Five on Friday {1.27.16- LOTS of fitness-related events!}

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Good morning and Happy Friday- After a bit of a rough week, I am very happy to finally say TGIF! I have lots of fitness events to share with you today, so I hope you enjoy them!

  • Resolution by PMC– Tonight, I am heading over to Everybody Fights to participate in this year’s Resolution by PMC fundraising event. If you are interested in donating to this amazing cause (100% of the proceeds go to the Dana-Farber cancer research institute), please head on over to my page.

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  • MoveWith Class at Janji– On Wednesday, February 8th I will be hosting another class at Janji’s popup store on Newbury Street. Similar to last time, it will be a 45 minute kickboxing bootcamp. You can sign up here. Hope to see some of you there!

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  • Save the Date!- On Wednesday, March 29th I’m going to be hosting another MoveWith event… this time it’ll be a (hopefully!) much bigger event with a live DJ and free food and drink samples with companies I work with. I am SO excited about this, but you’ll have to wait a bit for more details 😉
  • Cycle for Survival– Next weekend, I will be participating in the Cycle for Survival fundraising event at Equinox. This event is really amazing because 100% of the funds raised go to cancer research for rare forms of cancer, which receives far less funding than the more well-known cancers. If you’re able and interested, you can donate here and if you want to ride you can register here. I’ll be riding as part of the New Balance team and am so honored to be a part of this!
  • Winter fitness series event- This Sunday, I will be teaching an hour long cardio kickboxing class at Legacy Place. The class is FREE and registration is not required, but it is recommended. You can sign up here.

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This weekend should be more lowkey than last weekend, which I am greatly welcoming! We are going skiing tomorrow and then Sunday I’m teaching and then it’s time to buckle down and focus on finishing up my re-certification for my AFAA cert. I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Questions for you: Do you ski? Where do you ski around here? Do you have any fitness events coming up? What’s on the agenda for the weekend?

 

Wednesday Workout: 3 Circuit Total Body Blast

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Good morning! I have a few other draft blog posts that I need to finish up, but until I muster up the time/energy to post those, a workout post will have to do. While I haven’t been consistently following any sort of strength plan that would foster big muscle growth, I have been having fun trying new formats, exercises, classes, etc. However, I’m starting to feel like I’m ready to settle down a bit and create some sort of specific training plan to follow … at least for a little while.

The thing with me is that I get bored with workouts pretty quickly, so I tend to find myself jumping around rather than seeing something through to the end. There’s nothing wrong with this by any means- heck, as long as I’m working out consistently then I’m feeling pretty good, haha. But, as I’ve mentioned before, having no sort of plan makes it hard to see any sort of growth progress, or gainzzzz as I like to say 😉

I think another factor that makes it hard for me to stick with a consistent strength-focused workout plan is that those workouts tend to require a bit more time, unlike the HIIT style workouts I generally gravitate towards. When I’m not teaching, I like to be in and out of the gym as quickly as possible so I can use the extra time doing other things. Which is why workouts like the ones I’ve been posting have been my workout style of choice as of late. This workout left me pretty sore the next day, which I have to attribute to the leg-heavy aspect of it.

The way it works is you’ll complete the designated reps of each of the 3 exercises within each set for a total of 3 times before moving on to the next set. Each set/circuit has 3 exercises: legs, cardio, upper body, but like I said, the leg exercises were killer so I felt that the most the next day.I think with warm up this workout took about 30 minutes to complete.

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Explanations:

  • Step up-> lunge back- I’ll walk you through this one since it sounds more complicated than it actually is. You’ll need a step or some sort of elevated surface that’s safe to step up onto and you’ll want to grab either 2 dumbbells or 1 kettlebell. From there, step up onto the step with your right foot & drive your left knee up (engaging the core). Then, you’ll step back off the step with your left foot and bring your right foot back to come into a reverse lunge- both feet are on the ground. So it’s step right, left knee, left step down, right step back into reverse lunge. Then you’ll repeat on the left.
  • Push-up ->: knee tuck: Do 1 push-up and then when you’re back in the high plank position bring your right foot into your chest then the left foot. If you want to do your push-ups on your knees, just make sure you come up to your toes when it’s time for the knee tuck.
  • Banded side-step goblet squats- For this, you’ll need to put a resistance band around your upper calf area, right below the knee and grab a kettlebell & hold in the goblet position. Step your right foot to the right and sink into a deep goblet squat. Step your right foot back to the center and then step your left foot to the left and sink into a deep squat.

