How do you handle emergency situations?

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TGIF! How are you all doing today? Anything fun planned for the weekend? Heading out to watch the Derby anywhere? Whatever you do, I hope it’s wonderful 🙂

Switching gears a bit, I wanted to talk about a situation from class earlier this week. Wednesday night, I was faced with a fear I think all fitness instructors have: an emergency situation in class. I’ll preface this by saying that the girl ended up being fine, but it was one of the scariest situations I’ve experienced (or, at least in a situation where I’m “in charge”). Let me set the scene for you:

I wasn’t doing the workout with the class because I had plans after work and did my workout (4 mile run-thanks for the motivation Jen!), so I was walking around the whole time and really focused on all of the members in class. It was a small class for some reason- only 11 people- so this was especially easy to do.

I also took a different approach to my teaching style. If you’ve been to my class, you know that I can be a little, well, intense at times… I like to push you and make you want to push yourself. I want you to feel amazing after you do one more squat when you think you can’t do anymore. I want you to feel like your endurance is improving when I push you to finish out a cardio blast when all you want to do is stop. But, earlier in the day, I had read this blog post and was reminded that not everyone takes to that kind of teaching style/approach.

So… I changed it up. Throughout class, I tried to give motivating comments to people and was often reminding them that it’s their workout and that they know their bodies better than I do, so if they needed to take it down a notch or scale back a bit, it was ok to do so. They are the only ones that know their bodies, what they’ve been busy with, how they’ve been sleeping, what they may have had for fuel that day, so who am I to tell them to give me 1 more rep or 10 more seconds if they know that they don’t have it in them?

And, what did that get me? A girl who dropped to the ground 3 minutes before cool down because she couldn’t breathe. Of all days and of all classes! I have to admit- my first reaction was panic. Everything I had learned from my recent CPR class or from the various certification sessions was no where to be found. Luckily, that only lasted for a second before I told someone to get help and I assessed the situation:

  • She was breathing, although she said she couldn’t breathe.
  • She was shaking, but likely not because of a seizure (like I originally thought) and moreso because she went into panic mode thinking she couldn’t breathe.
  • She was still conscious, we just needed to get her to calm down, realize she could breathe and try to get her heart rate down.
  • Her heart rate was going down as we tried to calm her down.

The above steps happened rather quickly, thankfully, and she was back to normal breathing within a few minutes. But let me tell you… those few minutes were the longest few minutes ever.

The whole situation made me think… what if this happens again? Was it my fault? Did I push them too hard? What could I have done to handle the situation better? What if something more serious happens- will I know what to do? I’m sure I’ll be faced with another “emergency” situation again, and I’m sure I’ll figure out to do, but the whole thing was just so SCARY!!

How do you guys handle emergency situations? Do you freak out or stay calm? Has this ever happened to any of my fellow instructor friends? What about those of you who go to classes? Have you experienced this outside of the gym? Did you have to help? Are you trained to help? How do you stay calm in scary situations?

Chicken Taco Salad

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Since my sister’s bathroom was being renovated last week, she ended up staying with me all week. As much as I love living alone, it was really nice to have her with me for the week. I wouldn’t want a friend staying with me for the week (sorry, no offense!), but there’s something different about a sister staying with you… especially when you’ve lived together for a number of years.

As a thank you, she went shopping and got ingredients to make us taco salads. I ended up cooking since I was home from work a lot earlier than she was, but I appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to go out and buy the food!

We used ground chicken, sautéed veggies and I even made my own taco seasoning! I was talking to a coworker and she said she makes her own since the ingredients in those packets are less than stellar. And, you know what?! It was so easy and so good… and I liked that I knew exactly what I was putting into the seasoning. I adapted a recipe from Iowa Girl Eats and can now never go back to store bought seasoning packets.

