Tag: SHRED

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?

Catching up {Workouts and Life}

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As I read other healthy living blogs, I’m happy to see that I’m not the only one feeling like there just isn’t enough time in the day or week to accomplish everything on my to-do list. Sometimes blogging just has to take a back seat, and even though I sometimes feel guilty about it or stressed to get posts written, realizing it’s OK to take a break is so refreshing. Sarah wrote a post earlier this week that hit me hard. It was as if I was writing it myself! I’m finding myself in a recent job change, increasing love for fitness and teaching and no longer just being on my own. Being in a serious relationship and moving to that “we” thing is awesome, but it’s also a big change for someone who hasn’t had that in a longggg time. My normal blogging time and teaching time and “Monique” time is just not the same as it used to be and I wouldn’t change that for the world. As we grow up, our priorities change, right? It’s such an exciting time, but sometimes it can be a little stressful! Sarah’s post was a great reminder to not let myself get stressed out over these types of changes, but to embrace them and live life. Blogging will always be here, but random nights with the bf or friends of family won’t- it’s more important to DO those things, rather than sit at home, writing a post because it’ll “screw up my schedule” if I don’t.

And, with that, let’s catch up on some stuff!

Workouts- Last week

Last week was my last week teaching my Thursday night double, which was totally bittersweet! On top of that, RM and I headed to Chicago with some friends so my weekend workouts were a bit different than usual. Overall, though, it was a great week of workouts. We did SO MUCH WALKING when in Chicago. Our hotel was about a mile from all the action (just in the wrong part of the city), so getting to and from anywhere was at least a 2 mile walk.

    • Monday- After work, I ran 3.5 miles and then did the workout listed at the bottom of this workout post. I kinda died a little…

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    • Tuesday- I went to a BodyPump during work since I had a hair appointment after work. What is it about BodyPump that gets me every time?!
    • Wednesday- I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill before teaching (and doing most of) UXF Burn. I’m not sure what we did to get so dirty?

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    • Thursday- Last double:( In SHRED, we did 3 rounds of stations and then we did some across the floor cardio and partner ab stuff. We had a big group and everyone seemed to enjoy it! Kickboxing had it’s biggest crowd to date and we worked super hard!

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    • Friday- Nothing. We had an early flight so there was definitely no morning workout for me! We did do some walking, though.
    • Saturday- I got up and ran 4 miles, although I think my mapmyrun GPS wasn’t working because it was saying I was running all sub 8 minute miles… highly doubt that! After, I did some core work at the gym and then RM wanted to go for a walk so we went on about a 45 minute loop- we were walking so fast!

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    • Sunday- We had all intentions of going to the gym at the spa before our massages, but a late lunch got in the way of that. I did walk for about an hour in the morning while getting breakfast and Architecture tour tickets.

Catching Up- Life

The past couple of weeks have been so busy!! I feel like I’m on auto-pilot going from one thing to the next. Anyone else feel this way? I have a full recap of Chicago coming soon, but besides that, here are some things going on:

  • My garden is growing so much! Over the past couple of weeks I have picked kale and green beans, and both taste so fresh!

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  • I recently started reading The One and Only by Emily Griffin for a book club that my college friends and I started. It’s really just an excuse to get together to drink wine, but we decided to throw a book in the mix, too!

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  • I had to buy new Tom’s when walking around in Chicago and I’m actually happy about it because I’ve been meaning to buy a new pair for a while now. Love this blue!

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  • I’m heading to the Cape this weekend with RM and his brother, sister-in-law and their 1 year old son. I think the weather is supposed to be crappy… why can’t it be nice when I have time to go to the beach?!
  • My parents are coming next weekend for my mom’s birthday- any good meal suggestions?

Questions for you: When’s the last time you skipped workout for sleep? Have you had any garden-fresh veggies this summer? Do you read Emily Griffin books? Are you in a book club?

This Week: Workouts, Announcements & Things I’m Looking Forward To (CHICAGO!)

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Good morning and happy Monday, friends! It feels weird not having started my day teaching my 6am Muscle Work class. I have to say, although it’s not necessarily fun getting up and to the gym that early, especially on a Monday morning, it sure makes for a much better day knowing my workout is done and over with and I can spend my evening relaxing, blog writing and cooking!

I’ve got lots going on this week, but think the most important thing to talk about first is a BIG (at least for me) change I made recently. It wasn’t an easy decision and although I wanted some consistency in my day to day, especially after my other big change, I felt like it was the right thing for me to do right now. It was something I needed to do, even though it was a really hard decision to make. You ask what that is?

I have decided to give up my teaching my Thursday night double.

