Category: Boston

Weekending: Quiet night in, Spring Wine Fest, Girls day out

7 Comments

I love when I have weekends that are a mix of relaxation and fun events- they’re the best right? This past weekend was one of those weekends and it was just what I needed after a busy week, as well as what I needed to prepare for a busy week this week.

Friday night, I headed into the city after I finished work to go to Lindsay’s class at Recycle. I had never been to the studio on Newbury Street, but I was a huge fan!

IMG_6980

IMG_6981

Working out on a Friday afternoon was a nice treat!

The rest of my Friday night included wine, a healthy dinner and serious couch lounging, which was exactly what I needed/wanted.

IMG_7003

Spring Wine Fest

A few months ago, my friend Jessi sent out an email telling us about a Spring Wine Fest that she has gone to for a number of years. The tickets at the time were only $19, so clearly that was a no-brainer on my part; sign me up! Drinking wine on a Saturday afternoon with my girlfriends (after teaching an awesome kickboxing class) is probably one of my favorite things do to.

IMG_7004

IMG_7018

We had a blast walking around and trying lots of different wines from various wineries. Some of my favorites were Kim Crawford, Wild Horse, Estancia and Simi, although there were so many others that were great, too. I liked going during the day because even though it was still pretty busy (we basically would get a sample then drink it while waiting in another line), there was still room to move and mingle and hang out. They had lots of free food samples, which is key at a wine tasting event 😉

IMG_7011 IMG_7010

The lighting in the Cyclorama was amazing- these photos came out so great! Doesn’t hurt that I have pretty friends, either 😉

After a few tastings we were feeling silly enough to jump over to the photo booth. I die a little every time I look at these pictures…

wine fest

Look at my head in that second one- it makes no sense!

Our tasting ended at 2:30, so we walked over to Gaslight for a much needed late lunch. I had a Bellini to start and then switched to wine after.

IMG_7016 IMG_7019

My sister met us for lunch and she and I shared the Croque Madame and scrambled eggs with a Truffle Oil sauce. Holy yum!

IMG_7020

IMG_7021 (2)

After lunch, our large group broke up and some went home and others went to The Playwright for a Boston Marathon fundraiser. I was so happy that my friend Meaghan was able to join us!

IMG_7022 (2)

Needless to say, after a day of drinking, I was happily home, fed and in bed by 9:30 😉

Sunday was a standard Sunday that consisted of laundry, grocery shopping, visiting my sister, packing and lots of blogging/workout planning. It’s always a little stressful right before I leave for a trip (even if it’s short) because I have to get my blog posts prepped for the time I’m going to be away and I have to make sure that I’m packed correctly (in other words, it takes time to pack smartly vs. just throwing stuff into a suitcase.). I have to say, though, one thing that was really nice was the fact that I didn’t need to cook a big meal or prep for the week. It’s sad how much easier my day felt without that task!

Here’s to a good week!

Questions for you: Do you like to workout on Fridays? What’s your ideal Saturday consist of? Have you ever been to the Wine Fest in the South End?

This Week: Workouts {lots of teaching again}, Review of Velo City & Pursuit Boston, Things I’m looking forward to

8 Comments

Hi, friends! Happy St. Patty’s Day! Is anyone celebrating? Did anyone go to the Southie parade yesterday? I opted out of it this year- it was cold and I really just needed/wanted a day to myself where I could catch up on life (cleaning, blogging, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.), not to mention I didn’t want to be tempted to drink too much because my day today is too long to be hung over! I’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s get right to the workouts 🙂

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I decided to go to the gym during my lunch break to get in a quick 30-45 minute upper body and core workout. I was SO happy I did this because I ended up having a horrible end of the day at work and stayed late talking to my manager, so it was great knowing I could just go home after work and have a huge glass of wine make dinner, blog and do laundry.
  • Tuesday- I used my ClassPass membership and tried out a new-to-me studio: Velo-City. I’ll share more on it below, but I liked it!
  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED (did most of the workout with them, but skipped out on the cardio) and Kickboxing.
  • Friday- Nothing 🙂
  • Saturday- I went to Pursuit Boston, which is a new spin studio in the Back Bay. I LOVED it. It was especially fun since I ran into someone I went to high school with and met u with my new blog friend, Lucy. Sweating with friends is so much better!
  • Sunday- I went to Exhale Spa for a 75 minute yoga class and it was wonderful. My body and mind needed it in a bad way! So happy I have my ClassPass membership so I can jump around to all these studios 😉

IMG_6942

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- By the time this post goes up, I will have taught my 6am Muscle Work class and I am subbing the 6:30pm cardio kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC after work. Happy Monday and St. Patty’s Day to me!
  • Tuesday- I’m going to a 6:55am class at B-Tone Fitness in the Back Bay. I’m trying to use my ClassPass to try new studios I may not otherwise try, I’m excited about this class. After work, I am training someone who wants to get back into shape now that she’s had her baby!
  • Wednesday- Maybe some light cardio before teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and then cardio kickboxing
  • Friday- Rest 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA
  • Sunday- Not sure. I’d like to get something in since I’ll be traveling the next week, but I haven’t figured out what I want to do yet.

