Tag: Fitnessista

This Week {A day late… again…}: Workouts, back to a normal schedule and things I’m looking forward to

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Hey everyone! I feel like I haven’t popped in to say hi in a while- life has been a bit crazy lately, but it’s all good, fun and exciting stuff so I can’t really complain! Did you catch the awesome guest post from Tony that I posted on Friday? Here it is if you did- it’s worth a read: Guest Post: How To Prepare For A Triathlon.  I just got home from the most wonderful little weekend getaway with RM, so I can’t wait to catch you up on that. But first- the workouts. I ended up getting in 2 workouts while away, which I wasn’t planning on or expecting, but since RM wanted to sleep in and I was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to go, getting in a quick workout was a great way to give me something to do while I let him sleep.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Since it was my first day of work at my new job, I got up and did my workout in the morning. I was really sore from my 6 mile run the day before, so I just did this HIIT scorcher from the Fitnessista before doing some strength circuits.
  • Tuesday- I got up to workout before work again so that I could get a pedicure after work. I ran a tough, sucky 3 miles (how is it that I had just ran SIX miles that felt great, yet last week my 3 mile run was like the death of me?!?!) and called it a day. I ended up walking for about 30 minutes during lunch which was a nice break!

walk

  • Wednesday- I ended up running 4 miles on the treadmill for National Running Day before I taught my UXF Burn class. Was a great day of workouts!

national running day

  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing. I used a new format in SHRED that, in my head, was perfectly easy to understand, but when I went to teach it, the members were so confused and couldn’t remember what to do. I hate that! I set up 8 stations with various things at them: medicine balls, BOSU balls, stability balls, weights, towels, steps, etc. and then at each station I wrote down 3 exercises for the small groups to do. They did each for 60 seconds and then again for 30 seconds before moving on to the next station. I loved the workout, but unfortunately wasn’t able to do it all with them because it was a bigger group and they needed lots of assistance. That left me plenty of energy for my kickboxing class, though!
  • Friday- Rest day. We had a 9am flight and I had been up early every day so I decided to sleep instead of workout. Good decision on my part. We ended up doing a decent amount of walking between the airport and walking around Miami.
  • Saturday- I got up and ran a SWEATY 3 miles on the treadmill (and walked a half a mile) before completing a small circuit and some extra core work. Great way to start the day… and earn my poolside cocktails 😉 RM and I also went for a nice walk!

miami workout

  • Sunday- I woke up feeling surprisingly good after having drank a lot the day/night before, so I went to the gym for a quick workout. I did 10 minutes on the treadmill and then some supersets- I felt it yesterday!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I didn’t do anything yesterday. We wanted to get to the pool early and I was tired so I decided to sleep.
  • Tuesday- My plan today is to get a 3-4 mile run in after work and then some core exercises.
  • Wednesday- The usual: probably a run and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and then Kickboxing.
  • Friday- I might rest on Friday pending on how I feel. My new work schedule is working from home on Mondays instead of Fridays so I’ll be at the office. I may try to get in a walk during lunch.
  • Saturday- I’ll be at the YMCA teaching my cardio kickboxing class!
  • Sunday- I’ll be up in Maine (again…) for Father’s Day so I’m sure I’ll get something in!

Getting Back on Schedule

Over the past 3+ weeks, my schedule has been, well, non-existent. Between ending my old job, taking a week+ for myself, starting a new job and then going to Miami, I’ve been all over the place and any sort of routine or schedule has been completely thrown to the wayside. I have to say, though, it’s been really nice! My weeks were so regimented: breakfast was the same, lunch and snacks were the same, I had the same stuff after work, etc. It’s been a good change to not be on a schedule and it’s given my body time to get off of all the normal things it eats and does. With that said, though, I’m ready to be back on some type of schedule- I’m ready to tone it down on the eating out and can’t wait to be making my lunches again and cooking up nice, healthy dinners!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m actually excited to be back in the office this week. I’m really enjoying my new job thus far and can’t wait to be in the full swing of it. I’m also looking forward to Friday night because the Shapleigh girls are having a night out! I bought a Groupon for the Brahmin a while ago so we are going to go for dinner and a few drinks. Lastly, even though I’ve been home to Maine so much lately, I am looking forward to spending Father’s Day with my dad and going to Tucker’s 1st birthday party! And, let’s face it- I love going to Maine!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Did you participate in National Running Day? What are you looking forward to this week? Do you find yourself eating the same thing day after day during the week?

