Star Spangled Spin Class

I really love a theme for spin classes and there's nothing like a holiday to help determine a theme.  This week it was obviously the Star Spangled Fourth of July Spin.  If you have any playlist suggestions for independence, fourth of July, America and summer music, feel free to suggest.

Spin Playlist at Sky Club Fitness on July 2, 214
1. The Star Spangled Banner, Jim Hendrix
2. Independence Day, Mel C. (Spice Girl)
3. American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4. American Boy, Estelle feat. Kanye
5. Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes
6. The Boys of Summer, the Ataris
7. I love New York, Madonna (a tour of the states)
8. Lubbock or Leave It, Dixie Chicks (NY to TX)
9. Lump, the Presidents of the United States of America (get it?)
10. American Pie, Madonna
11. Young Americans, David Bowie
12. Firework, Katy Perry
13. America, Simon & Garfunkel
14. Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan

And let me tell you the class could have used some ice cream or fro yo after it was over, even though it was 6:45a.m. because this morning was H-O-T!  It was 80+ degrees and HUMID in New York City today.  To beat the heat, I did my brick workout inside today.  10 min on the treadmill before class and then spin class, back to the treadmill for 15 min and then a quick swim before work.  Gearing up for the triathlons we just signed up for July 19 Hopkins Vineyard Triathlon and Niantic Bay.

This Friday we'll be kicking off our 4th in style with a Firecracker 5k.  I started this week with a great Monday night run and yesterday had a kick ass bootcamp class (workout to follow).

Unfortunately the fireworks are no longer over the Hudson, but this was our amazing view last year. 

Back to Healthy: Post Vacation Shape Up

It's been a while since I posted anything to the blog and there's a very good reason for that - it was my birthday!! My birthday was in October and we had just finished the Hoboken Urban Challenge (and it was challenging) - when we took for Nashville and Memphis.  Now we've been to Nashville, but I've never been there not sick, and we were going to see the Lumineers at the Ryman Auditorium!

Lumineers at the Ryman - Pretty Awesome!

It was an amazing trip, but we did ALL kinds of eating.  We ate everything in Nashville and Memphis. I tried fried chicken for the first time, we ate tons of mac and cheese, and all kinds of carbs! And we barely did any running, certainly not enough to keep up with the food and the drink.

Birthday Treats were in addition to all the food we ate!

 For my birthday we got to the Memphis Zoo, which was adorable, we got there at 2pm and we were able to see the whole zoo in 3 hours.  We were back near Cat Country at 5pm, and we got to see all the lions, tigers and other cats up and about. And I got to take in a sea lion show and they are my favorite!!

The lionness and lion in Cat Country! 

My favorite animals the Sea Lions!

 When we got back home we continued our bad eating binge and ordered pizza, went out to dinner, got sushi and Chinese - it was a bad display.  So Sunday we finally got back on the horse and went for a run, which felt tiring but great and decided to make use of the veggies we got at the Hoboken Farmer's Market and we did some shopping for pantry staples.

What I made:

A Veggie Barley Soup - some fresh and some frozen veggies, with Chicken Stock and Quick Cooking Barley, this cooked up in ten minutes after the veggies softened added the chicken stock and barley simmer 10 min and then add the frzn veg and 10 minutes more.

I took this took work several days.

I also bought tons of squashes at the farmer's market.  I made a butternut squash soup with roasted butternut squash and chicken stock, and with the rest of the roasted squash I put that in quinoa with spinach, toasted pine nuts, sauteed apples and carrots and golden raisins, I added a bit of lemon/olive oil and S&P and it was delicious.  We used the other half of the quinoa last night with some other roasted veggies when we both got home at 10pm.  I had roasted kale, eggplant and mushrooms earlier this week and we put that with the quinoa and it was delish. We are using the rest of the roasted veggies tonight in pasta.

Also this week we (finally) used some of the fresh fish we got at the farmer's market, we made swordfish with spaghetti squash.  This was my first time using the spaghetti squash and I was imitating a recipe from Becco I had had (Lidia's restaurant!).  I roasted the squash after I cut it in half flesh side down with EVOO and S&P for about 40 min, heated some sauce from Rao's and boom  - side dish.  We also had green beans.  The spaghetti squash was a big hit! I will definitely buy some this weekend and will be buying one for my mom as well. I ate the leftovers at work.

