Tag: pilates

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

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Hi! Good morning! How are you today? I’m still feeling the effects of the weekend- what a blast we had on Nantucket, but I’ll admit- we can’t hang the way we used to… it takes a whole heck of a lot longer to recover from late nights and lots of drinking 😉 More on that later, though!

Although last week was a good week of workouts, my eats were really notsogood. I know it happens, and I am totally OK with it, but my body is definitely ready for much cleaner eats this week. My goal is to fill my diet with lots of veggies, fruits and protein rather than chips, crackers, pizza and general beast snacking mode! Indulgent weekends are fun, but they do make me feel ready to jump back on the healthy food wagon once they’re over!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and then did 15 minutes on the stair stepper. I haven’t used that machine in forever! After work, my sister came over and we walked for almost an hour- great way to catch up and exercise!
  • Tuesday- I went to a strength class at a gym near my new office. The instructor was amazing and I left there feeling totally beat!
  • Wednesday- I cheated on my UXF Burn class and went to a spin class and pilates class at the same gym I went to on Tuesday with the same instructor. So fun!
  • Thursday- I taught my SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing double. My SHRED class was killer- lots of compound moves! The annoying part? My stupid Polar heart rate monitor wasn’t working and I went through all my batteries!

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  • Friday- Rest! I hadn’t rested in over a week… whoops!
  • Saturday- I got up and went for a 3 mile walk with Sheila and Serena and then lead a “Bachelorette Bootcamp” with almost all of the girls- it was SO fun!!

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  • Sunday- Besides some walking, it was another rest day. I got home early enough to go for a run but I was so exhausted I decided to unpack and clean instead.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Today I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and will have done some cardio.
  • Tuesday- I am not sure what I’ll do… I think I’m going to go running after work?
  • Wednesday- I’m going to do some cardio before I teach UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and then Cardio Kickboxing.
  • Friday- Probably a rest day.
  • Saturday- Finally teaching my Saturday Cardio Kickboxing!
  • Sunday- Not sure- maybe a longer run? Yoga?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward a relatively quiet week. It’ll be the first full week in the office in a long time! On top of that, I’m going to be in Boston this weekend and I can’t wait! Don’t get me wrong, I love having fun weekend plans, but it’s always a nice feeling to have a weekend with no plans that involve travel. My friends Rachel and Dan are having a BBQ on Saturday, which will be fun! I haven’t seen them in a while.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your week last week? Best workout? Try anything new?

This Week: Workouts & Things I’m Looking Forward To {Birthday Week pt 1}

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Hi there! How are you doing? I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was good- Friday night my upstairs neighbor, Lisa, and I had a glass of wine at my apartment, which was a great end to the week. Saturday was busy, but all fun stuff! I taught kickboxing in the morning and then went to lunch with my sister and my date, and while the company was good, the food wasn’t so good. We went to 5 Napkin Burger, which I had heard great things about, but it didn’t really “wow” me. That night, my date and I went to his brother and sister-in-law’s in the South End and had a BBQ- so fun! I’m definitely ready for the summer!! I went to the Red Sox game on Sunday with a bunch of friends and was so thankful the weather cooperated!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am strength class (which I’m really starting to love!!) and then after work I went to a 50 minute “Pilates ReMixx” class at Boston Body. The instructor ended up being the same instructor who taught the Flywheel class that I wasn’t a fan of, but she was better as a pilates instructor! I was pleasantly sore the next day from the countless glute exercises we did.

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  • Tuesday- I went to a Pilates Tower class at Studio J in Government Center. I was SO lucky and ended up having a private class. The instructor was amazing and asked about my fitness level and how I felt and when I told her I was an instructor and wanted to be challenged, she went for it and ran! We did all sorts of advanced things that absolutely challenged me. Wow. It was wonderful. I want to go back soon!

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before teaching a pretty tough UXF Burn class. I did warn my members before class started that we’d be working off the Crumbs Cupcakes I ate during the day 😉
  • Thursday- I taught a fun partner SHRED workout (similar to this workout) and then kickboxing.

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  • Friday- Nothing. Total rest day 🙂
  • Saturday- I taught my cardio kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. I know I’ve said it a million times before, but I just love that class. It is always packed (60+ people!) and the members are of all shapes and sizes, all ages and all fitness levels. The common denominator is that they ALL always come ready to work hard, sweat and hopefully laugh a little 🙂 It really does make my day to see so many people get up on a Saturday morning to come to my class, and that people aren’t afraid to come because we jump a lot or do a lot of burpees. I always tell people you can modify anything, but sometimes people don’t feel comfortable doing it. The fact that everyone in my Saturday class practices this is amazing.
  • Sunday- I went for a 5K run around Eastie. It wasn’t as nice as I thought it was going to be (so windy!), but it was still a beautiful, sunny day and it felt good to run outside again. My miles are so much faster than when I run on a treadmill. Anyone else feel this way?

