Tag: UXF Burn

This Week: Weekend Catch Up, Workouts, Things I am Looking Forward To

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Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? It felt good to have one since last weekend I was cooped up inside at MANIA on Friday and Sunday and ran the Spartan race on Saturday (I owe you that recap this week!), which didn’t leave much room for “weekending”.  Friday night I went to drinks at Warehouse on Broad Street followed by dinner at Anthem which is always a favorite of mine! Saturday I taught an amazing kickboxing class (46 people came!!!) then ran a bunch of errands and went to lunch at Not Your Average Joe’s with my sister. I went back to Warehouse on Saturday night for drinks with a couple of friends (they ate dinner and said the food was great!!) and Sunday I hosted a Pampered Chef party. So even though it was a busy weekend, it was fun 🙂

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Stemless champagne flutes at Warehouse? New to me… not sure if I’m a fan or not. Regardless, the bubbly tasted good 😉

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Winter beer for lunch and an amazing seasonal flatbread which had pesto, caramelized onions, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and cheese (can’t remember what kind, though).IMG_5872

The girls got the “Greek Nachos” to start, which I tried and thought were delicious. It was such a fun idea!

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How about the workouts? I took Monday and Tuesday as rest days because my body needed it! Holy moly did it need it. I was SO sore and tight after my weekend festivities that it felt good to rest and foam roll. Once I got back into workouts, I felt like I did the right thing by giving my body some time to rest.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday & Tuesday- Lots of walking! Monday I took the long walk home and Tuesday ran errands and shopped. My muscles loosened up a lot by walking and getting blood flowing. Needed that!

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  • Wednesday- I ran a 5K on the treadmill (a slow one, but that’s ok!) before teaching UXF Burn. It was a big class, so I didn’t get to do as much of the workout since I was walking around correcting form (I brought in some new moves so that required a lot of coaching from me).

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Wore my new shirt from MANIA!

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  • Thursday- Taught SHRED using a format I learned at Sunday’s MANIA events and taught kickboxing with a totally new set of combos (that I made up as I brushed my teeth, haha). It was high cardio- we gotta burn those calories before T-day!
  • Friday- I did 10 minutes of random cardio (jogging, jumping jacks, burpees, jump squats, etc. etc.) and the upper body and core exercises from Athena’s Total Body Blast workout.
  • Saturday- I taught a super sweaty, super high cardio, super crowded kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. I woke up feeling like I had done a million lunges on Friday, and since I didn’t, I blame it on Delayed Onset Soreness from Thursday’s workouts. Felt good to shake my legs out in class!
  • Sunday- Since I feel like I didn’t get a chance to get in some isolated and focused strength training in, I headed to the East Boston YMCA for their 10:30 “Y Pump” class. Felt great!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Subbing a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC- it’s a 6:30, so BSCers if you’re looking for a good class, please come!
  • Tuesday- I will probably head to the gym after work for strength and maybe a little cardio.
  • Wednesday-My 6:30 UXF Burn class is cancelled, but I am subbing the 5:30 Sports Conditioning Class, so if you get out of work early, definitely come- we will work super hard to burn lots of calories before Thanksgiving!
  • Thursday- I will do some type of at-home workout at my parents house. I am trying to come up with a Thanksgiving-themed workout, so be on the lookout 😉
  • Friday- Rest day! I am getting my hair done and then my family is heading to Kennebunkport for lunch at David’s, walking around, shopping, and drinks at Hurricane Restaurant (fun fact: I used to manage the books and be a hostess there- so fun!).
  • Saturday- Heading back to Boston early Saturday morning to teach Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA- come burn off your holiday eats!
  • Sunday- Maybe a rest day? I’ll see how I feel.

Things I am Looking Forward To

Gosh! There are so many things! I am exited to sub a few classes since I am missing both of mine on Thursday. I am excited to be home in Maine for Thanksgiving. We are doing dinner just the 4 of us and then we head to Sara and Amy’s mom’s house for dessert… a tradition for as long as I can remember! I’m excited about getting my hair highlighted and then spending the whole day with my family because we have lots of fun together 🙂

Questions for you: What was your favorite part about last weekend? Do you plan on working out on Thanksgiving? What are you looking forward to this week? Please share- I love hearing from you 🙂

Wednesday Workout: 3-2-1 UXF Burn (Cardio, Strength, Core) Workout

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Hi there! How are you doing today?! I’m finally starting to feel back to my normal self (physically); last week/weekend really took it out of me with all the working out I did! I owe you recaps for MANIA and the Fenway Spartan Sprint, but I’m still digesting everything I learned at MANIA and want to wait for the professional photos from the Spartan race to be posted.

