Tag: Fall Into Fitness

Weekly Workouts: Lots of Teaching {and preparing for Dallas & Chicago}

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Hi there! Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was busy, but really fun. Friday night I babysat and Saturday I taught kickboxing, drove to NH for a family friend’s surprise 60th (more on that later!) and then came back to MA for a gym friends party at Athena’s. I love getting a chance to hang out with those girls because they “get” me and the gym thing. There was LOTS of delicious food at both parties and even though I tried to pace myself and choose healthy options, I definitely splurge! Well worth it, though 🙂

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Since I know this week is going to be pretty crazy busy, too, (I am leaving for Dallas on Tuesday and then going straight from there to Chicago on Thursday for a long weekend getaway with my sister), I took advantage of a wide open schedule yesterday and RELAXED… can you believe it?! I got up, lounged around, blogged, went to the gym and grocery shopping then vowed to not leave the house for the rest of the day. It.was.awesome! And so necessary.

Last week, I got a last minute sub request for the Wednesday sports conditioning class which is right before my UXF Burn class. Since I am missing my classes again this week and am in need of some extra money, I agreed to sub for her. I love that class, but teaching a double on Wednesday and on Thursday is a lot! When I have weeks like this were I teach 5 classes (2 Wednesday, 2 Thursday and 1 Saturday), I wonder how I ever survived teaching Monday and Wednesday- Saturday. That was so silly! Now that I have cut back on teaching, I’ve learned to really appreciate MY OWN workouts and have started to see some great changes in my body because of that.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I had a bad day on Monday and was in need of some serious exercise endorphins, so I headed to the East Boston YMCA for a treadmill run and core exercises. After 4 miles, I felt much better!

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  • Tuesday- My legs were super tired from my run on Monday (not sure why) and my upper body was still a little tight from Sunday, so I decided to just go to the gym in my office building and do a superset core-focused workout with my Fall Into Fitness moves in between (crab walks, bear walks, duck walks, 1-legged burpees). It was a great workout!!

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  • Wednesday- I taught Sports Conditioning and UXF Burn. I did an AMRAP workout in sports conditioning and a Halloween themed workout in UXF Burn- people may have made fun of me, but I think they actually had a lot of fun 😉

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  • Thursday- Taught SHRED (another Halloween inspired/themed workout) and Kickboxing. I taught a super high intensity cardio class in kickboxing and finished with lots of glute and core work.
  • Friday- Nothing 🙂 Well deserved rest!
  • Saturday- Taught another high intensity cardio kickboxing class… I gave them the option to do more cardio or more core and Mary said cardio, so I blamed it on her 🙂
  • Sunday- I went to the Y Pump class again since I hadn’t really done a “real” strength workout since last Sunday. Granted, I did lift in my classes, but when I teach, the workouts are not for me, so I don’t get to lift to my potential. I have to use whatever weights are available and jump around to correct form, so I never end up finishing a full set.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Since I did strength yesterday, I’ll probably do cardio today… likely another treadmill run since it’s definitely too dark to run outside after work now.
  • Tuesday- I have a 2pm flight to Dallas, which means I will work from home in the morning, which also means I will do an at home workout. Not sure what I’ll feel like doing, but I’ll figure it out!
  • Wednesday- I will be in Dallas and I have a full day of training (business writing development- I am actually really excited about it!), so I will have to get up and do an early hotel workout. I’m hoping the Westin has a good gym!
  • Thursday- Same thing as Wednesday!
  • Friday- I will be in Chicago with my sister, so I hope she will get up and do a workout with me before we meet up with our friend JP for site seeing!
  • Saturday- Not sure. We are staying at a Sheraton, which generally has a great gym so I would like to workout, but it depends on what we do Friday night and what the agenda is for Saturday. Since I am going to be “on vacation”, I am going to try to be more relaxed and not plan my day around my workouts (at this point, it’s so part of my “schedule”, that I have to make more of an effort to not do it than to do it!).
  • Sunday- Again, I am not sure!

