Month: December 2013

{Holiday Series} Wednesday Workout: Warm Up Your Core!

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Happy Wednesday, friends! Today, I have the third workout for your Holiday Series Wednesday Workout. If you missed parts one and two, you can find them here and here.

For this week, since I’ve focused on lower and upper body exercises already, I decided to focus on the core! I love core exercises and always try to incorporate planks and cardio into my core exercises. These moves are sure to get your heart rate up and get your core burning. In order to make this a “no thinking” type of workout, I kept the moves simple, meaning all you have to do is get up and do it- no thinking required 🙂

Warm Up Your Core

I designed this to move from 45 seconds of a core-focused cardio move to 15 reps of a core exercise. Feel free to add weight for some of the exercises if you’re ready for that!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my “Holiday Series” Wednesday Workout posts this month. I realized next Wednesday is Christmas, so I won’t be posting a Wednesday Workout post for you. If you’re looking for something to do on Christmas, though, and want a full body workout, I suggest combining the 3 Holiday Series workouts because they target everything!

Questions for you: What was your favorite Holiday Series Wednesday Workout post? If you were only allowed to do one thing, would it be cardio, core, upper body or lower body?

Weekend Catch-Up: Sister time, shopping, partying, relaxing

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I think we can all agree that December is a crazy busy month, right?! This past weekend was no different, but it was nice because I was able to relax on Sunday and catch up on blogging, baking cookies, doing laundry, writing Christmas cards, etc. Even though I am not always good at this, it is so important to make some time for yourself to do whatever it is that makes you happy and makes you escape from the craziness of the holiday season.

Friday

I had to go to the office to pack up my stuff for the move, but it wasn’t so bad because I treated myself to lunch at Flour Bakery. JP and I always used to get lunch out on Thursdays when we worked together, but since he left, I’ve been bringing my lunch almost every day (which is good for the waist and the wallet).

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After work, I came home and dealt with organizing the Pampered Chef stuff before picking up my sister at the airport and heading to Ecco for drinks and then walking across the street to Santarpio’s for dinner. Danielle had never eaten there so I was so excited to bring her!

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Saturday

I started my day the best way: teaching kickboxing at the Y. From there, I went to Target to get all sorts of random stuff. This was apparently the week of treating myself to indulgences because I got a Skinny Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks, which I NEVER do anymore. It was so, so good.

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After Target, I went into the city and was done shopping within 30 minutes. I know. I was impressed, too.

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My friends Jessi and Cristina had their annual Christmas party at their apartment in Charlestown, so Danielle and I braved the storm and headed there. It was so good to catch up with everyone, but getting a cab home in the snow storm? Notsomuch. I started calling cabs at 11:45 and didn’t get one until after 1am. Yuck! Otherwise, it was a really fun night!

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Sunday

I started my day with breakfast, blogging, laundry and baking some adorable snowmen cookies!

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It was so nice being around and having a chance to relax on Sunday morning. I don’t do that nearly enough! After I worked out and had lunch, I headed to TJ Max and Market Basket and then spent the rest of my Sunday puttering around my apartment, getting Christmas gifts together, doing a little more baking, prepping my lunches for the week, etc. I made a super simple dinner since I won’t be around on Tuesday and Wednesday for dinner. Market Basket rotisserie chickens are the best. thing. ever!

Questions for you: Did the weather ruin any plans for you this weekend? Is your Christmas shopping done? When’s the last time you had a jello shot?

This Week: Workouts, Schedule, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Do you realize there is only a week and a half until Christmas?! Crazy! This week, things start to get pretty busy for me, but it’s all good stuff, so I can’t really complain, right?! It’s always a little hard planning out my workouts during weeks where I have a lot going on, but I like doing it because when I have it planned out, I’m way less likely to skip it.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went to a spin class again! My butt still hurt, so everyone who told me the pain goes away the second time was lying. The class was good and I pushed myself more (covered 15.5 miles in about 45 minutes… is that in the normal range??), but I still didn’t leave feeling like “omg I am beat!”. I want that. I finished my workout with additional core work.
  • Tuesday- I went to the gym after work and I ran a mile before completing an upper body and core stability ball-focused workout. I’ll post it for you soon because it was fun!
  • Wednesday- I forgot that I was subbing Melissa’s Sports Conditioning when I planned out my workouts last week, but it all worked out! I taught a fun, but different, circuit/stations boot camp type of class (taken from what I learned from the Best of Boot Camp session I attended at the MANIA event) first, then my normal UXF Burn class.
  • Thursday- I went to the gym for round 2 of teaching a double. By the end of kickboxing, I am literally beat, in a good way! I taught another stations class in SHRED, which I think I have posted on here at some point, and then a high cardio kickboxing class after. It was a fun day!
  • Friday- Nothing! Well, more than usual since I walked to the T and to the office and home (about 2.5 miles total), but nothing in the sense of a “real” workout.
  • Saturday- Taught kickboxing at the Y. It was another big group and I loved that they allowed me (and were really excited about it!) to play my Christmas mix. It was so fun!!
  • Sunday- I wasn’t in the mood to get up and trek through the ice and snow to get to the 10:30 Y Pump class, so I did my own 35 minutes strength workout in my apartment. I did 2 rounds of this (15 reps instead of 60 second intervals and skipped the cardio) and then followed up with some heavier isolated lifting for biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders, back and abs. It was a good workout!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I am subbing kickboxing at the Watertown BSC at 6:30pm- If you’re in the area, please come 🙂
  • Tuesday- I have plans after work, but not until later, so I think I’ll have time to get to the gym for a quick strength session after work. We are in our new office, located in International Place, so I am not sure what the gym situation is there. I think you have to pay for a membership, which I won’t do since I have memberships through the BSC and the YMCA. I have so many BSC gyms close to my new office so I’m excited to hop around to those.
  • Wednesday- I will do a cardio and core workout in the morning at my apartment before work since I have my company dinner and my SMC girls dinner after work. BSCers- I know I told you I’d be there next week (this week), but I lied. Melissa Shaw is subbing so you’re in good hands!
  • Thursday- Teaching my double: SHRED and Kickboxing. It’s the last class before the holidays and I heard there is NO CLASS on the 26th, so enjoy your time off!
  • Friday- Rest day!
  • Saturday- For the first time in a month, I am not scheduled to teach. My instructor friend, Kate, teaches spinning at 9 and 10 at the Central Square BSC so I may go to that, or I may try to get to BodyPump. We will see!
  • Sunday- I am subbing the 9AM UXF Burn at the Allston BSC- definitely try to come if you’re around! It will be good to be back to my old stomping grounds! The Jingle Bell 5K was rescheduled for Sunday, so I will also be running that at 11.

