Tag: Oak Square YMCA

Weekly Workouts: Travel Edition

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Hey there! How was your weekend?? Mine was a whirlwind of a weekend, but an absolute blast! I can’t wait to recap because it was such a fun little mini vacation. Before I get to that, though, let’s talk workouts! After a slightly more indulgent long weekend, I’m always super motivated to get back on track starting on Monday morning. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do for a workout tonight, but it will surely be something to make me sweat and feel like I kicked my own butt 😉

Even though I traveled and was surrounded by family the whole time, and was tempted to skip a workout to have wine and snacks I still made it a point to sneak in workouts when I could, and at times when I knew I wouldn’t be missing out on anything fun! Did I really feel like getting up to run the morning after my parents and I drank incredible amounts a few glasses of wine? Nah, not really, but I knew it would make me feel SO MUCH BETTER, so I got up and did it before I really even fully woke up. I was so glad I did because once we got to the hotel in Michigan, the last thing I wanted to do was workout!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Since I ran 4 miles on Sunday, which was supposed to be my weights only day, I made Monday my weights only day. I headed to the East Boston YMCA after work (which, with my new commute, I’m walking almost 3 miles on any given day, which is awesome!) to complete an upper body tabata workout. I had worked my lower body a lot the week before (hello, Booty Burner workouts!), so I decided it was time to give my upper body a little attention. I asked Athena for a good upper body workout and she told me she had recently posted an upper body tabata workout. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check it out, but when I compared what I came up with to what she had come up with earlier, they were pretty close…. we think more alike than we both realize! Anyway, it was awesome and I was sore for a few days- haven’t had that in a while!
  • Tuesday- I had dinner plans with my girlfriends after work, so I dragged myself out of bed and went running in 45 degree weather… I can’t say it was fun, but I was glad I did it! New songs on my playlist also helped get me up and running!!

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  • Wednesday- Since I had to get subs for my Thursday double, when Kate asked me to sub her sports conditioning class, I jumped at the offer! I taught a tabata themed workout that looked like this: upper body tabata, lower body tabata, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs. Holy moly. I always forget how hard tabata workouts are (if you do them correctly) until I am on the 7th set! Between that and an awesome UXF Burn class right after, I woke up Thursday REALLY sore. My glutes literally screamed at me for 2 days… that kind of scream where it hurts to sit on the toilet (TMI?). I loved it!
  • Thursday- I originally thought I would get up and workout before my parents picked me up, but I decided that since I hadn’t rested in way too long and since I was really sore, I would foam roll instead. Good choice! I did instruct my mom through a 30 minute water aerobics workout at the hotel pool. I may have had a wine glass in hand, but I actually had a blast teaching her! I think it’s better to teach water aerobics from the pool deck, so I kicked off my sandals and got into instructor mode. So much fun. I think I want to start teaching H2O aerobics! Mom said she got a great workout.

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  • Friday- I didn’t sleep well (shockingly enough. Wine usually puts me to sleep) so I was up and ready for a hotel treadmill workout at 7am. I hadn’t run on a treadmill in so long and I forgot how much “easier” it is to run on a treadmill vs. outside. When I run outside, my pace is usually between 6.85-7.5 the whole time, so when I hopped on the treadmill and started at my normal 6.4, I quickly realized that speed isn’t appropriate anymore! I ended up running a 5K in about 26 minutes and felt like I could’ve run 5 miles. Love days like that!

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  • Saturday- Danielle and I were in bed by 10:30 on Friday night and slept straight through until 8:30, which is almost unheard of! After breakfast, I caught up on a little blogging and then hit up the hotel gym once everything had digested. Though the gym wasn’t big, they had some pretty sweet treadmills. I didn’t want to run a lot since I had run on Friday, but I hopped on one and chose to do a 3 mile route (pre-programmed in the treadmill). It said the highest % grade would be 12.5, and I figured that would be after a bit. Umm, no. I literally climbed up to that 12.5% grade in less than 5 minutes and was dyingggg. I ended up walking/jogging a mile of that route and then switched to manual for the rest. I just wasn’t up for pushing myself since my main focus of the workout was going to be strength training. I ended up doing 30 minutes of walking & running and then used the machine to do 12 reps and 3 rounds of bicep curls, tricep extensions, standing row, oblique twist… and something else? Although I prefer free weights, it was nice to get out of my normal routine and use a machine. I ended with lots of abs! Nice start to a Saturday. I also danced a lot at the wedding… that counts as extra 😉

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Strong is the new sexy. Own it.