Spaghetti squash, green beans and a veggie burger.

At the grocery store, I also stocked up on milks (almond and regular), yogurts, fruits, salad, the rice and quinoa and pasta, some meats, and veggie burgers and string cheese so I can make some healthy stuff for work and home.  I still have leftover soup and I am planning to do it again this Sunday.  We have to get ready for our wedding this Summer and heading back to Costa Rica.

On the running side I went running this Thursday for 2.5 miles and it was awesome.  The rest of this week was a  BIG week at Sky Club. I subbed a Monday Spin which meant I was there 4 days this week.  The classes were amazing and it felt great (but sore) to teach spin M,W,F and bootcamp Tuesday. I'll post the bootcamp workout and our obstacle workout later this weekend.

Are you shaping up for winter or enjoying a break?

Niantic Bay Triathlon (and a Surprise), Camping and Catch up!

A Big Surprise Waited for me at the End of the Niantic Bay Triathlon!

I have not been blogging in awhile, sorry for the drop off, but a lot has happened since the Niantic Bay Triathlon last month!

Catch Up
I am still teaching classes and we're still rocking our Tuesday bootcamp workouts, and I'm going to start up with those again this Thursday. (Promise!)

I have a few triathlons to catch up on, first and foremost, Niantic Bay today. But we also did the Tobay Triathlon on Long Island for the first time and I did the Women's triathlon for the 3rd time.

Races
The Niantic Bay Triathlon is one of my favorite out of the Hartford Marathon Foundation races. I love the location.  The swim is great (especially when no jellies!), the bike is scenic (who doesn't love a course where people blast music to get you up the toughest hill?), and the run is flat and so scenic (which as a lousy runner - I love).  The whole experience makes you want to get up and do it again.

Quick Race Recap

Swim 13:19
I beat my best swim time by almost 2 minutes coming in at 13:19.  I made myself move to the front and tried to stay with the leaders as best I could. I definitely think there was a strong current pulling us in because I felt like I'd landed back on the beach in no time flat and despite being unable to find my wet suit strap I got a helpful hint from the announcer on the shore.

T1 2:28
Shocking! Considering it normally takes me 20 minutes to get out of a wetsuit, but I must've been in high spirits.

Bike 45:25
Not a bad showing for me, exactly where I wanted to come in at.  I was hoping to be at an hour after the bike and that's just about where I was. I was glad to see the family blasting helpful tunes up the hill.

T2: 1:27
After a smooth showing on the bike I ran down the hill, if you've never done Niantic Bay, there is a big down hill after the bike and you need to remove your bike shoes to get down quickly and safely. 

Run 35:38
Running is always my downfall and since my great illness of May and June, I haven't been running like I should.  But, I was pleased to keep my average pace under 12 minute miles and to run the entire course with only a small stop for water at mile 1.5.

All in all it was a great race, and I had always thought I'd never go under 1:45 on this course and I made it in 1:38 so that was a huge success!

Crossing the finish line at the beach!

But the best part was still ahead.  Turns out I got a big (semi) surprise at the end and was rewarded for my hard work with a proposal. (That's why I've been busy!)  Wedding planning, working and running around can make you crazy!

Slightly better than the Niantic Bay medal. 

A great day with the additional surprise of having our favorite kiddies and their parents there! And my mom and dad! 

Fortunately, we also did not have to right back to work after getting engaged and were able to enjoy my first camping trip in the Maine Woods.  We went up to Portland, Me. and had a great weekend just outside Portland at a campground and then staying in Portland. A few highlights

I only spent one night camping and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't without challenges. It took us awhile to build a fire, which almost meant no s'mores (I almost went home!)  We had an animal sneak in to test out our left out beers at midnight and he came back a few more times. And I had to pee.  But all in all it was great. We had s'mores, pancakes and enjoyed a day at the beach the next day.

Our Humble Home for one night outside Portland.

Delicious goods from Two Fat Cats. 

We taste tested most of Portland after fending for ourselves at the campground. We had ice cream and fried clams near Old Orchard Beach.  We ate pie for Breakfast at Two Fat Cats (and whoopie pie) and we had croissants at Standard Bakery.  We ate a great meal at 5 Fifty Five and a out of this world meal at Fore Street. Fantastic foodie town Portland. And we had lobster rolls, all over!!