If you have extra time (and energy!), at the end you can do a finisher of 8 lateral ball slams using a Dynamax ball, 8 toe touches & 8 sit-up and toss for a total of 3 rounds. And then I think it’s pretty safe to say you’re all finished 🙂

I really loved this workout and plan on doing it again- I’d love to know if you try it!

Questions for you: How long do you normally spend at the gym or when you workout?

Wednesday Workout: Descending Rep Total Body Workout

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Good morning and happy Wednesday! I have so many workouts to share with you guys that I might have to start posting them twice a week 😉 I have to say that I really enjoyed the format of this workout. What I mean by “descending” is that each round you’ll decrease the number of reps performed for each exercise. We go from 12 reps to 10 reps to 8 reps…. etc. all the way down, but instead of ending with just 2 reps (where’s the fun in that?!), you’ll do 12 reps again.

In addition to enjoying the format of the workout, I liked the upper and lower combo moves because doing them always jacks up my heart rate- more bang for your buck, especially if you’re short on time like I normally am!

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Here are a few explanations in case you’re confused by any of the combo moves:

  • Chest press & leg lowers- for this you’ll start out on your back with your legs lifted straight above your hips and your arms straight above your shoulders/chest. Since you’re working multiple things here, I’d suggest keeping it a littler lighter for the chest press weight. There are two options for doing this exercise: 1. you’ll lower your legs and bring your arms closer to your chest at the same time- this is advanced since it requires a lot of core strength to ensure your lower back stays glued to the mat or 2. you can do a chest press and then do a leg lower, as separate exercises.
  • Goblet clean & squat
  • Bent over rows- For these you’ll hold a weight in both hands and hinge forward at the waist, keeping a slight bend in the knees and keeping your chest open and shoulders pulled back. Engage your lats & squeeze your shoulder blades together as your pull your elbows back. make sure you’re going slow and controlled here!
  • Russian twist & press- This is just taking your standard Russian twist & adding a little more onto it. After your twist right, you’ll come back through center and press the weight up overhead. Then, you’ll bring it down and twist left.

This workout shouldn’t take you much longer than 20-25 minutes; if it takes you much less time than that, consider upping your weights and if it takes you longer than that, you might want to consider dropping your weight a bit.

I hope you try this!

Question for you: Would you like to see more workouts on the blog or keep it as is?

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Still on cloud 9

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Trying something new is always a little scary, right? Fear of the unknown, fear of potential “failure”, fear of doing something incorrectly, etc. And because of this, because of these fears, we often are held back from trying something new. It’s so much easier and more comfortable sticking with something we know, right? I get it. But the thing is- and I’ve talked about this a lot on B2B- always sticking to what we know and are comfortable with leaves little room for change or growth. These things happen when we get a little bit outside of our comfort zone and see all that we are able to do if we just try.

A perfect example of this for me is teaching fitness classes. Over the years I have grown so much as an instructor- whether it’s my cues, my interaction with the participants, the formatting techniques or even my own form, I sometimes feel like a totally different instructor when I first started… which certainly isn’t a bad thing, lol. However, this growth didn’t come from keeping and teaching the same class or classes week after week. In fact, sometimes I think those hold me back from becoming a better and stronger instructor because they allow me to get too comfortable. The classes tend to be mostly regulars so I know exactly what they can and cannot do and often find myself skipping through some of the different cues and introductions that I normally do because these members have been with me for many years and “know the drill” as I like to joke with them.

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And this is exactly why I signed up to teach a class at Janji through MoveWith. While I knew there would be some familiar faces in the crowd, I had a feeling there would be people who were brand new or just newer to my classes, which changes things up drastically with regards to the way I teach/approach the class. I’m brought back to the basics- introducing myself, the class format, explaining some of the exercises in advance, giving more cues, etc. I want to make sure that I am addressing everyone’s potential needs/wants, and because I don’t know specifically what those things are, I need to give lots of variations, options, cues, etc., all with the hope that everyone gets what they want out of the class.

Out of the 14 participants in class last week, only FOUR had taken my classes before, meaning I was essentially teaching to an entirely new group of fighters. I LOVED THIS!!! It challenged me to be the best instructor I could be and I thrived off of their energy as we got to know each other a little better. During the warm up, I worked us through all of the punches, kicks, bodyweight exercises and general lingo I’d be using. I also had them set intentions so that they could have something to work for. Whether it’s to do the burpees, punch stronger or to just finish class, I feel very strongly about setting that intention so you can be fighting for something.

