Category: Workout

Weekly Workouts- {Hopefully} Back At It

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Hey everyone! How was your long weekend? Was it just me, or did it feel like the 4th of July festivities went on and on and on? Not that I am complaining, it was just a long string of celebrations! It felt great to have some time off to be home with friends and family- just what the doctor ordered (literally).

Although I was sick at the beginning of the week, and therefore couldn’t work out, by the middle to end of the week I was feeling good enough to bring in some light workouts to my schedule. It felt great. It’s amazing how much I need workouts for the mental aspect in addition to the physical aspect. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of sweating and leaving the gym physically exhausted, but I really love the feeling of a clear mind after my workout and feeling great because of all the endorphins flowing through me. Who else feels this way?

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Nothing. I had to cancel my visit to The Studio Empower because I had a sinus infection and was severely dehydrated. What a bummer!
  • Tuesday- I went for a 2 mile light walk after work. Tuesday was one of those days were I NEEDED exercise mentally more than anything.
  • Wednesday- I went for a 2 mile light jog in the morning and then went to Jackie’s Ballet Barre class with my mom at 5pm.

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  • Thursday- I got up and did my 4th of July Workout before my 2nd workout, which consisted of candy sprints at the parade.
  • Friday- I got up and did Athena’s Red, White and Blue workout. It felt great to get some lifting back into my schedule (since mom only has 5lb. weights, I doubled them up for the upper body exercises and did unilateral lifting).
  • Saturday- I tried to get a last minute sub for my kickboxing class in Brighton since I had decided to stay in Maine for the weekend, but I couldn’t get one so I made the trek to Brighton, taught and then drove back to Maine. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and there were 25 people in class so that made it worth it!

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  • Sunday- Nothing. I thought about working out but decided that since I had a hectic weekend (lots of driving and sunning and BBQing), it was probably a better idea to rest, especially since I had 4 days in a row of good workouts. I shopped around Kittery a little bit because I wanted to get a new suit since I am doing a lot of work travel this month (Stowe, VT, Toronto, Canada and Atlanta, Georgia).

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Jess and I are filming July’s “Mommy’s Moves” workout during my lunch break and then I am finally going to get to The Studio Empower for the class they invited me to take. Can’t wait!
  • Tuesday- I am going to try and get up and run or do something else since I have plans with someone to get drinks after work.
  • Wednesday- I think I will finally be able to get in my own cardio session before teaching UXF Burn- it’s been a while!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing at the Central Square BSC- missed my classes last week because of the holiday so I’m pumped to be back!
  • Friday- Attention Allston BSCers: I am subbing my old class this Friday!! 5:30pm at the Allston BSC- please come so it can be like the good ol’ days!
  • Saturday- I don’t have to teach, so I am going to go to BodyPump in the morning- I really like taking a day to focus on weight training!
  • Sunday- Probably a rest day or active rest day.

Feels great to look at a full schedule again!

Questions for you: Were you able to get in any workouts during the 4th of July? Is it hard for you to keep your schedule when you’re traveling or going home or away for the weekend? Do you like BodyPump classes? Ever been to The Studio Empower?

Something Weird is Going On… And, I’m Sick- Again!

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Hey B2B readers- Happy Friday! It would be a happier Friday for me if I wasn’t so sick 😦 On Monday, I started to get that “oh boy, I may be getting sick” feeling and sure enough, I was awake most of Monday night with post nasal drip and an itchy throat. From there, it turned to just a sore throat, to a sore throat with sinus pressure and now I have it all, including a cough that kept me up for 3 hours in the middle of the night last night! Needless to say, it’s not fun, especially since I was supposed to go to a going away party for one of my favorite Dynamax members at a fun bar in Southie that I’ve wanted to go to for ages! And, what was going to make the night even more fun was the fact that I DON’T have to teach tomorrow morning!! This is the first weekend in a while that I have totally off- no teaching, no traveling, nothing. It’s a great feeling, I just wish I felt better! I think my body just decided that since I have a relatively open weekend, it was a good time to get sick- makes sense, right? Who knows!

Anyway! This week has been much less busy than last week! I called my mom when I left work on Monday and said I wasn’t sure if I felt like going to the gym, but it turns out, I must have wanted to go because I went and had an awesome workout! Only 10 minutes of rowing cardio throughout the whole thing- the rest was all weight training-focused and I loved it! Tuesday I subbed for Athena’s class at the Oak Square YMCA; I was finally able to make it for a “two-a-day”, but I think that’s what got me more sick:( Wednesday I taught, but didn’t do much of the workout and yesterday I taught and only instructed in SHRED and taught the low-impact version of kickboxing.

