Tag: BodyPump

Settling Into Eastie

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This past weekend, I felt like I really started to settle into living in Eastie. And, the more I see, do and learn about Eastie, the more I love it! There are so many great restaurants, bars, parks and nice people and I think it’s really turned around in recent years.

Not only am I loving living in Eastie, but I’m loving the fact that I have friends who live down the street from me! Pat, Colleen and I are starting to take advantage of living so close to each other, so Friday night, the 3 of us headed over to Ecco for afternoon cocktails. Ecco is owned by the same owners who own Santarpio’s. Since I’m still trying to hold on to one last bit of summer, I ordered their Sangria and it was amazinggggg.

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Pat insisted on us ordering the Seasonal Cheese Plate, so we did, and I was very happy about it. Cheese and crackers is one of my favorite “snacks”, especially when I’m enjoying cocktails!

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Thanks for a fun night, neighbors! Can’t wait to do it again 🙂

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I know this sounds so lame, but I was so happy about being home early on a Friday night and waking up on a Saturday feeling refreshed. I went to BodyPump, Christmas Tree Shop and then hung out with my sister and Amy at their apartment. They even made me pizza on the grill, which was unbelievable! Have you guys ever had that? If not, I highly suggest trying it 🙂

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From there, I went on another tour of Eastie; I swear, it’s bigger than I thought! We checked out Orient Heights and Constitution Beach and I learned all of the “hidden gem” restaurants and bakeries. We ended the afternoon at KO Pies which is a place I’ve wanted to cross of my “must try” list for a while. It’s this random, little hole in the wall restaurant in the shipyard area of East Boston and I would never have known about it had I not been introduced to it. There’s also a location in Southie- have you heard of it? We enjoyed Harpoon Pumpkin Beers while chatting outside- it was the perfect day for that! Not too hot, not too cold.

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And we couldn’t leave without trying their famous pies! I didn’t take a picture because it really wouldn’t do the pie any justice, but just trust me- it was amazing and well worth a trip!

I slept at my old apartment on Saturday night and as much as I love living alone, waking up and watching TV and blogging with “roommates” around was so nice, especially since it was such a rainy/gross day. We had ridiculous amounts of laughs, especially when we all practiced “twerking”. Yes, that happened.

We spent the rest of the day with Jessi, doing lunch and shopping. I was grumpy because of the weather and traffic and crazy busy city, but I did have fun with the girls! Prosecco in the afternoon on a Sunday is never a bad thing 😉

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Nor are nachos. I have a weak, weak spot for nachos.

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After lunch we shopped a little. I was good and only got a pair of skinny jeans that were super on sale at the Gap

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And, that about sums up my weekend! I didn’t have time to make a big “Sunday dinner”, but I did make some amazing Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins and those were way better than any dinner I could have made 🙂

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you go to Harpoon fest? What’s your favorite cocktail these days?

Weekly Workouts: Tough workouts, being sore & putting myself first

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Hi, friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was very relaxing compared to last weekend, but I’ll catch you up on that later. For now, let’s talk workouts, like we do every Monday morning. I use this as a way to reflect on my workouts from the previous week, look ahead to what I want to accomplish this week and hopefully motivate all of you to think about your workouts and to make a plan.

Last week, I had some awesome workouts. I was supposed to rest more than I did, but since the weather was back to summer-like temps, I had to take advantage of the warm evenings and the fact that there was still daylight after work, so I went on some runs. I also had some intense lifting workouts, which left me veryyyy sore (nothing like rolling over on a Sunday morning being completely sore from BodyPump!).

On top of that, I did something I never do: I said “no”. And, you know what? It felt pretty good. It was just one of those days where I really needed MY OWN workout. Teaching is amazing and I love it, and when I first started, I thought teaching would still be MY workout, but I quickly realized that it’s not my workout at all; I am there for my members and ensuring that THEY have a great workout. So, when I was teaching a crazy amount of classes, I noticed how much my own workouts started to slack and it really bothered me. Now that I don’t teach as much, I focus on making my “off” days from teaching for me and it’s done wonders for my fitness levels!

And, rant over… let’s get to the workouts!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I said last week that I was going to rest on Monday, but the weather was great and I found out I was going to dinner with coworkers on Tuesday after work so I wanted to make sure to get my planned Tuesday workout in on Monday since I had more time. I ran 4 miles and it was awesome! But, on the way back I felt like I was racing the sunset.