Velo-City Review

As I mentioned above, I went to an indoor cycling studio in the Back Bay on Tuesday night. I had never been, but it came up on ClassPass and there was a class at a good time for me, so I decided to try it out. The staff was SUPER friendly, and the instructor, Megan, was actually someone I knew when I used to work at Prana Power yoga- small world! I loved the music Megan played and really loved a lot of the song choreography that she had- we did some things that I hadn’t done at any other studio, so that was fun- I always love learning new things. I also loved that the studio had black lights…. I just wish I had worn something white! The one thing that was kind of a bummer was the fact that the class was not filled, so it felt like the room was a bit empty. I like when these types of classes are full because I can feed off of everyone’s energy, which I wasn’t able to do on Tuesday. Otherwise, though, I really liked the studio and would definitely suggest going, especially since they offer a free first class!

IMG_6912

Pursuit Boston Review

Saturday morning I headed back to the Back Bay for another spin class, this time at Pursuit Boston, which just opened in January. I loved the studio because it was on the second floor in a building on Boylston street, so it was really bright and sunny. They had showers (huge plus for me), changing areas, a weights/stretching area to use if you wanted to do something before or after class, and really great specials (5 classes for $59!!). The only downside is that they don’t rent shoes, but they do have a handful of shoes you can borrow, which I ended up doing because I hate spinning without spin shoes now.

The class at Pursuit was a traditional spin class, so we didn’t use weights or anything like that, which I thought was a bummer at first, but by the end, I didn’t mind at all. It was only a 45 minute class, but I was legit spent by the end. I was sweating SO much and my legs barely got me down the stairs after class- I call that a success 😉 The instructor was great and really encouraging and I liked that she jumped on and off the bike a lot to get closer to us to push us harder. I definitely suggest checking out this studio as they have different kinds of “rides” (they are going to start a spin boot camp class, which I think is totally up my alley) so you can pick one based on what you’re looking to accomplish in your workout that day. They do a free first class, too!

IMG_6928

Thing I’m Looking Forward To

Last week was SO fun, so this week definitely has big shoes to fill! I’m excited to try out B-Tone fitness on Tuesday, as well as train my friend’s sister-in-law. It was so sweet of her to reach out to me for help losing her baby weight, so I’m excited to put a plan together for her. I’m looking forward to my sister coming home on Friday- she will have been gone for 2 full weeks! On Saturday, I’m going to a wine tasting with my friend Jessi, Cristina and Lauren (and maybe my sister), which is going to be a blast! Nothing better than a wine-filled afternoon (heads up to my kickboxing class on Saturday- we will be working out for me to earn my wines… you’ve been warned!).

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Did you try out any new classes or studios? Do you like regular spin classes or do you like indoor cycling classes that include weights? What are you looking forward to this week?

A jam-packed weekend full of working out & dining out

5 Comments

Do you ever have those weekends where you’re so busy you feel like you need another day just to breathe and catch up on everything you didn’t catch up on over the weekend? That was me last weekend… and, well, all of last week, actually. I have spent the majority of the beginning of this week catching up on everything I wasn’t able to do last week or this week- my floors need to be washed desperately, but that keeps getting pushed further and further down my list, which is totally ok 🙂

Anyway! After work on Friday, I met up with someone for drinks at Vintage Lounge, which I hadn’t been to in years! From there, we headed to Sakurabana for sushi (as a Catholic, I’m not supposed to eat meat on Friday’s during lent, so sushi was a perfect option!).

IMG_6887

Saturday started with kickboxing (loved seeing Jen, Mary, Valerie, Dani and all the other familiar faces!) as my first workout and then I met my sister at Exhale Spa for a Core Fusion Cardio class with my sister. We met up with our friend, Jessi, for lunch at Anthem. It was such a beautiful day in the city- perfect for walking around and having lunch out (actually, who am I kidding- any day is a great day for lunch out in my mind!). We shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, the Fondue (cannot go there without getting it- SO SO SO good) and a pizza.

