Category: At-home workout

Wednesday Workout: Body Weight Tabata Workout

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As I mentioned on Monday, I did a few Tabata workouts last week. One that I particularly liked was the body weight one that I did in my hotel room on Tuesday morning. There wasn’t a lot of space to workout, but the beauty of this workout is you don’t need a lot of room.

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If you’re new to tabata workouts, the idea is that you do 20 seconds “balls to the wall”, as I like to say, followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this 8 times, for a total of 4 minutes. In a true tabata workout, you would do the same exercise for all 8 rounds, but for this one, I chose 2 different exercises per tabata to do in order to maximize my workout since I was limited on time. Side note: I usually jump around or jog in place during the 10 seconds to help bring my heart rate down; I don’t like going from crazy cardio or strength to nothing- I like to keep moving.

Body Weight Tabata Workout

As you can see, the exercises I did are very basic, but that’s the thing- if you’re giving them your all, you don’t need to do anything fancy.

If you have questions, let me know!

Have fun 🙂

Questions for you: Do you workout in your hotel when you travel? Do you like tabata workouts?

 

 

This Week: Workouts, Dallas Recap & Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Good morning! Happy Monday, everyone! How are you? I hope you had a great weekend! Did you see the weather for this week?? Looks like we are finally going to have some mild temps… yes!

As I mentioned last week, I was in Dallas for Monday-Wednesday. We stayed in Grapevine at the Gaylord Texan, wch was a gorgeous resort! It was a really good trip filled with lots of networking, lots of Mexican food, some drinking and the chance to catch up with my friend JP! We hadn’t hung out since November, so it was so good to see him!

dallas

I also got in a good hotel room, body weight tabata workout as well as a killer biceps and back workout with my friend Tim. I was literally sore for 4 days- no joke.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I got up before my early flight and did a 30 minute tabata workout including weighted squats, weighted lunges, bicep curls, triceps extension and core work. It was good!
  • Tuesday- I got up and did a 30 minute body weight tabata workout (I guess I was loving tabata workouts last week..) and then Tim and I went to the gym in the afternoon for a 45 minute strength workout. I was able to do 1 unassisted pull-up, which I was happy about! We did 3 or 4 different back exercises and then 3 bicep exercises and finally I lead us through some core exercises. It was a great workout.
  • Wednesday- I had all intentions of waking up to workout before the morning session, but I was seriously SO tired. I didn’t get drunk or crazy, but I was up late Monday and Tuesday so it caught up to me on Wednesday. I squeezed in 15 minutes of core work before the day started.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. I felt so lethargic in both classes- 3 days of eating and drinking like crap, on top of not sleeping enough doesn’t mesh well with me.
  • Friday- I got up and went to Flywheel for a morning class, but sadly, it wasn’t great. The room was less than half full, I was physically tired and I wasn’t a fan of the instructor. She was very sweet, but she didn’t have the natural energy/teaching style that I like to see in instructors. She seemed shy or maybe she was just new and nervous? I rarely say this, but I wish I had skipped it. Oh well, can’t win them all!

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  • Saturday- I went to a 2 Spartan Workout with a bunch of gym friends. I was pretty beat by the end!

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  • Sunday- I taught a 9am UXF Burn class at the Allston BSC. I didn’t want to do the workout, but I ended up doing most of it. I just get excited when I teach so it’s hard for me to not do any of the workout.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I am teaching Muscle work at 6am today and then going to 5:30pm Pilates Remix class at Boston Body Pilates using my ClassPass. My membership is up this week and I still had a few passes left that I didn’t want to lose, I needed to double up today!
  • Tuesday– I am training Kerri at 7am and then I am going to a Pilates Tower class at Studio J after work. I’m excited to try it!
  • Wednesday- I’ll probably run on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing
  • Friday- Rest day 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA
  • Sunday- I am going to a blogger ride at SoulCycle which I am SO excited about!!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m excited to have a week where I don’t have a lot going on after work. It will be nice to have the flexibility and know I don’t have to pack for multiple events. I’m also looking forward to the weekend- SoulCycle AND a Red Sox game in the same day makes for a super fun Sunday 😉 A bunch of my college friends and significant others are going to a day game on Sunday… I just hope it’s relatively warm… and not raining!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Did you try anything new? What are you looking forward to this week? Have you been to SoulCycle?