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  • Tuesday- I ended up having a lot of time after work until dinner, so I headed up to the gym in my building and had a surprisingly good and strong strength session. I think I’ll post the workout for you soon because it left me pleasantly sore! I also did my Fall Into Fitness challenge; I had forgotten how much I love lunge & knee lift jumps!

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  • Wednesday- After saying no to subbing the class before mine, I went for a 3 mile run along the Charles. The views never get old and there’s really no better way to clear your head! Since I was so sore from my Tuesday strength session, I didn’t do much of the class with my members when I taught UXF Burn. It was a great class, though. That class loves to work hard

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  • Thursday- I felt back to my normal self on Thursday so I did all of SHRED and Kickboxing with my classes. I taught a timed circuit, Tabata cardio and Tabata abs class, thanks to a suggestion from Athena. My members loved this format, so I am definitely doing it again!
  • Friday- I did the glute press and hydrant for the Fall into Fitness challenge and walked .75 miles to the bar and back, but besides that, I rested.
  • Saturday- I warmed up with 20 minutes on the elliptical before going to BodyPump. My glutes were still sore from Thursday, so I went lighter on the leg tracks, but pushed myself with the upper body tracks. I’ve gotten stronger lately and I love it.
  • Sunday- Rest, besides walking around the mall. I was sore and since my workouts had been strong and intense all week, I thought rest was best!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I will probably run after work and then do some ab work.
  • Tuesday- Less cardio and more strength focus.
  • Wednesday- Cardio before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing, probably using the same format in SHRED this week as I did last week.
  • Friday- Rest, besides my Fall into Fitness move of the day.
  • Saturday- Teaching Kickboxing at the YMCA.
  • Sunday- I think I am going to Maine this weekend so I will try to do something there, maybe even with my mom!

Questions for you: Are you participating in Athena’s Fall into Fitness challenge? What’s a new fitness goal you have? Instructor friends, do you feel you need to work out in addition to teaching since when you teach you’re more focused on your members’ workouts?

Weekly Workouts: Getting used to my new location

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Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was a good mix of fun, being productive and even a little relaxing- shocker, right?! This past week felt like “honeymoon stage” for me as it was my first week in my new apartment. I had to get used to my new commute to and from work, in addition to my commute home from the gym on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Overall, it’s all working out very well:)

I feel like my workouts have been really good lately. They’ve been consistent, strong and they’ve varied in formats, which I think is key to seeing changes (positive ones) in your body.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went to BodyPump at the Wellington BSC after work. I’m still on the strength training kick and have been loving BodyPump lately. I don’t know if I was physically tired from my move or I just worked extra hard in class, but I left BP feeling absolutely beat! So much so, that I skipped the cardio portion of my workout; I felt like it wasn’t necessary since I worked so hard in class. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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  • Tuesday- I thought about taking a rest day, but I wanted to explore my new neighborhood and had loads of energy (I was all pumped up about the fact it only took me 30 minutes door to door to get home!) so I laced up my sneaks and headed out for a 3.5 mile run. It wasn’t a run for speed, it was a run to check out the park, trails, streets, people, etc. I found a YMCA, a Shaw’s and some restaurants- a successful run!

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  • Wednesday- I subbed Kate’s Sports Conditioning class again so Wednesday was my first double of the week. I had NO energy on Wednesday. Literally, I couldn’t even do the classes with my members because I was so physically tired. I think between my workouts the week before, in addition to moving all weekend and not resting on Monday or Tuesday, I was just beat.
  • Thursday- Luckily, I woke up feeling better on Thursday and was ready to tackle my second double of the week. I taught a superset format in my SHRED class and people seemed to love it. I played around with tempo which was a fun change-up. Kickboxing was also fun because there were a ton of people in class!
  • Friday- I FINALLY took a rest day and boy was it needed:) It felt great to go shopping after work instead of going to the gym.
  • Saturday- I slept at my old apartment on Friday night, partly to hang out with my sister, partly to clean up my old bedroom, but mostly because I was going to BodyPump on Saturday morning and thought it would be easier being 3 minutes from the gym instead of 15 😉 I did 20 minutes on the elliptical as well as 2 ab tabatas using the TRX bands prior to BodyPump. Nicole, the instructor, knows me through teaching and kept challenging me to up my weights- it was hard, but felt great! You’ll never get stronger if you keep lifting the same weight day after day.
  • Sunday- It was so beautiful out and I had a bit of a wine headache to get rid of, so I decided to go for a nice walk on the trails through the park near my apartment. I called my mom and she kept me company for nearly 2 of the miles I walked! I covered just under 2.75 miles and felt great after! It’s amazing what some fresh air can do for a headache 😉