My wall climbing. 

We did a lot of biking, walking, running and other activities while on vacation. Our last day it was rainy and I was feeling pretty tired. I had done a triathlon that weekend!  So Thursday morning we went for a long walk and stumbled across this park which had awesome obstacles.  We tried to do each one and it gave us a great workout.  I am thinking about signing up for Hoboken's obstacles course race in a month and this was a good test!

Well I will get back to Tuesdays this Thursday.  We had a great workout this morning.  Post my end of summer spin playlist and recap the latest 2 triathlons soon!  We have one more triathlon this season this weekend HAMMERFEST in Branford. It's scheduled in amongst wedding venue searching! Last week's triathlon was in and amongst dress shopping.   Then its on to some runs before the cold sets in. But all in all.

Yes, we spent a lot of money in the life is good store, but look how cute this towel looked on Long Island's beaches.

Bricks, Burpees and Fireworks! (and watermelon)

It's been a few weeks since I posted because last week was July 4th! And what should have been a super slow week turned into a crazy week!  I decided to take a break from Zuzka Light for a week and go with the daily hiit workouts!  If you go to workouts you can see a list of all their workouts and they are completely free!

Weekly Workouts  - July 1 to 7
Monday - REST I am loving Monday as my REST Day
Tuesday - Daily HIIT workout and swimming (See below for workout)
Wednesday - Spinning
Thursday - 4+ mile run for July 4th in the heat even at 9am!
Friday - 3 mile run, class at Local Barre and Yoga Up at 6am to avoid the heat!
Saturday - Brick Workout (16 mile bike and 2.5 mile run) and Stand Up Paddle Boarding. up at 5am to drive to LI and avoid the heat!
Sunday - 16 mile bike ride in hilly Jersey - HOT!

Over the holiday, we definitely treated ourselves, we did a lot of grilling good chicken and fish and veggies at home but we did a lot of treats as well.

On Thursday after a run in the sweltering heat and humidity that is Hoboken we enjoyed a beverage at the Biergarten. 

Then we watched the fireworks that night from our balcony.  We made chicken burgers, portabello mushrooms, corn on the grill and an assortment of veggies. 

On Friday I worked from home in the morning and got to enjoy my flowers.

I made this watermelon mojito from a recipe on Saturday after our brick workout along with a sweet and savory bbq sauce and it was delicious.

Daily HIIT 
What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 12's, bench and a mat
Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and stretching for the hip flexors, shoulders, calves, etc.

Workouts - for section 1 and 10 - 50 seconds on 10 off
Section 1
Plank tricep kix, alternate halfway
Tuck jump burpee
Extend leg row L
Fly
Extend leg row R
Lunge bicep curl
Row high up
Plank KB
Bike chest press
Sandbag swing

Section 2
Left step up jump - power off the bench
Shot put R
Shot put L
Right step up jump
Plie squat side kick
Weighted scissor pass
Toe touch R
Toe touch L
Cross leg reverse curl L
Cross leg R

Switch lunge kick up 20 reps
Side burpee 20 reps
Supergirl deadlift 20 reps 
Dive bomber knee tuck 10 reps
Jacks 20 reps
3d pushups 10 reps
Side to side 20 reps
Ab chopper 20 reps
Sumo twist 20 reps
Plank knee side to side 20 reps

 BBQ Sauce Recipe - measurements are by the eye!
1/2 cup ketchup
scoop of marmalade I used orange cranberry
1/4 cup orange juice
dollop of Dijon mustard
little cayene pepper
S&P
Bring to a boil then simmer

This weekend I am getting ready for the Litchfield Hills Triathlon.  I have to have my race prep and race recap for you this week and next week!

Tough Tuesday Workout & Weekly Workouts (Fairfield Half)

Tough Tuesday Workout - 2,4,6, 8 Who Feels Great?!

This was the 2nd of the my Z Cardio and Strength combinations with some variations for this early morning bootcamp class. You are adding reps each time and I added the one minute of jump rope in between so it made it a little longer and a little harder.

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 12's, mat, bench and a mat

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and stretching for the hip flexors, shoulders, calves, etc. 

