Weekly Workouts: A lighter/less intense week of workouts

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Happy Monday, friends. I feel like I was ripped off this past weekend since I lost half of my Sunday due to work travel. I’m currently in Ohio until late on Tuesday night. In all honesty, though, I’d rather lose half a Sunday instead of missing classes this week. I hated missing my classes last week… I haven’t taught since October 12th!!!

Since I was home in Maine for a workout as well as North Carolina for one and didn’t teach my Thursday double, I felt like my workouts weren’t as intense as they generally are. But, you know what? That’s ok! It’s good for you to give your body a rest from intense workout, after intense workout, after intense workout… and even though I know this, I am the first to admit that I don’t always do that. It’s almost nice when I have a schedule that forces me to slow down and not be able to follow my usual workout schedule.

With that said, let’s talk about the workouts!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine and I did Athena’s 10-12-15 Workout, which was a great way to start the day! I finally got some weights, so I was excited to use them! I did combos of high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks and jump squats for the 2 minute cardio bursts. I did each circuit 3 times through!
  • Tuesday- I had a 2:30 flight, meaning I worked from home in the morning. Before I started work, I went for a 3.5 mile run and then did some abs and my Fall Into Fitness moves for Tuesday and Wednesday since I wasn’t sure I’d have access to weights at the hotel on Wednesday.

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  • Wednesday- I did a 30 minute hotel room, no weights workout before heading to our client site. It consisted of 5 minutes of cardio, 5 minutes of core and 5 minutes of strength and I repeated that 2 times. I’ll post it for you later… promise! šŸ™‚

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  • Thursday- My work trip got cut short, so I could have taught my double on Thursday, but since I had already gotten a sub for both classes and had planned on going to my favorite instructor’s kickboxing class in Wellington, I decided to keep the subs and go with my original plan. During the day, I did some strength training since I usually do on Thursdays and then I went to kickboxing. It was… good… but not as good as I remembered and I left the gym really wishing I would’ve just taught my double instead šŸ˜¦ I did get some new combo ideas, which was the point of me going, I just didn’t get the intense workout I was hoping for. Oh well!
  • Friday- I usually rest on Friday’s, but since my workouts hadn’t been overly intense and I felt physically ready to do something, I went for a 3 mile jog. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I ran fast for some odd reason.
  • Saturday- I went to the gym with the intention of going to BodyPump, but the class was absolutely packed and there were not enough bars and plates for everyone so, as an instructor, I felt like I should give up my equipment since I could do my own strength workout much more easily than someone who needs a class in order to work out. I did a full body strength workout and finished with my favorite: TRX abs! I also talked to a personal trainer about potentially doing some training sessions. We get a discount as an instructor and I feel like in order to take my lifting to the next level, I need someone instructing and pushing me to ensure I’m safe and lifting to my potential.

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New Lulu is always a sure motivator to get to the gym, right?! Or, any new workout clothes for that matter.

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  • Sunday- I wanted to go for a jog or walk because it was beautiful, but I slept until 9am (!!!!) and had to leave at 2 for the airport and had a million other things to do that took precedence over a workout. That’s ok, though. A rest day was probably a good idea! (I did do my seated rows for the Fall Into Fitness challenge!)

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Pending on what the hotel gym looks like and/or what time we need to be at the client site, I may go to the gym, or I may do kickboxing in my room or something else in my room.
  • Tuesday- Same thing as Monday šŸ™‚
  • Wednesday- Cardio and then TEACHING!!! I’ve missed it so much, so members, just a heads up: I might be crazier than usual šŸ˜‰
  • Thursday- Finally back to my Thursday double! I have a new format I want to teach in SHRED and then I’ll bring in some new combos to kickboxing, too.
  • Friday- I am not sure! If I feel like I need rest, I will, otherwise I’ll try to squeeze something in.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA.
  • Sunday- rest? maybe? again, it will depend on how I feel.

Questions for you: Do you feel like you have a hard time finding or making time for a workout? Do you have home gym equipment?

Ultimate Boot Camp: Trick or Treat Workout

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Hey there! My friends over at Ultimate Boot Camp contacted me to let me know about a really fun Trick or Treat workout they are hosting on Saturday, October 26th. I am teaching my kickboxing class that day, otherwise I would TOTALLY be there. I mean, look at these costumes!

