Tag: UXF Burn

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?

This Week: Workouts, JP Morgan Race Review, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Hi there! Happy Monday 🙂 Can you believe tomorrow is JULY 1st?!?! Where the heck has the spring gone?! I feel like once July 4th hits, it’s a race to the end of summer- I hate that! Although my July is crazy busy with a cape trip for the 4th, Bachelorette party on Nantucket the weekend after and Chicago at the end of the month, August should be a bit slower, which will be nice.

Last week was a good week of workouts, for the most part. I’ve really started to enjoy teaching my Monday morning class- it’s such a good way to kick off the work week! On top of a full teaching schedule (5 classes this week), I also ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge with my company. There were over 12,000 runners this year and while they tried to make it more organized by bib colors, the start of the race was still a big cluster and I found myself forced to walk until the crowds thinned out a bit. But, even with that, I finished the 3.5 mile race in 29:29, which I was happy about considering my first mile was 9:25! I came in as the first girl for my company which was pretty cool, especially because I’m not a “runner”. We headed to Granary Tavern after the race for celebratory drinks and food. I was STARVING by this point, so the flatbreads, sweet potato fries, fried calamari and buffalo wings couldn’t have tasted better 😉

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Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did a Tabata format, which left me sore for literally 3 days! I finished up my workout with 20 minutes on the elliptical.
  • Tuesday- I ran the 3.5 mile race and did a little extra running/walking when getting there, too.
  • Wednesday- I ran a hard 3 miles before teaching my UXF Burn class. It’s so crazy how runs can be good one day and bad the next day. I blame it on the heat!
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing… in some more new lulu 😉

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  • Friday- I went for a 25-30 minute walk during my lunch break and then walked a bit when I went into the city for drinks.
  • Saturday- I taught Cardio Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. Smaller crowd, but we still got in a good workout!
  • Sunday- I did an at-home, self lead 30 minute yoga sesh and then 15 minutes of abs. After breakfast, RM and I went for a 45 minute power walk.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I plan on going for a run (4 or 5 miles?) and then doing some core work.
  • Tuesday- Some of the ladies in my office invited me to check out a muscle class at their gym during lunch time, so I think I will do that, which works out well because I have a hair appointment after work.
  • Wednesday- I’ll probably run before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Sunday- To be honest, I’m not sure! My Thursday classes were cancelled and I am heading to the Cape so it’s hard to tell what I will do. I’m sure I’ll go running and go for walks and do some at-home boot camps when I’m on the Cape. Anyone have any good ones I should try?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

This is a fun week because the 4th of July is one of the best holidays! Tuesday I have a hair appointment to get some highlights, which I’ve been waiting to do for a while now. On top of that, I’m really excited about going to the Cape for the holiday weekend. Although I’m going to miss being in Maine with my family and friends (and going to the parade!), it will be fun to try something different.

Questions for you: What was your best workout last week? Did you run the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge? What are you doing for the 4th of July?

This Week: Workouts, Weekend Recap, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really fun, but also really busy. I was supposed to go to my gym friend, Jen’s, “Porch Friday” summer kickoff gathering, but after the week I had, I was beat and decided to lay low. I hate missing things, but knew I needed to take it easy since Saturday and Sunday were going to be nonstop. Instead, some wine and snacks at Piers Park helped me relax from the week.

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Saturday started with a super sweaty UXF Burn/SHRED class that I subbed at the Central Square BSC (my usual gym). It was awesome to see so many of my Wednesday and Thursday regulars in class! Here’s some of my new lulu that I bought 😉

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Paycheck + Lulu near my work= a little splurge 😉

From there, RM and I headed north for a BBQ at Christy and Jaime’s. Sadly, I didn’t take ANY pictures- whoops! But everything was amazing- the food, drinks, company, weather- all in all it was a great afternoon! From there, I headed to Liz’s house for a gym friends party. I always look forward to these nights because it’s so fun to chat with other instructors and share our crazy interesting teaching stories.