Section 1 - Cardio 
I used the ZCUT Power Cardio 2 to lay out this workout making a few small edits for my class

*One minute of jump rope in between each workout, those that moved through the workout quick started jump roping right away so they got a few added bonus seconds. 

10 prisoner get ups
20 box jumps onto the step
30 side to side jumps over a barbell
40 skaters
50 pendulums
60 high knees plank (this one we all stayed together)
70 squat jumps


Section 2 -  Strength

4 Rounds
10 backward and forward lunge
10 pushups with a row
5 competition burpees
10 deadlifts

Abs

Crunches - 20
Plank with knee tuck - 10
Double Crunch- 20 
Forearm Plank with knee  tap - 10
Hold Plank 30 seconds

Everyone has said the past few weeks have been very tough, so we'll keep going :)

Weekly Workout Summary - Week of 6/17

Monday - Nothing after running 11 + miles on Sunday in the extreme heat, I was exhausted.

Tuesday - Above workout and short run

Wednesday - Bike and Swim

Thursday - Running about 3+ miles at night while listening to the symphony in Hoboken after house cleaning

Friday - Bike

Saturday -Bike ride around the course of the Fairfield Half Marathon, which got us really nervous because there were a shite ton of hills, crazy hills! We started the bike from Sherwood Island.  And this is the view.

View from our car to Sherwood Island

Sunday -Fairfield Half, which was hot and little disappointing, though my goal was only to finish, I would have liked to run faster instead of being bested by the heat. But, we made it in the heat and humidity and we crossed the finish line. 

 Fairfield Half Marathon

Surprisingly I was not nervous before the race, but I think I should have been, since when we went out on the course there were some pretty steep hills.  We went out to do what we thought would be a leisurely bike ride but we hit the hills and thought uh-oh.  We had been training to do the Liberty State Park Fleet Week Half and then got sick and the race was cancelled and never got our groove back despite signing up for the race, both of us have been too busy at work. Blech. The race was hot but it was a lot of fun. The people of Fairfield were amazing.  They had sprinklers out, music, ice cold lemonade, even beer, which Billy grabbed at the end.  I just couldn't make it up those HILLS. But the scenic views were pretty amazing. CT has great Coastline!  They did run out of cups at some of the water stations so that made planning water stops tricky. 

But I have still never been so hot (nor have I done a race in June) like this, at the end, it ended at Jennings Beach and my feet and legs felt so hot and sore, so I ran (really hobbled) right into the water.  In my socks. HOT! Afterwards, I collapsed. I had slowly been moving my times back down towards 2:40, with a race at 2:45 and 2:48 but this race took me about 3 hours so it was very disappointing but walking up the steep hills that came after mile 6 really slowed us down and so did the stretch of sun after mile 11. :(.  So I am looking forward to training all this summer and picking a race in the Fall with a flatter course.

Collapsed on Jennings Beach After the Fairfield Half Marathon

We got this really cool shirt from the race.  At first I thought all we were getting was a bandana but they had these on the beach. Score!! Tech shirt! 

After the race, I ate at Shake Shack and had a root beer float and some of a PB shake and very little of a shroom burger.  I like liquids after racing.  It was my parent's anniversary and that was their post race pick! Yes, I wore the race shirt.  We crawled in traffic home and made it home in time to go see the Red Bulls game on Pier A and have a few beers.  Then we put our still aching feets in some water.

Tough Tuesday Workout (5/7/13): Shuttle Runs Plus Weekly Workouts & HOHA 5 miler

Last week ended up completely different from what I planned but great nonetheless. I've been pretty lousy about signing up for races.  Being somewhat low on cash and headed to Nashville on vacation, I've been waiting to sign up and see what I want to do.  I had thought about doing a Mother's Day duathlon this past weekend, but haven't been out on my bike enough.  I also thought about the Newport 10K but the rain put me off (I know it shouldn't but since my running buddy got sick, I wasn't eager to go alone).  Well I headed to the gym Saturday (shockingly) and turns out some friends were running so I headed to the HOHA Sunday and it was great and my Ipod and I finished in 52 minutes, which was great!