Questions for you: What is your favorite “on the road” workout? Have you ever been to Chicago? What’s a “must see”?

Weekly Workouts: Awesome on the road workouts & finally back at teaching!

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I have to say, it feels pretty darn good knowing that I don’t have to travel for work this week! I need to soak it in because next week I will be in Dallas from Tuesday-Thursday and then I am flying directly to Chicago for a long weekend getaway. This week/weekend is also a bit crazy, but all of the craziness is good stuff, so I can’t really complain 🙂

Last week, I was in Ohio for my workouts on Monday and Tuesday, but both workouts were strong and didn’t feel like “on the road” or hotel room workouts which is always a plus! I was really excited to get back to teaching, though, which I think was a little scary for my members 😉

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I often workout in my hotel room because it can save 10 minutes or more of my morning by eliminating the travel time to the gym and equipment set up time. I’m all about efficiency in the morning and sleeping for as long as possible, so extra sleep and a hotel room workout generally trump all else. With that said, I knew I would have more time on Monday morning to workout so I decided to head to the gym. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and then completed a short strength circuit, including the Monday and Tuesday moves for the Fall Into Fitness challenge that I am participating in. Loved the Monkey Curls!

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  • Tuesday- I completed a 25 rep core and cardio workout that I will post for you this week. No equipment necessary and even with a warm up, I finished in 28 minutes. Win, win if you ask me!

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  • Wednesday- I was finally back in the gym!!! I ran a 5K on the treadmill before teaching a killer UXF Burn class. I did the usual format that my class enjoys (Face off, but staying in their own spots) and after the Strength & Core exercises, we did 10 burpee tuck jumps. By the end of class, we did 100 burpees!
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. Felt good to be back for my double.
  • Friday- I did not have a great day on Friday and when I have bad days I usually like to workout, but I knew I should rest since I was teaching kickboxing on Saturday, so I drank wine instead… while doing my Fall Into Fitness Bridge & Crunch move. Whoops.

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  • Saturday- I taught a fun kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. There were 33 people in class and the energy was so high- I was in instructor heaven. Judging by Jen’s Facebook status, it was a good workout for them, too!

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  • Sunday- I decided I wanted to try the “Y Pump” at the East Boston YMCA. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love BodyPump and have been working on increasing my strength workouts so since I was around yesterday morning, I decided to try it out (it was hard to not just go to the 11am BodyPump class at the Wellington, BSC, though, since I know what to expect there!). The class ended up being awesome! We did a lot of reps and I really struggled to finish a number of the sets. In addition to the bars, we also used a band, something I don’t do often. I was sore by the end of the day yesterday, so I’m sure that will continue today!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- To be honest, I am not sure! Since I did weights yesterday, I’ll probably focus more on cardio today. I hate that it’s getting colder and darker out after workout because I loved my Monday night runs!
  • Tuesday- Pending on whether or not I’m still sore from Sunday, I would like to do a lower or upper body strength workout. If I am still sore, I’ll do a core-focused workout.
  • Wednesday- The usual: cardio and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Another usual: SHRED and Kickboxing. I may bring back a circuit/stations workout this week since it’s been a while since I’ve done that!
  • Friday- Rest day? I am babysitting after work and since I’m teaching on Saturday again, a rest day is perfect.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing again at the Oak Square YMCA. Since I will be in Chicago next weekend, which was my weekend to teach, the other instructor was nice enough to switch with me so I wouldn’t miss out on a class. Thanks, Amy!
  • Sunday- I have a feeling this will be a rest day, too. My weekend is: babysitting Friday night, teaching Saturday morning, heading to ME for the afternoon and then heading back to MA for a gym friend’s party so I think by Sunday, I am going to be exhausted!

Questions for you: Do you like trying new classes at the gym or do you stick to the classes you know will be a good workout? What was your best workout last week?

