Tag: workout

I’m Back!

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Well hello, there! Remember me? I used to write a blog fairly consistently…. 😉 I have to say, not blogging at all last week was exactly what I needed. It was so nice to detach myself a bit from social media and taking pictures and things like that. And, now I have so many posts I want to write- luckily I’m off from work this week and will hopefully have time to get them drafted.

How were your holidays? Anything fun planned for New Years Eve? Anyone else off all week? I’ve never had a “staycation”, but so far, I’m totally digging it! Let’s recap over the past week- lots of celebrations between RM’s birthday and Christmas!

To celebrate RM’s actual birthday (I threw him his surprise party a few days earlier), I took him to Eastern Standard, which is one of our favorite places. We snagged two seats at the bar and ordered up some drinks. Not only was it his birthday, but it was also the start of my very long “staycation”.

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We had a delicious meal of a pork dish, steak frites, bone marrow and oysters. Finished off with some birthday bread pudding and we pretty much rolled ourselves out of the restaurant 😉

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We woke up on Christmas Eve and both had a bunch of things to do- he was picking up his new car (so funny we both got new cars right around the same time!) and I had to get my new watch fixed and pack for Maine. I listened to Christmas music the whole way and totally got  in the mood- match that with some bubbly and a Christmas apron and I was full on festive!

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Every Christmas Eve we throw a little party- we make homemade pizza’s, dad makes his tourtiere, people bring lots of food and we drink plenty of bubbly. I didn’t take any photos except for food and one of me- classic- but we had a good crowd!

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Christmas morning we awoke to crappy, rainy weather, but we made the best of it.

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My parents got me some fun things like new rain boots, sweaters, hair products, a Veggetti and some other random things. My sister got me a sick Reebok jump rope, Kate Spade earrings and a 3 month Birch Box subscription- have any of you done that? Roberto totally spoiled me and got me a Michael Kors watch, a Fitbit, perfume and slippers- incredibly thoughtful!

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On Friday, I hit up the gym and did Athena’s Chimney Workout followed by some supersets (will post them for you later!) before calling it a day. Athena- LOVED the workout! Post gym, I picked up RM at the train station and we did a few things before heading to my parents. We exchanged gifts (he got an LL Bean flannel! and he got my parents an Olive Tree adoption- more on that later) and had a delicious Cornish hen dinner.

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We headed back to MA on Saturday and RM and I did some returns in the city, lunch at Granary Tavern and a quiet night in with reading and a movie. Our book club book this month is Unbroken- have you heard of it or read it? I’m not a fan of anything army or military related (I know- sounds crazy, but it scares me), but so far, I’m totally hooked on the book!

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I was able to spend all Sunday at my apartment puttering, putting things away, cleaning and relaxing- it was wonderful! After an unseasonably warm run, RM and I went to Santarpios for dinner. He’s starting the Whole 30 diet/detox on January 1, so we are really living it up until then. I’m planning on doing that diet about 80% of the time.. we’ll see how it goes!

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Andddd phew! If you made it, thank you. I had so many pictures to share! I will be announcing the Happy, Healthy, Fit challenge winners tomorrow- thanks to all of you who participated!! Also on the dock this week is a recap of 2014, looking forward to 2015 and maybe even a workout? I’ve got about 3 or 4 workouts lined up for you 🙂

Questions for you: How were your holidays? What was the best part? Have you read Unbroken? Are you on vacation this week? What are your New Years Eve plans?

 

Wednesday Workout: NBGNO Event- How to Stay Fit While on the Road

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Good morning! If you’ve been following B2B for a while, you know that I am a BIG fan of staying active while on the road. I don’t think I’ve ever gone away without my sneakers and workout clothes packed because it’s really important for me to find time to get in at least a little movement in while I’m away. I love the way it energizes me and helps me “earn my treats”, as I like to say. I’ve given tips to on how to stay healthy while on the road before and I’ve shared multiple hotel room workouts as a way to show you that working out and eating healthy/making healthy choices while traveling CAN happen.

So, why am I talking about this topic again? Well, the New Balance Girls Night Out (“NBGNO”) event I went to last week was all about staying healthy while on the road and how Westin Hotels make that so easy. A few years ago, New Balance and Westin teamed up to make workout while on the road very doable. I experienced this while staying at a Westin in Atlanta. I took advantage of their running map/route, as well as the gym.

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Not only does the Westin provide you with a running route, but they also have their “pack light, stay fit” program, which allows you to borrow workout clothes, socks and sneakers when you travel. They wash the clothes and shoe inserts between uses and they let you keep the socks.

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And, don’t worry- you won’t be wearing crappy old gear- look at this stuff! They always have the newest sneaker styles and current clothes.

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Pretty awesome looking stuff if you ask me!