After kickboxing, my friend Meaghan and I met for sushi at Yoki in Cambridge since it’s only a block from my gym. I thought about cancelling because I had no voice, but we were so long overdue for a sushi date that I decided to keep the plans. So glad I did! It’s always so nice to catch up with Meg, especially since she had so many fun wedding updates to share! Thanks for a fun night, Meg!

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Something Weird is Going On…

So, as I said in my title- something really weird has been going on: I haven’t had dessert in over a week! I know, if you’re anyone who knows me and knows how much I LOVE sweets, you know that me going even a day with no dessert is unheard of! Now, I’m not saying I have a huge ice cream sundae every day, but I’ll have a few bites of a cookie after lunch and dinner and always a couple bites of ice cream at night.

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Last week I had a weird stomach thing going on all week, so the thought of sweets created a huge aversion for me. This week, even though I don’t have stomach issues anymore, I still haven’t craved sweets and therefore, haven’t eaten them. And, you know what? I have survived!!! It’s so interesting because I always said that I could never give up sweets- like ever! But, it turns out, I never really NEEDED those sweets after every meal. I think it had turned into a habit, thus making me think I wasn’t satisfied until I had a bite of something sweet to finish off my meal.

With this being said, I am by no means “swearing off sweets”, I am just going to be more mindful of eating them. I think I’ve made it clear that I am not one for diets or restrictions or anything like that; I firmly believe in the saying “everything in moderation” when it comes to food. But, with that said, I never needed as many as I ate, so it actually feels good to not crave them all the time. I am a little nervous, though, because what if as soon as I have a bite of something sweet, I revert back to my crazy sweet-tooth ways?! Has anyone else ever gone through anything like this? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Questions for you: Have you heard of a lot of people getting sick this time of year? Have you ever given up food that has been hard for you to give up? Do you have a big sweet tooth?

Wednesday Workout: Compound Exercise Supersets, Core, Tabata Cardio

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Hey everyone! I was totally sore after the workout that I taught in SHRED last Thursday, so I figured it would be a good one to share with you this week! What I liked about this workout was the fact that we did more than 10-12 or 15 reps per exercise, AND the fact that they WERE reps and not 60 second intervals. I think people tend to keep better form when we do reps together vs. timed intervals where people go at their own pace (people either rush through the exercises to get a high number of reps OR they don’t push themselves and take breaks).

Compound exercises supersets, core, tabata cardio

In class, we lifted to the 32-count beat and I played around with the speed, but for the purposes of making this easier for you guys to take to the gym with you, I have you doing 20 reps.

Most of these compound moves are ones you have seen on here many times, but if you have questions, please let me know! This workout took about 35-40 minutes to complete, so it was perfect for class once I added my warm up and cool down. If you’re running short on time, you can always choose just a couple of sets to do instead of doing all four. Or, you could pick one set and repeat it two or three times- lots of ways to play around with this workout, so give it a shot!

It’s Been A Busy Week!

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Hey there! Happy Saturday! So, I have a secret to tell you: I wrote all of my posts this week on Sunday. Since I knew I was going to have a super busy week with really no blog time, I spent a few hours on Sunday getting all of the posts set for the week. SUCH a great idea! But, since I didn’t share anything from the week, I figured I’d fill you in now!

On Monday, Jess and I were supposed to get together after work to film “Mommy’s Moves,” but the weather made a big turn for the worse and we were rained out. I had plans with Jess and some other friends to visit Lauren on her shift at Ironside Grill to watch the Bruins, but that wasn’t until 8pm, meaning I had some time to kill after work. I had gotten up and ran a 5K before work, so I figured since I had my gym stuff, I’d head up to the gym at my work and do strength and abs to complete my workout for the day (also, it was pouring rain and thundering and lightening so I needed to wait that out). As I was finishing my workout, Sheila texted and invited me over for dinner prior to the bar- perfect! I showed up and she had an awesome meal all ready to grill!

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YUM! Thanks for a delicious and healthy dinner, Sheil! And, on top of a great meal, there was a double rainbow as we were heading to the bar!