What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, bench and a mat, Gymboss or other timer

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.with band 



We ran across the gym the short way, so it looked like little shuttle runs

heavy weights at one end
2x back and forth sprints
down curl press
Repeat for 3x 15, 10, 5 of each exercise

shuffle low back and forth
alternating lunge 15, 10, 5 (add one more shuffle at end)

frog jump burpee and back peddle
pushups 15, 10, 5 toes or knees

Rest

50 on and 10 off

1. jump lunge
2. side to side burpee
3. Dive Bomber
4. one legged deadlift
5. 3 d pushup
6. one legged deadlift
7. tap knees
8. side lift R
9. side lift L
10 Dead lift

Repeat

Rest

30 seconds - squat in and out on the bench
Repeat other side
Repeat Taps for 10
2 pushups - downward dog for 3 sets

Abs

one minute plank. 

cool down & stretching

This took about 50-55 minutes (4 Round x 10 plus about 1 minute break plus abs and the warmup and cool down)


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Weekly Workout Summary
I started my week on Tuesday after taking Monday off after we had run 10 + miles Sunday I was TIRED. Tuesday I did my morning weekly boot camp and I did a light 20 min jog before heading to the Shelter meeting at night

I was pretty sore the next day (Wednesday) during spinning but still did some swimming to get ready for tri season.

Thursday night I went for a quick run with the my running buddy since I got home late (again - repeat the same as last week! 
 

 Friday I taught spinning and did some weights and swimming.  And that night I did yoga at Sky Club.

On Saturday I went to Combat class at Sky Club and followed that up with a short run (about 25 minutes) and then went to Local Barre over the weekend and did the Sports Barre Class. 

On Sunday, I ran the HOHA with the Sky Club crew and kept a pretty good pace for me.  I was excited.  

I put together my weekly workout schedule for the spring/summer a few weeks ago to get ready for tri season and to finish up training for the half we planned to do and it's working out well. BUT

Then this week I found out the Half Marathon we'd planned to do was CANCELLED - super bummer.  We hadn't signed up since I was waiting for Uncle Sam to send over his contributions to race season but it was disappointing nononetheless, looking at a half in CT and then today I found out they cancelled my usual first race of the season in CT for tri season (Westport TargetTraining race). DISAPPOINTMENT AGAIN. I've looked into other options.  Fortunately the Hartford Marathon races for the summer are still a go. 

Back to the races & Plymeteric Paradise: June 4

 Back on the Road to Racing

I have slowly started to make my way back from illness!  And it's been a long road.  Before I got sick, I was doing really well with running (for me) and ran the HOHA Hoboken 5 mile in just about 10:30 miles, which was great for me.  The run was great, fantastic morning and I was there with some great pals from Sky Club.

After the HOHA 5 Mile on Mother's Day.

Then, I got sick as I talked about in my previous post, and lost all ability to move much less run.  But, this weekend I came back with a vengeance (ok I just came back) and ran the Oakley Mini 10k.  The race ending up being a lot of fun. I had been really excited about doing the race and then Friday it poured rain, like Noah's ark prep.  I had mentally prepared myself that the race was going to be cancelled, Hoboken was going to flood, I'd lose power, and sleep in.  So had my better half.  But, race morning came, so did the sunshine and birds chirping and with my pal Run Lift Repeat saying she was up for the race, we were off to the races, literally.  Fortunately, the drive by car into NYC is speedy quick, which left us plenty of time to get registered, talk my better half out of being mad at me for waking him up so early, and use the restrooms. He set off on his own run around the park and I went to the starting line.  I ended up being last. How? I dunno. 

I was expecting to have a horrible race after eating pasta and pizza by the pound at 10pm the night before, but amazingly I was setting a 10:30 pace a week after being sick, I slowed up some on the hills in Central Park but my finish was only a minute behind last year, so I was happy overall.  I was happy I didn't cough, throw up, or DNF, especially since I had forgotten many of the hills that were involved. Whoops. The one at the 5k mark always gets me.

I was very excited the medals were pink! Especially since I was wearing pick.  One the way into the race, Run Lift Repeat and I had a long discussion on race fashion, much to the disgust of my better half, who couldn't understand dressing up to sweat.The race has a great "go women" vibe and I love the medals and carnations they give out.  I also cannot forget some love for the super race volunteers who made bag drop easy.

Post Race Pink!

This is the 5th year I've run the mini and the tanks that they gave out may beat some of the previous T's. Go partnership with Oakley.

Missing a medal from 2010, maybe I lost it? But otherwise 4 years of medals starting from 2009!