IMG_6889 IMG_6890 IMG_6891 IMG_6892

I did some serious bar/restaurant hopping on Saturday night, which was great at the time, but not so great when I had to wake up at 7:45am on Sunday to teach a 9am class, after having gone to bed at 1:30am and losing an hour of sleep due to the time change. Womp. Oh well, I made sure to not drink too much so at least I wasn’t hungover! My Saturday night locations included: Prima E Dopo, Back Bay Social Club, M Bar at the Mandarin Hotel and finally Towne… phew! I wasn’t kidding when I said I hopped around 😉

Sunday I taught my 7th class of the week, puttered at Target and then did my CPR recertification. Not really my favorite way to spend a Sunday, but I didn’t really have a choice!

IMG_6898 IMG_6899

Lunch at Pizza Etc. after the recertification did make me happy… I’ve missed their Greek salad with grilled chicken. When I lived in Brighton, Rachel and I would get that salad once a week!

By the time I grocery shopped and got home, the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. I ended up going to Santarpio’s to grab pizza… not the healthiest choice, but I had been craving it for a while so I decided to just do it. It did give me a crazy bad stomach ache later on- I wonder if it was the pizza or just the fact that I had eaten out literally all weekend.

By the time Monday rolled around, I was so ready for my usual clean eats! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy eating out and would never deprive myself of it, but my body just likes it better when I don’t eat out consecutively for days in a row. I used to let it bother me when I would eat out a lot, but at this point in my life, I’ve gotten to a place where I just let it go and enjoy it because I know as soon as Monday rolls around, I’ll be back on track with my eats. No better way to do that then kale & onion stuffed turkey meatballs served over spaghetti squash and sautéed veggies, right?

dinner

I’ve been enjoying this all week!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you try any new workouts/classes/studios? Did you go to any new restaurants? Have you been to any of the ones that I went to over the weekend? Do you beat yourself up after indulgent weekends of eating out and drinking? What’s the first thing you do to get back on track?

Weekending: Gym friends, Southie, How to prepare for a busy week

9 Comments

My weekend recap is a little late this week, but it was a good one, so it’s better late than never, right? Although I was super tired on Friday night, I was excited to head to Needham for a gym friends party. A gym friends party, you might ask? What is that? Well, it’s when a bunch of gym-going, gym-loving ladies get together to eat good food, drink good wine and share horror funny class stories (most of us are instructors, so we’ve got stories for dayssss). Athena wrote up a really nice post about why she loves gym friends and I couldn’t agree more. It’s funny because when I was telling my mom about it on Saturday, I used the same exact “they just ‘get’ me” line that she used in her post. gym friends (photo credit: Athena!)

On top of good company, I love gym friend parties because the food is always delicious… and usually healthy! There were so many different appetizer treats to snack on- I was a happy camper 😉 IMG_6833 I brought a dessert treat that I came up with fairly quickly. Could’ve been a hit or miss, but, luckily, it seemed to be a hit. I’ll share it with you soon, but here’s a sneak peak: IMG_6829

I had so many people to catch up with! These girls all frequent the Oak Square YMCA as their “home” gym and get to see each other at least a few times of week, but I only see them every other Saturday if they come to my class. Womp. Needless to say, the wine was flowing, conversation was non-stop and before we knew it, it was time to do the Pink-themed Yankee Swap!

IMG_6832 IMG_6836 IMG_6835 IMG_6834

I put together a cute little “relaxing night in” package which had an OPI 4 color sampler nail polish package, a candle and a bottle of wine. I wouldn’t have been mad if I went home with that, although I was SO HAPPY to go home with a stability ball. It’s been on my list of things to buy for a while now (for exercise and to use as my chair when I work from home), I just keep forgetting to get one. Problem solved!

IMG_6842

Big thanks to Liz for having us and thanks to all the girls for being such fun gym friends!!

Saturday started off my favorite way: kickboxing. Even better, was knowing a bunch of girls from Friday night would be there… they asked for burpees and I aim to please 😉

gym friends fb status

The rest of my Saturday was busy with lunch plans and then going to Southie to see my sister’s new apartment. Her roommate, Amy, bought a condo in Southie and they moved in on Friday night. I was a bad sister and didn’t visit until Saturday night, but I did come bearing gifts of Prosecco, Bud Light and an AMEX gift card, so I think that counts for something, right?! 😉 We grabbed dinner and drinks at The Playwright Bar since it’s literally a 3 minute walk from their new place. I am so jealous that they are so close to so many fun places!

IMG_6839

Another friend from home met us out, which was a nice surprise!

Sunday was a busy day. I wasn’t home for more than 5 minutes all day on Saturday, so I didn’t have time to do anything on my to-do list. But you know what? I survived. Funny thing about that! Between laundry, baking, cooking, grocery shopping, blogging, making workout videos and prepping for a busy week… Sunday was over in a flash!