Weekly Workouts: A lighter/less intense week of workouts

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Happy Monday, friends. I feel like I was ripped off this past weekend since I lost half of my Sunday due to work travel. I’m currently in Ohio until late on Tuesday night. In all honesty, though, I’d rather lose half a Sunday instead of missing classes this week. I hated missing my classes last week… I haven’t taught since October 12th!!!

Since I was home in Maine for a workout as well as North Carolina for one and didn’t teach my Thursday double, I felt like my workouts weren’t as intense as they generally are. But, you know what? That’s ok! It’s good for you to give your body a rest from intense workout, after intense workout, after intense workout… and even though I know this, I am the first to admit that I don’t always do that. It’s almost nice when I have a schedule that forces me to slow down and not be able to follow my usual workout schedule.

With that said, let’s talk about the workouts!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine and I did Athena’s 10-12-15 Workout, which was a great way to start the day! I finally got some weights, so I was excited to use them! I did combos of high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks and jump squats for the 2 minute cardio bursts. I did each circuit 3 times through!
  • Tuesday- I had a 2:30 flight, meaning I worked from home in the morning. Before I started work, I went for a 3.5 mile run and then did some abs and my Fall Into Fitness moves for Tuesday and Wednesday since I wasn’t sure I’d have access to weights at the hotel on Wednesday.

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  • Wednesday- I did a 30 minute hotel room, no weights workout before heading to our client site. It consisted of 5 minutes of cardio, 5 minutes of core and 5 minutes of strength and I repeated that 2 times. I’ll post it for you later… promise! 🙂

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  • Thursday- My work trip got cut short, so I could have taught my double on Thursday, but since I had already gotten a sub for both classes and had planned on going to my favorite instructor’s kickboxing class in Wellington, I decided to keep the subs and go with my original plan. During the day, I did some strength training since I usually do on Thursdays and then I went to kickboxing. It was… good… but not as good as I remembered and I left the gym really wishing I would’ve just taught my double instead 😦 I did get some new combo ideas, which was the point of me going, I just didn’t get the intense workout I was hoping for. Oh well!
  • Friday- I usually rest on Friday’s, but since my workouts hadn’t been overly intense and I felt physically ready to do something, I went for a 3 mile jog. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I ran fast for some odd reason.
  • Saturday- I went to the gym with the intention of going to BodyPump, but the class was absolutely packed and there were not enough bars and plates for everyone so, as an instructor, I felt like I should give up my equipment since I could do my own strength workout much more easily than someone who needs a class in order to work out. I did a full body strength workout and finished with my favorite: TRX abs! I also talked to a personal trainer about potentially doing some training sessions. We get a discount as an instructor and I feel like in order to take my lifting to the next level, I need someone instructing and pushing me to ensure I’m safe and lifting to my potential.

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New Lulu is always a sure motivator to get to the gym, right?! Or, any new workout clothes for that matter.

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  • Sunday- I wanted to go for a jog or walk because it was beautiful, but I slept until 9am (!!!!) and had to leave at 2 for the airport and had a million other things to do that took precedence over a workout. That’s ok, though. A rest day was probably a good idea! (I did do my seated rows for the Fall Into Fitness challenge!)

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Pending on what the hotel gym looks like and/or what time we need to be at the client site, I may go to the gym, or I may do kickboxing in my room or something else in my room.
  • Tuesday- Same thing as Monday 🙂
  • Wednesday- Cardio and then TEACHING!!! I’ve missed it so much, so members, just a heads up: I might be crazier than usual 😉
  • Thursday- Finally back to my Thursday double! I have a new format I want to teach in SHRED and then I’ll bring in some new combos to kickboxing, too.
  • Friday- I am not sure! If I feel like I need rest, I will, otherwise I’ll try to squeeze something in.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA.
  • Sunday- rest? maybe? again, it will depend on how I feel.

