Wednesday Is My Favorite Day!

I love Wednesdays!

My day starts off with an hour-long yoga class.  The instructor is great and she's so small which reminds me of my sister ;o)  In class last week I mentioned last week that I teach spinning classes, so today she designed the class around hip openers and leg stretches.  It was fantastic!  The class is small enough and no one responds when she asks for requests, so I give my requests and she delivers!

Next, I shower up and eat breakfast, then I'm off to work!  I train one cilent then take a 45-minute spinning class.  I love taking classes where I work because the owner teaches and he's tough!  There were two times where I thought my butt was going to fall off because it was burning so bad, but it was short lived pain.  The best kind of pain of course!  After spin I go back to train a few more clients and I'm done for the day!

After doing some blog reading and school work I go off to teach my weekly Boot Camp class.  This is the highlight of my day...maybe of my week?  Is that sad?  This class is so much fun and everyone has so much energy every week!  I've been teaching it for almost 3 years so I have a pretty good following and I get some new people each week, too.  I love it :)

Now I'm home watching Modern Family (best show ever) and eating my yummy dinner...Sauteed Tahini Kale.  Here's the recipe:

Sauteed Tahini Kale

1T sesame oil

1t chopped garlic

1/2  bunch of kale

1/2 cup brown rice

1T tahini

2t lemon Juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic.  Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and add it to the skillet.  Sautee the kale for a few minutes until it starts to reduce down a little and turns bright green (just make sure it doesn't burn)!  Add the tahini , lemon juice and brown rice and mix it around until everything is coated.  Then, add salt and pepper, give it one more stir and it's done!

This is super easy and it tastes really good!  I might make it again tomorrow and just add some chicken for more protein, but it's great as a vegetarian dish, too!

I just saw that Cougar Town is on again starting tonight!  See...Wednesday's really are the best!!!

Playing Catch-Up

The half marathon is on Sunday!  I'm nervous and excited and I'm just hoping to finish at this point!  I have been struggling with my runs lately.  Running has become somewhat of a chore and with the chilly weather in New England it's been tough to get going.  Saturday I ran 8.5 miles and ended up in lots of pain and a WICKED tight IT band.  The massage therapist at work helped me out for a little while on Tuesday and squeezed the crap out of my leg and it seems to have done the trick.  I'm still foam rolling and using the stick on my leg and doing lots of stretching.  I'm just going to try and stay postive and hope to make it to the end!

After the half I am planning on buying a bike.  I'm not sure that my body is built for running long distances.  I feel injured or just super tight really often, so I think something a little more low impact is the way to go.  The weather here should be warming up at some point (fingers crossed!) so it will be fun to get outside on a bike.

The Health Coach program at IIN is so fun!  The online classes are really interesting and I'm learning a lot!  Some of the info is review, but I also haven't been using my nutrition degree for the past year or so which makes the review really nice.  I can't believe that in just 6 months I'll be qualified to take on clients...that's not too far away :o)  I'm starting to think about what kind of people I want to work with...general, children, moms-to-be, who knows!  I'm going to figure it out along the way.

My new job has been so much fun.  I'm about a month in and I'm so so happy.  I look forward to working with my clients and teaching my classes everyday and love how laid back my boss is.  I was done at 12:00 today!  It was great :o)

That's it for now!  Off to watch Idol!

It's a sunny day in Boston!!!

I started my courses at IIN yesterday and I love it!  Ok, I know it's only the first day, but I really think this is going to work for me...I can listen to the classes whenever I want, however many times I want, and I have free range to use any materials on their website to help me build a business!  After 6 months I can begin taking on clients and could potentially pay off my tuition (which is a steal!) before I graduate in April 2012.  I'm really excited, if you can't tell :o)

Yesterday was also my first day working full-time at the Personal Training/Spinning studio!  I have worked there part-time since June, but decided--for many reasons--that I would move on from my corporate fitness job, and go full-time at the studio.  I have a great schedule, get to go home for lunch (YAY not eating out of Tupperware!), and can workout between clients.  This is really key because now I don't have to do my workouts at 5am or 8pm...I ran 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday and did lots of stretching and abs all at 4pm!  Woo Hoo!

Here's my abs workout:

Ball Crunches- 3x20

Ball Crunch with Rotation- 3x20

Ball Plank- 3x20 sec

Captain's Chair Crunch- 3x20

Side Bends- 3x15 with 20lb dbs  

Very simple, but this says a lot!  I really don't like working my abs AT ALL.  I've tried all the tricks, putting them at the beginning of my workout, doing exercises during commercials, forcing myself to do them...everything.  I have found that my abs gets a pretty good workout through yoga and my weight training routine, so I'm just going to do them when I feel like it.  I'm not too worried...not looking for a 6 pack here :o)

Now I'm off to yoga (LOVE this schedule) then doing some reading, weight training (2nd time this week!!!!) and off to work!

Best Playlist Everrrrrr!

My Spinning class was so much fun today!  There are always classes that are better than others, but today's was awesome! 

Here's the magical playlist:

The first song was a warm up, then we went right to work.  Song 2 was fast with light/medium resistance (120-130 RPMs), song 3 was a heavy hill (60-80 RPMs), then we just alternated fast and flat with heavy hills.  It's simple, but it worked really well.  I love when the fit people in my class are breathless...it means I'm doing something right!!  And let's be honest, Let's Go Crazy  is the best way to end any class :)

Also, I want to be here:



I <3 hiking in Texas



This was from a cross country road trip last year.  If spring is on its way to Boston that means summer isn't too far behind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Bring on the heat and the sun!