  • Sunday- Nothing! I could’ve gotten up to workout before my flight, but decided a rest day wasn’t a bad idea. Plus, I always walk a lot in airports (always take the stairs).

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- As I mentioned, I’m not sure what I am going to do for a workout today. Probably something with cardio and weights as a way to get back into total body workouts for the week.
  • Tuesday- I would like to get up and run before work so that I can have the evening off. I’m having a party on Saturday and could use some extra time during the week to shop and get ready for that.
  • Wednesday- Something on my own before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- SHRED followed by Kickboxing. I missed these classes last week!! I think I’ll do the same tabata workout I taught last Wednesday in my SHRED class. I want everyone to experience that class, haha
  • Friday- Rest day! Since I’m teaching on Saturday morning, I need to make sure my apartment is ready for the party before that, so Friday night will be spent running around doing errands, setting my apartment up, cleaning, etc.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Y! 🙂
  • Sunday- Probably another rest day, unless I feel up for a walk/jog around my neighborhood.

Questions for you: When you travel, do you try to get your workouts done in the morning? or skip them all together? Are you a fan of Tabata workouts? What’s your favorite workout song right now?? I need more updates on my playlist!!

Weekly Workouts: New gym & an outside workout

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Happy Labor Day, friends! I hope you’re all lucky enough to have today off. I have been looking forward to this for a while, as I was in major need of a day off from everything! The past couple of weeks, between moving, working, subbing, blogging, and trying to get a new apartment put together have been incredibly tiring. Spending this past weekend at home in Maine was just what I needed. On Saturday night, I was in bed and asleep before 10pm and didn’t get up until after 8am. It was lovely!

Anyway, let’s get to the workouts! Last week, I switched up my normal workout routine and had the chance to check out the East Boston YMCA. While it is not nearly as nice as the Oak Square YMCA, the fact that it’s less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment and I can use my existing YMCA membership to go there makes it pretty great in my eyes! I definitely see myself using it a lot throughout the winter!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I had plans to get up and jog before work since I wanted to go to Ikea after work, but when my alarm went off, I was EXHAUSTED and really didn’t want to force a workout when I was that tired, especially since I could workout after work. Here’s the kicker, though, I did get up, got changed and then I noticed it started to sprinkle. So, instead of doing something inside, I actually changed BACK into my jammies and got back in bed for 45 minutes. It was awesome! And, I was finally able to order my couch and chair covers online through Ikea so I had so much time after work to workout. I was gchatting with Athena and she suggested I do a boot camp in the park near my apartment. Perfect! I ended up running 10 minutes, doing a series of strength and ab moves and repeating that sequence 2 more times. I covered almost 3.7 miles in the 30 minutes of running. I think I’ll post the workout for you later this week??

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  • Tuesday- I went to the East Boston YMCA after work and completed my Pyramid Workout, with the exception that I didn’t do the cardio. I wanted to focus on strength and since I now walk almost 3 miles every day in my new commute, I felt like I should take a day where I didn’t do cardio and just did strength. It was still a great workout and I left sweaty!

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles before teaching UXF burn. I don’t know where I got the speed on Wednesday, but I ran my last mile in 7:58, and that included the need to slow down when I came upon lots of people on the side walk. I was shocked with this time!