Questions for you: Do you feel like you have a hard time finding or making time for a workout? Do you have home gym equipment?

Weekly Workouts: Taking Advantage of the Warm Weather

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Hi there! For those of you who have today off… I am jealous! I stayed in Maine last night to have “Sunday Dinner” with my parents which was a nice treat. I figured that there wouldn’t be any traffic heading south this morning since a lot of people probably have today off.

I am hoping that last week was the last burst of warm/hot weather for a while. I’m ready for fall: sweaters, boots, jeans, no humidity… anyone else?

With that said, I did take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather last Monday and went for a nice, long(er… for me, at least) run, some of it along the ocean at Constitution beach in East Boston. I was introduced to this beach last weekend on my second tour of Eastie and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it was- and the fact that it is only 5 minutes from my apartment.

Other than my long run, the rest of the week was par for the course in terms of workouts. I’ve been taking advantage of the gym at my office on days I want to just focus on weights. It’s not a great gym, but it has all the dumbbells I need, in addition to stability balls and mats- more than enough for me to get a sufficient weight session in. Plus, it’s always empty, which is key. I may love having the attention on me in most areas of my life, but when I’m at the gym working out (not when I’m teaching), I don’t want anyone looking at me, so an empty gym is perfect!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran 4.5 miles after work and then did my Monday Fall into Fitness moves, as well as Saturday’s and Sunday’s since I failed to do them on the day I was supposed to. Whoops.

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  • Tuesday- I did a full body strength workout that looked like this: 4 exercises, 12 reps each, 3 rounds, for upper, lower and abs. I left the gym surprisingly sweaty and very tired!

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching UXF Burn. My classes have been much busier now that the weather is getting cooler!

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  • Thursday- I taught another timed circuit in SHRED followed by kickboxing.
  • Friday- Rest, besides my Fall Into Fitness move of the day and cleaning.
  • Saturday- Taught a super high energy kickboxing class. There were 30 people and everyone was ON IT and having fun and laughing and laughing at my jokes… It couldn’t have been a more perfect class 🙂
  • Sunday- Another rest day besides walking around while shopping and doing my plank for Fall Into Fitness!

This Week’s Workouts

I’m traveling on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, so my workouts will be a little different from normal. I was supposed to be gone on Thursday, too, so I got a sub for my double, but my trip got cut short so I will be around on Thursday. But, I’m keeping my sub because it will give me a chance to go to my favorite instructor’s kickboxing class to helpfully get some new material. I learned most of my teaching style from this instructor so I’m really excited to go to her class (even though I do feel guilty about missing my classes… I’m sorry!!).

  • Monday- I hope to get some type of full body workout in after work today. Ugh. Wish I had the day off!
  • Tuesday- My flight is at 2:30 so I will work from home in the morning. Before that, I will do something at home. Maybe something similar to this? Although I did FINALLY buy some weights this past weekend. I’m so happy to expand my at-home workout equipment.
  • Wednesday- Something at the hotel. We aren’t staying anywhere nice, so I’m assuming the gym isn’t very good, so it may be a hotel room workout. As long as I sweat, I don’t care what I do 🙂
  • Thursday- Since I already got a sub to teach my double, I’m going to head to the Wellington BSC and go to Katie’s kickboxing class. My members may not like having a sub, but they will like having fresh, new material 🙂
  • Friday- Not sure. Usually Friday is my rest day, but if my workouts were light during the week, I’ll probably do something. I won’t be able to do anything on Sunday since I fly out again for another work trip 😦
  • Saturday- Probably cardio and BodyPump since I don’t have to teach. I would LOVE to sub a class on Saturday if there was one available.
  • Sunday- Nothing. I am going to my friend’s party in NH on Saturday night and will likely spend the night, so I will have to get up early and head back since my flight is at 3ish on Sunday.

Questions for you: Did you take advantage of the warm weather last week? Instructor friends, have you ever gotten a sub for your class to go to another class?