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I’m pretty sure I just found my costume for Halloween: Burpee Babe. I cannot tell you how much I’m in love with that!

The workout is a super-sized 75 minute boot camp, and if it’s anything like the one I went to a few weeks ago with Athena, you’re going to be in for a real treat- literally, they are giving out treats to winners of various challenges throughout the workout. If that’s not enticing, I don’t know what is! I work out for bubbly and treats. Simple as that.

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Not only do you have a chance to win prizes for winning challenges, you can also win prizes for having an awesome costume. I hope the Burpee Babe won.

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Here’s some additional information they sent me and a link to sign up if you’re interested!Ā 

UltimateĀ Bootcamp Trick or Treat Workout

Ā Date: Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā  Saturday, 10/26 at 9 a.m.

Location:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā  Arsenal Park, Watertown, MA

Info:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā  http://ultimatebootcamp.com/#halloween

Cost:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā  $25.00; advance registration required.

Ā Description:Ā Ā Ā  Join Ultimate Bootcampā€™s ā€œTrick or Treatā€ workout and burn calories while winning some great prizes. Join us for one of Ultimate Bootcampā€™s dynamic, fat-torching workouts with ā€œtrick or treatsā€ thrown in! Our trainers will be running fitness challenge ā€œtricksā€ throughout the one-hour workout and will be providing great ā€œtreatsā€ like gift cards, swag, and more to the winners.

Think you can work out in costume? Wear your best workout-friendly get-up or Halloween-themed workout gear! Weā€™ll be awarding a prize for the best outfit!

Questions for you: What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever had? What’s your favorite candy?

One year I was a “Walk of Shame” that was my favorite costume. My favorite candy would be Starbursts or Skittles.

What’s In My Gym Bag

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I always like to know more about bloggers, so when they post “day in the life” and “what’s in my bag” posts, I have a blast seeing a little more into their lives outside of blogging (yes, that sounds a little creepy, doesn’t it? I swear, I’m not a creeper!). When Gina posted a “What’s in the [quart-sized] bag post last week, I thought it would be fun to share what’s in my bag… gym bag, that is.

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I was on a hunt for the “perfect” gym bag for a long time, and back in July, I finally found it over at Lululemon. This bag is perfect because it can hold a LOT of stuff, and even when it holds a lot of stuff, the straps don’t hurt your shoulder.

Let’s see what’s in it, shall we? There are 2 pocket on the outside, which is where I like to keep my deodorant and weight lifting gloves and headbands. These are things I like to have easily accessible.

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Workout Class Notes

Notes and workouts for the various classes I teach: UXF Burn SHRED and Kickboxing. I like to keep my workouts organized so I can see what I’ve taught recently so as to make sure I keep things interesting and don’t repeat moves/formats too often.

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Music

I use CD’s so that I can change the pitch according to what I’m teaching. ForĀ UXFĀ Burn and Shred I put the music on in the background at 138-142 BPMĀ (I buy my CD’s at a certain pitch so that everything flows well for kickboxing) and for Kickboxing I teach at 150 BPM.

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Batteries & Tune Belt

We are not provided with batteries for the mic at the BSC, so I always have extras (2 types because not all mics take the same type). The tune belt holds the mic pack which enables me to be able to jump around and not worry about the mic pack falling off or pulling my pants down (no one needs to see that).

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Random Items and Feminine Hygiene Products

I always keep a pen in my bag so that I can make amends to my workouts as necessary before class, or completely make up a workout before class if I’m running late and haven’t had a chance to do it beforehand. I also keep gum, tampons (TMI?), elastics, perfume and facial cleansing wipes. I can’t teach or workout without gum (I get super dry mouth when I workout without gum- anyone else?) and I like having facial cleansing wipes for those times I need to run errands after class and don’t have time to shower šŸ˜‰

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So, there you have it! I put an extra top in there, too, to change into after teaching so that I don’t freeze in my sweaty gear on the way home from the gym on the T. Having my gym bag organized ensures that I won’t forget things from day to day, especially when it’s a teaching day!

