Tag: Muscle Mix

This Week: Workouts, Making the Mental Shift & Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Good morning! How are you doing today? I hope you had a great weekend. Some of you may have seen my Instagram post at the end of last week:

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I have never experienced what I experienced last week, but I can tell you it wasn’t very fun. Looking back, it’s likely from pushing myself too hard and too far, but I struggle because if I feel ok and want to work out, how do I know that I’ve pushed it too far until something happens? In the past, I’ve struggled with rest days… more than I’d like to admit. But, over the past few months, I’ve been much better at not only TAKING 2 every week, but also ENJOYING it. I look forward to my rest days now, actually.

But last week, 4 unplanned rest days really threw me for a loop. I didn’t want to rest on Thursday. I wanted to go to a class and I wanted to rest on Friday. I wanted to race on Saturday and rest on Sunday. Unfortunately, my body had other plans for me, and even though I knew I needed to listen to my body, it was hard to not have negative thoughts about the extra rest and not being able to do anything. I hate that I still think that way when things don’t go as planned. It’s definitely my Type A personality showing throw- I hate not being in control and going off plan. But the thing is, plans don’t always work out and sometimes our bodies just have a different plan for us.

I know that I won’t lose any physical gains I’ve made by taking extra rest days, but making the mental shift to get rid of negative thoughts during unplanned rest days is hard! I’ve mastered it for the rest days I plan (I feel zero regret and I don’t miss my workouts at all), but when something throws a kink in that plan, that’s when I struggle.

I received some great feedback from some followers and every single message made me feel so much better. There’s just something so nice and comforting to hear advice from fellow friends who workout and can likely relate to how I was feeling. So, thank you, friends- your words meant so much to me!! And you know what? I really ended up enjoying the extra rest and had way fewer negative thoughts about it than I thought I would. Rather, I tried to soak it up and appreciate the slower paced life for a few days.

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Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and then did 10 minutes on the stair stepper.
  • Tuesday- I went home after work and did something I haven’t done in a LONG time: I did an at-home workout! When I was at MANIA, I won a Step 360 so I decided to go home and test it out. The verdict? I LOVE it! It’s probably one of my new favorite workout tools. I’ll post the workout I did because it can be adapted to using a step (like I did in UXF Burn last week) or a BOSU even if you don’t have a Step 360.

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  • Wednesday- I ran a 5K before teaching UXF Burn.

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  • Thursday & Friday-  Rest  days, as mentioned above.
  • Saturday- I got up and felt much better, so I did some stretching and light core work to start my day.
  • Sunday- I went for a 30 minute walk around East Boston. I had been inside for too long and realized I really needed to get some fresh air so I laced up and headed out. It was chilly, but it felt great.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m not sure my plan today. I may head to the YMCA for a workout after work.
  • Tuesday- I may try to go to Cara’s Tabata Treadmill class at Beantown Bootcamp, but if I don’t, I’ll maybe go to my favorite bootcamp at the Wellington BSC. I’ll see how I’m feeling, I guess!
  • Wednesday- I will probably do some light cardio before teaching UXF Burn. It’s our last class before the holiday so I need to make it good 😉
  • Thursday- Hopefully I’ll be able to go to the cardio kickboxing class I wasn’t able to go to last week.
  • Friday- Rest day
  • Saturday- I’m teaching cardio kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA
  • Sunday- Rest

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I think what I’m looking forward to the most is going home to Maine this weekend with RM. We are going to head up after I teach on Saturday and will stop in Kennebunkport for lunch and some shopping before going to my parents for the night. I can’t wait to cook and drink wine and just hang out. I’ll be back home next week for Thanksgiving, but I’m never mad about extra time up there!

Questions for you: How do you feel about weeks with more rest days in them than you’re used to? What was the best workout you had last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

This Week: Workouts, loving my rest days & things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning and happy Monday! How about the weather this weekend?! It was a very welcomed change after a super rainy week last week, that’s for sure.