Last week, before the Mini 10K, I also formally got back to teaching classes.

 Plyometric Paradise.

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching

I decided to change up my Tuesday class and I set up rows of benches. We did our usual warm up and then a plyometric workout.

They lined up in front of the benches and did plyometric jumps all the down the benches (6 in a row at varying heights) and then lunges back (3 rounds).  The first set deep squat on the step.  Second set was deep squat when jumping down and run back after 10 squat jumps.  The 3rd set we moved laterally and did toe taps down and shuffle back and reverse.

We broke it up (each set) with heavy weight work and 3 minute challenges. The 3 minute challenge was 3 minutes of 5 competition burpees, 10 squat jumps, 5 burpees, 10 mt climbers. I was exhausted by this. The weights we did squats, curl press, push ups, single leg dead lift, and dead lift row. (10-15 of each).

Here is a link to the video that inspired me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLzI1mcvIv8


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n! 

Weekly Workout Summary - June 3 - 9

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Plyometric Paradise and Swimming - 20 min, 20 min run at night
Wed - Spinning 45 min and 20 min Running
Thursday  - 40 min Run in the Rain
Friday - Spinning - 45 min and some ab work
Saturday - Oakley Mini 10k
Sunday - 17 mile bike on some big CT Hills and 20 min Run (BRICK!)

Interval Challenge & Intermittment Illness

 This workout is from right before I left on vacation. So I never got around to posting it.  Then during vacation I came down with what I call - the "worst illness I've ever had."  There was a sore throat, horrific cough, runny nose, fever chills and more.  And we were in Nashville, supposed to be having a great time seeing live music, the Avett Brothers and more. Which we did.  But I was so sick. I was out of commission for a week and half, the longest I've taken off in years and it was a B*tch getting back into working out, especially when I ran a mile the Sunday of Memorial Day and nearly keeled over.

Me during my illness.

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, band, bench and a mat, Gymboss or other timer

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.with band and gymboss 50/10, 10 Rounds
 
Interval Challenge
50 on and 10 off
Jump Lunge
Squat Curl Press
Elevated Pushup
In and Out Jump
Scorpion Pushup
wood chopper R
wood chopper L
Side Planks R and L
Abs - in and out
one legged dead lift

(in second set, jump lunge become 3 jump lunge 2 knees then in last (third) set becomes 3 jump lunge and 3 mt climbers and in last set scorpion pushups becomes a dive bomber and one legged dead lift is 2 legged with a row)

4 min challenge
set up 2 weights about 3 feet apart
double step, high knees over weights, double step burpee, double step, high knees over weights, double step, go back (repeat for one minute)
Squat Kick Right
4 punches, 4 crosses (jumping jack with no arms)
Squat Kick Right

order
Interval Challenge 1
4 min Challenge
Interval Challenge 2
4 min Challenge
Interval Challenge 3
2 minute challenge
 2 minutes of 10 squats, 10 pushups, 5 plank with forearm to straight arm
1 minute plank hold

cool down & stretching

This took about 50-55 minutes (4 Round x 10 plus about 1 minute break plus abs and the warmup and cool down) 

And then there was this...

If you look in the background you can see the bottle of Jack Daniels from when we visited the distillery in TN.

Cinco de Mayo Spinning Playlist

Once again tiring of the same old playlists, I put together this one for Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite holidays when I was in college.  While I found out from Wikipedia this is a day of Mexican heritage and pride, the playlist is Latin-inspired as I had some trouble coming up with strictly Mexican-American pop music appropriate for Spin and the Internet was no help.  It also includes 2 tracks by Mike Doughty who will be appearing at the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival this weekend at 4:30pm.  Mike Doughty was also the lead singer of Soul Coughing (Circles, Super Bon Bon) I discovered Mike Doughty through Veronica Mars one of my all-time favorite shows.  See the tribute to Veronica *hearts* Logan and the song, I Hear the Bells here. But he has some pretty kick ass tunes including 27 Jennifers (a favorite of Dave Matthews). More on the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival here.

