What a weekend!

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Hi everyone! Happy Sunday!

Today has been a wonderful day, but before I get to that, let’s catch up on yesterday.  Last night, I was finally able to babysit my favorite kiddos! I met their mom when we used to take yoga together every week (miss that!!) and for the past 3 or so years (might even be more), I have been able to babysit her kids every couple of months. Well, between work and teaching classes, my schedule hasn’t really allowed for much free “babysitting” time, so I am happy that we were able to coordinate last night. I got this from Lila and it totally melted my heart

004So sweet.

Long overdue…

I have been in dire need of a massage for SO long. Between teaching 5+ classes a week, commuting to work (carrying too many heavy bags), and an overall busy lifestyle, my body was screaming for some relaxation. I put a poll out on Facebook to get recommendations for good spas in the Boston area and my cousin and his wife both suggested the Intercontinental Hotel. I couldn’t be more thankful for that request!

Since I knew I had access to the hotel’s facilities all day, I headed over around 9:30 this morning so I could get in a workout prior to my 11am appointment.

008I started off with 32 minutes on the elliptical (my legs were TIGHT from my run yesterday) and then set up a circuit to run through. I swear, new gyms with fun “toys” make me way too happy.

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015If you have access to a box (or step with lots of risers), BOSU & Kettle’s (or a weight), you can totally do this!

For Time- Complete 4 rounds of the following circuit in as short amount of time as possible (while maintaining good form)

  • 10 Box Jumps
  • 10 Weighted Squats on the BOSU
  • 10 KB Swings (go heavy!)
  • 10 BOSU Burpees
  • 10 Russian Twists (use weight or a Dynamax ball)
  • 10 Plank Rotations

Let me know if you try it! I didn’t have time to finish 4 rounds, but if you push yourself and give this your all, you’ll definitely be huffing and puffing!

After my workout, I rinsed quickly and then slipped into the softest, most comfortable robe ever!

009My masseuse was wonderful. As soon as I walked in, she asked if I had any injuries or any areas of tension. My right shoulder has been bothering me lately; I think it’s overuse, which is so frustrating. I told her about this and she said she could see how my left shoulder was scrunched up and my right shoulder was looking more limp… I didn’t even notice this, but as soon as she brought it up, it totally made sense. Iris did a phenomenal job paying special attention to that shoulder and did lots of different things to increase the range of motion and rotation. She said that my left shoulder was actually more tight than my right because it was overcompensating for the right. I think it is SO interesting to learn about how muscles work and how one little thing can affect many other things.

Anyway! Iris gave me lots of tips and stretches to perform on my own with the hopes of nursing my shoulder back to normal in no time. When I go back (yes, WHEN… I definitely plan on going back in the next couple of months), I am going to ask for Iris again. She was wonderful!

IrisOh, there’s more! Not only was the workout & massage amazing, but the showers and products were to die for! I was a happy, happy girl… I smell so good now!

006My life is so hectic these days (brought on by myself, but still…), that I cannot tell you how nice it was to be in a serene “locker room” setting with nice products, soothing music… and no sweaty gym people:)

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To continue on with my “Mental & Physical Health Day,” I decided to splurge and grab lunch, too! Look at me… Really living on the edge now! My sister got me a gift certificate to Life Alive for Christmas and I have been dying to use it ever since.

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My friend Jess introduced me to this place after one of my classes in Central Square and I have been hooked ever since! I got the demi portion of The Adventurer and it was ahhh-mazing!!

018I mean, look at that thing! Corn, broccoli, beets, tofu, almonds, kale, quinoa & a dressing so good I think I could drink it (ok, maybe not DRINK it, but it was so good!). To finish it off, I grabbed a Paleo dessert.

016I have to say, I was pretty skeptical of these, but after one bite I was sold. These were delicious!

Phew! If you made it this far, THANK YOU! That was quite the wordy and picture heavy recap of the past 24 hours.

As for the rest of the day, I may take a walk while I think about what I want to use as my benchmark Dynamax workout since it’s beautiful out. Today has been such a great day… no rushing on my end, no stressing, good food & workout… and, best of all, total relaxation. Why don’t I do this more often?

Questions for you: When is the last time you had a “me” day where you pampered yourself? Favorite healthy food place? Let me know if you try the workout!

Dallas, Y’all!

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Howdy! (sorry, I had to!) Sorry for being a little MIA this week (I tried to keep you entertained with some facebook updates, photo’s and workouts, though), but from the time my alarm went off at 5am on Tuesday from the time I walked in the door Thursday night at 10:15pm, I had literally zero free time.  It’s a good thing that I like my coworkers so much:)

I am not going to recap everything, but I will say that there were some very funny videos, terrific speakers and lots of laughs!  I kept Tuesday night fairly low-key since I knew I had to be at the hotel for my professional photo at 7am on Wednesday morning.  I lead a very small boot camp workout (big thanks to JP and Doan for showing up!) before meeting up with the crew for a Mexican dinner. Check out the size of this gym!!! Amazing. I was in fitness heaven:)

004 003We just did a quick 25 minute workout- 5 minute warm up & 2 10 minute circuits of 10 moves done for 60 seconds each. I did a similar workout in my hotel room on Wednesday morning, too. Even though I had to get up so early, I knew I wouldn’t regret the workout!

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Wednesday night was the awards dinner. I knew I might be in trouble when we had a happy hour that lasted, ohhh like 2 hours. Whoops! (note to self, there is really no need to double fist when it’s an open bar all night.)

009 010 011Post dinner, more drinks and socializing, we managed to round up the troops and head to Sfuzzi’s. Enter: more drinks, loads of dancing, and a push-up contest. Yes, you read that correctly.