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I seriously love rainbows. They totally amaze me! Anyone else see it on Monday?

I wasn’t able to stay out very late because I knew I had to get up at 5am on Tuesday to head to NYC. I had to go for the day for a client meeting, which is fine, but it makes for a long day! Especially when your 5pm flight gets cancelled and delayed and you don’t leave until after 9pm. Yuck. Needless to say, I worked from home on Wednesday. I went for another run before I started working and boy was it hot! Nothing like sweaty legs, right?

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I’m still amazed every time that happens. It’s so weird! Anyway! I finished up work around 5:30 and walked the 2 miles to get the T at Davis Square since I was meeting work people out in the city when I finished teaching. Tim was up from Florida and Chris was up from Texas, so I promised them that I’d join them for drinks and dinner. We had a blast and I stayed out later than I do on the weekend… I’m getting wild and crazy I tell ya! 😉

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We had dinner and drinks at Remy’s and then went to the Cigar/Hooka bar later on. I hate the smell of smoke so it was a little gross at first and my eyes were burning, but I got over that quickly.

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(Mom- the boys wanted to take that for you since the glass of wine was SO big. They said it was Momma Gags approved!)

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Fun night- thanks guys!

On Thursday, I left work and taught my double and then went BACK into the city to meet up with the whole team for dinner at Smith and Wollensky. Even though I was exhausted, it was nice to have a big group dinner! I had Chris order me salmon, which was just OK. It was too salty!

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Tim wanted me to share a picture of his meal. I can only imagine how awful that rich, creamy sauce was for you, but I love sauces and had to at least try a bite!

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THAT was a yummy meal. After dinner, it was my job to show them a good time again, but the bars we went to were not that busy! Very strange for a Thursday night. As always, it’s so fun when we all get together!

Friday was another exciting day… I signed the lease papers for my new apartment starting on August 1st!

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I am moving to East Boston and I am really excited! The apartment isn’t perfect by any means, but the kitchen and bathroom are recently renovated which is huge for me. Also, the area is really nice! There is a path along the water for walking and running just 5 minutes from the apartment building. I can’t wait to explore!

To celebrate, I made pizza! My stomach has been wacky since Sunday and my appetite has been off, but pizza sounded good so I went for it!

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That’s not even an Instagram photo! So, so good. In fact, it smelled so good that Charlie woke up from napping in his new spot to see what was going on

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Now THAT is a cat after my own heart! Gotta love the Lulu 😉

Today is another busy day. I am teaching Kickboxing at 10, I have a hair appointment at 12:30, I need to get a pedicure and something for Christy’s bachelorette party in NH that night. We are doing dinner in Kittery and then going out in Portsmouth- I can’t wait!!

Questions for you: Did you have a busy week or relaxing week? Where is your favorite bar to watch sports games? Ever been to a hooka bar? Know of any good restaurants in East Boston?

Have a wonderful Saturday!!!

Wednesday Workout: My Favorite “At Home” Workouts

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Hi! As the nicer weather and summer season approaches, so doesn’t a busier schedule, right? I doubt I am the only one who feels like I am always on the road in the summer months, so I figured that it would be a good idea to post some of my favorite “at home” workouts or hotel room workouts so they could be easily accessible if you’re looking for something quick and effective to do in the comforts of your own home, hotel room, or anywhere else that’s not a gym. Most of these are “equipment free,” but if you have weights, feel free to incorporate them for a more intense workout.

Got 20 Minutes?
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V-Sits and Leg Lifts and Planks, Oh My!”
V Sits and leg lifts and Planks, oh my!

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Weekly Workouts and a WFH Workout
WFH workout

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Easter Recap
Easter Workout

Jump Rope & Strength Circuit Workout
Jump Rope and Strength Circuit

mom's workout

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Wednesday Workout: Discussion time! Compound vs. Isolation Exercises?
run + strength training

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NYC in a Flash
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My key for making an at-home workout effective is to do timed intervals, mixing in Plyo HIIT cardio and body weight exercises (squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, triceps dips, etc.). If you pick 10, do them for 60 seconds each and then repeat 3 times, you’ve got yourself a nice 30 minute workout! Or, if I am looking for just a core workout and some cardio, I will do alternating intervals- 60 seconds core, 60 seconds cardio. They don’t have to be fancy, they just need to incorporate moves to get your heart rate up!

Did I miss any? What is your favorite workout to do at home if you’re short on time?