Cinco de Mayo/Hoboken Playlist

Oye Come Va (Love Assassins Remix) - Tito Puente Jr
Waiting for Tonight (Remix) - J. Lo
I like it - Enrique Igesias (feat. Pitbull)
Maneater - Nelly Furtado
Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
Rabiosa - Shakira (feat. Pitbull)
I Hear the Bells- Mike Doughty
Shake Your Bon-Bon (Remix) - Ricky Martin
Super Bon Bon - Soul Coughing
Tonight I'm Lovin You - Enrique Igesias
I'll Stand by You - Shakira

Tough Tuesday Workout: Lotsa Lunges (4.23.13)

I decided to change things up today and use the full space offered in Sky Club's studio room last Tuesday.  I am not sure if this is for me but I might use it again at the beginning of class and then have us find our spot! Speaking of spots in the room, while I do not teach Zumba and fortunately none of my students are this crazy, I thought this cartoon was hilarious.  Because they do always go to the same spot. And usually I get used to seeing them there and get thrown off when they aren't in the right spot. :)

I think this happens in every class, Zumba, boot camp, SPINNING!

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, plates 5 or 10 lb

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.

Find a spot on the wall
Walking lunges across the room with plate held overhead- 4 rounds with 25 squats in between

Walking Side lunges with plate held out in front, curls, repeat

Find a spot in the room
Sculpt
one legged squat 10 each
dead lift - 15
superman pushup - 10
alternating lunges - 20
one legged dead lift - 10 each
overhead press - 10
one legged row - 10 each

Abs
crunches - 25
in and out with plate - 15
alternating legs - 20
twist - 10

Back to the wall 
Burpee frog hop - pushup across the room and back
side step across the room with plate - 3 sets

Find a spot in the room
one legged squat 10 each
dead lift - 15
superman pushup - 10
alternating lunges - 20
one legged dead lift - 10 each
overhead press - 10
one legged row - 10 each

Abs
crunches - 25
in and out with plate - 15
alternating legs - 20
twist - 10

Plank one minute

This took about 50-55 minutes without the stetching.

cool down & stretching

Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Tough Tuesday Workout (4.9.13): 500 Squat Warrior Workout

500 Squat Warrior Workout 

These past few weeks the gym has been very crowded and it creates an incredible energy.  It definitely makes teaching more inspiring. Challenging at times, like this morning when equipment goes awry and there's feedback on the mic but it's great. Many of my students are training for a spring season or to see their own personal strength grow.  I myself did my first 5k (of the season) on April 6th and was happy to see a time improvement and am planning a season full of races and a few triathlons. So many of the people in bootcamp have gotten so much stronger since they first started coming and many of my spinners are training for the spring season.

With the post coming just a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing, those of us who can grasp the idea of throwing yourself out of bed at ungodly hours and pushing ourselves to the max, were particularly affected by a tragedy taking place at this type of sporting event. Whether you're at your first 2.62 or that awe-inspiring 26.2, you can comprehend the amazing feeling of accomplishment waiting at the finish line.  To have that taken away and replaced with worry, fear and pain, is unfathomable. My thoughts are with all those and like many others donned a race t-shirt Tuesday morning - Disney 13.1 Half Marathon.

This workout is the last week - I got the idea for this workout from a Facebook post from a high school buddy who posted info about the  April Squat Challenge. 

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, step and ball. Workout is not timed is #'s of reps inside the hour we have

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.
 
10 prisoner get ups
50 squats
20 wide leg squat jumps
50 suqats
30 side to side jumps
50 squats
40 skaters
50 squats
50 mt climbers
50 squats
60 high knees w/ plank every 10 - hold plank one minute
50 squats
70 plyo jumps
50 squats
50 squats with one weight

10 step ups each side
dead lifts - 15
10 step ups each side
bridge on step 10 center - 5 each leg
10 step ups
alternating lunges - 10 each leg

50 squats

bicep curl on one leg
overhead press
bicep curl
overhead press
 25 squats

pushup - 10
plank row - 5 on each side
25 squats
repeat plank row

abs
crunches
reverse crunch
bicycles

Tough Tuesday Workout: Fitness Celebrity Shred (3/26)

Last week I got my brand new copy of Fitness Magazine with Jillian Michael's on the cover.  I happened to be thumbing through the article the night before boot camp and decided to use the 3-2-1 concept. In case you did not get a chance to check out the article - it's here. I had to make some changes to fit in an hour long format  but all in all it worked out pretty well - thanks Jillian!

Amazing side crow - I am always working on mine!