7 Miles

Today I ran 7 miles!  My game plan was to run 3.5, stretch, then run 3.5 more.  That's exactly what I did and I felt great.  I did take 2 ibuprofen before my run hoping that it would loosen things up a bit and I think it worked.  The run was tough for the first couple miles (treadmill runs always are), but after I hit the first 3 it was smooth sailing.  I finished my first 3.5 miles at 30:59 and my second 3.5 at 29:47 for a grand total of 60:46.  I'm happy with that because my only goal for this half is to finish under 2 hours, so I'm on track!


Here are some of my purchases from this week:

A new pair of sneaks--Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

I bought these shoes about a year ago and they held up really well and didn't give me any issues, so I stuck with them.  I also had a gift certificate to the store where I bought them so they were only $46.00...that's a steal since they're regularly about $100.

I also ordered 4 jars of PB2 from netrition.com on Thursday and they came on Friday! 

Now I should be stocked up for a little while.  YAY!  I really can feel a difference in how I feel since I'm substituting PB2 for peanut butter.  Don't feel as uncomfortably full (only because I eat WAY too much of it at a time) and I'm definitely not bingeing on this stuff like I did with peanut butter.  I think it has to do with the fact that I actually have to prepare the PB2 so it's not just a spoonful away.  It also doesn't taste exactly the same as real peanut butter, which I think has decreased my cravings for the real stuff!

My LAST and probably most exciting purchase this week was a Garmin Forerunner 305!!!



Source

I'm really excited about this because I hate having to drive my running route to see how long I ran.  It never comes out right and I don't fully trust the internet sites where you can draw your route.  And you can use it on a bike and hiking!  This watch will make life so much easier!  But, I have to admit...I think I'm more excited that I only paid $140 for it and they're usually $300!  Wooohoooo...Thank you Amazon!

Now I'm off to rest and hopefully go look for a road bike! 

For some reason I think I'm rich...not so much...just keep diggin' into the savings...



Resistance Band Boot Camp

For my Boot Camp class tonight, I thought I'd shake things up a little bit by incorporating Resistance Bands as opposed to the usual free weights.  I very rarely use bands myself because they make the workout so much harder!  Luckily the gym has a huge variety of options as far as resistance (different color bands = different levels of resistance), so everyone could choose a few different bands and switch as we went through class to make it harder or easier. 

Here's what we did tonight!
I'm going to try to explain this as well as I can.  Any questions just let me know!  Everything is done with a resistance band...no free weights tonight!

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Warm-Up: No resistance

16  Easy Squats (just go about 1/2 way down)

16  Easy Lunges

16  Push-ups

Mountain Climbers- 30 seconds

Hold Plank-  15 seconds

Mountain Climbers- 30 seconds

Hold Plank- 15 seconds

Open up to the right for a side plank-  hold 15 seconds

Return to center- Hold Plank- 15 seconds

Open up to the left for a side plank- hold 15 seconds

Return to the center

Mountain Climbers- 30 seconds

  Whenever I am teaching and an exercise involves our arms extended up overhead, people's lower backs automatically arch--NOT GOOD!  Starting with core exercise helps to make sure every body's back stays flat and the mid-section stays engaged.

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Circuit #1--Repeat 2x

Squats (24 reps)

Side Squats (24 reps)

Same set-up as above, but start with feet closer together.  Step the right foot out to the side (using the side of the foot--don't let their toes point out!) and sink into the squat.  Bring the right foot back in and repeat on the left side.

X-Walks (10 each way)

These kill! 

Bicep Curls

16 curls both arms

Hold both arms at 90* so biceps are activated

Hold left arm at 90* and begin curls with right arm 16 times, then repeat left holding the right arm at 90*

16 curls both arms

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Circuit #2--Repeat 2x

Push-Ups with band (16)

Shoulder Raises (12 of each)

Lateral Raises, Frontal Raises,

Posterior Delt Raises (similar to lateral raises but palms face the back of the room, pinkies stay up)

Upright Rows

Tricep Extensions (16 each arm)

This girl is on the beach...that makes me sad...

Plank Jacks (45 seconds)

Get in a plank position (hands under shoulders, arms straight, up on your toes, heels press back, press the belly button into the spine).  Start with your feet together, then jump them apart, then back in again.

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Circuit #3--Repeat 2x

Stationary Lunge with Band Pull (1 minute)

Hold a lunge with the right leg forward.  Extend arms out in front of your body holding the band (with some tension) in both hands.  Pull your hands away from each other until they make a "T" and are straight across.  Squeeze the shoulder blades together, then release.  Repeat the band pull holding the lunge for one minute.

Reverse Flye Balance

Right leg is still forward, but come up and balance on the right foot, extending the left leg behind.  Holding on to the band, open up the arms to come into a reverse flye, squeezing the shoulder blades together.  Release, then repeat 16 times.

Lunges

Burpees (1 minute)

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And that's it!  If nothing else, your shoulders will be screaming...or numb...either way is fine :o)

Making 26 My Best Body Year!

My 26th birthday is in a just a few short days!! 

My workouts lately have been really great...lots of running, spinning, yoga, weights and boot camps.  Nutrition on the other hand.....not so great.  I wake up most days with a food hangover--still full from the night before and not wanting anything to eat until about 11:00, then eat all day long because I'm never satisfied. 

 It's time to stop!  My body works so hard for me and gets me through over 12 hours of exercise each week...the least I can do is reward it with good, healthy food. 

So, today I am making an outline.  An outline of all things I need to do to stay on track!  I'll be back with my finalized list :o)