I know- it kind of came out of nowhere after my one (err 5) too many little mental breakdowns I’ve had over the past couple of months. I just realized that something had to give, and although I didn’t want it to be my classes and teaching schedule, I realized that, ultimately, that was giving me the most stress and wearing me down the most. By the time Thursday afternoons came around and I realized I was going to have to gear up to teach my double after work, sheer dread came over me. And, it’s not like this happened once and a while. It started to be a weekly thing. I didn’t feel this way before any other class, so I can only attribute it to how much energy it takes for me to teach and DO a double, generally after an intense workout on Wednesday night, too.

Granted, by the time I finished my second cool down of the night and I knew it was time to go home I was fine, but I realized that I shouldn’t go into a workout or teaching a class dreading it. I- and my members- deserve more than that, so I decided that I needed to give up those classes to help free some time up in my schedule and hopefully allow some extra room for me to, dare I say it? RELAX. I can’t be entirely sure that will happen, but I will say it will be nice to be able to do things on Thursday nights, especially during the summer.

I’ve got some other things brewing on the back burner with regards to some new teaching opportunities, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy having 2+ hours back to my Thursdays. My last class is THIS week and I’m dreading it already. I’m going to miss my members so much! I’ve grown the 5:30 SHRED class from 3 or 4 people to generally 16-20 people and I’ve grown my kickboxing class to an average of 16 people (and before me there was no kickboxing class, so I had to build that all on my own). These members come to my classes week after week, ready for any of the crazy (and, I mean that- I throw some weird stuff at them) things I think up and throw into the mix. We’ve grown to know each other as more than just the person standing next to you in class, so it’s going to be weird to not see them as much anymore. One of the members said he felt like I was dumping them, and it broke my heart a little! Luckily, I’ve decided to keep my Wednesday night UXF Burn class at that gym so at least I’ll still see most of them… they’re just going to have to get used to only 1 dose of me, not 3.

So, with that said. I’m hoping this change will help bring a better balance to my life. I’ve been juggling teaching an average of 5 classes a week, working 40 hours, commuting, writing this little blog, spending a lot of time with RM and friends and going away on the weekends that if I didn’t cut back somewhere, I was going to break. I’m sad to end this chapter but excited to have more time for my own workouts (maybe even start to consistently lift heavier) and try out other classes in the area.

OK, enough heavy talk… let’s get to the workouts!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class, which did include cardio, and then did 15 minutes on the stair stepper again.
  • Tuesday- The heat and humidity were killer on Tuesday night so I ended up cutting my run at 3 miles and then doing a butt kicking bootcamp-style workout finisher. I’ll post it on Wednesday for you!
  • Wednesday- I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill before teaching (and doing most of) my SHRED class. It was a big class, likely because of the rainy weather, but I’ll take it! I even had a coworker come and there were 4 guys in the class!
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and then Kickboxing… lots of members in both- we had fun!
  • Friday- Nothing. I went for a 15 minute walk during lunch but otherwise rested.
  • Saturday– After 2 weeks away from my Saturday kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA, I was back! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: that class is the best start of my weekend! We worked so hard and I love seeing the members push themselves each time I’m there.
  • Sunday- I got up and did 20 minutes of yoga and then 15 minutes of core and glute work at RM’s apartment before we went for a 45 min power walk. We went for another stroll after our afternoon meal at his moms, too.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Not sure! I’d love to get in a workout during the day, but it may be an after work thing.
  • Tuesday- I have a hair appointment after work so I’ll either try to get to a muscle class during the day or do something before work.
  • Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn and probably running beforehand.
  • Thursday- Teaching my LAST Thursday double *tears*. Dana requested stations during SHRED, so I may do that and some partner work at the end. Kickboxing requests? Maybe the booty burner?
  • Friday- I am going to Chicago for a long weekend and we have an early flight so my guess is that I won’t get up for a workout, especially after a Thursday night double!
  • Saturday-Monday- I’m not sure. Like I said, I’ll be in Chicago so I’m sure I’ll be doing lots of walking, but knowing me I’ll be getting some other workouts in as well 🙂

Things I’m Looking Forward To

So many things this week! My 2nd Stitch Fix is coming in today, so hopefully they gave me good stuff for Chicago. I’m also getting my hair cut, which is long overdue. Lastly, I’m going to Chicago for the weekend. A longggg time ago my friend Jessi asked if anyone wanted to go (she was going with her boyfriend and his friends) so my friend Lauren and I jumped at it and booked our stuff. Sadly, Lauren ended up not being able to go so I asked RM and he was game since it’s a city he’s never been to. I can’t wait to go back and do more exploring and hang out with my friend JP again! We are also having dinner at the top of the Sears tower and going to a Cubs game- I am SO excited!!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Boston friends- do you have suggestions for any new workouts in the city to try since I’m going to have more free time? Any suggestions on what to do while in Chicago during the summer? I was there in November (Boston>Dallas>Chicago, Chicago: Part1 {Shopping and Bar Hopping}, Chicago: Part 2 {The Bean, Navy Pier, Boat Tour, Brewery}, Chicago: Part 3 {Brunching, Architecture Tour, Homemade Dinner}), but I feel like there’s still a lot of stuff that I didn’t get to do!