Wednesday Workout: 10-10-10 Pre-Flight Workout & A Standing Ab Workout

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It’s your lucky hump day today- I’ve got TWO workouts for you… and a video! *cue happy dance* 😉

Last week I had to travel for work and since I knew I wouldn’t have time to workout while I was there (really short trip), I decided to get up super early to get in a quickie workout before my 7:30 flight. Even if it’s not a long workout, I like to try to get SOMETHING in on a day of travel where I know I’ll be on a plane for a number of hours and then sitting in meetings for even more hours. It helps wake me up and give me energy to tackle the day.

So, I rolled out of bed at 4:45am and did this quick, 30 minute workout before my flight and felt great!

I split it up to be 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes strength and 10 minutes core so that I could have a full body workout. It’s a little all over the place because I picked 10 different cardio and core exercises, but that’s what I needed to get me through the workout!

10-10-10 pre-flight workout

And… you’re done! I was actually sweating quite a bit by the time I finished this workout and I felt like I really worked all of the key muscles to work in a short workout… aka, this workout gave me a lot of “bang for the buck”.

If you don’t have weights, you can easily swap out some of the moves and replace them with body weight exercises. Think: Triceps dips, push-ups, Down-Dog push-ups, etc.

Most moves are pretty common, but some that may need explaining are:

Hammer Kicks
Supermans
Toe Touches
Windshield Washer

Let me know if you try this!

Next up: Standing Ab Workout

My kickboxing class on Saturday is getting so crowded that there just aren’t enough mats for everyone to use at the end for our core work time. Instead, I’ve been doing a bunch of standing ab exercises, which can be just as effective as core exercises done on the ground. This will only take you about 10 minutes to complete, which is a great way to end a workout!

standing ab workout

And, since I’m loving workout videos lately, I filmed one on Sunday for you guys to do if you want to DO the workout with someone (sometimes that’s the motivation you need to actually do a workout at home, right?). Again, my videos definitely need work, but it’s all good… that will come eventually! For now, try to focus on the moves rather than my mistakes 😉

http://vimeo.com/88025241

Questions for you: If you’re running short on time, what are the “must have” exercises you’d include in your workout? Do you prefer standing ab routines or mat exercises? Are you apt to get up early to squeeze in exercise before a trip?

This Week: Workouts (lots of teaching!) & Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Happy Monday! I’m hoping that we didn’t actually get as much snow as the weather was predicting all weekend… I’m also hoping that by the time this post goes up, I’ve successfully taught my first 6am class at my new gym 🙂

Last week was a really great week of quality workouts (not necessarily the quantity of workouts), mostly because it felt amazing to be back in the gym and teaching, partly because they actually were good workouts. Even though I stayed active last week, it wasn’t at my normal intensity and didn’t involve weights, so being back at the gym last week with normal intensity AND weights left me tired and sore. And, I kind of loved it! Even though I like to have a consistent workout plan and schedule each week, being forced to take a step back, slow down and change things up is a nice break 🙂

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I got up before my work trip to Dallas (like 5am style. yuck) to squeeze in a quick 30 minute workout: 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes strength, 10 minutes core. I’m going to post it for you this week.
  • Tuesday- Nothing. My trip to Dallas was quick and I knew I wouldn’t be getting up to workout before the sessions, so I didn’t even bring my workout clothes!
  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn. I did most of the workout with the class (except the cardio) so I was beat by the end.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. I randomly used body bars in SHRED and loved it!! I ended up making up most of the workout as we went so we could use the bars and it was a nice change up. Kickboxing was super high cardio and super sweaty. I hadn’t taught that class in 2 weeks so it was great to be back!
  • Friday- I walked about a mile… so mostly a rest day
  • Saturday- Taught kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. There were 62 people… it.was.sweaty.

