Month: June 2017

Wednesday Workout – Dumbbell Countdown Full Body Workout

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Good morning! If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, then you already have a sneak peek into what today’s workout is 😉 I had a rare weekend where I was actually home in Boston and had the time/desire to do a Sunday workout. I had rested on Thursday and Friday due to a weird cold, so by the weekend I was itching for movement. I went to a BagsXBeats class at EBF on Saturday morning, but knew I’d be short on time on Sunday morning before heading up to Newburyport for a bridal shower so I opted to workout at home. Plus, these days if I’m not teaching or taking a class, I really prefer to workout at home because it saves so much time since I don’t have to factor in commuting time!

Oh yeah, and it was a beautiful day on Sunday so I wanted to be outside as much as possible. I could’ve gone for a run, but I really wanted to lift weights so I grabbed my weights, a resistance band and my speaker and went out to the patio to get my workout on. The way it worked was I started with 10 reps of an exercise and then on the second round I did 8 reps, then 6, then 4 and then 2. I would’ve gone back up the ladder, but I ran out on time (and I was beat!!). In between each exercise I did 15 dumbbell swings and that number stayed consistent throughout each round.

Confused? Looked like this: Single arm clean, squat & press X10 reps right & left then 15 DB swings, then 10 push-ups, then 15 swings, then 15 biceps curls to a shoulder press, then 15 DB swings… get it? All those swings really got my heart rate up and kept it up throughout the workout!

If you’re unclear on anything, check out these YouTube videos:

I REALLY liked this workout – both with regards to the format AND the exercises I chose. I was sweating and huffing and puffing, and on Monday (and part of Tuesday) I was pretty sore in the leggies! While this does require equipment, it’s really quite minimal considering it’s doable with a set of dumbbells and a resistance band!

Questions for you: When you’re working out on your own, do you prefer a gym or doing it in your home?

Wednesday Workout: 15 Minute Bodyweight Cardio Blast

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Short workouts have been my jam lately. With a busy work schedule, training a coworker during lunch, and teaching, finding time to get in a long workout for myself just hasn’t been in the cards. I’ve also been cutting back on running because my hip has been bothering me, although now I’m not sure it’s actually a result from running or something else (going to see a PT soon). That said, last Friday I was working from home and wanted to get in a quick workout at the end of the day before we went out to dinner. I didn’t have a lot of time and it was pouring out so I was forced to do another at-home workout. Luckily I love working out at home and have most of the basics necessary in order to get a decent workout in.

I was craving cardio because I was sore from strength workouts during the week, but I didn’t want to do steady state cardio in the form of riding my spin bike so I put together a quickie bodyweight cardio blast using some of my favorite heart-pumping exercises.

These are all fairly common moves that are on B2B, but since I did share them on my Insta story, I thought I’d upload to YouTube so you could watch if you wanted a refresher.

If you find yourself traveling this summer, or just short on time, consider knocking this workout out! It doesn’t take long, but you’ll find yourself sweaty and tired by the end!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite cardio exercise? What gives you the most bang for your buck?

Life Lately

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Test, test. Is this thing on? When I logged into my blog, I actually couldn’t believe that I hadn’t blogged since June 8th! Seriously?! How has so much time gone by?? To say time is flying by these days is an understatement.

But, nonetheless, here I am! Life has been a bit chaotic lately, both with exciting things and with some sucky things, so I figured now’s probably a good time to check back in and get caught up. Enjoy!

  • Dealing with theft- While traveling to Charleston a few weekends ago, someone stole my suitcase from me at JFK while I was getting a coffee. It was partly my fault since I had turned my back on the bag, but the coffee shop was super crowded, I had a bag over my shoulders, was holding a book and my coffee and so I left my roller bag right behind me. I turned around and it was gone, but there was another one near it. At first I wasn’t concerned because I thought someone had mistakenly taken my bag instead of theirs. I worked with many different ticket agents and the airline manager and even though the bag didn’t turn up as quickly as I though it would – and I missed my connection flight – I still thought that once the person got to their destination and opened the bag, they would realize they grabbed the wrong one, would call the airport and I’d get my bag back. Unfortunately, the more we looked into the suitcase that was left behind, the more we realized that it was likely a “fake” suitcase that someone carried to do exactly what they did to me. It was filled with a bathing suit with the tags on it, cheap flip flops with the tags on it, multiple small handbags/clutches/wallets that looked brand new, brand new makeup and some brand new jewelry. I assume these may have been stolen, too? Regardless, I ended up being in the JFK airport from 7am to 2:15pm until the next flight out to Charleston. I almost skipped the trip entirely, but decided that it would be better to go so the girls could cheer me up. I was SO upset, but the kind employees at Delta were SO good to me. They upgraded my next flight and they let me into the Delta Sky lounge. It was such a sucky experience, but I’m thankful for Kevin and his crew who took good care of me. By the end of it, the whole airport knew who I was, lol. I’m currently going through the insurance claim process which is proving to be pretty miserable – does anyone have any tips??