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I hope I’ve gotten up and gone for a run by the time this post goes up! I want to go to Ikea after work to get new couch and chair covers, so my plan was to get up this morning and go for a 3-4 mile run.
  • Tuesday- I’m not sure what I’m going to do for a workout on Tuesday. I might check out the East Boston YMCA either for their classes or just for their equipment. I want to get on the sub list there since I’m so close!
  • Wednesday- Only teaching my UXF Burn class. I’ll probably go for a run or do something else prior to teaching.
  • Thursday- SHRED followed by Kickboxing. Any suggestions for what type of workout I should teach in SHRED?
  • Friday- I’ll probably take Friday as a rest day. I’ve been enjoying that 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA. I originally tried to get a sub, but I now have plans on Thursday and Friday night so I figured I might as well just stick around and teach my class on Saturday; I could certainly use the money, too!
  • Sunday- I’ll be in Maine, so I would love it if my sister wanted to go for a walk/run with me like we did the last time we were home!

Questions for you: What’s something new you’ve been loving in the workout world lately? Do you lift the same weight or do you try to challenge yourself and up your weight? Are you doing anything for Labor Day weekend?

Weekly Workouts: An exhausting week

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Hey there! I wanted to pop in quickly to say hi since I feel like I’ve been totally MIA from the social media world (besides posting a few Instagram photos). As most of you already know, I spent the weekend moving into my new apartment! I’ll post about that hopefully later this week (once I get real internet- I’m connected to my work iPhone’s hotspot right now and it’s SO slow!). I’m incredibly thankful for my parents and sister for helping me move, though- there’s no way I could have done it without them!

But let’s get to the workouts, shall we? I was SO sore yesterday- a mix from doing Tabata TRX abs before teaching kickboxing on Saturday and moving all weekend- yikes!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran 3.5 miles before work. Again, I ran pretty much as fast as I run when I run after work. It must be because my body is getting used to waking up and working out first thing.

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  • Tuesday- I was out late on Monday night so my plans of getting up to workout before work went out the window. I was going to go after work, but my sister reminded me that I hadn’t really rested much lately and when you pair that with being tired, she suggested I rest. So, I did. We met at my apartment and she brought champagne and treats- so nice of her!
  • Wednesday- I worked from home on Wednesday so I had extra time in the morning to workout. I’ve been rather stagnant with my running, doing just 3-3.5 miles each time, so I decided it was time to up that. I ran 4 miles and although it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t terrible! I then taught my UXF Burn class and introduced the new 3-2-1 format. I don’t think people really liked it that much, but I am not sure if it was because it was new or they just didn’t like it. Regardless, I ended up doing most of the workout to try to keep the energy up and the class exciting (yes, that means running and jumping around like a crazy person).

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  • Thursday- I taught a pyramid workout in SHRED that I hope to post on Wednesday for you. I loved the workout, but was so bummed when I realized that we never went back down the pyramid on the legs section. Ugh! That drives me crazy!! I used to get so annoyed at instructors when they lost count or forgot to do something, but I find myself doing that now. It’s so hard to talk, instruct AND count AND remember everything, right?! After SHRED, I taught kickboxing!

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love this shirt!!

  • Friday- I went for a 5K run after work and made a new PR (personal record) of 25:46. I hit stop, but apparently it didn’t stop, hence the time on the watch. It was fun running after work for a change.

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  • Saturday- I taught the same kickboxing routine that I taught on Thursday and then I spent the rest of the day moving. So many things carried, so many stairs run up and down, so much shopping and lifting. I was literally spent by the time we got home at 7:30pm. Talk about a long day!