I usually teach a 60 second strength and core format in my UXF Burn class on Wednesdays, but last week I decided to change it up and bring back the newest UXF format in my class: 3-2-1. We are supposed to teach it with 3 minutes of the SAME cardio move (ie: burpees), but my class hated that so I decided to switch it up and do 3 different moves for 60 seconds each in each set. I asked them what they thought and they said they liked it this way much better. Another thing they like about this workout is once you finish the strength and core exercises in each set, you’re done with those exercises for the rest of the class. If you don’t like circuits or repeating things, this is your type of workout!

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Doing the same strength exercise for 2 minutes straight can be tough… and boring… so I changed it up and had them do a few different exercises per strength set. Think: OH tricep extensions, one and two armed tricep kickbacks, pulsing, changing up the speed, etc. For squats, we did narrow, wide, normal width, plié, pulsing, different pacing. It helped to keep people engaged and pass the time more quickly than just standing there for 2 minutes of bicep curls.

I added in some new moves, so here some descriptions and links in case they are new to you, too!

  • Around the clock bicep curls: start out curling the weights in front of you at 12 o’clock, then move so you’re curling at 1 and 11 or 2 and 10 (or in between those two… basically at a 45 degree angle), then move so you’re curling at 9 and 3 for a wide curl. Make your way back to 12 and keep going like that.
  • Pendulum lunges: step forward into a lunge with your right foot then step back into a reverse lunge with that right foot. Do the same on the left side.
  • Plank Push-Up- I can’t find a video (and I’m in my jammies so I’m not about to video myself!), but you start out in a forearm plank and then slide your shoulders back and push your butt up and back so that you’re in a dolphin plank/downward dog pose. Bring yourself back down to a plank and repeat. If you work slowly, this is great for your lower abs!
  • Side plank with hip drops

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! This workout can be cut back if you don’t have a lot of time… all you have to do is pick a few sets and rock it!

Questions for you: What is the most boring exercise for you to do? Have you done a 3-2-1 workout like this?

This Week: Workouts, Schedule, Things I Am Looking Forward To

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Hey there! Did you notice anything different today? Instead of my Monday “Weekly Workouts” post, I have decided to change it up a bit. I still want to post my workouts (to hold myself accountable and to hopefully provide motivation for you) and my teaching schedule, but I thought I’d make my Monday posts a little different by adding in my schedule/plans for the week and things I am looking forward to. I encourage you to comment and tell me what you’re looking forward to as well! Makes Monday seem a little better when we can think of the positive things we are excited about in the week ahead, right?!

Let’s get to it, shall we? Last week was probably the most physically intense week I have ever had. Even though I took it easy on Tuesday (did yoga at home), my workouts Monday-Thursday were pretty intense and my fitness-filled weekend consisting of 2 days at MANIA and the Spartan race were even more intense. I loved every second of it (well, except for the last session on Sunday at MANIA… I was so sore/tired/hungry and did not want to work out as hard as we did), but am definitely ready for a few days of rest this week!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I ran a mile and did a strength workout at the Sheraton gym in Chicago and then taught kickboxing. Way more of an intense day than I was planning for!

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  • Tuesday- I worked from home and had a million things to do after work (unpack, laundry, blogging, cooking dinner, etc.), so I just did a 45 minute at-home yoga workout. I started off with an On-Demand workout, but got bored after about 5 minutes so I just did my own practice. It felt great, but left me even more sore on Wednesday!

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  • Wednesday- I worked from home again (I was so tired from my previous week of travel, it was still really cold and I knew I had a big weekend of fitness events so I thought it would be best for me to take it easy during the week) and did my Work From Home workout 10 times through (that’s 100 reps of each exercise), did 15 minutes on the elliptical before class (had extra time) and taught a fun UXF Burn class.
  • Thursday- Taught SHRED and Kickboxing. SHRED had a good crowd, but Kickboxing was a little quiet. Womp!
  • Friday- Attended my first day of MANIA. I did a Kettlebell workout, R.I.P.P.E.D workout, Sports Conditioning Workout and a Boot Camp workout. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end!

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  • Saturday- Ran the Fenway Spartan Sprint, which was amazinggggg. Omg I was so nervous, but ended up doing way better than I had thought I would do and had a blast doing it. I’ll do a full recap later this week (hopefully!).

