Category: Workout

Wednesday Workout: 2 Circuit at Home Workout

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Hey there! Before I get into my workout for today, I want to take a moment to remember all of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack in NYC, think of those who lost someone and thank those who helped save people. I can still remember exactly where I was when news hit and I’m sure that’s the way it is for most of you reading this post today.

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It’s Wednesday- woohoo! It’s also my friend, Tim’s, birthday today so I want to wish him a very happy birthday!!! I’d say this workout is for him, but he hates all my workouts (except my ab ones) 😉

Anyway! I mentioned on Monday that I did an at-home workout on Labor Day when I was home in Maine. It literally left me sore for a few days and I am still trying to figure out why. It could possibly be because I focused on each move and worked diligently throughout the motions since I was only lifting 5lb weights. When I lift heavier weights in class and on my own, I don’t think I work through the movements as well and effectively as I should; definitely something to be mindful about going forward.

With that said, here’s the workout:

2 circuit at home workout

I warmed up with 5 minutes of dynamic stretches and cardio before starting my 3 rounds of circuit 1. You don’t want to rush through the moves, but you want to go at a good pace where you’re keeping your heart rate up while still getting the full range of motion in each move. After 3 rounds of circuit 1, perform the cardio blast then move on to 3 rounds of circuit 2.

Couple of notes on the moves:

  • Below parallel squats- you can use weights here if you want (I did), but you don’t have to. The point of the squat is to expand your range of motion and squat deeper and lower than you normally would. In other words: drop your butt and get it as close to the ground as possible!
  • Incline Push-Ups- I did these against the coffee table 🙂
  • Monkey Curls- I did these a while ago in one of my UXF Burn classes. You can see pictures of the move in this post (bottom right picture). The key with these is to stay in that super low “monkey” sit/squat, but to make sure you aren’t resting your hamstrings against your calves- that’s way too easy 😉
  • Spiderman plank- There are multiple ways to do this, but all I want you to do is stay in a high plank and try to touch the same knee to the same elbow (right to right, left to left). Really focus on squeezing your obliques to get the knees as close to your elbows as possible!
  • Front Lat Raise into Wide Row w/ Calf Raises- phew, right?! Let me break it down for you: hold light weights in either hand down by your legs. Lift up onto the balls of your feet while your lift your arms up to shoulder height out in front of you. From there, and while still balancing on the balls of your feet, squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your elbows back (like a bent over wide row, but in standing position). Straighten arms back out in front of you and lower them and your heels until you get back to the starting position. This is my new favorite move- I felt it in my back and lats fa’ dayyyssss.

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you try this- I like to know what you like these posts and that they are valuable to you- are they?!?!

Questions for you: What’s the last workout you did that left you super sore? Move that you’re currently loving?

Weekly Workouts: Taking some time to rest

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Hi there! How was your weekend? Mine was really great, but I’ll catch you all up on that tomorrow. I like to use Monday’s as my “weekly workout” post day with the hope that it helps to get you motivated to stay on track and get workouts planned throughout the week. It’s harder to skip a workout when you’ve written it down and held yourself accountable, right?

As I mentioned on Friday, I decided to give myself a little break from any sort of intense physical activity over the weekend. My old injuries started to flare up and I was just feeling continuously exhausted, which told me it was time for a little T.O. from the gym and working out. Surprisingly enough, it was easier than I had imagined! And get this- I even enjoyed it 🙂 Friday is generally my rest day and Saturday and Sunday I kept busy with other things so I didn’t get antsy and feel like I needed to do something! I am going to take this week light, too, which is totally fine.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine and completed a workout in my parents living room. It was 2 short, 4 move circuits that I repeated 3 times before doing cardio and moving to the next circuit. I think I’ll post it for you this week because it left me sore!

