Weekly Workouts

4 Comments

Monday, we meet again! Too soon, might I add. How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good! I didn’t do anything too big or exciting, but it was nice to just be around the apartment and the city… good mix of relaxation and fun things!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Ugh, not what I had expected! I was supposed to sub BodyPump, but there was a mix up and a crazy lady ended up teaching it. I didn’t want to be a sore sport, so I stayed and took the class, which was actually good because it reminded me how great BodyPump is for a muscle workout! I ran 1 mile beforehand and did 20 minutes of the elliptical after, as well as stair runs and TRX abs. It was a good workout day!
  • Tuesday- I woke up and did 16 minutes of core and cardio before heading into work. I had my photo shoot with Dan after work, so I wanted to squeeze in a little something. I did 60 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 60 seconds of ab work (all sorts of different exercises) and I repeated that until 16 minutes.
  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles for National Running Day and then taught a fun UXF Burn class. We are supposed to teach by timed intervals, but I decided I wanted to switch it up so I taught by reps (12) and it was a fun change of pace!

003 018

  • Thursday- I was feeling pretty sore from my workouts on Monday and Wednesday, so I taught a stations workout in SHRED and was able to pick and choose what exercises I wanted to do. It was a really fun workout! Kickboxing was good, but the energy wasn’t there in the class. Hate that!
  • Friday- I did a Deck of Cards workout on my lunch break at home. These workouts seem easy, but they never fail to leave me a sweaty mess at the end!

IMG_3950

  • Saturday- I went to another BodyPump class! I didn’t do any cardio, but I still felt like my heart rate was up the whole workout.
  • Sunday- Since I didn’t do any cardio on Saturday, I went for a run. I bought new running sneaks and wanted to try them out! Plus the weather was perfect for a run. I ended up covering 5 miles, which was a nice surprise! I’m definitely not a distance runner, but sometimes I like to see how far I can run. I could’ve run longer, but decided to not push it!

IMG_3982

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I am not sure what I am going to do. I might go to the gym after work and do machine cardio and weights, but I might run? Who knows!
  • Tuesday- I am traveling to Atlanta for work and my flight leaves around noon. I might try to get up in the morning and do kickboxing or go for a run or do a Deck of Cards, or I might wait until I get to Atlanta for the workout. My flight leaves at 12:15 and I am traveling alone, so I have plenty of time after I finish up work for the day in the hotel to work out then. My manager said that in the same business complex there is the 8th largest gym in the world and you can get discounted passes from the hotel, so I definitely want to check that out!
  • Wednesday- Likely going to the gym before we are in meetings all day… I can’t wait to try it out and see how big it is! BSCers- I will not be there to teach UXF Burn- George Moore is subbing for me. He’s a hoot- have fun!
  • Thursday- SHRED and Kickboxing… I need to make up a new kickboxing routine!
  • Friday- REST 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA! Always love that class!
  • Sunday- I will be in Maine for Father’s Day and am not sure if I’ll work out or not. It will likely depend on how I’m feeling physically after the week’s workouts.

Questions for you: Did you try any new workouts last week? Do you like to workout when you travel? If so, do you go to the gym or do something in your room?

I Bought A Computer, Bruins game, Apartment Hunting & Day Drinking in the City

7 Comments

Hey everyone! How has your weekend been? Mine has been pretty good so far. I have to say, the feeling of knowing that I had NO plans that I absolutely had to do was really nice. Like, really nice. I spent yesterday afternoon having cocktails and hanging out with friends in the city and I kept feeling guilty for “hanging out” because there were so many other things I could be doing, but then I gave myself a little pep talk and told myself to relax and enjoy the moment. There was nothing urgent that I had to do; sneaker shopping, cleaning, grocery shopping… those were all things that could wait until later in the day or not at all! I’m just so used to always being on a tight schedule that it takes a bit for me to feel ok with having free time to spend however I want.

Anyway, let’s catch up. As I mentioned yesterday, I was on a mission to find a new computer. Well, I found one and I’m currently blogging from it! I ended up going with a Lenovo, thanks to my work IT department’s suggestion (and Jean, I got excited when you said you had one, too!) and I think I will be very happy with it. As much as I wanted a Mac, I needed to be financially smart about this purchase and try to find something within my budget. Some day I’ll get a Mac, but for now, I think this Lenovo is going to do juuuuust fine! It’s pretty fancy and unlike any computer I’ve ever used (the screen display and settings), but I think I’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

IMG_3974 IMG_3975

It’s a pretty fun new toy! After I bought this beauty, I decided to swing by Old Navy since I heard they had cute shorts and bathing suits. I mean, why not keep spending, right? I scored some pretty sweet deals, though! Shorts were on sale for $12.50 each (!!!!) and bathing suits for $10 each. I couldn’t believe it!