The class went better than I could’ve expected. Everyone was on fire and it absolutely fired me up as well. They were also such good sports when it came to navigating a very crowded room and even worked out down the hallway to get more space- serious dedication if you ask me!

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I left the class feeling so grateful. Grateful to have been able to meet so many people. Grateful for the amazing MoveWith community. Grateful that Janji let us sweat in their awesome space. But most of all, I was grateful for the fact that I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new, because without doing that, I would’ve have been able to have such an amazing experience.

I challenge you to think of something that maybe you’ve been avoiding because you’re scared of the unknown associated with that particular thing, and then I want you to think about what it would be like if you tried/did it. If you think there’s any inkling of a chance that it could be a really good thing, then I urge you to try/do it. It might turn out even better than you expect.

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Thank you to MoveWith for creating such a wonderful, strong fitness community- 2017 is off to a great start and I can’t wait to continue to meet more people through hosting more original classes. If you’re in the Boston area, I’m hosting another class on Wednesday, February 8th at 6:30pm at the Janji popup store on Newbury Street. You can sign up here. If you plan on attending, I’d sign up sooner rather than later because space is limited!

Also, I was featured on the MoveWith blog last week- check out this post to see what I had to say: How to put your fears behind you

Wednesday Workout: My Favorite Kickboxing Combos {Take 4}

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Good morning! I’m so happy to say that I FINALLY have some more kickboxing combinations for you. The existing kickboxing combination posts on B2B are by far the most popular blog posts to date, which makes me happy because I love being able to share helpful posts for you guys! If you missed those, here they are:

Kickboxing Combos pt 1
Kickboxing Combos pt 2
Kickboxing Combos pt 3

If you’re new to kickboxing/boxing/punches, I suggest you check out the first post that I linked above since that breaks down each punch for you.

As I was going through my instructor notebook to pick out some good combos to share, I realized that I should probably try doing this more frequently– I have SO many more that I want to share with you! For now, these will have to do:

 

Jack & Jab, Shuffle & Jab, Center Jabs & Oblique Twist, Sumo Jump Squats

  • Do 1 jumping jack and then 1 right jab to the front. Repeat with the jack and then the jab on the left
  • Shuffle & jab 3 times to the right, clap, then shuffle & jab 3 times to the left
  • Hold center and do 4 alternating jabs followed by 4 oblique twists
  • 2 sumo jump squats

Speed Bag Rt & Lt, Jack Feet & Jab arms, Single-Single-Double Uppercuts Rt & Lt, 4 Hops Up & Back & 4 High Knees

  • Speed bag punches by your right hip for 4 counts then do them by your left hip for 4 counts
  • While you jack your feet in and out you’ll perform 4 alternating jabs to the front
  • Right uppercut, left uppercut, 2 upper cuts on the right, then repeat and do left, right, 2 on the left
  • Bring your guard up and hop forward and back 4 times followed by 4 high knees

Jab, Jab, Jab, Cross, Jab, Cross (x2), 2 Left Knees, 2 Right Cross Jabs, 4 High Knees + Sumo Squat

  • Standing in the orthodox fighters position (left foot forward, right foot back), do a jab, another jab and then do jab, cross, jab cross and repeat that for a total of two times
  • Do 2 left knee repeaters followed by 2 cross body jabs with the right hand
  • End with 4 high knees into a sumo squat

Single, Single, Double Jab Right & Left Lead, 2 Knees on the Right & Left, Burpee + 2 Push-Ups

  • Jab right, left, double right then left, right double left
  • Bring your knees up twice on the right and left
  • Bring yourself down and back into a high plank, do 2 push-ups then jump yourself back up

Cross Body Hi/Lo Jabs X2, 3 Knees + 1 Kick, Speed Bag Arms W/2 Hops Up & Back, Burpee

  • Perform a cross body jab at chest height and waist height (hi & lo) twice (so, jab high, low, high, low) with the left arm
  • Then, do 3 right knees & a kick
  • Bring your arms to chest high while doing the speed bag and do 2 small hops up and back
  • Finish with 1 burpee

And there you go! I hope you find these helpful as you try and do your own at-home kickboxing workout OR if you’re an instructor and need some new combos for your class. As always, please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have ANY questions. While I realize kickboxing is very different than boxing now that I actually teach heavy bag boxing, as long as you understand that these combinations are not meant to teach you how to fight we’re all set 🙂 They are merely a way to give you a great cardio workout, but I do make sure people at least know the basics of the punches so that they don’t injure themselves.