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(thanks for the photo, Liz! And hosting us 🙂 )

Sunday started with a UXF Burn class and then RM and I went for a nice, long 3 or 4 mile walk along the beach before going to Jess and Brian’s baby shower. They had it at Shake Shack in Harvard Square. I’ve never been there before, but I am sold- their burgers and fries were amazingggg. It was such a fun baby shower- they didn’t open gifts or play any games, which is more my style. We were able to chat and mingle- perfect!

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Phew! What a weekend- I love when I get to spend time with my college friends and it was fun having RM meet everyone! But, let me tell you- 3 parties and party food in 2 days makes me really ready for some clean eats. Indulgences are totally worth it (and sometimes why I workout 😉 ), though.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
  • Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work and it felt great! I had fast splits (for me!) and was able to clear my head.

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  • Wednesday- My new company had their summer outing after work so I got up to workout before I headed into the office. I was going to do a 2 mile jog and then body weight strength training but ended up running 3 miles and just some push-ups, squats, planks, etc.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and then Cardio Kickboxing. I did a 25-15-4 rep format for SHRED and liked it!
  • Friday- Rest day since I was teaching on Saturday and Sunday.
  • Saturday- I ran 2 miles on the treadmill before subbing UXF Burn/SHRED. We worked so hard and I loved every second of it!

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  • Sunday- I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I was happy I did. There were only 2 people in the UXF Burn class I subbed, but it was fun because I was able to do stuff I don’t usually get to do! Also, there was another instructor in the class who teaches Barre so I let her lead the last 5 minutes of core work and it was killer!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- By the time this post goes up I will have taught my 6am Muscle Class and done a little cardio after.
  • Tuesday- I’m running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge after work. It’s a 3.5 mile race, so nothing too crazy.
  • Wednesday- I’ll either run or do some other cardio before teaching UXF Burn. I missed them last week!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing.
  • Friday- Probably a rest day besides a walk at lunch.
  • Saturday- Back at the Oak Square YMCA for my Cardio Kickboxing class… I hope my front row is back 🙂
  • Sunday- I would LOVE to get some yoga in. I need to make that happen.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as part of the team at my new company. Our shirts are so dorky, but it’s kind of funny! I’m also excited to go out with some former coworkers, including my friend Tim, later in the week. Other than that, I’m excited for a weekend where I really have nothing planned. I may head to the Cape with RM on Saturday, but if I ended up sticking around here I wouldn’t be mad at all. I want to get my hair highlighted, so that would be great if I could fit that in on Saturday.

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Have you been to Shake Shack? What are you looking forward to this week? Are you running the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge?

Wednesday Workout: Strength & Cardio UXF Burn Workout w/Burpee Blasts

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Burpee blasts caught your attention, didn’t it? I thought so 😉

As you know, I teach a UXF Burn class at the Central Square BSC on Wednesday nights. UXF Burn is the BSC’s signature calorie burning, high intensity group exercise class that is meant to somewhat mimic CrossFit workouts, but in the group ex setting. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that statement, but I will say it’s a max calorie burning class that always leaves us dead at the end!

We have a fairly strict format to go by, but I’ve come up with my own format that I think is better (harder) and that my members like more. I follow the basic 60 second strength exercise and 60 second core exercise format, but between each I’ve added in a cardio blast. It can either be 10 reps of something or 20-30 seconds of something. Last week, I brought back the amazing Surfer Burpee variation- I hadn’t had my members do that type of burpee in forever!

In addition to bringing back an oldie burpee, I brought in some “new” exercises. I’ve been trying to get more creative with my exercises to not only keep my members on their toes, but to keep me excited while teaching. I think it’s ok to sometimes say “I know this isn’t anything new or fancy” when introducing a move, but I think what gets people even more excited is when I get excited when I’m introducing things: “you guys! I have a lot of new, really fun moves for us to do today- I’m so excited about them!”. Can anyone else relate?

With that said, let’s get to the workout. The format, as I mentioned earlier, is 60 seconds of the move on the left (strength exercises), followed by 60 seconds of the core exercises. In between sets, perform 10 surfer burpees (5 each side). At the end, if you’re feeling like you want more cardio before repeating the strength/core/cardio blast part of the workout, feel free to do the Pyramid Cardio Blast- it’s killer 😉

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Since some of the moves are new to B2B, I did a few video demos:

As always, if you need any other explanations or demos, don’t be afraid to ask!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite burpee? What’s your favorite way to use a household item in a workout?