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  • Sunday- I filmed a standing ab routine (I’ll be posting it this week!) and did some at-home yoga. It was just what I needed!!

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I was seriously SO sore from kickboxing on Saturday, so stretching out my muscles was wonderful. At least I wasn’t the only one sore… these girls were suffering in my pain, too!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m teaching my first 6am Muscle Work class in the morning (pending the snow doesn’t ruin that plan!!) and then teaching cardio kickboxing at the Watertown BSC after work. Nothing like a Monday double to start off the week!
  • Tuesday- I was invited to participate in a new program that’s being brought to Boston (more on that later!), so I’m going to Flywheel for the opening event. SO excited to get back in the saddle there!
  • Wednesday- Probably some cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I’m thinking it will be a lower-impact cardio based on my Monday and Tuesday workouts.
  • Thursday- My second double of the week! SHRED followed by Kickboxing.
  • Friday- REST 🙂
  • Saturday- Amy and I switched Saturday’s at the Y so I’ll be teaching kickboxing there again this weekend!
  • Sunday- I’m subbing a 9AM UXF Burn class at the Allston BSC- looking forward to being back at that gym- BSCers… come hang with me 🙂

I’m glad that last week ended up being a lighter workout week than normal (3 mostly “rest” days, which I never do in one week) because this week is a bit intense with teaching 7 classes. I’m going to make sure to listen to my body and instruct/coach rather than actually DO the workouts with the class when I feel like I’ve done too much.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

So much!! I’m excited to have a week where I am mostly back to my normal schedule, although, now that I think about it, it’s not really “normal” since I have a lot of things going on after work… hmmm…. I’m also looking forward to the blog event on Tuesday night- it’s always fun to meet fellow Boston bloggers. I’m looking to expand my blog reading list, so I know I’ll get to add a few to my list after Tuesday night 😉 I’m going to another blog event on Saturday afternoon- a wine tasting event. Umm, perfect!! Wine and blogging… after teaching… sounds like the perfect Saturday, right?

Giveaway coming up-

Be on the lookout for an awesome giveaway going up on the blog tomorrow. I think you ladies are going to LOVE it!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? What are you looking forward to this week? If you had to pick one blog to tell me to read, what would it be?

Wednesday Workout: The Low Impact, No Equipment, No Contact Workout

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Aka, the workout I came up with so that I could get some movement in, but not be in any pain. I did this Wednesday night when my hands and feet were in so much pain that I couldn’t really do much that involved moving them. I knew I wanted to get some movement in, so I thought of a workout I could do that would get my heart rate up, yet still be low impact.

Although I didn’t use weights for this workout, if you wanted to intensify it, feel free to use weights- totally up to you. I did each mini set three times through before moving on to the next, but if you wanted to do each mini set once and work through all four of them before you repeated anything, that’s fine, too. The video I filmed will allow you to go through the workout like that- you’ll do each set once through and then you can repeat the circuit one or two times through.

Low Impact, No Equipment, Little Contact Workout

http://vimeo.com/87404997

As you can see, there aren’t any crazy moves here- just the basics, but you know what? They are effective if you do them deliberately and if you think about the muscles you’re using for each move. Since a bunch of you asked for more workout video’s/demo’s, I decided I’d try it out with this workout. I definitely lost count more than once (happens every time in my classes- it’s hard to count, instruct and cue!), but hopefully it will help guide you through the workout and feel like you’re with me in class when you do it! I have a lot of work to do in my video’s, but it’s super fun to do them so I hope to get more on the blog this year!

Let me know what you think of the workout and video. Remember to warm up and cool down properly!

Questions for you: Do you like following workout videos? What types of videos would you like to see more of?