Category: Workout

Wednesday Workout: Total Body DB 20 Minute AMRAP

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Good morning! Did you guys see my post from yesterday? Two workouts in one week- lucky you 😉 Today’s workout doesn’t require being outside AND it’s a much shorter time commitment, so if yesterday’s workout wasn’t for you, maybe today’s will be.

With all the teaching I’ve been doing lately, I’ve noticed that my own workouts have fallen a bit by the wayside. Granted, I’m still active and moving pretty much every day, but the consistency and intensity in my own training is just not there right now. Which is OK- I’ll get it back once my schedule slows down a bit.

Since my schedule is so crazy, I find myself having to squeeze my own workouts in, which just means they generally can’t be long. It’s all good, though- once I changed up my training to shorter, more intense HIIT style workouts I noticed my body changed and adapted really well to that style of training.

Today’s workout only takes 20 minutes (25 including a warm up/cool down), so it’s perfect if you’re short on time… something we can probably all relate to as we get into the holiday months, right?! All you need is a set of dumbbells or you can use a kettlebell and you’ll work through the exercises as quickly as possible while still maintaining good form. Rest as needed, but try to rest at the end of each round rather than between exercises.

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Quick note on the exercises: For the squat-> lunge combo, you’ll do a lunge on each leg and then 1 squat- that’s 1 rep. Push-ups can be done on your knees, toes or elevated surface. If jumping isn’t good- just do regular squats. If you don’t have weights, simply change the bent over rows to a prone pull or superman pull.

I hope you’ll try this!

Questions for you: Do you have a busy holiday season coming up? How do you prioritize movement when you’re busy?

5k Walk/Run Bootcamp + Cold Weather Gear to Keep You Warm

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Mizuno. All opinions are my own. #BreathThermo

Good morning! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving- and hopefully long weekend, too! Work has been really stressful so it was especially nice to have some time off that I was able to spend with my family/in-laws. Just knowing I didn’t have to wake up early for a long day in the office was really awesome.

What else is really awesome is a package I received from Mizuno as part of their cold weather apparel line. This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time because I was just looking for some cold weather gear to help keep me warm during my outdoor Seaport Sweat series. Although I’m not leading my 5K bootcamp anymore, I was able to test out the Breath Thermo base layer top that they sent me, as well as their Breath Thermo Warmalite glove. Their cold weather apparel is engineered to keep you warm without weighing you down, which is so important because no one wants to add more weight/resistance to themselves when they’re working out, right?! 😉

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In short, I’m loving both of these products. The shirt is fitted, which makes it a great layering piece- perfect for outdoor workouts where you tend to have to shed layers once you get warmed up. I love the color, style and it fits very true to form- the small fits exactly how I like tops like this to fit (I don’t like when workout tops like this are loose and baggy). On top of the fit, the Breath Thermo  technology generates heat and helps keep the body warm when working out in the cold weather, while still allowing for breathability so that you don’t overheat. There is also a reflective trim which was important to me since I was wearing it during runs in the dark- safety is key!

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My hands (and feet) are always cold, so I was really grateful to receive the Breath Thermo Warmalite gloves. Although they are a bit too big (I ordered the wrong size!), they still work perfectly to keep my hands warm and protected from the wind during running. They’re also great for teaching my fighters conditioning class because the ground is really cold when doing burpees or pushups without them 😉 I love that they have the touchscreen forefinger so I can still operate my phone when running/teaching. They also have the Breath Thermo  fleece technology to keep warmth in, and the storage pocket on the top is perfect for holding keys or money or anything else you might need stored while you’re working out outside.

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If you’re looking for some new cold weather apparel for those shoulder months or for layering throughout the colder months, head on over to Mizuno because they have some great products worth checking out. If you came to the blog post just for the workout, here you go 😉 While we did this running, you can also walk the 5K and still do these exercises.

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Big thanks to Mizuno for helping to keep me warm during my outdoor workouts!

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Questions for you: What’s your favorite brand of outdoor workout gear? Do you like to workout outside when it’s cold or do you take it to the gym? 