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My plan today is to get to the gym during my lunch break for a strength workout so that I can go home after work and catch up on some major blogging. This is the start of my birthday week, so I’ve got a lot going on and could use a night where I’m home before 8 pm!
  • Tuesday- Since I plan on doing strength on Monday, I’ll probably stick to cardio on Tuesday. Maybe a long run outside?
  • Wednesday- I am subbing Melissa Shaw’s 5:30pm Sports Conditioning class and then teaching my UXF Burn class. Come to one or both 😉
  • Thursday- I am teaching my SHRED and kickboxing classes.
  • Friday- Not sure! It may be a rest day, maybe some at-home yoga, who knows.
  • Saturday- I am going to my friend Lindsay’s class at Recycle. Saturday is my big day of birthday celebrations and since I’m not teaching in the morning, the next best way for me to kick off the day is Lindsay’s class.
  • Sunday- My guess is this will be a rest day since I’ll likely be out late on Saturday celebrating my birthday.

Things I am looking forward to

Well, as I’ve said, this is the start of my birthday week. Yes, my birthday isn’t until NEXT Monday, but this week I’m doing fun things that lead up to my celebration on Saturday (I realize I am completely obnoxious during my birthday month). I’m going to treat myself to a mani and pedi and I think I’m going to get a spray tan (nervous about this!). I would love to try and get a new dress, but I’m not sure that will end up happening. My parents are coming down on Saturday and I can’t explain how excited that makes me! I feel like I haven’t seen them in a long time, so it’s nice that they are coming down for the day on Saturday to take me to lunch and bring my birthday bunny cake! Lastly, I’m looking forward to getting dressed up and going out on Saturday night with some of my favorite people!

Questions for you: Have you been to Boston Body or Studio J? Do you like pilates? What was the best part of your week last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

The Studio Empower

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Hey Burpees to Bubbly readers! We made it more than halfway through the week- woohoo! It’s been a pretty busy week back since my mini vacation in Maine for the 4th of July, but it’s been all fun things so I can’t really complain!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone asking if I would like to try a class at The Studio Empower in Newton. After reading Athena’s review of the class she took at The Studio Empower and gchatting with her about it, I had been dying to get there to try a class. My only problem was that it was in Newton and I live in Somerville, aka, it was a bit of a hike to take a class (I know, just a stupid excuse). Well, when I was presented with the opportunity to take a class to review, I decided it was a sign that I needed to get there!

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Between my teaching schedule, traveling schedule and being really sick, it was hard to find a time that worked. Luckily, Monday worked for the studio and for me, so I attended the 6:30pm class with Fi, who was a super bubbly Irish lady. Since I was the first to get there and there was time before the class started, Fi walked me through the different moves and exercises that we would be doing during the class. She explained the machines and discussed the different progression levels and gave me the overall background of the class she was going to teach. Sebastien Lagree is an LA Celebrity trainer who designed the Lagree Fitness, which is basically a REALLY intense Pilates (for a lack of a better comparison) class that can be adapted to all levels. It’s high intensity, but low impact, which is perfect for someone like me who is constantly jumping and running during my classes.

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I was told that the machines used at The Studio Empower are called the Megaformer, M3 and I’ll be honest, I was totally intimidated by the machines at first! I mean, look at this thing!

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Straps, handles, springs, movable carriage. I was sure I was going to eat it at some point throughout the class, but I managed to survive injury and fall free! Since I teach and have been working out for years, I didn’t have much trouble with the form, but SLOWING DOWN and creeping through the exercises was definitely the hardest part. My legs were shaking and burning within the first 5 minutes of class and I think we can all agree that when this happens, we often want to rush to get through the moves, right? Well, in this class Fi was constantly reminding us to slow down and really visualize every muscle that was working to push the carriage out and control the carriage as it was coming back in. This helped me immensely and by the end, I found myself having an easier time working as slowly as I should be.