IMG_3964

Cute right?! I was happy with what I got and how little I spent! I was also amazed with myself for the fact that not only did I run errands in the pouring rain, but I also tagged along with my sister and her friends for a night in the city! The Bruins were playing game 4 and we thought it would be fun to go to a bar near the garden and watch it there. The lines were incredibly long everywhere, but we were able to get into North Star fairly quickly. I still can’t believe I went!

IMG_3960

Bruins for the win! It was fun being in the midst of all the crazy sports fans, because anyone who knows me knows that I am so far the opposite of that. This was the first game I actually watched all season!

Yesterday morning, I knew I wanted to work out, but wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted t do. I decided to go to the 10am BodyPump class with one of my favorite instructors. Normally, I do cardio before or after BodyPump, but yesterday I opted to just do the class. I went heavy on the weights and it felt great! (well, minus the bar on my back during squats… does anyone else get so uncomfortable during the squat track? Now that I am lifting heavier- 20lbs on each side- the bar really hurts my upper back!).

Post BP, I showered quickly and my sister, Kelly and I headed to East Boston to look at an apartment!!! So exciting that I am finally starting to look at places to rent come September. The whole thing is really stressful (it’s so expensive to live on your own in Boston), but I am excited for the change and to live alone. The apartment was awesome and I actually really liked the area of East Boston that it was in. The only problem was that the bathroom was TINY. Like seriously tiny, BUT the kitchen and back deck did make up for it. I am going to see another one in that building (a little cheaper) next week I think. If any of you have suggestions or know of any open apartments, let me know!

IMG_3965

(Wore my new shorts!)

We grabbed lunch at Jerry Remy’s in the Seaport. The weather had warmed up and we were able to get a table on the deck! Beautiful views!

IMG_3967

We had beers and shared sliders and nachos… calories don’t count on Saturdays 😉

IMG_3968

My friend Jessi met up with us so after we finished eating, we decided to find a new spot to have another drink. We tried to go to the Legal’s roof deck, but it was closed for a private function. Boooo. We ended up going to the Mexican restaurant next door and sat at the bar. They had all the windows wide open so it was almost like we were sitting outside. Such a fun Saturday afternoon!!

I dragged Danielle to the grocery store with me on our way home. Where do you guys usually shop? I like Market Basket because it’s SO cheap, but I’ve been going to Stop n Shop lately because it’s less crowded. We stopped in at the Star Market today and it was SO expensive compared to most grocery stores. Chobani’s were on sale for 88 cents which was the only good thing about that trip. Whomp whomp.

My friend Meredith just posted this fun recipe for chicken tenders so I decided to make some for dinner last night! I didn’t follow her recipe, but it helped me remember that I love making chicken tenders! I also made sweet potato “fries” and had corn on the cob (sorry, it seems like I eat this all the time, but I am obsessed with it lately!!). Fun, easy, healthy Saturday night meal!

IMG_3972

IMG_3973

In other news, I need to take a second to say that even though I had a great day yesterday, I had a very heavy heart. Our cousin’s wife passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Katrina and Sean had love like we all dream of having, and I cannot imagine what Sean is going through. Katrina was one of a kind; the most caring, energetic, fun loving, giving, wonderful person whom we will all miss so much. We were lucky enough to share a cabin with the two of them when we were at our other cousin’s wedding in Vermont last September; we were definitely the “fun” cabin. Sending lots of love and support to my cousin, Sean, and everyone else who was lucky enough to know Katrina.

Questions for you: Did you buy anything fun this weekend? Where do you go grocery shopping? Any suggestions for where I should move in September?

A Fairly Boring Week… And Plans [or lackthereof] For the Weekend

8 Comments

Hi there! Happy Friday! What’s going on for the weekend? I, surprisingly enough, don’t have anything planned. Can you believe it?! I can’t. I was g-chatting with Athena (per usual), and told how I was stressing about having no plans and that I was worried about getting bored, but she kindly reminded me that there are plenty of things I can do to keep busy, but that I should also embrace an empty weekend! Knowing me, I will fill up my weekend with random things (ie: my “to-do” list will look like this: gym, shower, lunch, go computer shopping, go sneaker shopping, go to the Christmas Tree Shop, buy wine… etc. etc. yes, I put showering on my to-do list. I like crossing things off, so the more I add, the more I can cross off!), but what is nice is that there is nothing I HAVE to do.

