Tag: strength training

Wednesday Workout: 3 Set Lower Body Burnout

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Good morning! I hope you’re having a good week. Today I am sharing a workout I threw together on Monday that left me VERY sore yesterday. I started with a 10 minute treadmill run at a moderately fast pace and then headed downstairs to the weight room to complete this 3 set lower body focused workout.

When doing this, please think about choosing weights that are challenging (last couple of reps should be hard!), but don’t compromise your form.

3 Set Lower Body Burnout

Explanations:

  • Deadlifts– these can be trap bar deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, or whatever else you would like to do. They’re a single exercise set so that you can lift heavy and have enough recovery between rounds/sets.
  • Step ups- choose a step height that’s challenging, yet doesn’t make you feel like you need to use momentum to get up. Also, I held 15lb Kettlebells in each hand, which wasn’t quite heavy enough, but it still did the trick.
  • Pushups- If you’re struggling with doing proper chest to ground pushups on your toes, try doing incline ones, maybe on the step you used for the step ups or even against a wall.
  • Lunge -> SLDL (single leg deadlift)- Hold a KB like you would for a goblet squat and then step your right leg back into a lunge. As you come back through center, engage your core and hinge forward at the hips coming into a single leg deadlift and changing your grip on the KB and hold it from the top of the handle and letting it hang towards the ground. As you lift back up to center, do a KB clean and step back into the lunge with a KB goblet grip. While doing this, focus on moving slow rather than rushing through the movements. Repeat on the opposite side.

The last move is definitely what killed me- I used a 25lb KB and wowzers were my hammies screaming at me yesterday!

This workout should take you about 40 minutes to complete if you do the 10 minute treadmill run- just letting you know in case you’re like me and generally on a time limit at the gym. As always, let me know if you try it!

Questions for you: When’s the last time you felt really sore after a workout?

Guest Post: 7 Tips to Help Your Strength Training Journey

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Hi there! I am so excited to share this post with you. My gym friend (and birthday buddy), Ashley, is such an inspiration when it comes to working for something you want. She has worked SO HARD at achieving her fitness related goals (pull-ups, to be one of them) and the research and knowledge gained throughout this process can be portrayed throughout so many areas of her life, which is just one of the many reasons why strength training is so wonderful. Ashley is so honest, open, insightful and encouraging in this post and never mind this being a guest post, I just think it’s an incredible piece of writing and I hope you all feel as motivated to tackle your goals as I do after reading it!

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7 tips to help your strength training journey

Hey Burpees to Bubbly readers! My name is Ashley Parent, and I’m a friend of Monique’s from (you guessed it) the gym! Monique asked me to come on the blog to talk a little bit about how I got started with strength training, where I am now, and to share some tips. For the sake of transparency, you should know that I don’t have any sort of fitness, health, or training certifications. Because of this, I’m going to talk less about the specifics of exercises and programming and more about tips regarding how to get the right background information and how to get in the right mindset for strength training.

I have a few years of experience and lots of casual studying on the subject. I have a training age of about 7 years (I was 21 years old), and I first got started learning the very basics of strength machines and free weights at a college class at Hampshire College (man, I miss the days of free gym classes that actually give you credit towards a degree). Looking back, I knew pretty much nothing then compared to what I know now, but it gave me the confidence to know my way around the weight room and do some basic moves. Fast forward to 2013 when I decided I wanted to practice some more complex moves (i.e. deadlift, turkish get-up, etc.) and start to go much heavier, so I contacted a local strength coach for some assistance. I learned so so much working with a coach for about 9 months, but I couldn’t afford to do it forever. Luckily, he’s a great person and lets me check in every now and then to make sure my form is still on point.

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Currently, and for about the past 8 months, my main focus/goals have been sustainable fat loss and being able to do my first unassisted chin-up. Strength training should still be at the forefront of your training program when your goal is fat loss, so my fat loss goal has mostly been accomplished through my diet. I accomplished my chin-up goal on my birthday (April 14), so now my goal is just to do more chin-ups, of course! There are many articles out there about how to get started in the weight room if you’re a complete beginner, so I’m going to try to share some tips that are different from the ones you might see on those articles. If you want one of those, see number 6 below for some blogs where you might find one. Without further ado, here are 7 tips for strength training (I’m going to count them down, and number one is the most important, so skip ahead if you have to!):

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  1. Know your goals and what you need to do to get there.