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, towel, strap, mat, step
The concept behind the 321 is 3 sculpt exercises, 2 cardio and 1 minute of abs.  I used by Gymboss to give us 10 rounds of 50 sec on and 10 sec off for 10 rounds of 3 and 2 and did 4 minutes of abs at the end and one minute rest for 3 rounds of 15.




Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.

50 Seconds On - 10 off with Gymboss
Sculpt: One legged row with heavy weights - switch half way
Sculpt: Wood chop with heavy weights - switch half way
Sculpt: Dive bomber pushup
Cardio: Mt climber
Cardio: Jump squat
Sculpt: Squat curl w/band
Sculpt: Side squat reverse fly w/ light weights
Sculpt: Tricep w/ band
Cardio: Leg slide w/towel
Cardio: Step jump

Abs
1 minute - light weights - crunch w/fly
1 minute - bicycles
1 minute - crunches
1 minute - plank

Repeat for two more rounds 2 with one minute of rest in between total of 45 minutes plus the warm up and cool down is one hour.

cool down

Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Tough Tuesday Workout March 19: Feeling Lucky?

Right after St. Patrick's Day after a weekend of running around, eating bar food and contending with the surprise March snow, I needed a workout.  Fortunately, 2 brave souls ventured out despite the weather, which was awful to get in a workout.

Needed: Step or Chair, 2 sets of Weights and a Mat (option to use a kettlebell at the end)

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.

This workout has 3 rounds

20 Lunge Twists with a heavy weight side to side
10 pushup on one leg
20 squats with a bicep curl
10 pushups on opposite side
15 lunge kick (no weights) on each side
10 4 pt jab (down, down, up, up)
20 Skaters Side to Side
10 Jump up on Step 
x3 rounds

Abs with light weight
Twists side to side 20
Feet up press weight up
Repeat 3x

Option for Kettlebell or use a weight.
10 Squat Swing
10 Pushup right knee into chest
10 Swing
10 Pushup left knee into chest
10 Swing
10 Side  Plank w/ leg lift
10 Swing
10 Side plank w/ leg lift
10 Swing
10 Prisoner Get ups - see image of Zuzka Light doing them - your arms stay behind your head as you try to stand up using your core and legs from a prone position on the mat

cool down

Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Tough Tuesday Workout: March 12, 2013

Today's workout was super tough.  I took some ideas from the dailyhiit.com so I could use my super awesome new gymboss that I had ordered on Amazon.This workout combined a super tough cardio interval (that had pushups to help with no weight toning) with some sculpt moves with weights to really tone the arms and legs. You'll be burning calories long after the workout is over. Below is the breakdown. You'll need a a bar with heavy weights on either end, a stretchy band, and a mat.

Super Fun for Making Sure You Hiit Those Intervals!

We started with our regular warmup - jog, jack and jump rope (The 3 J's) and then walk out pushups (5) and stretches and some light (no weights) lunges and squats. Then we took the intensity up a lot . This class must have been tough because the members I had in the class were telling me in spin the next morning how tired they were and how there shoulders were burning.  

Burpee circuit - included 5 exercises that we did for 50 sec on/10 off for 2 rounds

Me Burpeeing in Ireland

Burpee No pushup big jump
High knees
Burpee upright row
Low jacks
Diamond pushups
Repeat





Sculpt Set - 10 of each with weighted bar
Squat curl press
Squat
One leg dead lift - L
Row
Switch one leg dead lift on R
Squat with curl
Lunges


Band circuit - we used an exercise band with 2 handles on each end for this circuit
Squat swing
Burpees
Squat curl with band
Lean back pull back band - works soldiers (sitting on the floor wrap band around feet, lean back 45 degrees and pull elbows back)
Diamond pushups
Repeat

Repeat sculpt moves

Abs - stolen from original BodyRocker Zuzka-#59!! - zuzkalight.com/workouts
Lunge twist on L& R (10 each side)
Circle around world on knees (circle heavy weight around from L hip over head to R and reverse)
Pushups step up one leg next to hands rotate to one side and switch, 10
Mt climbers, 20
Side skips, 10
Plank - 30 seconds


Cool Down and Done!

Despite the dismal weather - it' time to start getting in running shape again and some good cardio helps get there!

Remember to keep on tri'n and always check with a doctor before starting any workout!