My gym friends and I got together on Friday night (more on that later!) and we were all talking about our crazy schedules and our workouts and teaching and all those things that we all have in common. I mentioned that I’ve been better about resting for at least 2 days each week and someone said she noticed that and was proud of me. I’m starting to get to the point where I’m LOVING my rest days and I really look forward to them. At first, I’ll admit- it was hard. I wanted to be working out and I felt guilty when I had a day where I didn’t do it. Looking back, I hate that about myself… but- I love that I’ve been able to get through that and have learned to really cherish my time off from the gym or any type of workout. Last Thursday, for instance, I planned to have a rest day from the gym. The fact that I didn’t need to pack up for the gym was an awesome feeling. And, during my normal after work gym time, I was able to run a bunch of errands and start prepping for the party I had on Saturday. With crazy busy weeks, it’s nice to let my workout time fall off my plate so that I can do other things.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went for a 3.5 mile run after work on Monday. I also did some weights and core work when I got back to my apartment. I’m trying to take advantage of the weather while it lasts and take my workouts outside.
  • Tuesday- I subbed a double at the South Station BSC. It was cardio kickboxing and then UXF Burn. I know I’ve said this before, but when I sub a double, I’m quickly reminded at how great my decision was to drop my double over the summer. They’re so tiring!

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  • Wednesday- I did the cross trainer for 25 minutes before teaching UXF Burn.

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  • Thursday- Rest day
  • Friday- I went to the gym during lunch and ran for 10 minutes before completing a shortened version of the workout I taught on Wednesday- it was killer.

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  • Saturday- I taught my cardio kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. The fall crowds are back and I love it!! We worked super hard and I was crazy sore on Sunday. What do you think of my new shirt? Super deal at Lulu.

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  • Sunday- Rest day #2

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I will have taught my 6am Muscle Mix class by the time this post goes up.
  • Tuesday- I’m not sure. I might go to the bootcamp class at the Wellington BSC that I went to a few weeks ago.
  • Wednesday- I will probably run before UXF Burn. It’s supposed to be like 70 something degrees out so hopefully I can run outside!
  • Thursday & Friday- One of these days will be a rest day. I’ll likely decide based on how I feel from my workouts earlier in the week.
  • Saturday- I’m subbing for Missy, so I’ll be back at the Oak Square YMCA for cardio kickboxing.
  • Sunday- Rest day. My parents will be here and I have book club so it will be a busy day.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to a quieter week- last week was insane and there just weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I’m only teaching 3 classes this week, so that helps a lot. I’m also looking forward to my parents coming on Saturday. They are meeting RM’s family for the first time and I can’t wait!

Questions for you: What was your best workout last week? How do you take advantage of rest days? What are you looking to this week?

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

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Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend… a great long weekend for those of you who had yesterday off! I spent it in Maine and it was just what I needed after a big week of teaching. The past couple of weeks/month have been much lighter on the workout front- both in length and in teaching. And you know what? I’m ok with that! It was a hard adjustment to make- that whole slowing down thing is really hard for me- but after having a week where I taught 6 classes in 5 days, I’m reminded of just how physically and mentally demanding that type of schedule is. It’d be one thing if I didn’t have a full time job, but after an 8+ hour work day, teaching that many classes, for me, at this time, is just too much. I’m sure last week won’t be my last week of a big teaching schedule because I love subbing and sometimes it just works out like that, but it’s a good reminder that I made the right decision by dropping some classes!

I only have 3 “real” days this week since I had yesterday off and am taking Friday off for Sheila’s wedding, which normally is a good thing, but this week I feel like I have so much to cram in in such a short amount of time! I’m moving next weekend and have done zero packing- whoops! Oh well. It will all get done, and the beauty is that I’m just moving up to the second floor so I can move things up in small shifts! I think I’m going to take a break from working out next week (besides my teaching) so that I have ample time to move throughout the week.

But, let’s get to the workouts!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and then ran for 10 minutes on the treadmill. RM and I went for a walk later that evening, too.
  • Tuesday- I taught my first outdoor bootcamp in Wakefield! We had so much fun… or at least I had a lot of fun. There were 3 ladies and they rocked it- I can’t wait to throw new things at them this week!

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  • Wednesday– I ran 20 minutes before teaching, and doing, my UXF Burn class at Central Square. With the 90* temps, it was not the most enjoyable run, but I went out without my Garmin or Map My Run and just went for time. It was nice to not do anything but run! In class, I threw in some new core moves that I made up and was happy to see that they left me a little sore!