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  • Tuesday- I got up and ran 3.5 miles before work. It was a beautiful morning for a run, but the last 3 blocks to my apartment were brutal as they are up a BIG hill.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 2 miles before teaching UXF Burn. It was a great class- lots of people and lots of energy!
  • Thursday- I taught another similar format to what I have been teaching as everyone has been loving it. It was 2 strength moves (15 reps each), 60 seconds of abs, 2 minutes of cardio. I repeated a workout in kickboxing from months ago, but I don’t think anyone noticed 😉
  • Friday- rest! I walked .5 miles to Shaw’s and back, but that’s it.
  • Saturday- nothing!
  • Sunday- I went to bed on Saturday night at 9:30 and didn’t get out of bed on Sunday until 8:15! After Friday night’s festivities, I cannot tell you how much that was needed; I woke up feeling like a million bucks on Sunday! Since the weather was amazing, I laced up my sneaks and went for a nice morning stroll, making random stops to do a little stretching and light core work. Felt great!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I think there is a Pilates class on Monday nights at the East Boston YMCA, so I may try to go to that.
  • Tuesday- Pending on how I’m feeling, I may run or just do some light cardio at the gym… or rest.
  • Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn. If I do anything before class, it will just be a walk or something else low impact.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and kickboxing. I think I may teach a tabata themed class in SHRED, thanks to a reminder from Athena!
  • Friday- Not sure! If I’m feeling rested, I may workout before or after work, but I’m going to play it by ear.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA! yay!
  • Sunday- Not sure- I’d love to get to a BodyPump class 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to take your rest days during the week or weekend? What’s your favorite Tabata combination?

Wednesday Workout: Run/Walk & Park Boot Camp Circuit

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As I mentioned in my Weekly Workouts post on Monday, last week I did a really fun workout which only included myself & a park bench! I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with you. I also thought it would be nice to show you a workout that doesn’t include any gym equipment so that you can hopefully take this on the road with you!

I went into the workout only knowing that I wanted to run 10 minutes and then perform various exercises. As I started my first strength set, this is what I came up with:

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This was a great, full body workout that left me really tired and really sweaty! And, what’s great is that you can modify this workout and walk the 10 minute cardio intervals instead of running them, so there’s really no excuse 😉

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From left to right, top to bottom: bench step ups, flutter kicks, plank, shameless selfie.

If you have any questions regarding any of the moves, let me know! I was able to cover about 3.7 miles in the 30 minutes of running, which I felt good about! Let me know if you try this 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever done a workout in a park before? Do you like to run for timed intervals or distance?

Birthday Celebrations & Labor Day Weekend in Maine

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Hi, hi! I hope you all had a nice long weekend! Although mine was fairly busy, it was really fun. Plus, there’s something about being home in Maine that just makes me feel relaxed, even if we are on the go a lot!

Since I had to teach on Saturday morning, I was around on Friday night and able to go out with Athena and her friends and gym friends for her birthday! Athena decided she wanted to go to The Asgard, which is a really fun bar in Cambridge. I had been once, but it was years ago, so I was excited to go back. I wasn’t necessarily excited about making the trek in from East Boston using public transportation, but I’m trying to save money where I can, so I did it! And, in all honesty, door to door was only about 40 minutes, which wasn’t that bad. It was nice to get to hang out with the YMCA gym ladies and also really nice to meet Athena’s friends in person, versus online (Slesh! I’m talking about you! haha)

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It was also nice to be served this ginormous goblet of vino from the bar tender 😉

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I only had 2 drinks while at the bar, but when I woke up on Saturday morning, I felt like I had had much more. I blame the goblet! Regardless, it was fun getting out and meeting new people and celebrating Athena’s birthday!

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After teaching on Saturday, Danielle, Chuck and I headed north. I was dreading lots of traffic on the trip home, but once we got onto 95N, it was smooth sailing and we were home in the normal amount of time. As soon as we walked into the house, we were greeted with LOTS of canning. I got dad a pressure canner and he and my mom have been canning their fresh garden veggies like crazy!