Wednesday Workout: My favorite fitness blogs

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I have a super fun “Wednesday Workout” post for you in the makes, but I ran out of time over the weekend, got home much later than planned on Monday and left for North Carolina on Tuesday, so, in other words, I didn’t have a chance to finish it. Womp, womp.

Now that I have time to go to the gym on my own, I’ve noticed that tend to use workouts that fellow bloggers post, or take pieces of their workouts and make a bit of a mash-up workout to do. Since I find these blogs helpful for providing motivation to get to the gym (and workouts to do when you get to the gym), I thought I’d share them with you in case you’re in a workout “rut” and need inspiration.

Fitness and Feta
It should be no surprise that Athena’s blog should be at the top for my favorite fitness blogs. Members always say how the two of us teach very similar classes, and since I have gone to a number of Athena’s classes (back when I lived in Brighton, I went to her 6am Thursday class at the Y religiously) and have done a number of the workouts she’s posted on Fitness and Feta (most recently, her 10-12-15 workout), I can agree that we do have a very similar teaching style! Her workouts are tough, full body and she always keeps the format changing, which helps me when it’s time for me to make my workouts since I tend to get into “fitness ruts” and need reminders for ways to change up a workout. On top of this, Athena has created a number of online fitness “challenges” that helps bring her readers together and push us out of our comfort zone. If you haven’t tried one, I highly suggest it!

Nutcase In Point
Right behind Athena, is Jen’s blog. Jen was also an Oak Square class groupie like I was; we were always in the same classes, always in the front, and usually sweating more than everyone else (sorry, Jen… I take pride in my sweat production! Haha). Anyway, she subbed for some of Athena’s classes and was always a sub that I didn’t mind, because she taught very similarly to Athena. Now that she lives in Canada, we don’t get to workout together (wish we did, though!!), but I do love reading her blog because she always throws in moves that are either completely new to me, or, are moves I haven’t done in forever and completely forgot about. Oh, and did I mention she bakes amazing looking treats and that she used to do a Winesday Wednesday series that I think she should bring back… hint, hint 😉

Fitnessista
Fitnessista was one of the first healthy living blogs I started reading, and I’ve been and avid follower ever since. Gina’s posts range in topics from workouts to her job as a fitness instructor to cute stories about her little daughter and to delicious looking recipes, to name a few. One of my favorite post series are her “Focus On” posts where she picks a trending workout (her latest was Focus On: Buti Fitness which looks incredibly… interesting, to say the least) and gives background about the workout in addition to pros and cons of it. If she isn’t familiar with a particular trending workout, she will have a reader or friend write a guest post on the topic. Another thing I enjoy about her blog is the fact that she reminds us all about the things we should all remember and follow, but rarely (in my case, at least) do, such as resting, changing up the intensity of the workouts, listening to your body, etc.

PB Fingers
Julie’s blog was another blog that I started reading a number of years ago (before she became a full time blogger) and have enjoyed thoroughly throughout those years. Recently, Julie became a fitness instructor and I’ve enjoyed reading about the various classes she has started to teach, as well as all of the functional workouts that she posts. Julie’s workouts tend to be shorter and simpler in format, but sometimes seeing those workouts are just what I need to remember that every workout doesn’t have to have some crazy format or advanced moves to be effective; as long as you’re getting your heart rate up, working hard and sweating, that counts as a workout in my book!

Day With KT
Kim has been a reader and follower of Burpees to Bubbly for a while now (thank you, thank you, thank you!) and when I went over to her site, I realized she’s as big of a fitness nut as I am! She’s also doing the Daily 44 this year in honor of her being 44. The “Daily 44” is something she created to stay healthy and active (which started with her Daily 43 after her 43rd birthday), so each day she picks an exercise and does 44 reps of it. The exercises and format of how she gets to 44 vary from day to day, but I had a blast reading through all of the different exercises she has chosen thus far and can absolutely see myself doing something like this for a milestone birthday (maybe my 30th, which is much closer than I’d like to admit!).

I could go on and on, but these are my top 5 favorite fitness blogs where I get most of my inspiration for workouts.
Questions for you: What’s your favorite fitness blog? Any new ones that I should add to my list?