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Throughout the class we worked everything: legs, core, arms. And when I thought I couldn’t do another lunge, we did more. Oof. It was awesome! The 45 minutes flew by and I found myself wishing we had more time… I am a crazy person! I feel like I barely brushed the surface of the true Megaformer, 3 Lagree Fitness experience, so I am itching to get back and try more classes and learn more moves. It was so nice to slowww down and walk out feeling like a rubbery noodle without having done any crazy cardio or weight training. My poor joints need more classes like this!

As I mentioned, the classes, although high intensity and challenging, can be adapted to any level, so don’t fear that you’re not strong enough to do the exercises! Just in the class I took, there were 4 of us who were all at very different levels. Fi did a wonderful job of  walking around and giving each one of us personal comments/corrections and encouraging us to push ourselves, but also offering modifications for anyone needed it. If you’re bored with your current workouts and looking for something to spice things up and remind you that you have loads of muscles you likely have forgotten about, head over to The Studio Empower in Newton. I can promise you that you will NOT regret it.

Questions for you: Have you ever been to a class at The Studio Empower? What’s the most challenging part for you when you do a workout like this? Do you attend Pilates classes?

Wellness By The Water Retreat

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You guys. I had the most amazing day on Sunday at the Wellness By The Water Retreat, which was hosted at Le Meridien Cambridge hotel. Going into this day, I knew that I would be in my element as the website described it as:

Join us for a luxury fitness and wellness retreat in the city. Escape to beautiful Boston for a full day of fitness, yoga, nutrition, spa services and wellness.Sought after professionals brought to you for all of your wellness needs including:

  • Bootcamp
  • Yoga
  • Stretch & Breath Work
  • Nutrition
  • Spa Services
  • Wellness Services
  • Catered nutritious meals and snacks
  • Health & Wellness companies providing information and samples of their products!

But I had no idea just how awesome it would be. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go to that! (well, some people, but I am guessing most of my B2B readers would think it’s pretty amazing).

Anyway, I arrived at the hotel just around 9am, quickly realizing that I forgot my yoga mat (which they reminded us to bring in an email that I looked at earlier that morning). #epicfail. I did OK without one, but I did feel a little silly! After I checked in, I met up with Athena and Ashley. I was SO excited to get to hang out with two fitness enthused people like myself for the day, as well as many, many more people just like us!

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athena, ashley, me

Photo Credit: Athena

 Shortly after everyone settled down, the two creators of the event, Kendall and Celeste, introduced themselves and gave us an overvue of the day.  By 9:20, we were already on our first workout of the day: 30 minutes of Boot Camp with Celeste!

026It was awesome! We did some really neat partner exercises such as partner sit-ups, “run the plank” and partner lat. pull downs, and I can’t wait to bring some of them into my classes! After boot camp, we broke out into smaller groups based on the color on our name tags.

029We were scheduled for 30 minutes of the following workouts:

Barre. Omgoodness. Let me tell you were my legs and core BURNING! I have done a couple of other Barre classes, but no one has ever made me hold a plie squat so darn low, with so many pulses. I was literally dripping. Tessa was AMAZING and I totally want to take private classes with her. I loved it! Tai Chi was pretty cool as well, since that was something that was totally new to me. I work at the Y with Julio, who lead us in Tai Chi and his knowledge and passion for this was wonderful.  We focused on a lot of breathing in Pilates, which couldn’t have come at a better time for me. As you have probably noticed, May has been a little rough for me thus far, so taking some time to really BREATHE was juuuust what I needed!

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By the time I was through all of these classes, I was really quite thankful that lunch was next on the agenda. We ventured downstairs and couldn’t believe the meal we were served. I was expecting a buffet or something simple, but we were served a lovely salad and main meal (we called it the Wellness Wedding meal!).

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Kendall also spoke about a few ways to “lighten up” for the summer. I am not sure I could cut out dairy all together, but it was interesting to hear the alternatives to dairy! I am always up for hearing about different food “lifestyles”, so I loved learning about all sorts of different new food ideas and recipes throughout the day.

032After lunch, we had time to mingle and browse through the vendors before attending the 6 different 20 minute sessions scheduled out for us. I loved this station by Eventbrite!

040Yum, yum yum! Athena and I had to pose for a pic!

britemix with athenaDuring this “break” before the afternoon sessions started, there was also a “photo booth” area run by Lucie Wicker Photography. Omg I LOVE these things!! Of course we had to jump in for some fun!

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photo-booth-4So fun! After everyone had some time to mingle and check out all of the vendors, the afternoon sessions began. We had 20 minutes at each station, which felt a little rushed at times, but only because I was always so interested in every company that we were learning about! I started at the John Hancock table and learned about financial things (sorry for my lack of better terminology!)