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I think it’s so cool that they are canning all of the veggies they grew so that they can enjoy them throughout the winter months!

For dinner, we made pizza’s on the grill- the best way to enjoy pizza in the summer if you ask me 🙂 It’s hilarious when we all get together in the kitchen; everyone wants to be RIGHT next to each other and everyone wants to run the show. It’s quite the site! Mom filled us up with wine and then we headed out to the barn to cook up the pizzas!

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On a side note, check out the collection of empty wine boxes in the barn:

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Like, really? That is a LOT of really classy vino 😉

The pizza’s were SO GOOD! If you’ve never made pizza on the grill, I suggest doing it.

On Sunday, I went for a nice 3 mile run and then helped dad pull potatoes. Pulling potatoes is no joke. I was actually sore from it on Monday!

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We headed out on Sara and Tim’s boat in the afternoon. I love snuggles with Zeke, but if he could stop growing I wouldn’t be mad. It’s crazy to see how much he has grown already!

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I also enjoyed a few Bud Light Limes (aka, BLL’s). I’m not a big Bud Light person, but there’s something about drinking BLL’s that screams summer!

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After the lake, we headed to the Mahoney’s pool for a BBQ. All I wanted all weekend was a REAL cheeseburger. Luckily, Colleen was manning the grill and cooked me up the best one! I didn’t take any pictures while were there, but the food was phenomenal (per usual). Mom’s peach-raspberry pie stole the show, though. Mom isn’t a big baker, but she nailed this pie recipe. It took serious self-restraint to not eat way more than 1 small piece.

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Would you guys be interested in me getting the recipe and sharing it? Aka, do I have an excuse to make this?? 😉

After the Mahoney’s, Danielle and I headed to my friend, Jason’s new house in Wells. We were seriously on the go on Sunday! We hung out with him and his HUGE (seriously, Maverick is REALLY BIG!) dog for a few drinks before calling it a night.

Monday I woke to crazy rain and thunder and lightning. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a storm that bad! Even though it would have been a good morning to snuggle up in bed, I got up and got in a good workout before heading to meet my friend Caitlin for coffee (iced tea for me- still haven’t had coffee since June!). Mom rewarded my workout with homemade waffles! Totally worth getting up to workout when you’re served waffles when you finish 🙂

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It was so nice meeting up with Caitlin and her little snuggle bug, Tucker. It’s amazing to see how much these babies have grown in just 3 short months!

And, that about sums it up! As always, a weekend in Maine was just what I needed to feel refreshed and relaxed. Even though we were on the go a lot (I also saw my friend Meredith for a short visit on Saturday), I’m happy I got to see everyone!

Questions for you: Did you go away for the long weekend? Do you have a hard time trying to fit it in to visit all your old friends when you go back to your hometown? What’s your favorite weekend breakfast?

Wednesday Workout: Supersets, Tabata Cardio & Core

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Happy hump day!!

GEICO Hump Day Camel Commercial – Happier than a Camel on Wednesday from Steffen Bieser on Vimeo.

That GEICO video makes me laugh SO hard.

This workout won’t make you laugh, though 😉 I taught this last week in SHRED as I was in the mood to change things up. I’ve been doing a lot of stations workouts, timed workouts, 15 reps workouts, mini circuit workouts and as much as I love those, I was in the mood for something different. The workout is slightly inspired by BodyPump with regards to the rep pacing (2 count down and up, 3 count down 1 count up, etc.). It’s so easy to fly through reps or max out your reps in a timed interval, but when you change it up and move slowly and deliberately through the exercises, you’ll notice a big difference! I felt some serious burn during class!

Supersets, tabata cardio & core workout

If you have any questions, as always, feel free to contact me. The moves are fairly straight forward (nothing too fancy or unheard of), but I’m always willing to explain things if it’s confusing!

Let me know if you try this!

Questions for you: Are you a fan of supersets? Would you prefer timed intervals, a set number of reps, or changing up the pace of the reps?