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, “The Truth Behind the Juice” & Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Hi there! How was your 4th of July? The rain may have cancelled some plans, but it didn’t ruin the long weekend- more on that later 🙂

I still cannot believe it’s July 7th- can you?! This is another crazy busy month: bachelorette party this weekend, BBQ the weekend after and Chicago the last weekend in July, but again, it’s all fun stuff so I really can’t complain!

Before I get to my workout recap, I wanted to share an article with you related to juicing. As you’ve probably seen or heard, juicing has recently become a new trend in the Boston area. Well, maybe not entirely “new”, but up until fairly recently, juice bars were few and far between. Boston Magazine’s Health Editor recently wrote an article called: The Truth Behind Green Juices, which has a lot of interesting facts behind juicing and what should be included in your “green juice”. Definitely worth a read if you’re looking into incorporating more juices in your diet.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I didn’t have to teach last Monday so I ran 4 miles (in the blistering heat!!) after work and did all of Kim’s stability ball exercises– loved them!

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  • Tuesday- I went to a new gym with some co-workers during lunch to go to a BodyPump class. Sadly, the class was not very good! Don’t get me wrong- I totally felt it the next day (holy quads and hamstrings and chest!), but the normal instructor was not teaching since she was letting a trainee teach the class in order to be videoed for her certification. The poor trainee was just not good. In BodyPump, you need to be able to catch a rhythm and go along to the beat and this girl just didn’t have it in her. I had a really hard time staying with her pace since it was so off compared to the music… so frustrating!
  • Wednesday- I ended up subbing the 5:30 Sports Conditioning class and did the workout with them. It was only 2 girls and they wanted to do glute and core work so we did some cardio and lots of glute and core stuff- it was a good workout! I taught my UXF burn class after- great crowd and we worked HARD. It was awesome!
  • Thursday- My classes were cancelled due to the holiday so I got up and did 45 minutes of kickboxing followed by 15 minutes of core work in my kitchen before heading to the Cape.
  • Friday- Since the rain held off until much later in the day, I was able to get in a 4 mile jog first thing in the morning. Felt great!

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  • Saturday- Saturday was my active rest day. I thought about doing one of the at-home workouts I posted last week, but decided to skip it. RM agreed to go for a walk with me and we ended up covering 5 miles!! Not a super fast pace, but it was a great active- rest day activity! I followed it up with some squats and core work and push-ups.
  • Sunday- We ended up leaving the Cape early so after the beach, I went for a run. I wanted to do 4 miles but ended up doing 5, which is always a nice surprise!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I will have taught my 6am Muscle Work class and have done some cardio by the time this goes up. My sister and I have plans to go for a walk after work, too.
  • Tuesday- I think I’m going to go back to that new gym and try the BodyPump class again. My co-workers said the owner is subbing, so it should be much better!
  • Wednesday- The 5:30 instructor, Melissa, is subbing this class for me since I covered hers last week. I’m not sure what I will do for a workout, but I have something after work so I’ll have to do something before work or during the day.
  • Thursday- Back to my Thursday double!
  • Friday- I’m heading to Nantucket for Sheila’s bachelorette party on the 11am Ferry, so if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll try to sneak in a quickie workout before making the trek there.
  • Saturday and Sunday- I will be on Nantucket with a bunch of girls so I’m not sure what my workouts will look like. One day will be a rest day, but on the other I’d love to do something. Maybe some of the girls would want to join me?!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Sheila’s Nantucket bachelorette party- duh!! I don’t know if I’ve ever been to Nantucket, and going with the group of girls that I’m going with will surely make it a fun first trip! I don’t know all the details of the weekend, but I can only imagine there will be plenty of shenanigans! I’m hoping the weather is nice because we’ll definitely be beaching it.

Questions for you: Do you “juice”? What’s your favorite healthy “green” juice? What was your best workout last week? Do you get annoyed when instructors are not on the beat in a class where it’s really important to be on the beat? Have you been to Nantucket? Any good bar recommendations?