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  • Thursday- I taught another superset workout in SHRED (my members are loving this format). I included lots of new moves that I learned when I finally went through all of the magazine cutouts I’ve taken from fitness magazines over the years. It was a great class! Kickboxing was fun, too… decent size group again!
  • Friday- Nothing 🙂 I love my Friday rest days. I did do a lot of walking when I took PT into the city to meet up with Athena for her birthday, but that was it!
  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. It was the smallest group to date (16 people) and it took a LOT out of me to keep the energy up, especially when I felt like I had had a liiiitle too much to drink the night before 😉

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  • Sunday- a fast (for me!) 3 mile run around Shapleigh, followed by picking potatoes, which is great for your back 😉

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m not sure what I’ll do today. I’m still home in Maine so I might do a boot camp or run or maybe a deck of cards? Suggestions??
  • Tuesday- I will get up and do something before work since I am meeting my friend, Liz, for drinks after work. The fact that I know I CAN’T workout after work means that I will absolutely get up to workout. It’s just hard to force myself to workout in the morning when I’m tired if I know I can do it after work. Plus, my workouts after work are so much stronger than in the morning, so I would prefer to do them then if possible.
  • Wednesday- Likely another run before teaching UXF Burn. I’m trying to soak up all of the outdoor runs along the Charles that I can while the weather is still nice!
  • Thursday- SHRED followed by Kickboxing. Any format suggestions for SHRED?
  • Friday- Probably a rest day. Danielle, Amy and Rachel are coming over for cocktail hour before we go out to dinner. I’m excited to have them over the new place!
  • Saturday- I don’t have to teach, so I’ll probably go to BodyPump in Wellington with some cardio before or after.
  • Sunday- Not sure! Maybe a run through the park, maybe a workout at the East Boston YMCA, maybe yoga?? maybe nothing!

Questions for you: Have you ever gotten up, gotten dressed, then got back in bed to sleep instead of workout? When you have plans after work, do you make sure to get up and workout before work? Do you choose a gym over location/convenience or the quality of the gym?

Weekending: Kickboxing, Babysitting, Breakfasting, Beaching

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Good morning! I had a busy, but fun weekend this past weekend, anyone else? I feel like I’ve been in constant “go-go-go” mode for a few weeks now and I’ll be honest, I am ready for a little down time! This weekend, besides the Color Me Rad race on Saturday is pretty much wide open. It’s going to feel great to have TIME to get things done, or, to do absolutely nothing but hang out and relax! As I will be moving in a few weeks, I am sure there are lots of things for me to do around here!

On Friday, I dropped Tim off at the airport around 2:45. From there, since it was so hot, I headed to Starbucks to get some work done. It wasn’t at all what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a choice:( Once I got to my apartment, I pretty much stayed in my air-conditioned bedroom since our apartment thermostat read 93 degrees. Yikes!

Saturday morning, I woke up mostly rested and mentally prepared myself to tackle the day! On the agenda, going to the bank, teaching kickboxing, grabbing lunch, babysitting and then stopping by Rachel and Dans’s for a BBQ. As I said yesterday, kickboxing was SWEATY! I think it’s because our body temps are abnormally high because of the crazy heat wave- does this make any sense? I got a kick out of the twitter messages post class:

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At least I wasn’t the only one:)

Babysitting was hot, but fun. Watching the kids play in the sprinkler was so fun- ah, to be a carefree kid again, just for a day, would be so great. I brought pizza dough and toppings since I thought it would be fun for us to make pizza together, instead of ordering out. The kids LOVED it. Trying to explain the concept of what we were doing and what it would “turn into” after we baked it was hilarious. Lila said it was the “best pizza she has ever eaten”… job well done 🙂

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Unfortunately, Rachel and Dan’s BBQ had ended, but it was nice to chat with them for a little while. I was ok with going home early as I knew I needed to get up and leave the house by 8:30am on Sunday to meet Meredith for breakfast in Portsmouth. Meredith moved to Australia about 8 months ago, so it was SO GOOD to finally see her and catch up. We joked, though, that there’s no way to catch up on that many months in an hour and a half breakfast. We did our very best! Meredith is literally the sweetest person I know and I am so happy that we are such good friends. She’s the best listener and just “gets” it (whatever “it” may be). Thanks for meeting up, Mere!! Miss you already!