Questions for you:What’s in your gym bag? Is there a “must have” that you never leave home without?

I hope you all have a great weekend! I’ve got lots of fun things planned, including a sushi dinner tonight and a harvest party in NH tomorrow night. Leaving on Sunday for another work trip is not so fun, though šŸ˜¦

The Liebster Blog Award: Questions & Answers

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A few weeks ago, Renee, over at Fearless Food & Fitness nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award- how fun! This is the first time I’ve ever been “tagged” or nominated for one of these things and I have to say, I was pretty stoked about it!

Liebster

Here are the rules associated with this award:

The Rules:

  1. Each nominee must link back to the person that nominated them.
  2. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
  3. Nominate 10 other bloggers you like and who have less than 200 followers.
  4. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
  5. Let them know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Without further adieu, here are the questions from Renee, and my answers:

1. Whatā€™s youā€™re fave place in the entire world (up until this point) to travel to?

Home to Maine, but since that is such aĀ common occurrence, Rome! I studied abroad fall semester of my junior year of college in Bath, England and did a 10 day trip to Italy (Rome, Florence & Venice) and fell in love with Rome. I have been luckyĀ enough to haveĀ done a lot of traveling in my life, and out of all the countries and cities I’ve been to, Rome is my favorite.

2. Your favorite place to go out to eat? Or type of food.

French food is absolutely my favorite. I love sauces and interesting meats and French Onion Soup (haha).

3. Craziest thing youā€™ve ever done?!

Hmmm. Good question. I’m not a very crazy person, but I think running around a huge bond fire, buck naked, during senior week of college would probably be the craziest thing I’ve done. The looks the next day were hilarious.

4. Whatā€™s your current profession? Or current studies (if still in school!)

I’m an audit defense consultant by day, fitness instructor/blogger by night. Although my full time job pays the bills, being a full time fitness instructor and blogger is my dream!

5. Favorite song on the radio RIGHT THIS MOMENT.

Hmm… Good question. Anything country, but right now here are some of my more specific favorites: “Things Can Only Get Better”- Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones and “Lovehate Thing”- Wale… These make me want to work out!

6. If you could date/marry any celebrity in the world, who would it be?

Channing Tatum. Duh. Have you seen his body or his dance moves?!

7. What is a current goal or ambition that you have for yourself?

A big goal I’ve always had is to own my own gym or studio. Some day, I would love to be able to do that and blog. I would be so happy!

8. The one movie that you could watch over & over again and not get sick of.

I don’t watch many movies, but it used to be Grease when I was a kid… at this point, maybe PS I love you? I think it is the sweetest love story.

9. Whatā€™s your one guilty pleasure? The more embarrassing, the better!

Hmmm. I am so boring when it comes to this stuff! It used to be drinking Diet Coke while grocery shopping (I know, I really live on the edge), but these days it would probably be…. baking just so that I can eat raw cookie or brownie dough. Again, really living on the edge!

And, here are the bloggers I’m nominating: What Meredith Makes, The Truth About Vinyl and Bikini Tops, Fitness and Feta, Nutcase In Point, On An Inhale, Iowa Girl Eats, Nutrionella, Fannestastic Food, and Petite Athleat.

Your questions are:

  1. If you could pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
  2. Salty or Sweet (you take that however you want to)?
  3. What is your go-to drink you order when you go to a bar?
  4. If you could live one other place than where you live right now, where would it be?
  5. What is a weird thing you do when you’re alone? (remember this post? That’s what I’m talking about!)
  6. What’s the one thing you cannot live without?
  7. Would you rather: make no money but work a job you absolutely love OR work a job you hate, but make $300K a year?
  8. What is your favorite TV show?
  9. If you could do one thing over in your life, what would it be?
  10. What is your biggest accomplishment thus far? Or, the thing you are most proud of?

Have fun! I can’t wait to read your responses šŸ™‚

Questions for you: I’d love to hear your responses to some or all of the questions above… please share!

Wednesday Workout: My favorite fitness blogs

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I have a super fun “Wednesday Workout” post for you in the makes, but I ran out of time over the weekend, got home much later than planned on Monday and left for North Carolina on Tuesday, so, in other words,Ā I didn’t have a chance to finish it. Womp, womp.

