Tag: Barry’s Bootcamp

ClassPass is here!

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So, if you’ve been reading this little blog or following me on Instagram or Twitter, I’m sure you’ve seen lots of ClassPass talk, right? Have you heard of it? I was contacted by a rep a few months ago telling me about the program and from that minute on, I knew it was exactly what I’ve been looking for.

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It’s no shocker that I love taking classes at “boutique” studios. From Exhale Spa to Recycle to Flywheel to Pure Barre, I’ve tried a number of studios in Boston that fall into this category and I have never been disappointed. I think the instructors are amazing, I think the exercises are a nice change of pace and it’s just fun to try something new. However, since I have gym memberships to 3 gyms, I can’t really justify getting memberships or passes to those types of gyms. They’re expensive and I’d never know which one to pick since I love them all.

That’s where ClassPass comes in. ClassPass is a month membership that allows you to take 10 classes as various boutique studios in Boston. It’s just $99 a month so that means it is less than $10/class, which is about a third of the price these classes usually cost. Boston has over 27 participating locations in Boston right now, and that number keeps increasing. The locations vary from barre to boot camp to indoor cycling to pilates… basically, you name it and you can find a studio that will fit what you’re looking for. The only restriction is you cannot visit one studio more than 3 times in a month because they want to encourage you to try new studios and if you’re going to visit a studio more than 3 times in a month, you should probably just get a membership or book of classes there, right?

Last week, they hosted an amazing launch at Flywheel to get everyone excited about the program.

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The room was packed and the instructor, Ann, was AMAZING (as I’ve said before). Seriously, her music was on point, her teaching style and enthusiasm and spunk were perfect. She was totally jamming out on her bike and I loved it! It also helped that the class was full (literally, over 40 people) of fitness loving ladies (and a few guys). I was literally sweating as much as I do in hot yoga and was happy with the fact I came in 6th place out of 20+ people (they split the score board into two sides). I feel like I’m starting to really get the hang of spinning and I love it more with each time I go.

After the class, we were treated with some snacks from Sweetgreen, which I am now obsessed with. The kale salads were absolutely delicious and the smoothies were so good I had two of each (hey- I was hungry after class!).

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Not only were we provided snacks, but we walked away with a pretty sweet swag bag!

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It didn’t take me long to wear the shirt… I rocked it the following day when teaching my UXF Burn class.

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I’m a sucker for free swag, but this was an especially exciting goodie bag! Big thanks to ClassPass 🙂

ClassPass was nice enough to offer me a membership for the month to try it out and spread the word (THANK YOU!!!). So far, I’ve been to Exhale and I am going to Velo City tonight for a 45 minute indoor cycling class. It’s fun to have the opportunity to try out various studios in and around the Boston area. I foresee myself purchasing month memberships on my own after this month is up because it really pays for itself just after 3 visits! If you’re interested in checking it out, head on over to their site.

Questions for you: What’s your favorite “boutique” studio in Boston? Have you heard of ClassPass? Is it something you think you would be interested in?

I <3 This Workout! {Timed Count Down Super Sets)

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You guys. This workout was SO fun. Seriously. I don’t know what it was, but I had a blast teaching this and doing this (well, jumping in and out of sets in between assisting members) and a bunch of members came up to me after to say how much they enjoyed it, which is why I’ve called this the “I ❤ This Workout” workout- perfect for Valentine’s Day, right?!

I’ve come to the realization that my classes like to kind of be on their own, so to speak. Meaning, they like to work at their own pace, but not with 60 second timed intervals; they like to have a set number of reps to workout through of various moves… and they like to be timed while doing it (AMRAPS are always a hit!). I aim to please, and this workout certainly covers the bases 😉

Count down workouts are all over the blog and fitness world (Athena and Jen are two who often post count down workouts), and while I know they are effective, it gets boring (for me) to teach that format: “Ok, 10 lunges. Quick break, 9 lunges. Shake it out. 8 lunges. You got it. 7 lunges….” … you get the point. Well, when I went to Barry’s Bootcamp, the instructor, Emily, had us do count downs, but she gave us a set number of minutes to get from 10 to wherever we could in that set amount of time, so we had the ability to work at our own pace. On top of that, we did super sets, which kept me even more entertained. I knew I had to copy the format in class because my members would love it. So, I did!

I changed up some of the super set exercises and added in 60 seconds of core and a tabata cardio set (2 exercises). We didn’t quite finish all 4 rounds (I skipped 1 tabata round and shortened the last 2 sets to 3 minutes instead of 4), but it was still a great workout.

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Here are some notes/descriptions/links as necessary:

1. Alternating lunges on step: Rather than alternating forward lunges on the ground, step up to the step when you lunge. This creates a deeper lunge. Feel free to use weights here, but if you want to just focus on your lunges without weight, that is fine, too.

For the push-ups, try decline ones if you can (feet on the bench). If that’s too hard, you can do incline push-ups instead!

With the side lunge & center jump, just lunge to the right, push off of that foot and jump in the center with both feet. Do the other side on the next 20 second tabata burst.