Anyway… back to the event! Caroline and Sherri did a FANTASTIC job hosting the latest- and final- 2014 NBGNO.

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After their introduced themselves and kicked off the event, we had the choice to join the Westin Run Concierge and Caroline for a run around the city or stay with Sherri and Chris, a Westin trainer, for a bootcamp. Since I fell and scraped up my knee pretty badly during the last dark Boston run, I opted for the boot camp.

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I liked how Chris explained what we were doing, why we were doing it, how it was beneficial and right/wrong ways to do it. He was super knowledgeable and I’ve changed my form on some exercises because of his tips. We worked in a 40/20 format where we did an exercise for 40 seconds and rested for 20 seconds. We did 4 different exercises, mostly focusing on core and glutes and holy moly my glutes were sore for 3 days!

After we finished our workouts, we were able to have food, drinks (have I mentioned how much I love events that offer free wine?!) and mingle with other attendees. Shortly thereafter, Caroline and Sherri shared more about Westin’s “pack light, stay fit” program, as well as tips they follow for staying healthy while on the road. I love that they asked the audience what are some tricks we do to make sure we get a workout in. Here are some that were shared:

  • Put your workout clothes, shoes, iPod, headphones, asprin (in case you’ve been out late the night before…), etc. next to your bed so that when you get up, you see it and can get dressed and to the gym before you realize you’re even awake!
  • Workout in the morning so that the day doesn’t get away from you before you realize you haven’t worked out.
  • Bribe yourself- say if you get to the gym for 10 minutes, you can have a glass of wine. Bets are that you’ll stay for 10  minutes once you’re there!
  • Workout in your room if you don’t want to pack your sneakers. On top of offering workout gear, Westin also has a partnership with Holly Perkins and you can do one of her workouts on the TV. This way you can workout without even leaving your room.
  • Print out workouts from your favorite fitness blog or write down a workout the night before. If I have a workout planned, I’m more motivated to do it
  • Take advantage of where you are. New city? take your workout outside and go for a run or walk. This serves as not only a workout, but a tour, too!
  • Make it fun by asking friends/coworkers to join you. I’ve even lead a bootcamp on a bachelorette weekend! I threw it out there assuming everyone would laugh at me, but you know what? Everyone participated. I think part of the reason why people don’t workout while on vacation or a work trip is because they think there isn’t time or that there isn’t a gym. Once you show them that there IS time and that you don’t need a gym, they’re always really happy to join you and so happy afterwards!

What do you think? Do you guys follow any of these tips? Do you have any that you can share with us?

Again, big thank you to New Balance for giving me the chance to participate in such a fun event. And thanks for another awesome swag bag!

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Questions for you: Have you heard of Westin’s “Pack light, stay fit” program? How do you stay fit/active/healthy while on the road?

This Week: Workouts, subbing & things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂 I have to tell you something I’m proud of myself for: I took an unplanned, totally random day off from the gym last week and instead of working out, I watched tv and drank wine. I did get on my yoga mat for about 15 minutes of stretching and sun salutations, but that was mostly to stretch my incredibly tight hip flexors! I was supposed to be teaching a bonus bootcamp, but since it was raining I had to cancel it. After a late night out on Wednesday (and an unplanned double), by the time Thursday afternoon rolled around I was spent. Work has been crazy and I went back and forth about whether I should suck it up and go to the gym or just listen to my body and go home and relax. The fact that I picked the latter was a big step for me!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I subbed a cardio kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. I hadn’t taught kickboxing in almost 3 weeks and boy did I feel it the next couple of days. I got to wear my new kicks- LOVED them!

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  • Tuesday- I taught my last bootcamp class of the season. We got so dirty doing a super fun workout- I can’t wait to share it with you!

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  • Wednesday- I went to the gym expecting to go for an outdoor run before teaching UXF Burn, but literally as I was outside tying my sneakers, the manager came out and asked me to cover the 5:30 class. Mind you, it was 5:45 at that point, and there were only TWO people in the room waiting for the class. I really, really, really didn’t want to teach the class as I was already teaching a lot and wanted to have time for myself and my own workout, but I didn’t really have a choice. It ended up being a good workout and I pulled myself together, but I wasn’t happy with it at first!
  • Thursday- As I mentioned above, I had to cancel my bootcamp and decided to do a little yoga before relaxing. It was perfect.

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  • Friday- I went to the gym during lunch and ran 3.5 miles and then did some strength exercises.

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  • Saturday- I had had a stressful Friday night, so I decided a run was a good idea before the day started. We were also going to be eating and drinking a lot all day, so that was extra motivation. I ran a beautiful 3 miles and did 4 sets of squats, plié squats, oblique dips, oblique twists and push-ups throughout.