(The last time I had all of my luggage 😦 )

  • Weekend in Charleston- Luggage theft fiasco aside, it was a really fun trip to Charleston! I want to do a whole post on it, so more to come!

  • Wedding in Oyster Bay (Long Island) – Last weekend, RM and I headed to NY for a family wedding on Long Island. It was an absolutely amazing wedding and I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of it! The food was insanely delicious, the band was the best I’ve ever heard and the DJ to cap off the night was icing on the cake. We danced ALL NIGHT and it was the best. Here are a few photos!

(I rented my dress from Best Dressed!)

  • Seaport Sweat- Although weather has not been on our side lately, I have had a few non-cancelled Seaport Sweat classes and they have been so fun. Last night, there were over 50 people in class! And they absolutely rocked it. As a reminder (because I get these questions a lot), the classes are FREE, you can sign up here, you don’t need to bring anything except water and they run through the end of September! I’m there on Mondays at 6pm and Tuesdays at 6:30pm.

I think that does it for now! I should have a workout to share with you tomorrow 🙂 Hope you have a great week!

Questions for you: Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Have you dealt with insurance claims? What’s something good in your life?

 

What College Really Taught Me

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Over the weekend, we went up to Saint Michael’s College to celebrate my 10 year reunion. Even though the weekend has already come and gone, I’m still processing the fact that it’s been 10 years since we have been in college! How?!

Going into college, I had no idea what to expect. Would I like being away from home? Would I make friends? Would I do well in my classes? Looking back, I can honestly say that there was no need to worry about any of these things. I didn’t mind being away from home, I did well in my classes and I made the most incredible friendships.

As we were partying on campus on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but think about how crazy it was that so little has changed between my group of friends. Granted, between jobs, where we live, relationship status’, hobbies, etc. there have obviously been changes in terms of how much we see each other, what our conversations are centered around, etc., but at the end of the day, when you put us all together, it really is like nothing has changed. We laugh, we dance, we talk about serious things, we joke around… and even if it’s been months since we last saw each other, you’d never know. We always pick up right where we left off, and I’m so grateful for that.

Even though college taught me valuable lessons regarding my major, it really taught me what true friendship is. I feel so fortunate that not only did these ladies make my college experience a million times better, but also that they have made my post college life a million times better. It’s crazy that we are all still so close – even after 10 years and at times living in many different states from one another. We’ve gone through loves, breakups, good days, bad days, new jobs, new homes, marriages, babies, and more. No matter what my news is, I know that I have the most supportive group of friends and I am so thankful for that.

I may not do anything in the field I majored/graduated in, and I may have school loans I feel like I’ll never pay off, but the friendships I made at SMC make it all worth it. Thanks, ladies- you’re the best friends a girl could ask for! xo

oh yeah, and thanks for teaching me how to saber a champagne bottle open!!

Wednesday Workout: Jump Rope & Bodyweight Workout

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Hey there! I know everyone is saying this, but I am really ready for some sunshine in my life. The past handful of days have been so yucky – cold & rainy & dark. GIVE ME SPRING!!!

This workout was a result of my refusal to go to the gym when it was finally nice last Thursday. I had all intentions of going and doing an upper body workout with weights, but I knew my body needed a healthy dose of Vitamin D more than it needed the weights 😉 Luckily, I always carry a jump rope in my gym bag so I was able to incorporate it into this bodyweight workout. And yes, I’m still calling it a bodyweight workout because I’m not lifting or moving anything than my bodyweight. If you don’t have a jump rope, just make pretend- regardless, it still It doesn’t require weights of any sort so it’s still something you can easily do anywhere.

The way this workout works is you’ll start every pyramid set with 100 jump ropes (can be done without a jump rope if you don’t have one). From there, you’ll do 10 reps of a lower body exercise, 8 reps of an upper body exercises & 5 reps of a cardio exercise. Then you’ll start with that cardio exercise again (with a short break in between), go up to the 8 reps of upper body and 10 of lower body and then finish with 100 jumps. Sounds confusing, but hopefully my diagram below will help!

This workout is great because it’s simple in terms of what the exercises are – no brain work, just physical work. SLDL= single leg deadlift, which you’ll do on the right and left.

If you’re traveling this summer, consider taking this workout with you – it’s perfect when you want a quickie, no gym required workout.

Happy Wednesday!

Questions for you: Do you carry any pieces of workout equipment with you in your gym bag?