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  • Thursday- I subbed my old SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing classes at the Central Square BSC. I’d heard bad things about the guy who took over my classes (I’ve taken one of his classes and thought he was a total jerk, so I can’t say I’m surprised), and was sad to see that there were only 5 people for SHRED and 6 for Kickboxing. I hate hearing that the numbers have dropped so much 😦

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  • Friday- I rested besides a little walk to run errands.
  • Saturday- I taught my Saturday kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. I was afraid it was going to be a very small class, but there ended up being about 20 people- not bad for Labor Day Weekend!

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  • Sunday- Another rest day, besides filming another set of cardio kickboxing videos– can’t wait to post them for you!

This Weeks Workouts

  • Monday- Yesterday we all were up early so I headed out for a 3 mile jog and finished up with a short strength circuit and some core work with my mom!
  • Tuesday- I’m teaching my outdoor bootcamp again- can’t wait!
  • Wednesday- I’m teaching UXF Burn at 6:30 at Central Square and will probably do some cardio beforehand.
  • Thursday- I’m not sure! Maybe a class at PUMPS, maybe kickboxing at Wellington, maybe my own workout?
  • Friday- I’ll workout before I head to the Cape in the morning. Probably kickboxing if I don’t do that on Thursday night. Or a running bootcamp workout.
  • Saturday- I would love to do something before Sheila’s wedding. She doesn’t think she will have time to join, but maybe some of my other friends will?
  • Sunday- Probably a rest day after the wedding festivities 😉

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I am SO excited for Sheila’s wedding!! Sheila is one of the funniest and fun people I know and I am positive her wedding will be nothing less than an absolute blast. And, when all my SMC girls get together, it’s never a bad thing! I’m also excited to see the boyfriend… we haven’t seen each other since last Tuesday, which is a really long time for us. I missed him!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Did you have Monday off?

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really fun, but also really busy. I was supposed to go to my gym friend, Jen’s, “Porch Friday” summer kickoff gathering, but after the week I had, I was beat and decided to lay low. I hate missing things, but knew I needed to take it easy since Saturday and Sunday were going to be nonstop. Instead, some wine and snacks at Piers Park helped me relax from the week.

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Saturday started with a super sweaty UXF Burn/SHRED class that I subbed at the Central Square BSC (my usual gym). It was awesome to see so many of my Wednesday and Thursday regulars in class! Here’s some of my new lulu that I bought 😉

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Paycheck + Lulu near my work= a little splurge 😉

From there, RM and I headed north for a BBQ at Christy and Jaime’s. Sadly, I didn’t take ANY pictures- whoops! But everything was amazing- the food, drinks, company, weather- all in all it was a great afternoon! From there, I headed to Liz’s house for a gym friends party. I always look forward to these nights because it’s so fun to chat with other instructors and share our crazy interesting teaching stories.

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(thanks for the photo, Liz! And hosting us 🙂 )

Sunday started with a UXF Burn class and then RM and I went for a nice, long 3 or 4 mile walk along the beach before going to Jess and Brian’s baby shower. They had it at Shake Shack in Harvard Square. I’ve never been there before, but I am sold- their burgers and fries were amazingggg. It was such a fun baby shower- they didn’t open gifts or play any games, which is more my style. We were able to chat and mingle- perfect!

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Phew! What a weekend- I love when I get to spend time with my college friends and it was fun having RM meet everyone! But, let me tell you- 3 parties and party food in 2 days makes me really ready for some clean eats. Indulgences are totally worth it (and sometimes why I workout 😉 ), though.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
  • Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work and it felt great! I had fast splits (for me!) and was able to clear my head.

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  • Wednesday- My new company had their summer outing after work so I got up to workout before I headed into the office. I was going to do a 2 mile jog and then body weight strength training but ended up running 3 miles and just some push-ups, squats, planks, etc.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and then Cardio Kickboxing. I did a 25-15-4 rep format for SHRED and liked it!
  • Friday- Rest day since I was teaching on Saturday and Sunday.
  • Saturday- I ran 2 miles on the treadmill before subbing UXF Burn/SHRED. We worked so hard and I loved every second of it!