Now that I have time to go to the gym on my own, I’ve noticed thatĀ tend to use workouts that fellow bloggers post, or take pieces of their workouts and make a bit of a mash-up workout to do. Since I find these blogs helpful for providing motivation to get to the gym (and workouts to do when you get to the gym), I thought I’d share them with you in case you’re in a workout “rut” and need inspiration.

Fitness and Feta
It should be no surprise that Athenaā€™s blog should be at the top for my favorite fitness blogs. Members always say how the two of us teach very similar classes, and since I have gone to a number of Athenaā€™s classes (back when I lived in Brighton, I went to her 6am Thursday class at the Y religiously) and have done a number of the workouts sheā€™s posted on Fitness and Feta (most recently, her 10-12-15 workout), I can agree that we do have a very similar teaching style! Her workouts are tough, full body and she always keeps the format changing, which helps me when itā€™s time for me to make my workouts since I tend to get into ā€œfitness rutsā€ and need reminders for ways to change up a workout. On top of this, Athena has created a number of online fitness ā€œchallengesā€ that helps bring her readers together and push us out of our comfort zone. If you havenā€™t tried one, I highly suggest it!

Nutcase In Point
Right behind Athena, is Jenā€™sĀ blog. Jen was also an Oak Square class groupie like I was; we were always in the same classes, always in the front, and usually sweating more than everyone else (sorry, Jenā€¦ I take pride in my sweat production! Haha). Anyway, she subbedĀ for some of Athenaā€™s classes and was always a sub that I didnā€™t mind, because she taught very similarly to Athena. Now that she lives in Canada, we donā€™t get to workout together (wish we did, though!!), but I do love reading her blog because she always throws in moves that are either completely new to me, or, are moves I havenā€™t done in forever and completely forgot about. Oh, and did I mention she bakes amazing looking treats and that she used to do a Winesday Wednesday series that I think she should bring backā€¦ hint, hint šŸ˜‰

Fitnessista
Fitnessista was one of the first healthy living blogs I started reading, and Iā€™ve been and avid follower ever since. Ginaā€™s posts range in topics from workouts to her job as a fitness instructor to cute stories about her little daughter and to delicious looking recipes, to name a few. One of my favorite post series are her ā€œFocus Onā€ posts where she picks a trending workout (her latest was Focus On: Buti Fitness which looks incrediblyā€¦ interesting, to say the least) and gives background about the workout in addition to pros and cons of it. If she isnā€™t familiar with a particular trending workout, she will have a reader or friend write a guest post on the topic. Another thing I enjoy about her blog is the fact that she reminds us all about the things we should all remember and follow, but rarely (in my case, at least) do, such as resting, changing up the intensity of the workouts, listening to your body, etc.

PB Fingers
Julieā€™s blog was another blog that I started reading a number of years ago (before she became a full time blogger) and have enjoyed thoroughly throughout those years. Recently, Julie became a fitness instructor and Iā€™ve enjoyed reading about the various classes she has started to teach, as well as all of the functional workouts that she posts. Julieā€™s workouts tend to be shorter and simpler in format, but sometimes seeing those workouts are just what I need to remember that every workout doesnā€™t have to have some crazy format or advanced moves to be effective; as long as youā€™re getting your heart rate up, working hard and sweating, that counts as a workout in my book!

Day With KT
Kim has been a reader and follower of Burpees to Bubbly for a while now (thank you, thank you, thank you!) and when I went over to her site, I realized sheā€™s as big of a fitness nut as I am! Sheā€™s also doing the Daily 44Ā this year in honor of her being 44. The ā€œDaily 44ā€ is something she created to stay healthy and active (which started with her Daily 43 after her 43rd birthday), so each day she picks an exercise and does 44 reps of it. The exercises and format of how she gets to 44 vary from day to day, but I had a blast reading through all of the different exercises she has chosen thus far and can absolutely see myself doing something like this for a milestone birthday (maybe my 30th, which is much closer than Iā€™d like to admit!).

I could go on and on, but these are my top 5 favorite fitness blogs where I get most of my inspiration for workouts.
Questions for you: Whatā€™s your favorite fitness blog? Any new ones that I should add to my list?