037From there, I went to the Organization Table with Allison Webber, which I totally loved. She was amazing and super interactive and could really just read people very well. She said that 50% of her job is therapy and working with people to let go of their issues in order to de-clutter and organize.

I was so looking forward to my next stop: massages with Body Waves Massage. As you know, I work out A LOT and carry LOTS of heavy bags, so I am always in need of a massage. I stole this pic from Athena’s blog that she got from Celeste Pratt on Instagram and had to use it because that’s me getting a massage in the back right! She said I was really tight, especially my right quad, so I have been trying to foam roll more actively this week. #hurtssogood

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My next sessions were acupuncture with Synergy Acupuncture and skin care and nutrition with MZ Skincare. I have never had acupuncture before so I was really excited about this! I told her I had shoulder issues and she did a little extra for me. I didn’t notice a huge change, but I wonder if going to acupuncture for full sessions would help alleviate my injuries?? The presentation by MZ Skincare was also really interesting in that they gave us good tips on choosing REAL sunscreens and how to clear up your skin from the inside out, meaning, learning about how to feed your body nutrients that help with your skin. Very interesting.

 Finally, I went to a CrossFit class for a WOD (workout of the day) with Sarah Loomis. Funny side note: Sarah worked for the BSC and taught UXF and actually subbed one of my classes! Small world, indeed! Here was our WOD:

038Good thing I am totally loving real burpees 😉 we skipped the 21 reps due to time, but did 15 reps of burpees and lunges, followed immediately by 9 reps of both. If that doesn’t get your heart rate up, I am not sure what will! I also loved the EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) workout because it was a great way to push YOURSELF, which I am a fan of. The goal was to try to have MORE rest time every round… I can’t say I did, but I did move a lot faster from round 1 to round 2!

Lastly, our FINAL event of the day was a nice, closing yoga session with Kendall. Another funny side note, Kendall was auditioning at the BSC for yoga the same day that I was auditioning for kickboxing and TBC. I knew I recognized her!

kendall-teaching-yoga1From Celeste’s Instagram

After a very busy and physically active day, a nice, restorative yoga session was just what all of us needed. I haven’t been practicing yoga because of my shoulder injury, but it felt really great on Sunday!

Overall, I cannot fully express how wonderful the day was. Athena did a wonderful recap of the day, too, so check it out! As she said, it felt great to be in our “happy places” all day. Huge thanks to Kendall and Celeste for organizing such an incredible event and day! I can’t wait for the next one!

Questions for you: What’s your “happy place”? Ever been to a health and wellness retreat?

Weekly Workouts

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Holy Moly! Monday, already?! I had an incredibly busy weekend, but let me tell you was it fun! Before I get to recapping, let’s focus on workouts and getting back on track (even though I am almost positive that today will be a rest day since yesterday was an intense day of workouts!).

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran 4.63 miles after I finished work and then spent about 30 minutes doing all sorts of different strength and core work using a band. So fun!

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  • Tuesday- Went to a boot camp class with my favorite instructor. If you think I am tough, you should go to one of her classes. Killer. I love it.

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  • Wednesday- I was pretty sore, so I just did 10 minutes on the elliptical and then taught UXF and did most of the workout with them.

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  • Thursday- Double time! I taught a stations workout in SHRED and then kickboxing.
  • Friday- Rest, besides a 30 minute walk around Somerville, ending at the liquor store to get some wine. Definitely not a coincidence, but it sure was great motivation!

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  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing at the Y, which included lots of burpees 😉

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  • Sunday- Wellness by the Water Retreat, which included 30 minutes of Boot Camp, Tai Chi, Barre (OMG hardest Barre class I’ve been to) and Pilates and then also a CrossFit WOD (workout of the day) and yoga. Needless to say, it was a tiring, but FUN, day!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Likely a rest day besides my normal walking commute.
  • Tuesday- Maybe another rest day since I have a photo shoot after work!
  • Wednesday- I was invited to go to a Women’s Health event at Exhale, so I am doing a Core Fusion Cardio class in the morning and then teaching UXF after work.
  • Thursday- Double time! SHRED & Kickboxing
  • Friday- Maybe a Deck of Cards workout? Running? Circuits?
  • Saturday- Teaching Kicboxing at the YMCA
  • Sunday- I’ll be in Maine for Memorial Day weekend so I will probably get my mom to do something with me 🙂

You tell me! What was your hardest workout this past week? Most fun? Anything you’re proud of?