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  • Sunday- I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I was happy I did. There were only 2 people in the UXF Burn class I subbed, but it was fun because I was able to do stuff I don’t usually get to do! Also, there was another instructor in the class who teaches Barre so I let her lead the last 5 minutes of core work and it was killer!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- By the time this post goes up I will have taught my 6am Muscle Class and done a little cardio after.
  • Tuesday- I’m running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge after work. It’s a 3.5 mile race, so nothing too crazy.
  • Wednesday- I’ll either run or do some other cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I missed them last week!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing.
  • Friday- Probably a rest day besides a walk at lunch.
  • Saturday- Back at the Oak Square YMCA for my Cardio Kickboxing class… I hope my front row is back 🙂
  • Sunday- I would LOVE to get some yoga in. I need to make that happen.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as part of the team at my new company. Our shirts are so dorky, but it’s kind of funny! I’m also excited to go out with some former coworkers, including my friend Tim, later in the week. Other than that, I’m excited for a weekend where I really have nothing planned. I may head to the Cape with RM on Saturday, but if I ended up sticking around here I wouldn’t be mad at all. I want to get my hair highlighted, so that would be great if I could fit that in on Saturday.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you been to Shake Shack? What are you looking forward to this week? Are you running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge?

This Week: Workouts, increase in running mileage and things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning! What a gorgeous weekend we had, right?! It’s amazing what a good dose of Vitamin D, warm weather and outdoor cocktails can do for your (my) mood. Another thing good weather is for? Running outside. This past week, I amped up my running for some odd reason. I’m not one for running more than a couple of days in a week, but it felt good this week so I ended up running 4 days! It’s definitely not my favorite way to workout, but sometimes my regular workouts get boring and I need to change things up.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical after.
  • Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work!!! I’ve been capping my runs at 4 miles lately and decided it was time to amp it up a bit. It wasn’t my fastest mile times, but it felt pretty good.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles along the Charles before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED (which left me SO sore) and then Cardio Kickboxing. I almost had a meltdown because I realized I forgot my socks and teaching for 2 hours sans socks would’ve been a really miserable experience. Luckily, a random (seemingly normal and hygienic) lady in the locker room volunteered an extra pair of clean socks to the cause- I was so thankful! She forgot her sports bra, but unfortunately I didn’t have anything to give her there.
  •  Friday- Friday’s are usually my rest days but since I wasn’t teaching on Saturday and was going to a surprise birthday party that night, I decided to workout. My plan was just to run 2 miles then do yoga, but I ended up running 3 miles and then doing about 20 minutes of yoga and my standing ab workout. I was sore before I worked out and even more sore after. Whoops!
  • Saturday- I did A LOT of manual work with my dad. He came down to start my garden for me and I lugged so many heavy bags of soil mixes and wood and shoveled so much- phew!

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  • Sunday- I went for another run- 4 miles this time- with and average of 8 min/mile, which is pretty fast for me. I also did some core work.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My plan is to do a strength workout during my lunch break since I won’t have access to the gym for much longer (more on that later!). I’m not going to do cardio today since last week was cardio heavy.
  • Tuesday- I have plans after work (going away party for work- again, more on that later!) so I’ll get up in the morning and probably run and do core work.
  • Wednesday- Running and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and then cardio kickboxing.
  • Friday- Likely a rest day or yoga day. I don’t think I’ll have to work so that means I have plenty of time for something.
  • Saturday- I’ll finally be back at the Oak Square YMCA for my cardio kickboxing class- I missed you guys last week!
  • Sunday- Probably nothing. I think I’ll be in NH Saturday night and then heading to Maine on Sunday for Memorial Day weekend.

Increase in Running Mileage- how much is too much?

Last week I ran 15 miles, which is more than I’ve run in a long time. I get a little nervous about doing that much running in a week because I’m afraid of getting injured (and since I’m still teaching my regular fitness classes). I’m by no means a “runner” and have developed injuries in the past when I’ve run too much, but lately I’ve really been enjoying it. I think part of the reason is because I’ve had a lot on my mind and running is a good way to zone out and think about things. It’s also been fun to see how my speed changes depending on whether I run at night or in the morning and I’ve been pleased that, for the most part, my speed keeps increasing. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep at it, but for now I’m just soaking it all in.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Phew. Lots of stuff this week! I’m looking forward to having some time off at the end of the week and celebrating with work people after work on Tuesday. I’m also looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. The boy and I are going to his Uncle’s birthday party/pig roast on Saturday and then we will head up to Maine on Sunday for a BBQ at my parents house (I think!). It will be nice to be around friends and family and really kick off the summer. I just hope the warm, sunny weather is here to stay 🙂

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Are you a “runner”? What’s your advice for increasing mileage and/or speed in a way that avoids getting injured and not overworking yourself? What are you looking forward to this week?