This Week: Workouts, Loving Challenge Workouts & Things I’m Looking Forward To

December 8, 2014December 7, 20142 Comments

Good morning! This week is a little weird as I have to be at a client site all week, which sucks because I have really grown to LOVE my Monday work from home days. I’m also not looking forward to driving to Canton every day- yuck! But, at least it’s just a week! I’m hoping to get most of my workouts done in the morning so that I can have the evenings to finish decorating my apartment and stuff.

Luckily, this week has a few challenges that are workout based so that will make it easier to decide what to do! And, speaking of my challenge- I’m having SO MUCH FUN participating and seeing so many of you participating! I’ve definitely been pushed out of my comfort zone a few times, but it’s been great. Don’t forget to let me know somehow that you’re participating- I’ve got some great prizes lined up 🙂

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday- I went for a gorgeous 4 mile run during my lunch break. The weather was perfect and it felt so good to be running outside! I also did 3 pull-ups (!!!) and 1 minute of push-ups.

Tuesday- I went to the Wellington BSC for a bootcamp class. It was heavy arm-focused and I loved it!
Wednesday- I did my 20 minute AMRAP workout as part of my #happyhealthyfit challenge before teaching UXF Burn. One of my members was at the gym early for class and he joined me- it was fun and it was a tough workout!

Thursday- I went to the gym during lunch and ran 2 miles before doing some kettlebell tabata rounds.

Friday- Rest day, although I did get up early for some stretching, as part of Athena’s Holiday Hustle. It was a really nice way to start the day, especially since I don’t ever take time to specifically just stretch.
Saturday- Roberto and I were at a hotel in NH, so I hit the gym when I got up for a quick total body workout as part of my challenge. I ran 10 minutes on the treadmill, walked 10 minutes then did a bunch of different exercises. The gym was the size of a closet, but it got the job done.

Sunday- Rest day

This Week’s Workouts

I have no idea what my workouts will look like this week, but I do know that I’m teaching UXF Burn on Wednesday and cardio kickboxing on Saturday 🙂 I’ll also be doing all of the fitness challenges in Week 2 of the #happyhealthyfit challenge.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Although I’m really NOT looking forward to being in Canton all week, there are lots of other things I’m looking forward to, including decorating my tree and apartment, book club on Tuesday, massages on Friday and a quiet weekend. After last week, I need a quiet weekend!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Are you participating in the challenge? What was your favorite challenge last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

Wednesday Workout: Turkey- Day 20 Minute AMRAP Workout

November 26, 2014November 23, 20144 Comments

Good morning! I don’t think I’m surprising anyone when I say that I love themed workouts. And I especially love them when you need a little motivation to workout. Thanksgiving is often a day of high indulgences and little movement (hello, turkey coma!), but it doesn’t have to be! I love working out on days where I know I’ll be eating and drinking to my hearts content because it makes me feel a little better about it. #earnyourtreats, as I like to say.

This workout is great because it doesn’t have to take you a long time, which is key on a day where you may not have much time because ovens are calling your name instead. This year, I challenge you to get up and give yourself 20 minutes for YOU, because I know it will make you feel so much better and so much more ready to tackle the day of hosting and cooking and, well, eating 😉

All you need is yourself, a mat and a timer. You’ll complete 10 reps of each exercise and you’ll see how many rounds you can complete in 20 minutes. Easy enough, right?!

My friend JP helped me with some of these fun names last year, so I need to give him credit!

Here are some explanations if you’re thrown off by my dorky names:

Pilgrim Push-ups- nothing fancy here! Just regular ol’ push-ups, either on your knees or feet. If you want a little extra, throw in a knee to chest after each push-up
Gobble, Gobble Squats- In other words, squats. Focus on form and range of motion. Looking for extra? Add in a weight for goblet squats OR do jump squats instead of regular squats.
Turkey Toe-Touches- lying on your back with your legs fully extended towards the ceiling, engage your core, lift your shoulder blades off the ground and try to touch your fingers to your toes.
Basting Burpees- Burpees- any kind you want
Stuffing Sit-Ups- standard sit-ups. Looking for more? Try adding in a weight and reaching your hands to the ceiling as you sit up. You can also keep your legs extended out straight instead of bent.
10 Pumpkin-Popovers- lots of different variations for this one. You can do a standard donkey-kick or you can put your hands on a coffee table or step and jump right to left, kicking your feet to your butt as if you were trying to pop over a bench.

Let me know if you try this- remember, it’s important to take some time for yourself. Be thankful for the fact that you have the ability to move and sweat and even if it’s not at your regular level of intensity because of injuries or something else, be thankful you can do SOMETHING. It’s a lot more than most can or choose to do.

Here’s another Thanksgiving themed workout you can try if you’re looking for more. I did this one last year and it was killer!

The “I’m Thankful” Workout

Questions for you: Do you like to workout before big days of eating and celebrations? Are you running any sort of themed run?

Wednesday Workout: Hotel Room Workout #2

July 31, 2013July 28, 20136 Comments

Sometimes (ok, often times), when I am traveling, I’d much rather workout in the comforts of my hotel room versus getting up and changing and heading to the gym. There are so many bodyweight exercises that can be done ANYWHERE and when you take those, and mix in some HIIT/Plyo cardio moves and core strengthening/ab moves, you have yourself a full body workout.

The only difficulty I have with hotel room workouts, is that it’s a little harder to keep motivated to really push myself like I do when I’m in the gym or the public eye. With this workout, for instance, I took more breaks than I probably needed to and skimped out on the burpees during the 3rd and 4th rounds. Just being honest with you!

So, with that said, I only got through 4 full rounds in 25 minutes, but had I been fully awake, not hungry and at the gym, I likely could have completed 5 full rounds.

Let me know if you try this! It really is a great “on the road” workout 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like timed intervals or a set number of reps to complete? Do you push yourself harder when you’re at the gym versus working out in the comforts of your own home?