PushupSonja took a video, but it was too dark and blurry. I will say, though, that I won the contest haha

Anyway, I love that I have lots of fun work friends, it’s just a shame that we work in offices across the country.  Maybe that’s why things get so messy when we get together?

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SO, that about sums it up! Thursday was definitely a ROUGH day, but every now and again it feels good to let loose and have fun!

Questions for you: Work trips- fun or not fun? Ever been to Dallas?

I’m back!

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Hey everyone! Sorry for being so MIA, but between Dallas and then catching up on work stuff yesterday, I haven’t had much extra free time to blog:(  I talked to my dad today and he asked “so, uh, when do you plan on posting again? Your blog is getting kinda old and boring” gee, thanks, dad! So, I apologize to those of you who are feeling the same way! I will try to make it up to you over the next couple of days. I have a Dallas recap coming, but until I finish that up, I thought I would catch you up on the past couple of days!

Due to the snow yesterday, my two roommates and I all worked from home.  Surprisingly, I was able to stay focused enough to get a good amount of work done.  Around 4pm, my sister asked if she could come to my class… umm, obviously that’s always going to be a YES! I LOVE having familiar faces in class:) I wasn’t sure how busy the gym would be on a snowy, friday night, but I was pleasantly pleased when I had 16 members show up with their game faces on.

024I have to post this workout for you soon because everyone seems to love (err, ok they may hate it while we are doing it, but that’s only because it’s a good one!) it.

Today was my first Saturday in months and months where I wasn’t teaching or doing something else, and I have to say, it was a pretty great feeling to be able to be on my own agenda! I had all intentions of going to the 10am BodyPump class at the Wellington BSC, but I ended up being in the mood to run, so I skipped the class and continued running… 4.25 miles!! Haven’t run that far in quite some time.  After reading Athena’s recent post on drop set workouts, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I only got through a couple of upper body sets before my right shoulder started to bother me.  Ugh, the worst! Anyway, I finished up with some lower body moves and HIIT cardio and then some TRX abs. Have I mentioned how much I am OBSESSED with the TRX bands?!?! I want some for my apartment!

025Going to the grocery store after a long, hard workout is really never a good idea, but I literally drive RIGHT past it so I decided to just stop and get my shopping out of the way today.  I was able to curb my hunger and refrain from snacking my way through the grocery store by grabbing a small coffee.  Dunkin’ Donuts is not my favorite, but it did the trick today!

026I made it out of the grocery store with only ONE splurge item.  Can you pick out what that might be?

028Please tell me I am not the only one who LOVES the Starburst JellyBeans?! Guilty pleasure for sure (mom, don’t forget to put a bag of these in my Easter basket, mmm k?). Also, has anyone seen this?

029Greek yogurt cream cheese?! It was on sale AND I had cream cheese on my grocery list so it was a no brainer to grab a container to try!

As for the rest of the day, I have a couple of blog related things to catch up on, maybe a little shopping and then babysitting for the evening. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!! The weather is beautiful today so go out and enjoy it!

Questions for you: What is a guilty splurge for you at the grocery store? Any good workouts to share?

Compound Moves Workout

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While I am in Dallas for work this week, I thought I would keep you entertained with a workout! This was actually the FIRST workout that I taught when I was hired by the BSC.  It’s really nothing fancy or exciting, but it does get the heart rate up and burns lots of calories because you’re working both upper body and lower body muscles.

Compound Moves Workout

 

Let me know if you have questions about any of these moves.  As long as you have a set of dumbbells, this workout can be done anywhere! Have fun:)

Shrimp & Veggie Scampi

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I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make for my “Sunday Dinner” this week. I am traveling to Dallas Tuesday through Thursday and knew I didn’t want any leftovers;  I needed something where I could throw some stuff together and add as much or as little as I wanted.  Enter: a veggie dish… veggie scampi dish. I have been craving seafood lately and the grocery store just happened to have some jumbo shrimp on sale- perfect!

Healthy Shrimp & Veggie Scampi

Ingredients (rough estimates- I never measure anything!)

  • 1/4 lb. of jumbo shrimp (this was just for me- recipe for 1, remember:) )
  • 1/2 cup (ish) of white wine
  • 2-3 tbsp. EVOO
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tbsp. garlic (minced)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup of sliced onions
  • 1/4 cup of sliced green pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped broccoli
  • 1/4 cup sliced summer squash
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Whole wheat angel hair spaghetti (1 serving)

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Directions:

1. Start the water for the spaghetti. Sautee onions, garlic, EVOO, butter, wine and the juice of 1 lemon for 3-5 minutes. Add in the other veggies & reduce the heat.  I also added some lemon zest which was a great addition!

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2. Once the spaghetti is added to the boiling water, add the shrimp to the wine & veggies.  The shrimp was pre-cooked, so all I wanted to do was heat it up and not actually cook it anymore.

3. Add some spaghetti to a bowl, top with the scampi mixture, sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and voila! Dinner is served!

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(Please note: I had some extra scampi mixture leftover… hoping that it reheats well tomorrow!)

I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious this dish turned out to be.  Scampi dishes are usually laden with loads of butter and oil, leaving you feeling a little greasy when you finish eating (right? my lips are always so soft after I eat a restaurant scampi dish, and I know it’s from the oil and butter coating them!), but this meal left me feeling full and satisfied, but not greasy in the least bit! I think the meal took me maybe a half hour from start to finish (probably even less), so this is a great week night meal to add to your rotation!

Bon appetit!

Questions for you: What is your favorite meal to “healthify”? Guilty pleasure meal? Do share:)