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  • Sunday- More moving, lifting, carrying, shopping, walking. I didn’t stop besides sitting down to eat lunch with the family.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I am working from home in the afternoon and taking the morning off since my life is still relatively in shambles (although I am REALLY impressed with how well my apartment came together in such a short amount of time) and I need to deal with Comcast. After work, I’ll head to the Wellington BSC to lift and do cardio (would love to make it to the 5:30 BodyPump class!)… unless I’m exhausted, then I’ll rest or maybe walk around my neighborhood.
  • Tuesday- I would love to run around my new neighborhood after work, but if I don’t rest today, I’ll probably rest tomorrow.
  • Wednesday- I am subbing Kate’s Sports/Cardio Conditioning class at 5:30 and then teaching my UXF Burn class- come join me for a double:)
  • Thursday- Another double. Woof. SHRED then kickboxing.
  • Friday- Potentially another rest day, especially if I feel like I want to run errands and/or meet people for dinner.
  • Saturday- Probably BodyPump and cardio since I’m not teaching!
  • Sunday- Depends on how the rest of the week went. If it was heavy on the workouts and I feel like I need rest, I’ll take it, otherwise I’ll do something.

Questions for you: What’s your least favorite part about moving? Do you like doing “two-a-days”? Are you someone who counts in class and/or gets annoyed when instructors don’t count and forget stuff?

Weekly Workouts: On the road & back at the gym

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Good morning! How’s everyone doing today? Even though I was on the road for part of the week last week, I still had a really great week of workouts AND I was able to teach all my classes- win, win! I’m traveling to Atlanta today and tomorrow and am hoping that after that, my work travel will slow down a bit. Don’t worry, I won’t try to run outside like I did the last time I was in Atlanta! I will go to the gym and that’s about it!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran 3.25 miles before work and travel. I was having technical difficulties which frustrates me more than it should. My watch battery light was flashing so I used that and then also used Map My Run as backup in case my watch died before my run was over. I accidentally ended my Map My Run workout .25 miles into my run and had to restart it, so that distance was always behind my watch, but then my watch died 2.75 miles into my run so that didn’t matter anyway. Clearly, these are not life altering issues, but they annoy me!
  • Tuesday- I did a 30 minute hotel room workout that I will post on Wednesday! I know I usually post my class workouts in my Wednesday Workout posts, but I feel like people might like to see more workouts that can be done anywhere, and without any equipment- am I right?
  • Wednesday- All went well with my flight and I got to the gym super early so I ran 3.5 miles through Cambridge (along the Charles- the view just doesn’t get old) and then taught a new type of format in my UXF Burn class, which I think everyone liked! My hamstrings were REALLY tight the next day!

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  • Thursday- I taught the same format in my SHRED class that I had taught in my UXF Burn class on Wednesday, just with different moves and then I taught kickboxing. It was the same routine I did last week when I nearly drowned in my own sweat, only this time I didn’t sweat so much!
  • Friday- REST DAY 🙂 Besides lifting my wine glass when I went to dinner with Athena and Ashley 😉
  • Saturday- I ran the Color Me Rad run with my friend, Lauren, and her friend, Amy. I’ll recap that race later this week!

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  • Sunday- I went to the Wellington BSC and did 30 minutes of cardio on a machine (sometimes doing mindless cardio is exactly what I need/want) and then went to BodyPump. I wish I could have that workout in my schedule once a week- such a good way for me to take time to solely focus on strength training!!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I hope to have completed a nice 3-4 mile run by the time this post goes up! I will also do some abs to complete the workout.
  • Tuesday- I’ll be in Atlanta and will stick to just going to the gym or doing a hotel room workout this week! No running outside for me; I learned my lesson!
  • Wednesday- Probably some cardio before teaching UXF Burn. Any suggestions from anyone on what type of format you’d like to see or specific exercises/burpees??
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and kickboxing. I want to make a new kickboxing routine and download new music; I’m sick of all my current mixes!
  • Friday- This might be a rest day again. I have been enjoying Friday’s as rest days!
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA and then heading up to Maine for little Emma’s first birthday!!
  • Sunday- If I rest on Friday, I’ll probably do something when I’m home in Maine, but I may end up taking another rest day.

Questions for you: What type of workouts would you like to see more/less of? Ones I’ve taught? Hotel room workouts? No weights required? What’s your favorite burpee? Has anyone done the newest BodyPump release? I LOVED it.