Well, besides buy a new computer. For the past year or so, I have been using my work computer as my personal computer, which is probably a big no-no, right? Well, said work computer got the virus of all virus’ last week and I realized how bad it is to not have that computer since it has my iTunes and all my blog settings and everything like that. Since I am taking more pictures and downloading more music (for my blog and for teaching), I should really have my own computer. So, I am going to bite the bullet and do that. Only problem, is that I don’t want to spend a lot of money. Originally, I wanted a Mac, but I don’t NEED one right now. What I need is something super basic just to blog from and download music to. In a few years, once I am hopefully more settled down (Dear God please let that be the case!), I will spend more on something nice, but for now, something to “get by” with is all I need.

Anyway! How has your week been? Mine has been, well, rather boring! This was a week where I had to look through my phone to see if I had any pictures that would help remind me of what I did. I’ll let the pictures do the talking now!

On Tuesday, a college friend, Dan Brown, and I met up to do a photo shoot so I could get some new head shots. Our first location was on Acorn Street, the post popular photographed street in Boston!

acorn street

Source

Unfortunately, I don’t have any sneak peeks from the shoot, but from what I saw on his camera, I am going to be very happy with the results! Dan was phenomenal and so knowledgeable. I’ll get you all his contact info when I reveal some photos… can’t wait!

Wednesday was National Running Day… did you run? I was able to sneak in a quick 3 miler before I taught UXF Burn. It was an awesome run.. I wasn’t focusing on the stats on my watch at all, which was a nice change! The weather was beautiful, the scenery was great, and there was great people watching! Win, win, win!

003

I ended up doing most of the class on Wednesday, and boy were my legs burning by the end! I love this group:)

018

We did lots of fun things like Surfer Burpees and Spider-Man push-ups! (Hi, Becca! Hope you don’t mind these pics on the blog! 🙂 )

After class, we came home (Danielle has been able to come to my Wednesday night classes!) and I watered my garden. Can you believe how much everything as grown already?!

014

Zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, broccoli, scallions, tomatoes and green peppers. I cannot wait for fresh veggies all summer long!

While I was showering, Danielle made me this drool-worthy Pita Pizza.

015

Right? I mean, how good does that look?! She bought some mini Pita Pockets (80 calories!) last week and they turned out to be the perfect base for a healthified pizza!

And, that’s about it! I have got to get a workout in at some point today, preferably this morning. I am thinking a deck of cards with cardio and abs since I think I am going to go to BodyPump again tomorrow, but we’ll see!

Hope you have a wonderful friday, even though it’s raining 😦

Questions for you: What kind of computer do you have? Did you run for National Running Day? Do you have a garden?

Baked Brown Trout, Caprese Orzo Salad & Corn on the Cob

12 Comments

Hey hey! Happy Thursday; we are almost through the week- woohoo! I got a few requests for the recipe for the meal that I made on Monday night when I posted an Instagram photo on Facebook, so I thought it was only fair to share it with you today! My mom’s friend Jean (not to be confused with Jeanne, although we use “the Jeans” interchangeably because they are all one in the same to us!) gave me a filet of fish that her husband caught while fishing on Lake Ontario after I told her how jealous I was that she gave some to my dad a few months ago. Dennis, Jean’s husband, caught so much Brown Trout that they have been sharing with us fellow fish lovers! As this was only my second time cooking fish (remember the Lemon Chive Broiled Tilapia with a Greek Yogurt, Lemon & Chive Sauce I made recently? That was the first time I cooked fish on my own!), I was a little nervous! Luckily, dad was just a phone call away and he was able to walk me through the cooking process.

When I was thinking about what I should pair the fish with, I decided it was time to actually make some of the side dish recipes that I always drool over when I read different food magazines and cook books. Hannaford has an amazing little magazine that you can get for free if you spend $25 or more. Clearly, I never spend less than that, so it’s always a nice little treat when I grocery shop at home with my mom! The magazine is filled with lots of interesting recipes and nutrition facts and when I went through it over the weekend, I saw a recipe for Caprese Orzo salad and decided that was a perfect side dish for hot weather!

Baked Brown Trout

The filet that the Brennan’s gave me was MUCH bigger than anything I would buy on my own, but I certainly was not complaining! All I did was rub a little EVOO on it, squeezed the juice of 1/2 a lemon, sprinkled sea salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and garlic powder and then cut up some scallions that I grabbed from my garden. I baked it at 350* for about 30 minutes and it was perfect!

011 012

013

Voila! Easy as that!

Caprese Orzo Salad

This recipe is exactly as it is in the Hannaford “Fresh” magazine. I cut the recipe down by A LOT, since I didn’t want to cook a whole box of Orzo, but it’s listed as the full recipe below.

