Tag: spinning

Workouts I’m Loving {and all less than 45 minutes!}

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Happy Monday! Did you guys have a good weekend? RM and I did- we had a datenight, did lots of biking and ended Sunday night with some meal prep & relaxing- can’t go wrong with any of that!

Today, I wanted to share a little glimpse into the workouts I’ve been doing lately. I, like most (I assume), tend to go through phases with my workouts; sometimes I’m all about running, sometimes I’m all about lifting heavy, sometimes I just want to do a quickie workout, etc. While I like to keep some sort of consistency when it comes to my workouts (it helps me track progress and see fitness gains), I try to listen to my body and do the types of workouts that I’m craving as I crave them. Otherwise, I will end up dreading and not enjoying my workout which is a recipe for disaster!

That said, here’s what I’ve been finding myself doing lately:

  • Boxing- As an EBF instructor, I try to get to at least one boxing class a week. Partly to learn from other instructors in terms of combinations, format, music, etc. (I think it’s so important for instructors to go to other people’s classes to help them grow & learn more), but partly because it’s a great – and fun- workout! It also helps me get to know the members and other instructors better, which is especially important at a place like EBF since it’s hugely community oriented.

  • Spinning- Lately, running has been bothering my hip 😦 so I’ve been doing more spinning. Without fail, even a quickie spin sesh will get me sweating and feeling pumped up. It’s especially more fun with my new TIEM Athletic shoes!

  • Biking– Spinning is fun, but riding a real bike outside is more fun! I’ve been enjoying the nicer weather as it’s allowed me to ride my bike to the gym to teach (gets me there faster than driving!). RM and I have also been doing a lot of biking which is a great way to spend time with each other and be outside!

  • Quickie HIIT workouts- Unless I’m teaching an hour long class (which I rarely do these days), I don’t want to be a the gym for a long time which means I fully embrace quickie 20-30 minute workouts. Some are more intense than others, but none last longer than 30 minutes. I’ve been going to the gym at lunch as much as possible which is another reason why I can’t spend a long time working out. The best part? My body has been responding so much better to these shorter workouts! I feel quick & strong and I’m looking more buff!

  • Upper body workouts- I want big, beautifully strong shoulders so I’ve been putting more focus on upper body/shoulder focused workouts. Only a few weeks/month into this slight shift and I feel like I’m already seeing changes, which just goes to show that you don’t have to spend hours in the gym a day in order to see or feel changes. You just have to make sure what you’re doing is the best use of your time and going to effectively challenge you.

(also- loved Lauren’s Fit in 15 mini workout series- so great to get quickie, but effective, workouts in!)

  • Outdoor workouts- With the warmer weather *mostly* here, it makes me want to get outside as much as possible. Last week, I brought a resistance band and jump rope to work and went outside during my lunch to get a quickie workout in.

There you have it! Per usual, I try to keep a good balance of cardio, strength, HIIT, etc. in my workout schedule so that I’m not overworking any one thing. I’d like to add more yoga into my schedule, but I’ve been teaching so much lately that I haven’t wanted to take an hour-hour and a half to get to a class when I’m not teaching. In the next few weeks, my schedule should lighten up a bit so I will absolutely get to yoga!

I’d love to hear from you- what workouts are you loving right now? Have you been working out outside? Do you find yourself more or less motivated to workout when the weather gets nice?

Wednesday Workout: Spin & Total Body AMRAP Workout {Featuring TIEM spin shoes}

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Good morning! Before I get to the workout, I wanted to remind you that tonight, I am hosting a workout at the New Balance Flagship Store in Brighton at 6:30pm. You can find more details & sign up here.

For now, though, let’s talk about spinning. Confession: Up until about 4 years ago, I hated spinning! I didn’t understand why people would want to use their time at the gym to sit on a bike- however, now that indoor cycling has become a “thing”, I am totally on board with spinning. Why? I like that the classes are to the beat of the music, use weights and do exercises to work body parts besides just the legs. I realize that they do not mimic an outdoor ride, but no one ever said they’re supposed to 😉 They’re just a great cardio workout.

Now that I have a spin bike at home, I love spinning even more. It was so great to have a source of low-impact cardio that could be done in the comforts of my own home throughout the cold winter months, but there was something I was missing: spin shoes. I didn’t really “need” them when it came to going to classes since most studios rent them to you (or they’re included in the price of the ride), but at home I really wanted a pair as they do make the whole riding experience better.

TIEM Athletic couldn’t have contacted me at a better time because I had just been researching various shoe brands to check out. What I love about the TIEM slipstream shoes is that they look and feel like a normal sneaker. They aren’t the big, clunky, non-bendable spin shoes that we all think of when we think of spin shoes. These could be worn as a shoe to and from the gym and no one would know they were spin shoes!

True story: Monday at the gym, one of  the trainers was wearing a pair of TIEM slipstream shoes and I told her I had the same ones. Her client was shocked to hear that the shoes on her feet were spin shoes and not just regular sneakers. The trainer said she was tired of lugging around multiple pairs of shoes and that the TIEM ones were great because she could wear them to train AND teach her spin class. We agreed we wouldn’t wear them to go running or do any sort of high impact workout- because they are really not made for that- but that they work great for what she was doing with them.

Want to know what else they work great for? This workout I’m sharing with you today! Why, you ask? Because this workout has you going from the bike to off the bike every other song, which is a much more enjoyable experience with the sneaker-esque TIEM Athletic spin shoes.