    2. Continue reading →

This Week: Workouts, split workouts and things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning and happy Monday. If you’re lucky enough to have today off, please don’t tell me… I’m very jealous. I don’t know if it’s because work has been a little stressful lately or what, but I feel like I’m in major need of a day off. Unfortunately, today is not that day for me- oh well!

Do you guys ever split your workouts up based on time? For instance, run in the morning and lift after work because you don’t have enough time to do your full workout in one sitting? I don’t generally do this, but I’m not opposed to it because I think that if you have certain goals you’re working to that requires you to be doing “X” amount of cardio and lifting in a day/week, sometimes it’s necessary to split up your workout to get it all done. I’ve heard of people splitting up their miles if they are training for a marathon so that they run 10 before work and 10 after since they don’t have enough time to do 20 at once.

Last week, I didn’t split up my workouts by doing part before work and part after, but I did split them up by days… does that count? I totally ate sh*t during the New Balance Girls Night Out run last week and tore up my knee quite a bit. While it was an external injury and not an internal one like a twist or anything, it was still rather painful on Thursday. I was so annoyed because otherwise, I felt physically ready for a tough workout; I didn’t feel like I needed rest. But, since my knee was swollen a little and it hurt to bend it because the skin was so raw, I physically knew I couldn’t do anything that required any bending. I ended up doing a 20 minute walk with 10 push-ups, slow mountain climbers & flutter kicks at the benches in the park as I approached them and then did a series of upper body and core super-sets back in my apartment. On Friday, I did the cardio I had wanted to do. Does this mean I didn’t “rest” as much as I’ve promised myself? Technically, yes, but since I worked entirely different things between the days and it was a circumstance where I didn’t feel like I needed extra rest, I think it’s ok. Thoughts?

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I did some push-ups and crunches during the day and then I went to a class at Flywheel. Christina was amazingggg and I left there feeling beat!
  • Tuesday- I went to the Lynnfield BSC for a quick strength session before teaching a stations workout at my bootcamp. We all agree class flew by- I’ll post the workout for you this week hopefully.

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  • Wednesday- I had a sub for my UXF Burn so I could finally attend one of the New Balance Girls Night Out events. So happy I did- it was such an awesome night! I ran with Sarah of Blonde Bostonian and we covered 4.6 miles. I totally wiped out at the end of the run. Woof.

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  • Thursday- As I mentioned above, I really wanted a tough workout on Thursday, but my bum knee had other plans. I did some upper body/core super sets and went for a walk.
  • Friday- My knee was still not great, but it wasn’t as swollen or painful as the day before so I headed to the BSC during my lunch break and ran 3 miles. As I mentioned on Instagram, I wasn’t sure if I needed retail therapy or a workout to help relieve some stress/anxiety and since spending money would probably just add to those two things, I chose the gym. I felt so much better after!

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  • Saturday- I finallyyyy taught my kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. It was a smaller crowd, but it felt good to be back. I was SO SORE on Sunday from it… I don’t usually get sore from kickboxing, but I think since I hadn’t taught it in 3 weeks, my muscles weren’t used to it.
  • Sunday- RM and I went for a nice 40 minute walk since it was so beautiful out.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m subbing the 6:30pm Cardio Kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. If you’re around, come join me!
  • Tuesday- I’m teaching my bootcamp in Wakefield.
  • Wednesday- I’ll probably run before I teach UXF Burn at Central Square.
  • Thursday- I’m holding a bonus bootcamp since everyone wasn’t ready to be done on Tuesday.
  • Friday- Maybe a lunch break workout depending on how I’m feeling from the week. Otherwise, I’ll rest.
  • Saturday & Sunday- I’m going to the Cape for Oyster fest with RM and some of his family and friends, so I’m not sure what my workouts will look like, if anything.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m excited to be teaching a lot this week- I only taught twice last week! I’m also excited to see my friend Tim who will be in town for work. Lastly, I can’t wait to head to the cape for a little weekend getaway filled with good food, good drinks and good people 🙂

Questions for you: Do you ever split your workout up based on time? If you have to cut your workout short, what do you usually skip out on? What was your best workout last week? What are you looking forward to this week?

