Category: BSC

This Week: Workouts, What I’m Looking Forward To & January Challenge {Week 2} Check-In

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Hi there! Happy Monday 🙂 Anyone have today off? I wish I did, but, alas, I am working and teaching. I hope your weekend was a good mix of everything you needed/wanted. Mine certainly was! I don’t know what I did differently with my workouts last week, but holy moly did they leave me sore! I ended up resting on Tuesday and Friday, yet I felt more sore than I did on weeks where I would have maybe worked out 6 or 7 days. I guess that just goes to show you that quality generally trumps quantity. While I like to sweat or do something active most days (mentally, I really need/like it… it’s my “me” time), I would take quality workouts on fewer days during the week than a week full of “meh” workouts every day. Anyone else feel this way?

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went to the East Boston YMCA for spin. It was a sub, but it was a nice change and I liked the different things we did. I had time before the class so I did some biceps, shoulder and back strength training and did some core after class. I had decided I was going to rest on Tuesday, so I wanted to get a good workout in on Monday.
  • Tuesday- Rest day. I was still feeling sick on Monday and knew that if I wanted to workout on Tuesday, it would have to be in the morning, so I decided that sleep was more important than a workout. Guess what? I woke up feeling much, much better. Funny thing about that….
  • Wednesday- Because of my rest day on Tuesday, I was AMPED to workout and to teach. Seriously. I was looking forward to it all day. I ran a 5K and then taught UXF Burn. I joked that I hadn’t done squats in so long… and by the way my glutes and legs felt on Thursday, I wasn’t joking!

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  • Thursday- I taught a really fun SHRED class where we did all sorts of exercises across the floor. It was so fun and left my legs and upper body feeling like jello after class and incredibly sore on Friday. I also taught kickboxing, which was a good challenge for me because out of a class of 16, 12 of them had never done kickboxing or really worked out before. This was a great practice for my patience and my teaching/instructing skills. Since my “regulars” are so used to my teaching, I feel like I get off pretty easy because I don’t have to verbally instruct/coach/cue as much, so it was good for me to be taken out of my comfort/”cruise control” teaching zone and bring it back to the basics.
  • Friday- Rest! To try and loosen up my muscles I did about 25 minutes of yoga in my apartment, which ended up leaving my shoulders and triceps sore on Saturday… haha whoops!
  • Saturday- Taught another sweaty class at the Oak Square YMCA! There were almost 50 people in there again and we worked hard… I was so sore on Sunday!
  • Sunday- I went to a Power Yoga class at Exhale Spa. I got a Guilt deal so I was excited to go to yoga to stretch after a week of intense workouts. The class made me, again, realize how badly I need more yoga in my life. My hamstrings and hips are so tight!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Subbing the 6:30 kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC! If you’re around, come sweat with me!
  • Tuesday- I am not sure… I usually seem to have after work plans on Tuesdays, but I don’t have anything planned as of yet so I may head to the gym for a weight session after work.
  • Wednesday- Probably running and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- SHRED and then kickboxing. Any suggestions for formats/exercises you’d like to do??
  • Friday- Rest day! Maybe some at-home yoga since I think that’s a nice way to stretch on an off day.
  • Saturday- I’m taking a class at Recycle Studio with my friend, Lindsay, who is a new instructor there. I am SO excited, but kind of nervous to take a class at a “fancy” type of spin studio.
  • Sunday- Maybe yoga again? I liked that last week!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I think one of the things I’m most looking forward to is going to Lindsay’s class. I feel like it’s going to make me finally cross over into the “I love spinning/cycling” world. I might be getting dinner with my friend Meaghan, which would be great since we haven’t seen each other in so long. Lastly, I’m excited to see my sister this weekend. She was in NYC last weekend and it was weird to not hang out!

January Burpee & Push-Up Challenge: Week 2 Recap

Time for week 2 check in!! How did everyone do this week? I know that Jen Ryder absolutely rocked and beat her time from week 1 by over 4 minutes!! I am so impressed! Dana also sent her time to me (I love seeing all of your posts on Facebook– it’s a great motivator!), which is so impressive because she can do push-ups like a champ. Seriously. I wish I had that type of upper body strength!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get mine in, to be honest. I planned for it on Friday, but I was so sore from Thursday’s classes, that I skipped it. Then, I was going to do it on Saturday after teaching kickboxing, but clearly that was a silly idea since I’m always beat after that class. That left Sunday… but after yoga and showering and puttering, it’s the last thing I wanted to do. But… I did it! And, somehow, I beat my time by 30 seconds. The secret? I think it’s because I opted to do more reps in each set: 40, 40, 20. By doing this, it eliminated the transition time from 4 transitions to 3, so that has to have been it? I don’t know, but I’ll take it. Maybe next week I’ll shoot for 50 and 50! The push-ups still sucked more than the burpees, oddly enough. IMG_6467

I want to hear from you! Did you do week 2 of the challenge? How did your time compare this week to last week? What’s the last exercise/workout that left you really sore? What are you looking forward to this week?