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Since I was already north of Boston and the weather was nice (the heat wave seemed to have finally broke!!), I decided to hit up a beach that I might not normally go to. I had a million things on my “to-do” list, but when I looked at it, I realized that I really needed some quiet “me” time, so I decided to go to Plum Island in Newbury. The beach was really nice and luckily, it wasn’t too hot. I stayed for about 2 hours until I realized I was a. starving and b. nearly out of water. If hangry Monique is awful, hangry and thirsty Monique is a monster!

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On my way home, I stopped in Danvers at the Stop n Shop to grab a few groceries and lunch and made it back to my apartment early enough to have time to water my garden, blog, do laundry and get ready for dinner.

I went to dinner in Dorchester and was very surprised with how nice the restaurant was! When we walked in, the place looked dead, which generally makes me nervous, but as soon as we walked outside to the patio, we realized why the inside was empty: the back patio was awesome!! I was bummed when the server said they were out of the Miso Glazed Salmon, but when I took a bite of the Ahi Tuna Taco’s, I pretty much forgot about the salmon! I am so happy that the weather has cooled down a bit because outdoor dining in the summer is my favorite!

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(Pretty rainbow I saw when I was driving!)

All in all, it was a great, but busy weekend!

Questions for you: Do you like to make your own pizza? Favorite restaurant in Portsmouth? Do you feel like you sweat more in classes when it’s hot out even though they are indoors?

I want to wish my very dear friend, Sara, a very happy birthday!!!

Pedicure, Hair Appt & Christy’s Bachelorette Party in NH

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As I mentioned yesterday, I had a busy weekend! I was literally in bed before 10pm on Friday night since I was so beat from the week and wanted to be rested for my busy Saturday. I slept like a freaking rock and woke up at 8 ready for the day! I headed to Brighton to teach my 3rd week in a row of Kickboxing. The members in that class are SO nice. One lady said that I must teach a good class if she’s made it to a Saturday class 3 weeks in a row- what a nice compliment! Ashley was also there, which was a nice treat:) Hope your dress fitting went well!!

After teaching, I showered quickly and headed to one of my old stand-by mani/pedi salon in Oak Square. Since moving to Somerville, I haven’t been able to find one that I like so I was happy to have time between teaching and my hair apt to get a pedi!

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I didn’t have time for a full mani, but they said they could quickly paint my nails. Talk about being pampered!

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From there, I headed into the city to get my hair cut at Mitchell John Salon. I love Janet, who cuts my hair, but didn’t love that she had gone up in price AGAIN. I’m going to have to start going back to Maine to get my hair done… it’s about a third of the price!

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#selfie 😉

Sheila and I carpooled to NH for Christy’s Bachelorette party. Christy’s fiancé has a beautiful, huge home in Hampton, NH so we all met up there to have apps and cocktails before dinner.

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I tried to stick to the veggies, but Kia brought her healthy spinach dip again so of course I chowed face on that too. Kia, you need to send me the recipe… or maybe guest blog!? Everyone would love it!

After we snacked a bit, we had Christy open all of the lingerie gifts we brought her. This was a really fun idea and it was nice that some people bought practical items and some bought silly ones 😉

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Before the driver came, we took a few pictures. Christy and AJ aren’t technically “SMC girls”, but they’ve been around with us for so long that we have adopted them.

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(Sheila, AJ, Christy, me and Kia)

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(Christy and her Maid of Honor, Kerri)

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(My girls! Kia Amy, Christy, me, Sheila, AJ. Sheila thought a prom pose was appropriate.)

The bridal party organized a lovely menu and dinner at Roberts in Kittery. I have driven by there a million times, but had never eaten there.

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I was happy that they set up a fixed prix menu for us… made the decision so much easier!

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I went with the Haddock and it was delicious and felt really light and healthy. Perfect meal for a night when you’re going out!

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The girls all got fun cocktails, Amy got a fun beer flight, but I was boring and stuck to Chardonnay! We had Margs and Sangria before we left the house, so that was my fill of fun drinks 😉

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After dinner, we headed into Portsmouth to start the festivities. No bachelorette party is complete without fun gear! Look how stinking cute Christy was!

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We started at an outdoor bar that was on a deck on the water. I didn’t know that Portsmouth had a whole line up of places on the water!

