Good morning! Did you guys have a good weekend? Mine seemed extra long because it was kicked off by going to the Red Sox game on Thursday night, but I’m not complaining!

Last week was a pretty solid week of workouts- a good mix between at-home stuff, teaching and GOING to classes- one of my favorite things to do!

B/Spoke

A while ago, I was invited to take a class at a new indoor cycling studio in the financial district: B/Spoke. It’s been a LONGGG time since I’ve taken an indoor cycling class, so I was really excited to get back “in the saddle”, as they say. I reached out to my friends Athena and Caroline to see if they wanted to join. Sadly, Athena had wedding planning plans, but Caroline was still able to come so that was fun! I also invited my friend Megan to come since they offer a free first class.

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with smiling faces and asked my shoe size. I love that all these studios provide shoes- I hate wearing non-spin shoes on those bikes now that I’ve seen what it’s like to wear them. It really makes a huge difference in your ride! I was also given a free water- never a bad thing! They have elastics, ear plugs and gum- free of charge- as well.

The studio is a little cramped in places, but they definitely made the best use of the space that they could by offering lots of locker space and a nice bathroom area. The showers were stocked with fancy shampoo, conditioner and body wash, they had towels to use and soap, q-tips, and other necessities to make getting showered and ready after class a breeze. The only thing I wish they had was more bathrooms, but it seems to be a common thing to only have a few of them at these types of studios. I guess I’m just used to big gym locker rooms.

Ok, enough about the building and amenities, how about the class, right?! I actually loved it! The room was the right size- not too big, but big enough to fit a crowd of people.

They keep the lights down low so you’re forced to just be in the moment and focus on your ride rather than looking around at everyone else. Caroline, Megan and I were front and center, which is where I generally like to be when I take classes, but not always when I’m in a spin class since that’s not my forte. However, I didn’t feel like a fool or like I couldn’t keep up in this class- maybe I didn’t push myself hard enough? I felt like I was working hard, but when we finished I felt like I could’ve done another ride. I was actually a little sad it was over. I must have definitely not pushed myself hard enough 😉

The instructor was really great, though. She wasn’t annoying or boring- she was the perfect mix of bubbly energy and hard-core “push yourself” type of instructor. I’m fairly critical of instructors these days, and she passed the test for me. We chatted after and she was super sweet. I loved her choreography because we were hardly in the saddle, which is my least favorite place to be! We did lots of booty drops and oblique work and then the arms song left my delts screaming!

All in all, I really liked the class and would love to get back there. You really can’t pass up a free first class, so if you’re looking to check out someplace new, I suggest getting your bums over to B/Spoke. Take a class with Natalie- she was great!

Last Week’s Workouts

• Monday- I went to B/Spoke. Before I went, I filmed my 7 Minute Body Weight Upper Body Burner and did this workout from Pumps & Iron. Loved it!
• Tuesday- I went to a Chisel class at my new gym. The instructor was awesome!!! I loved her energy and southern accent and it was overall just a great class. I used a lot of moves in UXF Burn on Wednesday.
• Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn. We worked hard… like really hard. Lots of back to back shoulder exercises and leg stuff and cardio. For the cardio blast, I took Nicole’s format from this post, but did a 5 minute AMRAP of the 4 different stages of a burpee and at the end just had them do 1 round of 10 reps of the 4 stages. They loved to hate it 😉 The crowd is definitely growing now that I don’t teach there on Thursdays anymore. And, now that I don’t teach on Thursdays anymore I have LOADS of energy when teaching my Wednesday class. No holding back anymore!

• Thursday- I was given tickets to the Sox game on Thursday night so I got up and did 30 minutes of kickboxing in my kitchen before going to work. I hadn’t done any kickboxing in 3 weeks- I was sore on Friday!
• Friday- I went to the Lynnfield BSC during lunch and kicked my butt on the UXF turf- no cardio, but my heart rate was up the whole time!

• Saturday- I finally taught my kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. I missed that crowd so much!
• Sunday- Rest day 🙂

This Week’s Workouts

• Monday- I taught my Muscle Work class at 6am today and did some cardio after.
• Tuesday- I plan on going to a Core Fusion Cardio Exhale Spa. I have 2 free class coupons to use by the end of the month so I’d like to take advantage of it!
• Wednesday- I’m either going to do a double or run before teaching UXF Burn.
• Thursday- Not sure! Maybe the cardio/strength fusion class at PUMPS? Maybe kickboxing at Wellington? Who knows!
• Friday- I’m going to a Barry’s Bootcamp workout/event at Revere Hotel with my gym friend Jen. I can’t wait!
• Saturday- Probably rest day since RM and I are getting up early to head to Maine for my dad’s birthday (and a beach day).
• Sunday- Not sure- maybe a jog or walk in Maine?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

What I’m most looking forward to this week is going home to Maine on Saturday- I haven’t been home since FATHER’S DAY, which is unheard of for me! My dad is turning 65 on Saturday so it worked out perfectly for us to get up there for a beach day and celebration for him. I’m also looking forward to having a quieter week and hopefully not drinking during the week. I know it’s summer and summer brings about reasons for social gatherings more so than during the winter months, but I’ve just realized how often I’m having a casual cocktail multiple nights a week at this point. I know it’s not a big deal, but I just like to have the week as a detox from drinking.

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Have you been to B/Spoke? What are you looking forward to this week? Do you drink during the week?