This Week: Workouts, Schedule {Finally back on ‘normal’ track}, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Has anyone else not had a full week of work for at least a few weeks at this point? And, on top of that, for the days I was working, things were really quiet, which was a nice change! It’s going to be weird to be back to the “full swing” of things this week, including everyone back to work, full week of teaching, full week of lunch preparation/meal planning, etc. I could really get used to working “short” weeks with days off in the middle, though, how about you?

I had some good workouts last week, but still wasn’t able to get back to my full teaching schedule due to the New Year on Wednesday and the Hercules blizzard on Thursday. I also splurged on a New Years Day and took a yoga class at Exhale Spa as a way to start off the new year with a clear, positive mindset! The classes there are pricey, but when you factor in the locker room luxuries (heated towel holders, sandals, robes, straighteners, blow dryers, high end shamp/cond/body wash, etc.), it’s totally worth the price… once and a while 😉

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I subbed a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. It was a small group, but it was still a fun class. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical beforehand.
  • Tuesday- I worked from home and did Fitnessista’s Day After Christmas Crumble workout after I saw it posted on Athena’s workout post last week. It did not disappoint!
  • Wednesday- I went to Exhale Spa for a yoga class!
  • Thursday- I was all excited to teach my double, but due to the storm, I was only able to teach 1 of my 2 classes. I used a new format (taken from Men’s Health, which, in my opinion, often times has better workouts than Women’s Health!) in my SHRED class and we were all sweaty and shakey by the end. Instead of teaching my kickboxing (only 2 people showed up and classes were cancelled by that point anyway) class, I ran 2 miles and headed home.
  • Friday- I thought I’d have to shovel out my car for hours after I saw what it looked like, but a super nice guy offered to snow blow me out- I was SO grateful! Instead, I did some lower body and core strengthening and stretching.

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  • Saturday- Taught a super, duper sweaty kickboxing class with lots of fun faces in the crowd (and so many others, too- there were about 50 people there. Bring on the crowds, January!). My favorite part was seeing everyone’s tweets and facebook status’s after!

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  • Sunday-I decided to take advantage of the “heat wave” and go for a 3 mile run outside. My pace was all over the place because I had to dodge snow banks and puddles, but I averaged 8:29/mile for the 3 miles. I was happy with that. After my jog, I headed into the gym and did some strength training (super sets at first, 3 rounds through, then I got bored with that and jumped around to all sorts of stuff) and core work.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I think I’ll take the 6pm spin class if there’s space. I love the January crowds as an instructor, but as a gym “goer”, I HATE it. I know I should be more supportive, but again, unless I’m teaching, I just can’t be that supportive because these people are taking up my gym space. Ok. That was harsh, but still. It’s annoying!
  • Tuesday- I will do some type of strength workout since I’ve been slacking on that lately.
  • Wednesday- Probably running then teaching UXF Burn- hope there’s lots of new-comers in my class!
  • Thursday- Thursday double! SHRED and then Kickboxing. Can’t wait to finally get to teach my double.
  • Friday- Rest!
  • Saturday- My friend, Lindsay, is a new instructor at Recycle Studio and wants me to try a class since she knows I am just getting into spinning, so I may try to get to her 9:30 spin class on Saturday morning since it’s my off weekend from teaching. Also! I think my sister (and maybe Amy and Rachel) are going to cash in my Christmas gift and go to a noon class at Pure Barre! Should be a fun-filled fitness morning 🙂

Schedule

A fairly regular week, which will be a nice change! I’m looking forward to getting back into the work and teaching groove. I have plans after work on Tuesday, so I’ll get my workout done before work. I love when I have something right after work and can be one of those “young professionals getting drinks after work” people, haha.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Normalcy! And, getting drinks after work and trying a class at Pure Barre with at least my sister (and hopefully Amy and Rachel) on Saturday. I love doing “new” fitness things with people, especially my sister, so I’m excited. I hope I get to take Lindsay’s class, because even though I don’t feel ‘ready’ to go to a fancy spin studio, I think it will be a true test as to whether or not I can become a “spinner”.

Questions for you: Have you been to Recycle studio? Did the snow storm mess up your gym plans? Did you try and new ‘at-home’ or snow-inspired workouts (snow shoeing, skiing, shoveling, etc.)? What are you looking forward to this week?

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

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Hi there! Can you believe it’s Christmas week?! Shockingly enough, I feel like I have been able to enjoy the season this year. I decorated my apartment, I’ve attended Christmas parties and I’ve spent Sunday afternoons totally enjoying ABC Family Christmas movies (please tell me I’m not the only one who has a guilty pleasure watching those cheesy movies!). But, with that said, I still can’t believe that Christmas is in 3 days. I can’t wait!