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From there, we decided to go to the back patio at Gas Light. My family has gone to the Gas Light so many times, but I had never been outside at night- it was a happening place!

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After that drink, we headed up to the 3rd floor which is basically a club. We went there after Rachel’s wedding and it was so fun… last night was no different!

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Whoops! 😉 No idea how that happened. It may look like we all got crazy, but I think everyone actually stayed in control! Sheil and I drank waters for the rest of the night- best.idea.ever. We couldn’t bring drinks on the dance floor anyway, and that’s where I wanted to be! So fun.

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Bars close at 1 so we had our driver get us around 12:45 and immediately snacked on all the apps leftover from before dinner. I hate drunk eating, but when you’re with all your girls and rehashing the night, it makes it worth it 🙂

Thanks for such a fun night ladies! Christy, cannot wait for your big day… it’s going to be a blast!

Questions for you: Do you have a lot of bachelorette parties this summer? What is your drink of choice when you’re at a bar? Favorite restaurant in Portsmouth?

Weekly Workouts

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Hi! I’m sad to say that Monday has, again, come too fast! Between my busy week last week and busy weekend, Monday snuck up much faster than I would have liked! As last week was a little indulgent (out to eat way more than usual and lots of wines), my goal this week is to get back on track! Having an “off” week isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a good reminder that even though it’s fun, it is tiring! I like having a schedule so I am looking forward to clean eats this week and no bevvies!

I’m happy to report that I was still able to get in some awesome workouts last week! I woke up sore on Friday and on Sunday- love it!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran a 5K in the morning and then lifted after work. If you don’t have time to get a full workout in before or after work, I suggest breaking your workout up into cardio and weights and fitting them in when you can.
  • Tuesday- Rest day, besides lots of walking in the airport. I always take the stairs and walk to the terminals… every little bit counts!
  • Wednesday- I got up and ran another 5K before work. I also did 20 reps of the following exercises: biceps curls balancing on 1 leg, triceps extensions, side dips, dead lifts, squats, plié squats, reverse fly and a whole bunch of ab/core exercises. So sweaty by the end! I also walked 2 miles to the T and then taught UXF. I didn’t do much of the workout since I didn’t want to get sweaty and have to re-shower 🙂

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  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. I’ll post SHRED’s workout soon- it was compound moves supersets, followed by 1 min of abs and cardio tabatas. Fun!
  • Friday- Nothing. I got the worst shin splints at some point between Wednesday and Thursday and by Friday they were REALLY bothering me.
  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing… remember, I won’t be there next week!
  • Sunday- I went to the gym to do some light, steady-state cardio, which was just what I needed mentally. I felt like I should’ve apologized to the people around me since I’m sure my sweat smelled like Chardonnay, margarita and sangria. Whoops! I did 40 minutes of cardio and then focused on core. I did 2 ab tabatas using the TRX bands (plank & plank w/knee tuck for 1 of them and right and left side planks for the other)… best ab work ever!! I also did side dips and stability ball v-sits. Love those!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Not sure- probably go to the Wellington BSC and do some light cardio (still nursing my shins) and strength?
  • Tuesday- I think I am going to make it to the Oak Square Two-A-Day Tuesday!! I am subbing Athena’s class at 7:30pm and would like to go to Liz’s Corp Basics Kix class at 6:30. It’s VERY different from the type of kickboxing I teach, but it will be a fun change!
  • Wednesday- Cardio and UXF Burn, the usual.
  • Thursday- SHRED and Kickboxing… again the usual.
  • Friday- I think I am going out on Friday night so I would like to get in a workout in the morning or during the day and maybe take Saturday as a rest day?
  • Saturday- Rest OR just BodyPump. I miss it!
  • Sunday- Will depend on how the workouts turned out during the week. If they were good, I’ll rest, but if they were not great, I’ll probably do something!

Questions for you: After an indulgent week, what’s the first thing you do to get back “on track”? If you are going to the gym for your own workout, do you usually stick to cardio or weights or both? Have you ever had shin splints? Tips on how to make them better?