Category: Workout

I Still Workout! {a glimpse into my workouts these days}

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Hello there! Happy Monday 🙂 How was your weekend? Mine was great- quiet Friday night in, fun class Saturday morning, lunch with some of the Shapleigh Girls, sausage making, an OUTDOOR run, and some Sunday night couch time. Can’t really complain about that, right?

As Mondays have always been my fitness-focused blog post day, I thought I’d check in with you today with an update of my workouts lately. I like talking fitness with you guys on Mondays because not only does it help motivate me to get on track for the week, but also because I hope it serves as motivation for YOU and your workouts for the week. With busy schedules, it can be all too easy to replace your workouts with a cocktail hour outing, but I honestly believe if you take the time to schedule your workouts into your busy days, you’re far less likely to skip them… amiright?? So, with that said, let’s talk about what I’ve been doing lately!

As I mentioned before, at the start of 2015 I decided to change up my workouts. I am not teaching as many classes as I have in the past, which means I have more time to play around with my weekly workout schedule and types of workouts. Let me tell you this: I’m LOVING it. I have been having SO MUCH FUN working out this year and have really been enjoying all the variety I’ve added into my workout “program”. Although the month of February did have a lot of shoveling replacing my normal workouts (don’t get me wrong- shoveling is an incredible workout, but it got old week after week!) and at-home workouts replaced gym workouts, I still did my best to stay as active as I could and keep my workouts as interesting as I could.

Workouts I’m Loving Lately

I feel like I go through phases with my favorite workout formats, pieces of equipment, etc. What’s fun about this is it keeps things interesting and it challenges me to come up with different variations of an exercise, format or way to use different pieces of equipment. Here are some things I’m loving lately:

  • Kettlebells! I can’t get enough of these lately. I use them for total body workouts, upper body workouts, lower body workouts, cardio blasts… they are such a versatile piece of equipment and I love finding new ways to use them.
  • IMG_0177

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Wednesday Workout: 20 Minute Kettlebell AMRAP Workout

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Hi! I’ve got a great workout to share with you today. I did it yesterday when I went to the gym during my lunch break and it literally kicked my butt! In a good way, of course 😉 I was huffing and puffing throughout the exercises and rounds and felt entirely spent by the end- a sign of a good workout, right?

One thing I want to challenge you to do if you try this: GO HEAVY your weight selection. Of course, I don’t want you to injure yourself by choosing inappropriately heavy weights, but if you don’t feel tired when you complete the number of reps listed out for each exercise by the time you finish them, it’s probably a sign you’re stronger than you think you are and can increase your weight. I promise- you won’t get bulky (more on that in a post to come!).

I used a 16kg (about 35 lbs) weight for the swings and half of the burpee/upright rows and used a 12kg (about 26 lbs) weight for all the other exercises. By the end of each exercise, I was tired and out of breath and was happy it was time to switch because I didn’t know how many more reps I could do! Because of the challenging weight choice (for me, anyway), I was only able to get through 3 rounds, but I was happier with 3 rounds where I really felt challenged than 5 where I felt like I could’ve kept going. But, to each their own!

20 minute KB AMRAP workout

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Wednesday Workout: San Francisco Total Body Stair Workout

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Good morning! I’m popping in quickly today with a fun workout my friend Amanda and I did when we were vacationing in San Francisco last weekend. I have so much to recap for you from my trip, but this week has turned into a crazy week between having a flat tire to deal with, laundry/unpacking and so much work at work, so those recaps will have to wait until things slow down a bit.

I’ve shared before how I stay healthy while on the road, so it shouldn’t be surprised that I worked out while on vacation. I think it’s such a great way to see a city, give you energy for the day and help you stay a little bit on track. I never workout to my normal intensity and if something comes up and I don’t get to my workout, I don’t stress about it, but for me, getting in a little sweat sesh while on vacation just helps set the tone for my day because it’s something I love to do.

Luckily, my friend Amanda enjoys being active, too, so she was totally game for a workout. Because of the insane hills and a little jetlag, I opted for something other than a traditional run. We ended up at a park and when I saw the most insane set of stairs, I knew exactly what we would do: run them! We ran up, did some core/upper body/lower body exercises, then went back down. We did this 10 times and our legs were shaking by the end. And the next day? I felt like I had been walking on the highest of high heels for 4 days straight- our calves were SO incredibly sore. I’ve never felt anything like it, but can only attribute it to running up the stairs on the balls of my feet and then walking around, up and down all the hills, etc.

San Francisco Total Body Stair Workout

To change it up, Amanda and I alternated from running every step to running every other step. By the end, though, we definitely were moving a lot slower up the stairs. I mean, look at these things:

SF Stairs 2

But, the view at the top is totally worth it, right?

SF stairs

I felt so thankful for the beautiful weather, a friend who was interested in working out and soaking it up with me, and for sweating out my hangover 😉

SF Stairs 3

Of course, this workout can be done even if you aren’t in San Francisco with crazy good views, it’s just more fun when you are 🙂

Questions for you: Do you workout while on vacation? Do you like to workout outside? Do you run stairs?

Wednesday Workout: KB & TRX Total Body Workout

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Well hello there! I have a fun workout to share with you today that I did a few weeks ago during my lunch break. As I’ve mentioned before, when I workout during my lunch break, I have limited time. Because of this, I make sure I make my workout before I get to the gym so I can get there and get started without wasting any time.

Before heading to the gym, I decided I wanted to work my whole body in a mini set sort of way. This is the best way for me to avoid boredom because I’m moving from one thing to the next in short sets. I’ve been LOVING kettlebell’s and TRX bands lately, so I put together a lower body exercise, upper body exercise and core exercise in each set using these “toys”. To get some cardio in, I did 20 TRX squat jumps in between sets.

To complete this workout, perform 10 reps of each exercise and repeat the exercises in each set for a total of 4 rounds before moving on to the next set (of course, with the 20 TRX jump squats in between).

KB & TRX full body workout

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Wednesday Workout {Valentine’s Day Edition}: The Love Your Body Workout

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Good morning and happy hump day! I hope you’ve all gotten yourself shoveled out and prepared for another storm tomorrow 😦 I’m REALLY hoping it passes and doesn’t really amount to anything.

Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and since I love themed workouts, I’ve dedicated today’s workout to the theme of this month: Love. My first year of blogging I posted this core workout and last year I posted this full body workout (which, looking back on looks tough… and one I want to try again!). This year, I’m focusing on exercises I’m loving these days. They are exercises that make me love and appreciate my body for all it does for me and these moves make me feel strong, yet challenge me and show me areas open for improvement.

Loving your body for all it does for you is SO important. I’ve spent too many years looking at myself in the mirror and pointing out all my flaws and giving myself everything BUT love. Over the years, and as I’ve started strength training, I’ve realized how my body is so much more than just how I look in the mirror; this has been one of the best mental shifts/changes I could have ever made. I may not have “perfect” legs or arms or a butt without dimples, but you know what? I have a strong body and am so proud of the work I’ve put into making myself healthier and fitter and stronger and that is worth more than an image in the mirror.
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