2. I think everything is pretty self explanatory!

3. Step up, knee up, bicep curl- step up onto the bench with one foot, bring the other knee up while you perform a bicep curl. Step down and repeat on the other side.

Sit up w/ shoulder press- this was a move I got from Barry’s! Lay on the bench, knees bent with feet on the ground and hold the weights in your hands against your chest. Perform a sit up and when you get to the top, do a shoulder press. Lay back and repeat. I LOVE this move!

4. Side squat & step over bench: stand on the bench, step one leg down and do a squat, step back up onto the bench and step the other leg down into a squat. That’s 1 rep.

Leg lifts & chest fly- I think you’ve seen these on my blog before (got them from Athena!)- lay on your back on the bench and extend feet and arms/weights so that your legs are over your hips and your arms/weights are over your shoulders/chest. As you lower your legs, open your arms and perform a chest fly… then bring everything back up to the top!

Phew! I think that’s it, but if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I hope you like this 🙂

Questions for you: Do you get bored with count down workouts or do you like them? What’s a workout that always keeps you interested?

Weekending: South End, Southie, Barry’s Bootcamp, Super Bowl

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Phew! This past weekend was super busy, but super fun! I know some of you may not like the play by play of the weekend, and sometimes I’m not even sure if I like it, but since I went to some good restaurants and tried a new workout, I figured it was worth sharing!

Friday

I helped my friend Jess with an event at Little Lovage Club, located under Coco Baby in the South End on Friday afternoon. She had a baby animal petting event and I jumped at the chance to help her! Look how stinkin cute these little babes are!

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After the event, we headed over to The Gallows for dinner, which was amazingggg. I love small plates and sharing, so this was a perfect place to go. We got the Braised Beef tacos, Brown Butter Cauliflower and a delicious butternut squash dish. So many interesting flavors that made for a happy little party in my mouth!

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Saturday

After kickboxing, I treated myself to a pedicure. I had no real reason to do this other than the fact I needed to do something for myself that would make me sit and relax… this was certainly something that forced me to do this!

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Side note: don’t wear skinny jeans when getting a pedicure… I never learn.

Saturday night, I headed to the city for dinner. I curled my hair with my straightener on my own for the very first time and I have to say, I was pretty impressed! It was almost faster than just straightening it, so I know once I get better at it, it will definitely be faster. What do you think??

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Apparently everyone else had the idea to go into the city on Saturday night… our night started a little rocky since we couldn’t get in anywhere!

-We tried to go to this new restaurant on Congress Street in the Seaport, but the wait was over 2 hours for a table!!! I was bummed since it looked like an amazing restaurant and I loved the décor, but hopefully we’ll make it back there.

-We then tried to go to Drink to have a drink while we figured out where to do dinner, but there was a line out the door there, too. Mind you, it was like, 7pm, so it wasn’t even late!

-Finally, we landed at Lucky’s, which was actually really fun! I bumped into my friend, Liz, so it was nice to chat with her.

-Dinner at Lucky’s wasn’t really what we were looking for, so after our drink at Lucky’s, we decided to head to Lincoln for dinner since there was an Open Table reservation available. I’ve wanted to go there for ages, so I was excited! We shared the Ahi Tuna tacos (I’m on a serious taco kick. Literally can’t get enough of them), a salad and a steak meal… random, but everything was delicious!

Sunday

I woke up on Sunday morning thankful that we opted out of having a drink after dinner. I had plans to take a class at Barry’s Bootcamp and really didn’t want to be hungover for it (when a class is $28/class, you want to be in tip top shape!). I was super nervous for the class as I’ve heard it’s insanely hard, but I am happy to say I survived and I loved it!!! I went with my friend Lindsay and some of her other friends from Recycle Studio and had a blast. Ok, maybe not a blast, because crazy hard workouts aren’t really THAT fun, but I did love it.

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We started with 12 minutes on the treadmill. You may be thinking “meh, not bad”, but try starting that out with a run at 15% incline… yeah, that hurt! Luckily, though, we started at the top of the hill and worked our way down, but as we decreased the incline, we upped the speed, so it never got any easier. My sprints were at 10mph which was crazy fast for me!

After the treadmill, we did some floor strength stuff: walking lunges, push-ups, bicep curls, deadlifts, core, and then we jumped BACK on the treadmills for 12 more minutes. It was at that time when I was like “oh hell no. this sucks,” but I pushed through it and ended strong… we ran backwards which scared the crap out of me, but I am happy to say I didn’t trip and/or fall off! #winning

We finished the class with 1 more floor set and by the end, I was beat, in the best way. I really loved how Emily pushed us to run fast and up the incline because I certainly wouldn’t do that on my own. The strength sets weren’t anything crazy hard or fancy, but I did learn some new moves that I am going to copy and new formatting, so I’m happy about that.

I can’t wait for the next time because I know I can push myself harder!

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I went to my friend Jessi’s boyfriends house for the Super Bowl on Sunday night. He had a little get together with a LOT of food. I certainly did not follow all of my tips, but I did drink water between beers, kept it to 2 beers and had it easy since the food was kept in the kitchen rather than on the coffee table. That helped a lot!