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

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Good morning! I’m here! On a Monday! I can’t believe I only posted TWICE last week. I wanted to post, I really did, but the time just wasn’t there. I really tried not to stress about it because at the end of the day, I blog for FUN, not because I have to or because it’s a job… I do it because I love it and if there are weeks when I can’t fit it all in, blogging sometimes just has to be the thing that goes to the back burner.  I’m happy to be back this week, though- I love sharing things with you!

Speaking of being busy… I totally “hit the brick wall” on Thursday night. I think between ending my job, starting a new one, going away… all while still teaching and working out and blogging… I just hit my limit. Changing jobs isn’t just hard because it’s a new schedule to get used to, it’s hard because it’s mentally and emotionally draining. So far, I’m totally loving my new job and the people I work with, but the days are long! I’m up at 6 or 6:30 every day to start work at 7 or 7:30- Thursday’s I leave the house at 6:30am and get home at 8pm- no wonder why I’m tired!

So, with that said, I spent my weekend home in Maine to relax and recharge- it was perfect!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I took a rest day on Monday since we were flying back from Miami and I wanted to sleep instead of workout.
  • Tuesday- I ran 4 miles after work and then did a 20 minute core workout. Felt great.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3.5 miles and then taught my UXF Burn class. I did most of the class with my members because I loved the workout I planned. I was SORE on Thursday.
  • Thursday- I taught fun superset workout with a new cardio format I stole from Athena, which everyone loved. Thanks, girl! My kickboxing class was small, but it was a good one!
  • Friday- I took another rest day on Friday. I was really sore from my workouts earlier in the week.
  • Saturday-  I taught my cardio kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. The summer (smaller) crowds are the norm these days, but it’s ok- we still got in a good (and super, super sweaty) class!

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  • Sunday- It was such a beautiful day when I got up that I decided to go for a run. I just did a 20 minute run then did exercises like walking lunges and squats up and down the driveway, burpees, pushups and some standing ab exercises. Solid workout!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m finally back to teach my Monday morning Muscle Work class. I’m excited to be back!
  • Tuesday- I will probably run after work and then do some core stuff.
  • Wednesday- I will NOT be teaching my UXF Burn class! I have a work bowling outing in the afternoon so Kate will be subbing… she knows to kick your butt like I do 😉 I’ll either workout before work or go to the gym during my lunch break.
  • Thursday- I’ll teach SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing
  • Friday- Rest day since I’m subbing both Saturday and Sunday
  • Saturday- I’m subbing the 10am SHRED class at the Central Square BSC- I hope my regulars from Wednesday and Thursday come 🙂
  • Sunday- I’m subbing the 9am UXF Burn class at the Allston BSC- hope to see some familiar faces there!

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Even though this week is another busy week, it’s all fun stuff! Monday night I am going to dinner with RM’s sister-in-law. She is just a year older than me and we get along really well, so it will be fun to catch up over some food and drinks. Wednesday is my company’s bowling outing, which will be fun because I’ll get to meet people and hang with all the people I already know. Friday night my plan is to swing by my friend Jen’s place for a drink on her porch and then Saturday RM and I will head up to Exeter, NH for a party at Christy and Jaime’s. On the way home, I’ll swing by Liz’s for a gym friends BBQ. Finally, my friend Jess is having her baby shower- Jack and Jill style- at the Shake Shack in Harvard Square on Sunday, which should be a blast. I’ve been looking forward to all of these things for a while!

Also! I wanted to give you a garden update! My dad was so sweet and make the trip down to my apartment last week to do the planting for me. Look how good it looks!

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He’s making me a map of what is planted, but I know he did kale, green beans, carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts.. and I think something else. I’m so lucky that he is a. so good at gardening and building stuff and b. he wants to do it for me. I’m seriously SO excited for everything to start growing this summer so we can have lots of fresh veggies to eat!

Questions for you: How were your workouts last week? What was your best one? What are you looking forward to this week?