Since it’s a holiday week and I’ll be home in Maine for most of it, my workouts will be a little different than usual, but that’s good sometimes!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I subbed a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. As I’ve been subbing more lately, I’ve realized how “trained” my members are who come to my permanent classes. Those members come week after week and are always ready for the crazy things I throw at them, however, when I sub, I am reminded that those members are not used to me and I need to tone it down a little so that people don’t feel overwhelmed. It’s weird!
  • Tuesday- I had all intentions of going to the gym after work to run on the treadmill, but when I got to the gym, they told me they were closing in 20 minutes. I had plans that night and was getting picked up at a certain time so by the time I trucked my way home through the snow, I had 10 minutes to do something. I could’ve skipped it all together, but I really needed to get some energy out so I did 10 minutes of random cardio moves. Wasn’t a lot, but it was better than nothing!

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  • Wednesday- I got up and worked out before work. I did a full body tabata workout and it was awesome!

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25 Days of Christmas

  • Friday- Rest day!
  • Saturday- I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes of abs and then BodyPump. It was awesome.
  • Sunday- I ran the Jingle Bell 5K with my sister! This was my 6th year running the race and I still have to say it is one of my most favorite races. What made it even more special was the fact that my sister ran it with me… as her first race! so proud!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I have dinner plans after work so by the time this is published, I will have finished an at-home workout. Maybe this workout or maybe all 3 of my holiday series workouts (this, this, and this).
  • Tuesday- I am heading home to Maine on the 9am train so my plan is to try and get my workout done before that, but we will see.
  • Wednesday- It’s Christmas, so I am not sure if I’ll get a workout in or not. If there’s snow, I would love to go snow shoeing or cross country skiing with my mom!
  • Thursday- If the YMCA near my parent’s house is open, I may try to get to a class or do my own workout there. Otherwise, an at home workout.
  • Friday- Definitely trying to get to a class!
  • Saturday- There’s a great 1.5 hour cardio cross training class at the YMCA that I would love to get to before heading back to MA
  • Sunday- Pending on my workouts earlier in the week will determine whether or not I’ll workout on Sunday.

Schedule

This is a fun week because A.- there’s only 1 real day of work for me and B.- it’s Christmas so that means I get to go home to Maine for longer than usual! I am heading home on Tuesday morning and will be there until Saturday. It will be so nice to get out of the city for some extended R&R.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Gosh. So much! Dinner at the Palm on Monday will be fun and I can’t wait to take the train home. We host a party on Christmas Eve with a bunch of family friends and it’s pretty much my favorite night of the year. We drink lots of bubbly, enjoy lots of homemade pizzas and laugh so much. I can’t wait!

Questions for you: Do you plan to workout over the holidays? What’s your favorite Christmas tradition? What are you looking forward to the most this week?

Friday Things & A 25 Days of Christmas Workout!

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Happy Friday, B2B readers! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been good… let’s catch up quickly!

  • Tuesday- We got so much snow! I went to the post office at 3pm and there was no snow. When I left work at 5:45, there was probably 4 inches. I loved it!

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  • Wednesday- We had a company holiday dinner at The Palm (it’s in the same building as our new office!), but since I was going to a SMC girls Yankee Swap after, I just had wine and a few bites of the passed apps. Dinner at Jessi’s was amazing!! Honey mustard glazed chicken and cheesy mashed potatoes with a side spinach salad. So good! But even better? Getting together with some of my favorite girls. And presents. I love presents.

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I ended up with an Alex and Ani bracelet. It was my first one and I was so excited about it, not to mention the one Nikia chose was perfect for me. Very special!IMG_6131

  • Thursday- I treated myself to Cosi for lunch as I got home a little late on Wednesday night and didn’t have the energy to pack a lunch for myself.

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SO good. Do you guys like Cosi? Their signature salad is absolutely delicious. It was the perfect fuel to teach my Thursday double, which consisted of the following 25 Days of Christmas workout and then kickboxing. It was so fun!

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This workout was awesome. It was a total body workout and I loved that once we did something (besides burpees… there can never be too many burpees 😉 ), we didn’t have to do it again. A bunch of members came up to me and said the same thing, so apparently it was a crowd pleaser! If you’re running short on time, feel free to skip the second round for the various exercises where I wrote “X2 rounds” after the exercise.

**Edited to Add: I was so tired when I was writing this last night that I forgot to say where I got this idea! I was looking through Facebook a while ago and came across this workout and just loved the idea. I took the first few exercises from Aimee’s Fitness Advent Calendar, but the rest were just random ideas I came up with. I also took the chest press & leg lift exercise from Athena, which I learned during her Fall Into Fitness challenge. It’s one of my favorite moves at the moment!

I’m hoping work flies by today because I have after-work drink plans with my sister and my old yoga instructor/friend Alyson, who I love! I think we are going to Granary Tavern, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Saturday will consist of a workout, birthday lunch for my friend Lauren and Sunday will hopefully will be ok weather for the Jingle Bell 5K!

Questions for you: What’s your “go-to” lunch place during the week (if you get lunch out)? Do you have any Alex and Ani bracelets? What are you looking forward to this weekend?

PS- We got new computers for my new company because we finally moved offices and they are tracked a lot more than before, so I haven’t read any blogs this week 😦 I will catch up over the weekend!

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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