 

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

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Phew! You guys- this past weekend was SO fun, but boy am I tired today. Although I like starting my Monday’s out by teaching my 6am class, I was thankful for the extra sleep this morning.

Although I had some good workouts last week, they were a bit on the shorter side… and I kind of liked it! I definitely miss teaching my Thursday double, but having 2+ hours of extra time after work is really quite nice. The thing is (and I know this is no surprise to all you fitness-crazed people like me), as long as you’re giving a workout your all, it doesn’t (and shouldn’t!) be an hour or two hour ordeal. Long gone are the days where I feel like I need to spend hours on various cardio machines at the gym, peddling away. Thank God!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Similar to most Monday’s when I teach: taught my 6am muscle class (which I’ve started to add in some cardio, too) and did 15 minutes on the stepper after class to catch up on my social media stuff 😉
  • Tuesday- I got up and ran a TOUGH 3 miles before the first day of our “All Hands” meeting. I also did my old walking/T riding commute into the city- I miss it, but don’t miss showing up to work sweating!

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  • Wednesday- I really didn’t feel like working out. I had gotten out of our meetings at 3 and then met up with RM for some shopping before heading home. The last thing I wanted to do was turn back around and head out to workout and teach. So much so that I made up random errands to run to eat time before my class started! It’s amazing, though- after a quick mile run on the treadmill before it was time to teach, I felt SO MUCH BETTER- so much energy and I was ready to go. Crazy how exercise can do that to you! I did most of my UXF Burn class with the members- it was a killer.
  • Thursday- I dilly-dallied and cut myself too short on time to get in the workout I wanted to do. Oh well- I ran a few quick miles and did 2 different sets of strength exercises: 4 exercises, 12 reps, 2 rounds. Done and done.
  • Friday- I ran 3.75 miles during lunch and finished with some core work. The weather was perfect for daytime running- sunny, but not too hot! I mentioned on Instagram, that I was really proud of how far I’ve come with running. Just a year or so ago my goal was to run 3.5 miles in 31 minutes… I’m crushing that time these days. I often forget to look at my accomplishments and be proud of myself; I’m always looking ahead at things I want to do, so it was nice to give myself a little pat on the back!

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  • Saturday- I taught my first class at my new gym, PUMPS, which is in Wakefield. It was a Chisel and Core class, but I just taught one of my SHRED workouts and it was perfect. I got really good feedback which is always a nice thing.

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  • Sunday- Rest day! I woke up and felt every muscle in my body from my workout on Saturday. It wasn’t a new workout, but for some reason it totally kicked my butt!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Tonight I am going to a class at B/Spoke indoor cycling studio with Caroline and my friend Meaghan. I haven’t been to an indoor cycling class in forever so I am really looking forward to it 🙂
  • Tuesday- I may go to a class at PUMPS after work or go to a class at Exhale Spa. I have a few free classes to use up before the end of August so my goal is to get to a class this week and next week.
  • Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn and probably doing some cardio and core beforehand. I’m trying to incorporate more core work into my workouts as I’ve been slacking (and it shows!) lately.
  • Thursday- Same as Tuesday- either a class at PUMPS or Exhale… probably whatever I didn’t do on Tuesday.
  • Friday- Not sure! Maybe do a lunchtime run again, maybe rest.
  • Saturday- FINALLY back at the Oak Square YMCA for my kickboxing class- it’s been 3 weeks since I’ve last been there and I miss them!!!
  • Sunday- Either rest or some yoga or something light (only if I didn’t rest on Friday).

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I can’t wait to get together with Caroline and Meaghan- it’s so hard to fit everything in these days, that killing two birds with one stone (working out WITH friends) is a wonderful thing. I’m also looking forward to a normal week where I have time to make my lunches and do things after work. This weekend is my friend Kia’s engagement party in New Hampshire so that will definitely be a fun time. Sunday is RM’s nephew’s first birthday party, which will be a nice way to spend the afternoon. It’s nice being “around” for two weekends in a row!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Are your workouts shorter during the summer? 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?