To help cut back on calories and carbs, we decided to serve the meat and veggies atop spinach (with a little quinoa/rice mixture). But, let’s be honest, I only did this so I could justify having extra chips on the side 😉 Regardless, the “mix” that I came up with would be good atop a salad, in a wrap or even on it’s own. It was a quick and easy weeknight meal.

chicken taco salad

Ingredients

  • 1lb. ground chicken
  • 1-2 cups of cooked quinoa or rice (we used a bag of the Uncle Ben’s 90 second rice things)
  • 1/2-1 cups green pepper and red pepper, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 cup corn (I used frozen)
  • 1 cup black beans (rinsed)
  • Romaine lettuce/spinach
  • 2 tbsp EVOO
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • salt, pepper, other herbs/seasonings of your choice (and wine- I always sautee veggies in wine)

Seasoning Ingredients (from Iowa Girl Eats)

  • 2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika– I didn’t have this so I skipped it
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder– I didn’t have this so I skipped it
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Cut up your peppers and onion. Heat a pan with 1-2 tbsp EVOO and add in the pepper and onion and minced garlic. Add in herbs/seasoning/wine as desired. Additionally, cook the quinoa or rice according to the package.

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2. While the veggies are cooking, prepare the seasoning and set aside. Once the veggies are done, remove from the pan and brown the chicken. Once the chicken is almost fully browned, add in the seasoning mixture. Mix well and then add in the cooked peppers and onions, as well as the rinsed black beans and corn. Sautee until everything is warm.

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3. Put a serving of quinoa or rice atop a bed of spinach and then place the taco mixture on top of that. You can also serve it in a wrap or taco if you wish. I topped mine with a little cheese because, well, cheese makes everything better 😉

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We were so happy with the results of this quick and easy weeknight meal! It was so flavorful and healthy- a win, win (side note: I originally typed in “wine” instead of win… is that a problem?) in my book.

We both enjoyed leftovers throughout the week- she made a wrap for dinner and I ended up having another salad exactly like this!

Questions for you: Do you like to eat taco salads, wraps or plain ol’ tacos? Have you ever made your own taco seasoning?

 

 

 

Wednesday Workout: Steady-State Cardio

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Hi there! I don’t have a workout for you today… I just wasn’t feeling it this week. It’s not that I haven’t been doing and teaching share-worthy workouts, it’s just that I’m a little bored with sharing them. I feel like they are usually fairly similar and although I am not going to stop doing my Wednesday Workout posts all together, I just feel like I needed a little break from the endless Pic Monkey graphics and posts. Mmmmkay?

With that said, I wanted to talk about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.

Steady-State Cardio.

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A few weeks ago, a member came to my class for the first time. When I ask if anyone is new, I always go over and introduce myself and do a quick check of their physical status/ability: do you go to group ex. classes? What’s your usual workout consist of? How many days/week do you strength train? I do this so I can help them with what weights they should grab, as well as mentally know whether or not I’ll need to offer any modifications other than what I normally offer. I also tell them not to get intimidated by the moves or me yelling- I want them to be motivated and to push themselves, but I don’t want them to feel scared or like they can’t do my workouts. No such thing in my mind- there are always modifications that can be offered to bring a workout to your level.

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This particular member did great throughout the class and after, when I asked her how she did and what she thought of the class, she gave me the following response:

“That class is no joke! I can’t believe how hard I worked. I’ve been coming to the gym and just doing the elliptical and walking on the treadmill for a few weeks now and haven’t worked as hard as I just did. I feel cheated!!”

Her words really stuck with me and got me thinking about all the others who are still doing what she was doing, day in and day out… pedaling along on whatever cardio machine they choose, without really pushing themselves out of their comfort zone or even into an area that leaves you feeling like “wow. that was a really great workout! I feel beat!”. If you’re taking time out of your day to workout, don’t you want to reap the benefits of it and maximize your time there? Don’t you want to notice how you’re getting stronger and/or faster or even that you can finish a cardio set without taking breaks? Don’t you want to feel like it’s worth your time?