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Ummm these are mini meatloafs- how freaking cute are they?! Jessi made these and I’m obsessed and can’t wait to make them myself!

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And! I won $20 (it was $10 to play), which was just icing on the cake. I left after the halftime show since I was exhausted, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the halftime show. I could’ve done without the Red Hot Chili Pepper part because I thought that was a little weird, but I thought Bruno Mars absolutely killed it!! Anyone else?

Sorry about the super long weekend recap, but I really wanted to tell you about the restaurants I visited and about Barry’s Bootcamp, so if you made it here, thank you for sticking with me!

Questions for you: Have you eaten at any of the restaurants I went to over the weekend? When’s the last time you pampered yourself? Have you been to Barry’s Bootcamp?

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

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Hi there! Anyone feeling like they had a little too much fun watching the Super Bowl yesterday? Did anyone try out the workout or follow any of the tips I gave yesterday? I would have, but I went to Barry’s Bootcamp and had my ass (pardon me) literally handed to me (in the best way possible).

Speaking of workouts…

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went to the gym in my new office building after work and completed a REALLY good workout. It’s worth a try!

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  • Tuesday- I am trying out a bunch of different classes at the gym in my new building, so I went to the 11:30am 30 minute Muscle Mix class and loved it! There were about 12 or 13 of us in class, which impressed me for a work gym. Granted, International Place (between One and Two) has a ton of employees, so I guess it kind of makes sense, but still, it made me so happy to see such a busy gym during the day!
  • Wednesday- Ugh. Don’t get me started. I was uncomfortably sore from my workouts on Monday and Tuesday and literally had NO motivation to go to the gym. Had I not been teaching, I would have called it a rest day. Alas, I had to teach, so I walked for 25 minutes on the treadmill to try and get me pumped up and then taught UXF Burn. There were 25 people with loads of energy which totally helped me get into the workout mood. It’s amazing what the energy from a group of hard working people can do 😉
  • Thursday- I felt better on Thursday and was looking forward to teaching, but it was weird because I’m usually dead after my double and am usually a sweaty beast, but for some reason I wasn’t. I don’t know if it was because the workouts were easy (hardly doubt that) or if it was just a way of my body telling me it didn’t want to work (probably this). Needless to say, I was happy for my rest day on Friday!
  • Friday- Rest!
  • Saturday- Taught kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… this class makes my week. Thank you to everyone who comes out and gives it their all!

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  • Sunday- Barry’s Bootcamp probably wasn’t a great idea this week as I was feeling rundown from my workouts, but I paid and agreed to it before I started feeling rundown so I couldn’t really back out of it (wasn’t about to lose $28….). I ended up being able to power through and loved it… more on that later!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m not sure what I’ll do today. It may be a rest day if I’m super sore from Barry’s Bootcamp.
  • Tuesday- I’ll probably go to the 11:30 muscle class again if I don’t have any calls. I liked that!
  • Wednesday- Probably a run and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Two-a-day! SHRED and Kickboxing. Last week I had 4 guys in kickboxing- it was amazing! I hope they come back!
  • Friday- Rest day. I’ll be home in Maine working from there 🙂
  • Saturday- My sister and I are going to go to the 9am class at the Sanford/Springvale YMCA before we get our hair cut!
  • Sunday- Not sure. A lot will depend on how I’m feeling and how my workouts looked earlier in the week. If my parents have enough snow to snowshoe, I may do that.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Going home!!! I think part of the reason I felt off last week was because I just need to go home to recharge my batteries. I haven’t been home since Christmas and my life since Christmas has been pretty crazy between teaching a lot of classes, blogging, keeping up a social life, work, etc., so I’m looking forward to going home, spending time with my parents, having home cooked meals and just getting a little TLC.

January Burpee & Push-Up Challenge {Recap}

So, how did everyone do with the recap? I know some of you did a lot better than I did. I have to be honest here: I didn’t finish out the challenge. I hate not finishing things, but I just couldn’t do it this week. If you count the number of push-ups I did in Barry’s Bootcamp and the number of burpees I did all week, I definitely got to 100 (or more!) of each, but I needed rest on Friday and then didn’t have the energy after kickboxing on Saturday or after bootcamp on Sunday, so…. I didn’t do week 4 of the challenge. I was feeling guilty, but realized it’s OK to not finish things if you’re not feeling up to it. I improved my time from week 1 to week 2, which I was proud of and is what I’ve decided to focus on.

However! I want to hear from you- did you finish the challenge? Did you beat your time? More importantly, did you feel stronger in week 4 than you did in week 1? Jen Ryder has been seriously killing this challenge and I am SO PROUD of her for giving it her all every week and continuously beating her time. Dana was able to do all of the push-ups on her feet, which I think is amazing (my goal this year is to get better at push-ups). Does anyone else have anything they want to brag about? Now’s your time!! You worked so hard and deserve to get the recognition for it!

On that note….

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Do you guys think you want me to do another challenge like this in the future? What would you like to see included in the challenge? What was your favorite part about this challenge? What was the most challenging aspect for you?

Make this week great, friends!