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  • Sunday- Another rest day!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I don’t know what I am going to do today. I have to deal with a lot of sh*tty stuff today ( more on that later), so I’m definitely going to need a solid workout after work.
  • Tuesday- I’m subbing the 5:30 cardio kickboxing and 6:30 UXF Burn at the South Station BSC. I like that double!
  • Wednesday- I’ll probably run before teaching UXF Burn
  • Thursday- I’m either going to rest on Thursday or Friday. If I workout on Thursday it will be during the day since I need to prep for my party on Thursday night (shopping, cleaning, etc).
  • Friday- I have a feeling I’ll rest on Thursday so I’ll probably head to the gym during my lunch break. I’ve really enjoyed my Friday lunch break workouts as it breaks up the day!
  • Saturday- I’ll teach my cardio kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA before my party.
  • Sunday- Another rest day. I’ll have to clean and stuff like that so it will be an active rest.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Although this is a busy week, it’s all fun stuff so I can’t really complain 🙂 I’m excited to host my first party at my new place! Some of my friends and my mom and her friends can’t come, but I think there’s still going to be a good crowd- hopefully it will be good weather so we can go outside. I’m also looking forward to my friend Jen’s birthday dinner on Friday night. I won’t be able to stay for long since I have to prep for my party, but it will be good to see those girls.

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? When’s the last time you skipped a workout “just because”? What are you looking forward to this week?

Wednesday Workout: The “Everything Is Sore” Workout

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I’m not sure why I haven’t posted this workout yet, but I’ve taught it twice and both times it left me feeling super sore, so I think it’s about time I share it with you, right?! I have to warn you, though, nothing in this workout is anything new or earth shattering. It’s just a bunch of compound exercises, paired with complementary cardio and a timed core exercise.

After the class I subbed at PUMPS, a number of members came up and said they liked how it felt like an “interval training” class… I’m not sure what they are used to getting in classes, but interval training is often how my classes are (except kickboxing!). I love interval training because it forces you to work hard for a period of time, followed by a bit of rest and then bringing your intensity back up (and therefore burn more calories). And, while this workout is certainly not your traditional “interval” training type of workout, the way the exercises are set up does cause your heart rate to go up and down throughout the whole class.  I’m not a big fan of doing just cardio at the beginning then focusing on strength and abs later… I like my heart rate to be going up and down all class, and this workout definitely achieves that!
The Everything Is Sore Workout

Also, if you’re short on time, just pick a few sets to do instead of all 5. Or, you can skip the cardio and just do the strength and core pieces. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you’re properly warmed up and that you’re using a weight that’s challenging, but safe. If you’ve been using your trusty 5 pounders for a while and never feel like you’re tired from them, maybe it’s time to up it to an 8 pounder- I promise you’ll feel it then 😉

Let me know if you try this!

Questions for you: Do you like interval training or do you prefer to do cardio then strength then core? When’s the last time a workout left every part of your body sore?

My favorite “up beat” and “cool down” songs

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Hi there! I’ll be honest: I’m not big on making playlists for my classes. I have tried it before, but there’s always a weird lull between songs and the beats/tempo change and it just throws me off! I tend to buy my music from 32mix.com because they make it so easy- you can either make a playlist on your own or pick ones that they’ve made. They blend the songs and put them all at a certain BPM (beats per minute), so the tempo never changes, meaning you never lose the beat. Perfect for my kickboxing classes and as background music in my other classes.

But, those playlists are certainly not “cool down” appropriate, nor are they something I like to listen to when I’m going for a walk or even a jog. I download random songs using Shazam and put my “purchased music” on shuffle and go about my business.

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The other day when I was playing one as a cool down, someone said they loved it and would love it if I put up some of my other songs on the blog, so… here you go. I warn you: I’m not a music person, but hopefully some of these songs are new to you!

Favorite “Pick me up” Songs

  • Legacy- Nicky Romero & Krewella
  • Things Can Only Get Better- Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones
  • Love More (feat. Nicki Minaj)- Chris Brown
  • Pompeii- Bastille
  • Silhouettes- Avicii
  • Lovehate Thing- Wale
  • Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne- Clean Bandit
  • Ain’t It Fun- Paramore
  • Am I Wrong- Nico & Vinz

Favorite Cool Down/Chill Songs

  • Peace- O.A.R. (just downloaded this and LOVE it)
  • A Sky Full of Stars- Coldplay
  • Let Her Go- Passenger
  • Let Go- Frou Frou
  • Low Road- Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
  • Stubborn Love- The Lumineers
  • Apologies- Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
  • Kiss Me- Ed Sheeran

I’m in need of some more upbeat/running songs- anyone have any suggestions? What’s your favorite song right now? What do you like to listen to when you work out?