I’m not saying you can’t get there with steady-state cardio- there are plenty of times where steady-state cardio is EXACTLY what I need- I just think you need to incorporate other workouts into your routine in addition to stead-state cardio. If you keep doing the same thing, you can keep expecting the same results. I know, I know… sometimes you just want to go to the gym and veg. out on a machine. Or you don’t really want to sweat a lot because you have such and such plans after your workout. I get it- I’ve been there more than just a handful of times and it’s totally fine! What I’m suggesting, though, is if you’re finding yourself bored with your workouts or you feel like you’ve plateaued or the gym just isn’t worth your time, TRY SOMETHING NEW! Try a new class or a new running route or a new program on the elliptical. It doesn’t have to be a big change for your body to react to it; something small is a great place to start. And, you know what? You’ll probably love how you feel after that change and want to keep trying new things… trust me, this happens to me all the time!

So, the point of this post is to get you to do a self-check of your workouts: What’s your current workout regime consist of? When’s the last time you changed things up? What’s something you want to try? What’s a fitness goal you want to achieve? I want to hear from you, so let me know what you’re thinking! And then, I CHALLENGE YOU to try something new. I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone.

Also, if you’re looking for a great article related to this topic to read, I stumbled upon this on Facebook after I drafted this post: 6 Reasons You’re Not Seeing Results from Your Workouts.

My 40 days of meditation {in review}

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As you may remember, for Lent this year I decided to focus on ADDING something, rather than taking something away. I just felt like there was more meaning behind adding something beneficial to my life than there was restricting myself from sweets, chips, peanut butter, etc.

Since there were so many of you who commented and said you were interested in trying it with me, I wanted to check in and give you my thoughts now that the 40 days are over.

The verdict? Overall, I really liked it! But,was I good at it? Not really. Was it easy? Definitely not. Did I do it every day? Nope-I have to admit that I missed days here and there and didn’t always want to take time to sit and do it, but that’s ok. I didn’t want it to become another task; I wanted to WANT to do it because I felt the benefits. Therefore, if I wasn’t feeling it, I didn’t do it.

And that is OK. I’m proud of myself for realizing that!

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I have to say, though, “meditating” for just 10 minutes a day for a month + (give or take a few days… well, actually just take a few days) was much harder than I anticipated. There were some nights where I just couldn’t shut my mind off! It was so frustrating, but rather than getting upset over it, I just let my thoughts come in and tried to let them go right back out (I have to thank my date here- he’s actually the one who turned me onto meditating and when I voiced my frustrations to him about my racing mind, he told me to acknowledge them, let them come in and then let them out. It helped). This wasn’t always successful, but I tried! Some nights I used the 10 minutes to just think, because clearly I had a lot of thoughts that were racing through my mind. Yet other nights I was able to sit there, peacefully, and just breathe innnn and outtttt with big belly breaths.

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Will I continue this now that Lent is over? I’d like to say I will do it a few times a week, but if I’m being totally honest, I don’t know if I actually will. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it was another added thing to my day. Granted, I should put down my computer/iPad/phone earlier or shut off my TV earlier or get up 10 minutes earlier to get in the 10 minutes of quiet, still, ME time. But sometimes we aren’t always as good at doing things we know we should do, right? Sometimes it’s easier to talk about the things we could/should/would do rather than actually taking the time to DO them. In the end, doing more and talking less is something I could really benefit from… anyone else?

I hope all of you were successful with Lent this year- I want to know how it went! Were you able to last all 40 days? Did you cheat at all? Have you decided to adopt the change you made for longer than the Lenton period? Any advice to help me do more and talk less?

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap & Things I’m Looking Forward To (including trying a new class & a free weekend!)

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Phew! Another weekend has come and gone. April is flying by so quickly it’s like Mother Nature cannot keep up… at least that’s what I’m pinning as the cause for this crap cold weather! I’m just over it. That’s all.