  • 1 lb. Orzo
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. finely ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 2 pickling cucumbers
  • 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

002

1. Cook orzo according to the directions on the back of the box. While orzo is cooking, combine the ingredients from the lemon juice to the olive oil and mix well.

2. Cut up the tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella and add to the “sauce”.

003

3. Once the orzo is cooked and cooled, combine it with the “sauce” mixture. I put mine in the fridge for the afternoon so it would be nice and chilled when I served it!

004

Finally, steam up some corn on the cob and serve everything together!

016

This was such a light and healthy meal- perfect for a hot summer night! The fish was absolutely delicious… there is nothing like eating fish and knowing where it came from and who caught it! Thanks again, Jean and Dennis! And, Danielle agreed that the Caprese Orzo Salad is going to be a staple summer salad this year. For lunch yesterday, I took the orzo salad, added grilled chicken to it and served it atop a salad- such a great way to change up the traditional salad!

Questions for you: What is your favorite cooking or food magazine? Favorite “salad” that you always make? Favorite light, summer meal?

Wednesday Workout: Compound Exercises with CrossFit Cardio

11 Comments

Hey there! How is your week unfolding so far? My photo shoot was re-scheduled for last night, which was SO fun! We shot on Acorn street and all around Beacon Hill and the Esplanade. More on it later 🙂 Before I get into the workout, I have to vent about what happened on Monday night. If you remember, I was supposed to sub a class at the Wellington BSC on Monday night at 5:30. The class was supposed to be BodyPump, but no BodyPump instructors were available to teach, so the permanent instructor got special approval for a format change so that I could teach the class. I had a great supersets workout all planned out, with only minimal cardio since the class is not used to cardio and I was so excited to finally get to sub at that gym (it’s huge, new, awesome and 5 mins from my apartment).

Well, I got there and had my bench and bar and weights all set up, and I was starting to talk to a few members about the slight format change and then all of a sudden, this lady comes running into the room, still in flip-flops and throws her sneakers on MY bench and runs to the stereo going “few I have 1 minute to spare!”. Clearly, I am very confused and I tried to explain it quietly to her, but she was a very vocal, overly expressionate (I don’t think that’s a word, but I am making it up because it fits well) person who felt the need to make the whole thing a bigger deal than necessary. To make a long story short, she was claiming that she was supposed to sub a 5:30 spin class for Nicole. News flash, lady, there is no 5:30 spin class at this gym on Monday’s and Nicole teaches at Central on Monday’s. Anyway, this lady tells the whole class that she has been teaching for “a million years” and asks then asks them if they wanted Pump or “whatever she is going to teach” (pointing at me). Obviously it made more sense for her to teach the real format of the class, but what bothered me is that she just came in and took it from me! And then kept bringing it up all class and was totally inappropriate (throwing her bar down, picking out and picking on the new people, calling light weights “baby” weights, etc.). ANYWAY. Vent over. Instructors- have you ever experienced something like this? Class goers- have you ever had an instructor like this?!

Ok. Let’s get to the workout. I want to do a recap of the discussion from last week’s post on Compound vs. Isolation Exercises, but I haven’t had a chance to spend time put something together… it will come, though! It’s almost ironic that I am posting today’s workout since I just got over telling you how I am loving isolation exercises more than compound exercises at the moment. What can I say? When I can only pick a few exercises to do in a class, I want them to include as many muscle groups as possible! This workout surely did that.

Compound Exercises and CrossFit cardio

Most of this workout is fairly self-explanatory, but if you have questions, obviously ask in the comments or shoot me an email! Ab Roll-Ups might be new to you as they were new to me… Thank you, Women’s Health 🙂 Here’s the explanation and picture for the move: Ab Roll-Up. This is a super tough move for your legs, as it’s so much harder to go from seated to standing, but only using your legs, than you’d think! Make sure you’re not rolling too far on your back so that you’re crunching the back of your neck; only roll to about your shoulder blades/meaty part of your upper back. These ended up taking much longer than I had anticipated, so for the 2nd round, they did just 12 and 6 of each and the last round was just 6 of each.

I ended the class with low and high mountain climbers (4 high knees, then drop down and do 4 mountain climbers. Again, thank you Women’s Health) for 2 minutes and more ab work.  I liked this workout because it included so many different things and my legs literally felt like jello by the end!

Questions for you: What is your biggest pet peeve about instructors (I won’t be offended!!)? Do you like it when they try to make funny jokes when they aren’t funny? What’s your most favorite “new move” as of late?