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  • Sunday- I went back to MANIA for the last day of sessions. I took a stretching type of class first, followed by a Cardio, Cutz and Core class and ended with a Muscle Mashup class. Few. By the end, I was SO tired and sore (but was so glad I went because I learned so much from both classes!).

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday & Tuesday- Nothing! My body is so sore from last week that I know I need some serious rest. I can’t wait!
  • Wednesday- I’ll ease back into workout out with some light cardio before teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing. I have some awesome new workout ideas for SHRED… I can’t wait to teach them!!!
  • Friday- Not sure.. maybe a rest day? I’ll see how I feel.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA- Please come!
  • Sunday- I might workout in the morning pending on how I feel.

Schedule/Plans for the Week

I have a full week of work in the office (except for Friday when I WFH), which will be a change up from the past couple of weeks! I am going out to dinner in the city on Tuesday after work and I think that’s all I have planned this week besides my Pampered Chef party on Sunday.

Things I Am Looking Forward To

A quiet week!!! And some rest days. The month of November has been absolutely insane for me, so I am really excited to have a week where I’m just around with no plans. I’m also looking forward to going out for drinks and dinner in the city after work; I always see people doing this and get jealous because I never do! Lastly, I am happy to be hosting a Pampered Chef party on Sunday. I hope a lot of my girlfriends can come!

Your Turn! What was something fun you did over the weekend? What are you looking forward to this week?

Weekly Workouts: Lots of Teaching {and preparing for Dallas & Chicago}

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Hi there! Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was busy, but really fun. Friday night I babysat and Saturday I taught kickboxing, drove to NH for a family friend’s surprise 60th (more on that later!) and then came back to MA for a gym friends party at Athena’s. I love getting a chance to hang out with those girls because they “get” me and the gym thing. There was LOTS of delicious food at both parties and even though I tried to pace myself and choose healthy options, I definitely splurge! Well worth it, though 🙂

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Since I know this week is going to be pretty crazy busy, too, (I am leaving for Dallas on Tuesday and then going straight from there to Chicago on Thursday for a long weekend getaway with my sister), I took advantage of a wide open schedule yesterday and RELAXED… can you believe it?! I got up, lounged around, blogged, went to the gym and grocery shopping then vowed to not leave the house for the rest of the day. It.was.awesome! And so necessary.

Last week, I got a last minute sub request for the Wednesday sports conditioning class which is right before my UXF Burn class. Since I am missing my classes again this week and am in need of some extra money, I agreed to sub for her. I love that class, but teaching a double on Wednesday and on Thursday is a lot! When I have weeks like this were I teach 5 classes (2 Wednesday, 2 Thursday and 1 Saturday), I wonder how I ever survived teaching Monday and Wednesday- Saturday. That was so silly! Now that I have cut back on teaching, I’ve learned to really appreciate MY OWN workouts and have started to see some great changes in my body because of that.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I had a bad day on Monday and was in need of some serious exercise endorphins, so I headed to the East Boston YMCA for a treadmill run and core exercises. After 4 miles, I felt much better!

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  • Tuesday- My legs were super tired from my run on Monday (not sure why) and my upper body was still a little tight from Sunday, so I decided to just go to the gym in my office building and do a superset core-focused workout with my Fall Into Fitness moves in between (crab walks, bear walks, duck walks, 1-legged burpees). It was a great workout!!

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  • Wednesday- I taught Sports Conditioning and UXF Burn. I did an AMRAP workout in sports conditioning and a Halloween themed workout in UXF Burn- people may have made fun of me, but I think they actually had a lot of fun 😉

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  • Thursday- Taught SHRED (another Halloween inspired/themed workout) and Kickboxing. I taught a super high intensity cardio class in kickboxing and finished with lots of glute and core work.
  • Friday- Nothing 🙂 Well deserved rest!
  • Saturday- Taught another high intensity cardio kickboxing class… I gave them the option to do more cardio or more core and Mary said cardio, so I blamed it on her 🙂
  • Sunday- I went to the Y Pump class again since I hadn’t really done a “real” strength workout since last Sunday. Granted, I did lift in my classes, but when I teach, the workouts are not for me, so I don’t get to lift to my potential. I have to use whatever weights are available and jump around to correct form, so I never end up finishing a full set.