I headed up to Maine on Friday afternoon since I was modeling in a fashion show for my mom’s friend on Saturday afternoon. I got to wear 3 amazing outfits from PJ’s Unique Peek… my mom said she’d buy me a few pieces of what I modeled- can’t wait to get them!

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After the show, I headed back to Boston to hang with the guy. I made us gluten free pizza (and half dairy free), enjoyed some wine and watched 2 movies (who am I ?!?!)- Revolutionary Road and The Heat. Both were really awesome movies. Sunday, we got up and had a great breakfast (thanks to farm fresh eggs and bread from my dad!) and then went to his nephew’s baptism. It was a really great day- it’s nice to be surrounded by such a fun, loving and welcoming family!

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Although I took 2 rest days last week (which never happens), for the days that I did work out, I had really great workouts. Another weird thing from last week was the fact that I worked out in the morning 4 of the 7 days AND logged almost 10 miles of running (all you “runners” out there may not think that’s anything spectacular, but for me it’s a solid amount of running in a week!). I only taught 2 classes, and although I missed my members, it was a nice break to have a week for ME and MY workouts. I’m back at it this week with 5 classes on the agenda, but it’s all good- I’m rested and ready for them!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine, so I did a workout there before setting up shop to work from my parent’s kitchen for the day. I did a cardio workout I got from the Shape magazine in my Easter basket, and then sandwiched compound strength moves and core exercises between cardio sets. It was great!
  • Tuesday- I got up and ended up running 4 miles before work!!! I went out thinking I’d run 3, but felt good so kept going. Around the 2 mile mark I stopped and did some core exercises at the park in East Boston. It was a solid Tuesday morning workout 🙂
  • Wednesday- I had after work dinner plans, so I worked out before work. I ran 2.25 miles and then did some upper body strength and core circuits: 10 reps each, 4 rounds of decline push-ups on the BOSU, Triceps kickbacks, bicep curls and shoulder presses and then stability ball passes, stability ball crunches, stability ball supine extensions and stability ball tucks. Another great workout. Big thanks to Kate for subbing my class for me!
  • Thursday- I was FINALLY back in the gym to teach! I taught a SHRED class similar to the workout I did at home on Monday morning and then a kickboxing class with lots of burpees… muahhaha 😉
  • Friday- Rest. I did some push-ups and planks throughout the day, but nothing major.
  • Saturday- I was modeling in a fashion show up in Maine, so I went for a 3.35 mile run when I woke up (and beat the rain!) and then did some upper body/compound moves/core exercises before calling it quits. My triceps and hamstrings were sore on Sunday!
  • Sunday- Another rest day. I went to a baptism and took advantage of a lazy morning before I went there. It was great!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m teaching my 6am muscle class today and then hopefully running a few miles on the treadmill after.
  • Tuesday- I was invited to try out a class at The Handle Bar indoor cycling studio and decided to cash in that class on Tuesday. I was allowed to bring a friend, so my friend Lisa will be joining me. So excited!
  • Wednesday- Back to my usual Wednesday night workout- probably some running before I teach UXF Burn. I missed them last week!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing.
  • Friday- Rest!
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA. Hope my front row is there 🙂
  • Sunday- Not sure… I’d love to get to a yoga class. I need some of that in my life!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m excited about a lot of things this week, but the thing I’m most looking forward to is a weekend, in Boston, with no plans besides teaching. I may treat myself to a massage, but otherwise, I plan on doing some relaxing, catching up on blogging, cleaning my apartment and hopefully having a date day/night. I’m also looking forward to having my workout done on Monday morning so that I can grocery shop and cook on Monday night- I got really used to the feeling of not having to workout after work last week and I see myself doing that a lot during the summer. The day is so much better when I know I can go home after work or run errands or get drinks/dinner. Lastly, I can’t wait to try Handle Bar studio with my friend Lisa… I foresee drinks and dinner after the class 😉

Questions for you: How many rest days did you take last week? Have you been running a lot? What was the best workout you had last week? Have you ever been to Handle Bar?