Schedule

As I said, it’s a bit of a busy week. Between subbing on Monday, plans on Tuesday, 2 parties on Wednesday, subbing on Sunday and running a 5K… it’s a little cray-cray! I am happy that I decided to get a sub for Wednesday because trying to fit in 2 parties AND teaching was just too much to think about.

Things I’m looking forward to

So much this week! For one, we are finally in our new office which is SO SO SO much nicer than our other one. I love the location and the fact I can run errands so easily during my lunch break. Next, I am excited for the dinner/yankee swap at Jessi’s with all of my SMC girls. Lastly, I am excited to run the Jingle Bell 5K on Sunday (they postponed it from yesterday to next week because of the weather). I don’t know if my parents will come down or if my sister will run it, which makes me sad, but I just love running races, especially festive ones!

Questions for you: Do you know of any good spinning classes I should try to get to? Do you have holiday parties this week? What are you most looking forward to?

PS- I decorated my tree last week… how cute is it? It’s so little, but so perfect for my little apartment!

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Quinoa, Black Bean, Veggie & Spinach Stuffed Peppers

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For me, Sunday mornings usually consist of getting up, having a relaxing breakfast while watching TV and then thinking about what I want to make for dinner. It’s easy to always think back to the same things, but I try to make something new each week because my list of things “to make” is, seemingly, never-ending. This past Sunday, though, I wasn’t in the mood for anything labor intensive, but I knew I wanted something healthy and “homey”. After a little brain searching, I decided I would make stuffed peppers! I’ve made stuffed peppers before, but since I never make the “stuffing” the same way, I figured it would be like trying a new recipe!

The best part of the recipe? It was so easy! As I was making it, I actually thought to myself “wow. Not a lot of chopping or simmering or dishes. Awesome”.

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Quinoa, Black Bean, Veggie & Spinach Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients (my recipe makes 2 stuffed peppers)

  • 2 Green Peppers
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1tbsp minced garlic
  • 1tbsp EVOO
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1/4-1/2 black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
  • Big handful of spinach
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese (1/4-1/2 cup… or as much or as little as you want!)

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds. Place on a tray and set aside. (Tip: I cut up the tops of the peppers and use that for the stuffing, too.)

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2. Cook the quinoa according to the package (1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup of water, bring to a boil and let boil for about 12-14 mins or until the water has been absorbed). Cut up your onion and pepper tops and sauté with 1tbsp minced garlic and 1tbsp EVOO. I also added a few dashes of white wine… because, well, wine why not?

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3. Rinse your beans and add those, the corn, diced tomatoes (drained) and spinach. Sauté until the spinach has wilted.

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(Note: I made way more stuffing than needed… I could’ve made 4+ peppers. whoops. The amounts above should be good for 2 peppers)

4. Add 1/2-1 cup of the cooked quinoa to 1/2-1 cup of the veggie and spinach mixture. Mix together with 1/2 cup marinara sauce and a small sprinkling of cheese (1/8-1/4 cup to keep everything together).

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5. Stuff the peppers and top with additional cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. I also broiled mine for 2 minutes to get extra browning 😉

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Mmm. Now doesn’t THAT look delicious! What I love about stuffed peppers is that they are a complete meal on their own. Veggies, protein, dairy… Love it!

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I had lots of stuffing mixture leftover and have been adding it to salads all week. I also see myself making a quesadilla with it!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite stuffed pepper stuffing? What’s your favorite meal that has all the food groups in it? When do you meal plan?

{Holiday Series} Wednesday Workout: Body Weight Upper Body Blast

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Hi there! For the second week of your Holiday Series Wednesday Workout posts, I have decided to focus on the upper body. Again, in order to make this workout doable anywhere, it’s only using your body weight, which means you can get up and squeeze it in before work 😉

Body Weight Upper Body Blast

Here are links to some of the moves you may not be familiar with:

–Push-Up to Side Plank
–Plank Walk Out– This is also known as an “up-up-down-down plank”.
–Down Dog Push-Up
–Prone Pull Down
-For the handstand kick-ups, you’re going to basically be practicing trying to get into a handstand. We used to do this in yoga all the time and Athena and I recently did them in one of the MANIA sessions we attended, which made me remember how much I love this move! It’s great for your shoulders! If you feel like it makes you nervous to do this without doing them against the wall, use the wall! There’s no harm in that at all.

As it says in the instructions, this is a “for time” (CrossFit lingo) type of workout where you should do 4 rounds of these exercises as quickly as you can, but while also maintaining good form. I want you to try this next week to see if you can beat your time!

I hope you’re enjoying the “Holiday Series” I’m putting together. Next week will be all about core- get excited 🙂

Questions for you: How are you doing with managing your holiday parties this year? Are you still trying to fit in your workouts? Are any of these moves new to you?