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Since I did strength yesterday, I’ll probably do cardio today… likely another treadmill run since it’s definitely too dark to run outside after work now.
  • Tuesday- I have a 2pm flight to Dallas, which means I will work from home in the morning, which also means I will do an at home workout. Not sure what I’ll feel like doing, but I’ll figure it out!
  • Wednesday- I will be in Dallas and I have a full day of training (business writing development- I am actually really excited about it!), so I will have to get up and do an early hotel workout. I’m hoping the Westin has a good gym!
  • Thursday- Same thing as Wednesday!
  • Friday- I will be in Chicago with my sister, so I hope she will get up and do a workout with me before we meet up with our friend JP for site seeing!
  • Saturday- Not sure. We are staying at a Sheraton, which generally has a great gym so I would like to workout, but it depends on what we do Friday night and what the agenda is for Saturday. Since I am going to be “on vacation”, I am going to try to be more relaxed and not plan my day around my workouts (at this point, it’s so part of my “schedule”, that I have to make more of an effort to not do it than to do it!).
  • Sunday- Again, I am not sure!

Questions for you: What is your favorite “on the road” workout? Have you ever been to Chicago? What’s a “must see”?

Weekly Workouts: Awesome on the road workouts & finally back at teaching!

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I have to say, it feels pretty darn good knowing that I don’t have to travel for work this week! I need to soak it in because next week I will be in Dallas from Tuesday-Thursday and then I am flying directly to Chicago for a long weekend getaway. This week/weekend is also a bit crazy, but all of the craziness is good stuff, so I can’t really complain 🙂

Last week, I was in Ohio for my workouts on Monday and Tuesday, but both workouts were strong and didn’t feel like “on the road” or hotel room workouts which is always a plus! I was really excited to get back to teaching, though, which I think was a little scary for my members 😉

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I often workout in my hotel room because it can save 10 minutes or more of my morning by eliminating the travel time to the gym and equipment set up time. I’m all about efficiency in the morning and sleeping for as long as possible, so extra sleep and a hotel room workout generally trump all else. With that said, I knew I would have more time on Monday morning to workout so I decided to head to the gym. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and then completed a short strength circuit, including the Monday and Tuesday moves for the Fall Into Fitness challenge that I am participating in. Loved the Monkey Curls!

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  • Tuesday- I completed a 25 rep core and cardio workout that I will post for you this week. No equipment necessary and even with a warm up, I finished in 28 minutes. Win, win if you ask me!

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  • Wednesday- I was finally back in the gym!!! I ran a 5K on the treadmill before teaching a killer UXF Burn class. I did the usual format that my class enjoys (Face off, but staying in their own spots) and after the Strength & Core exercises, we did 10 burpee tuck jumps. By the end of class, we did 100 burpees!
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Kickboxing. Felt good to be back for my double.
  • Friday- I did not have a great day on Friday and when I have bad days I usually like to workout, but I knew I should rest since I was teaching kickboxing on Saturday, so I drank wine instead… while doing my Fall Into Fitness Bridge & Crunch move. Whoops.

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  • Saturday- I taught a fun kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. There were 33 people in class and the energy was so high- I was in instructor heaven. Judging by Jen’s Facebook status, it was a good workout for them, too!

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  • Sunday- I decided I wanted to try the “Y Pump” at the East Boston YMCA. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love BodyPump and have been working on increasing my strength workouts so since I was around yesterday morning, I decided to try it out (it was hard to not just go to the 11am BodyPump class at the Wellington, BSC, though, since I know what to expect there!). The class ended up being awesome! We did a lot of reps and I really struggled to finish a number of the sets. In addition to the bars, we also used a band, something I don’t do often. I was sore by the end of the day yesterday, so I’m sure that will continue today!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- To be honest, I am not sure! Since I did weights yesterday, I’ll probably focus more on cardio today. I hate that it’s getting colder and darker out after workout because I loved my Monday night runs!
  • Tuesday- Pending on whether or not I’m still sore from Sunday, I would like to do a lower or upper body strength workout. If I am still sore, I’ll do a core-focused workout.
  • Wednesday- The usual: cardio and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Another usual: SHRED and Kickboxing. I may bring back a circuit/stations workout this week since it’s been a while since I’ve done that!
  • Friday- Rest day? I am babysitting after work and since I’m teaching on Saturday again, a rest day is perfect.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing again at the Oak Square YMCA. Since I will be in Chicago next weekend, which was my weekend to teach, the other instructor was nice enough to switch with me so I wouldn’t miss out on a class. Thanks, Amy!
  • Sunday- I have a feeling this will be a rest day, too. My weekend is: babysitting Friday night, teaching Saturday morning, heading to ME for the afternoon and then heading back to MA for a gym friend’s party so I think by Sunday, I am going to be exhausted!

Questions for you: Do you like trying new classes at the gym or do you stick to the classes you know will be a good workout? What was your best workout last week?