I knew my week was going to be crazy busy between teaching 7 classes, going to the ClassPass launch, going to a wine tasting, etc., so I spent some time on Sunday prepping for the week to make it a little easier! I wanted to share some things I do to help make a busier week go a little more smoothly, especially when I have to be up and out of the house super early to teach in the morning.

How to prepare for a busy week

1. Food prep!! I can’t stress this enough. I don’t have the money to buy lunch out every day (or the snacks), so prepping my salads, fruit, snacks, etc. on Sunday night makes the world of a difference.

IMG_6854

Since I needed to be up and out the door by 5:30 on Monday, I even had to pack breakfast!

IMG_6855

Nothing exciting, but it did the trick!

2. Plan my outfit the night before. And, for me, it meant packing it up in my gym bag since I had to get ready for work at the gym.

IMG_6853

3. Plan my workout that I’m going to teach. If I don’t plan something out, I’ll keep thinking about it, so it’s better to just write it out and be done with it.

IMG_6852 IMG_6851

4. Make a meal that can be reheated throughout the week, especially for the nights I get home late (pretty much every night this week). This ensures that I have a healthy, well balanced meal that I can eat within 5 minutes of walking through the door. What can I say? I get hangry!

IMG_6858

5. Go to bed early. There’s no better way to end the weekend and start the week than getting a good nights rest. I’m not used to getting up on Monday mornings in the 5 o’clock hour, so that will certainly take some getting used to, but having everything literally ready for me as soon as I wake up makes it easier!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Do you have a group of friends that “get” you? How do you prepare for a busy week? Do you plan ahead and do prep work to make it easier or just go with the flow?

Exciting News! Adding a new class to the mix…

10 Comments

Hi, friends! TGIF, right?! I have literally had pretty much zero extra time this week due to my work trip to Dallas on Monday and Tuesday and a crazy hectic couple of days after. My bag is still unpacked, my dishwasher just got emptied and I haven’t put away my recent purchases… all of which are VERY unlike me.

BUT, I wanted to pop in today to share some exciting news on the fitness front:

I’m starting to teach a Muscle Work class at Fitness International, located within International Place in Boston’s financial district.

IMG_6543

My company moved into the building in December, and when I heard that the on-site gym offered classes, I immediately went down to chat with them to see if there were any open opportunities… partly because I wanted to have access to the gym (which is otherwise pretty pricey), partly because I wanted to get experience teaching at other gyms, especially one that is located IN my office building. Once I checked it out, saw the locker rooms (with towel service, a sauna, steam room showers, and everything else you’d need to get ready for a day in the office), saw the class sizes (averages 15 people during the middle of the day!), and found out they pay $15/hour MORE than the BSC does, I realized it was a perfect fit.

Granted, I may not really NEED to add another class to my already busy schedule, BUT here are the reasons I decided to take it on:

  • It’s an every other week schedule, meaning that I don’t have a weekly commitment.
  • It is a much more relaxed environment compared to the BSC and YMCA in terms of needing subs and getting subs.
  • It’s a 6:10 am class, which will be a nice change from my evening class schedule. I definitely don’t want to add more classes after work, but having an excuse to get up and workout before work will be really nice- I’m looking forward to having every other Monday evening “off” from the gym!
  • It’s an hour of strength training, which is different from any other class I teach. I’ve been really into strength training over the past 6-8 months, so I’m looking forward to having a whole hour dedicated to it!
  • I’m always looking to get my name out around Boston more, and the more places I teach, the more people and connections I can meet and make!
  • Did I mention it pays more than my other gyms and there’s lots of room for expansion if I decided to do it?

So, I think I made the right decision and I’m excited to see where this will go, BUT I’m a little nervous for my first class on Monday: will they like me? Will I have the energy I do when I teach after work? Will I teach like the other instructor? Will it be too hard or too easy for them? Will they like the format and feel like it was worth their time? I feel like there’s more pressure when teaching a morning class because not only are people taking an hour out of their day for you to give them a good workout, they are getting up EARLY for it. Yikes!

Here’s where I need your help!! Fitness instructors- how do you make sure you have enough energy to teach a morning class? Any tips to make my first class go a little more smoothly? If you teach a strength-only class, what are some “go to” formats you use to take up a full 50-60 minutes? What about energy levels- do members like high-energy instructors or prefer quitter ones since it’s early in the morning? Class goers- what’s something about a strength-only class that you love? What makes you not miss cardio?

Do any of you belong to that gym, work in the building or have friends who belong to the gym? If so, let me know 🙂 I’m definitely going to have to follow my Wednesday Workout: Tips for getting out of bed before work to workout post for a reminder on how to get up and workout before work… I’ve been so lazy when it comes to that since I teach primarily after work 😉

Enjoy your day and weekend!! I’ve got a fun giveaway going up on the blog next week- so keep your eyes on the lookout!