tips” to share? What’s the one thing you suggest preparing for?

I just watched this video and it is awesome. It definitely made me more pumped!

http://youtu.be/hVh79ytSLbo

Thanks, in advance, for your feedback and tips! I have to say, it’s going to be pretty surreal doing this race in Fenway so soon after the Red Sox won the world series there. How cool, right?!

Surprise 60th Birthday Party

November 5, 2013November 3, 20132 Comments

Surprise parties can be iffy; some people love being surprised and some people hate it. Luckily, the surprise 60th birthday party for my mom’s best friend, Christine (who happens to be a “Shapleigh Girl” mom… Sara and Amy’s mom, to be exact), went off without a hitch and was very well received by her. In fact, I don’t think she could have been happier OR more surprised… a win-win (side note- when I first typed “win”, I accidentally typed “wine”. Does that mean I have a problem?) situation if you ask me!

I headed up to Christine’s house in East Wakefield, NH Saturday after my kickboxing class. Sara took Christine to go baby shopping for Zeke, so Amy, my sister and Gordie headed up early on Saturday to get the house “party ready” while Sara and Christine were shopping. By the time I showed up, the house was looking great!

The weather was absolutely perfect for a fall party. Not too hot, but warm enough for people to enjoy the weather out on the deck. People started arriving around 3:30, in anticipation of Christine and Sara’s 4pm arrival. Once we got the heads up saying they were on their way, we headed outside for the big reveal of the surprise!

Not long after, she arrived!!

And boy was she surprised! I think everyone started crying when she arrived because her emotions were contagious! Both Christine and my mom are HUGE gushers… aka, people who gush over, well, anything, so when she realized what was going on she was crying and screaming and laughing and just completely shocked. I don’t think I’ve seen a more successful surprise!

Gosh just looking at those photos makes me get all choked up again!

I’ll let the photo’s do the rest of the talking. I am so happy to have been a part of such a special day for an incredible lady. Christine is like a second mom to my sister and me so it was awesome getting a chance to shower her with love and celebrations!