Pre-Thanksgiving Thoughts (+ a few themed workouts)

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Hi there! With it being Thanksgiving tomorrow, I had all intentions of doing a themed workout for you, but I’ll be honest: I just didn’t have it in me. I think the intensity of work, teaching and general life has caught up to me and this week, blogging couldn’t be further from my mind. I’ve just had no desire to open up my computer after work, but today I wanted to pop in and share a few pre-Thanksgiving thoughts that I’ve had circling in my brain lately:

Rather than focusing on “earning your turkey” or “burning before the bird”, focus on being thankful that you can move. Do some sort of movement that you love, but do it because you CAN not because you feel like you have to. Spend some time thinking about everything you’re thankful for instead of thinking about all the things you wish would change. Indulge on your favorites- guilt free. You will not “undo” all of your hard work you’ve done the rest of the year- I promise you. Drink wine. Eat dessert. Laugh with family and friends. 

But most of all, be thankful. Thankful for everything you have, for everything you can do, and for everyone in your life. Because you know what? That’s the stuff that matters! And I’m so very thankful for so much in my life, especially for all of you who tune in here to see what I have to say.

And last but not least, if you’re looking for a workout to do tomorrow, I urge you to try one of these. They’re from the archives, but I promise they’re still good!

The “I’m Thankful” Workout
Turkey Day 20 Minute AMRAP

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! xoxo

Wednesday Workout: Jumping Jack & Total Body Blast

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Happy Wednesday, friends! How about the nasty weather yesterday? On the one hand it was nice to be WFH, but on the other hand it made it hard to want to work; nasty weather like that just makes me want to curl up and watch movies all day (even though I don’t know the last time I’ve ever done that!).

Today’s workout is great for a rainy day when you don’t want to go to the gym/leave the house. I did this a few weeks ago with a pair of dumbbells- easy enough! The way the workout works is that each circuit will have jumping jacks, a lower body exercise, an upper body exercise and a core exercise- a classic full body workout. You’ll complete each circuit 3 times and it took me just about 30-35 minutes which was perfect for an early morning workout.

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I think everything should be fairly standard, but the one thing you might not recognize is the table top crunch, which I got from Lauren. To do this you start on your back with your feet in the table top position and a weight in your hands. You want to make sure you keep your core tight and your lower back pressed to the ground as you crunch up & pretend to place the weight on your shins. SLDL= single leg deadlift. If you need explanation on anything else, just let me know in the comments!

I really enjoyed this workout- I hope you try it!

Also ,the weather looks decent for tonight and tomorrow night so if you’re planning your workouts, consider joining me for my 5K bootcamp tonight and fighters conditioning tomorrow night. Both are in the seaport district by Gather/District hall and tonight is at 6pm and tomorrow night is at 5:30pm.

Questions for you: Do you take advantage of rainy days and curl up to the TV or with a book if your schedule allows for it? Do you still try and get a workout in? What’s a cardio move you like?

Wednesday Workout: The “4X10 Lower/Upper/Core” Workout

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Good morning! Thank you all so much for your kind words/responses to my blog post yesterday. I never know how people will react to these posts or if people will be able to relate to them, so it’s nice to not only get feedback, but get positive feedback 🙂

I have a great workout for you today, now that we are on the topic of working out 😉 I did it the other day when I didn’t want to do traditional cardio and instead wanted to focus more on strength training. These days, I’m nowhere near where I was a while ago in terms of strength, but that’s okay. I’ve been teaching a lot and haven’t had consistent days for training which makes it hard for me to stay consistent with strength training enough to see gains. Instead, I’ve been lifting a little lighter, but incorporating more exercises into my workouts and moving through them with less rest which keeps the heart rate up.

For this workout, you can use dumbbells or kettlebells- I used kettlebells if you’re wondering. You’ll complete 10 reps of each exercise and move to the next with little to no rest, trying to save your rests for the break between rounds. You’ll do 4 rounds total. To finish, I threw in a quickie metabolic finisher for ya 😉

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The finisher consisted of 3 rounds of 20 seconds of rope slams and waiter carries there & back. Rope slams get me every.single.time!

I hope you have a great rest of your day- and maybe you’ll give this a try!

Questions for you: Do you go through phases with what types of workouts you do? Do you prefer heavier lifting or workouts like this that are done with lighter weights?