The way the workout works is you’ll do one song on the bike, then you’ll do an AMRAP of the exercises listed above for “off bike” songs for the duration of that song. You’ll need a pair of dumbbells (or two pairs if you want to go heavier/lighter on some exercises). For the spin songs, I’ve also included suggestions in terms of position & resistance if you decide to go with the play list I’m showing you below.

I’ve only had these shoes for a few weeks, but I’m already totally loving them- they really just enhance the spinning experience so much! I’m considering getting SPD pedals for my road bike, too, although clipping in and out at stop lights & intersections kind of scares me, lol.

If you’re in the market for a multi-purpose spin shoe, definitely check out TIEM Athletic- they’ve got various colors to choose from & the staff is so nice! They often do pop up sales at the various spin studios in and around Boston, so if you follow them on Instagram you can stay in the loop.

Thanks, again, TIEM, for providing me with some awesome spin shoes!

Questions for you: Do you like spinning? Do you bike outdoors? Do you have your own spin shoes?

Wednesday Workout: Spin Bootcamp

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Hi there! As most of you know by now, I was able to purchase a used bike from The Handlebar indoor cycling studio back in December. While I am not a regular spinner, I do enjoy it and it is something I want to get more into as I get more practice, which is exactly why I bought the bike. That, and the fact that it was an incredible deal and the perfect piece of cardio equipment for our apartment. It seriously makes working out at home SO much easier!!

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This workout was one that I did quickly on a Sunday- a day I don’t normally workout, but I was feeling energetic so I took advantage of that and busted out this workout. It can be any length you want, although the songs you choose & how many you choose to use will ultimately determine how long the workout is. The format of the workout is fun because you’re switching things up by song, so mentally you know you just have to get through the song before you can switch to something else. I think this is why it flew by for me- I kept having good songs pop on my playlist which kept me going!

Here are a few screenshots of what’s currently on my most recently downloaded songs- you’ll notice some older songs, which are always fun in my BAGSxBEATS classes!

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But, feel free to use whatever is on your playlist that gets you going! Here’s the outline of what I did:

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As you can see, you can alternate this pattern of on the bike/off the bike for as long as your workout time allows. In terms of your time off the bike, I would do about 16 reps per exercise and repeat until the song ended, but if you would rather go by time you could do that as well. There is obviously tons of room to play with this workout, so if you try it I want to know what you did differently or the same! I promise you won’t be bored with this 🙂

Questions for you: Are you motivated by music during your workouts? 

This Week: Workouts, toning it down & things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning and happy Monday! I think I’m still recovering from the weekend… Saturday and night ended up being a little too fun 😉 Before I get into the workouts, I wanted to say THANK YOU for all your kind words after my post last week where I talked about my workout addiction. It’s never easy being honest about that kind of stuff, but I really feel like I’m on a better track now. I noticed last week that I didn’t have the feeling like I normally do about working out as much and as hard as I can. It was a weird feeling to be more relaxed about my workouts and to understand that taking it down a notch won’t make me lose all of the hard work I’ve done, but in fact, it will likely aid in making those gains better. Giving my body rest will allow me to feel rested and energized during my workouts on non-rest days. I know it will take some time to get used to it, but my goal is to give myself TWO rest days a week. Sure, I can go for a walk or do some light yoga, but I want to be able to let my body relax and rest and hopefully have fewer injuries.

So, with that said, let’s talk about the workouts I did do!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My knee was feeling better, but I still wanted to take it easy. I went to the gym and did 40 minutes of cardio followed by some upper body and core work. I also did push-ups and stability ball crunches throughout the day.

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  • Tuesday- Tuesday was the first intense workout I did in almost a week! I taught my bootcamp and holy moly I was sore for 3 days. To say we did a lot of lunges is an understatement 😉
  • Wednesday- I did 15 minutes on the elliptical before teaching UXF Burn. I didn’t do much of the workout because I was so sore from Tuesday.
  • Thursday- I decided to give running a try. I ended up doing 4 miles at a moderate pace. I went out with the mentality that I would just see how it felt and only go as far as I could while still feeling ok. The 4 miles flew by and I felt great. No pain during or after! And, look at these little 5 week old snuggle bugs that I met… I died a little.

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  • Friday- Rest, besides a 30 minute walk during lunch
  • Saturday- I had a pretty intense day of workouts thanks to the #BosFIT event. I’ll share more on that later, but I did 30 minutes of “Bags and Beats”, 30 minutes of BollyX, 30 minutes of spinning and 30 minutes of Barry’s Bootcamp. Yikes! It was awesome!

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  • Sunday- Another rest day! I wasn’t sore from Saturday, which was kind of surprising, but I knew I had worked my body pretty hard so I gave myself rest.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and did some light cardio after.
  • Tuesday- Teaching my bootcamp
  • Wednesday- Maybe a run or some other cardio before teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- Not sure. I’d like to get to a class maybe?
  • Friday- I would love to get in a workout during lunch. RM and I are getting massages after work so I feel like working out before that is a good idea because they can massage my tight muscles.
  • Saturday & Sunday- These may be my rest days this week. RM and I are celebrating our 1 year first date anniversary (can’t believe it’s been that long!) and are supposed to go to the Cape early on Saturday so I think I’ll rest.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m SO looking forward to spending the weekend with RM. Because of our schedules, we haven’t spent a weekend together since my dad’s birthday in mid-August. I miss our weekends together and this one is even more special since we are celebrating our anniversary.

Questions for you: How many rest days do you take a week? What was the best workout you had last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

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?