Tag Archives: circuit

Week of New Workouts

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Monday. Blehhhh! Just kidding. It’s not so horrible. Weather has been hot as hell in Boston, but after being in Scotland for a week, I’m happy to feel the heat and get a little tan back!

As you all know, I spin 4-5x a week, and have been trying to be better about incorporating cross training into my routine. Last week, I tried out 3 new workouts that I am so psyched about! Recap:

Tuesday night, I ran the infamous Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston. It’s one of the oldest areas in the city, and one of the prettiest, but it also has the biggest bitch of a hill smack in the middle of it (probably most grammatically incorrect sentence I’ve ever written). My friend AR had been doing a Beacon Hill circuit when she was training for Tough Mudder, and she convinced me that I’d be able to do it, no problem. HA! To say this workout was an ass kicking would be an understatement! We would run up one hill, do 30 seconds-1 minute of exercise at the top (lunges, squats, mountain climbers, wall sits, pushups, etc) then jog down, then run up another hill, exercise at the top, jog down, repeat, repeat, repeat. We also spent about 15 minutes in a small park doing more core exercises and dips and pushups. I’m not sure how many hills there were (I think around 12?) and the whole circuit took about an hour and a half.

Because our legs aren’t burning enough.. let’s do lunges! Shoot me.

Playground= new favorite gym

I can’t even describe how sore I was the next couple of days! I haven’t run much at all in the past couple of years because of knee issues, so my body was not used to this kind of activity. Towards the end, I sat out on some of the down hills because that’s when my knee was really bugging me, but uphill was fine. I’m definitely going to be doing this workout again, and am investing in some Kinesio Tape. Have any of you guys used this stuff? Does it work?

I taught Wednesday morning and foam rolled for awhile that night which helped somewhat, but I looked like a moron walking up and down stairs. My legs were SO sore.

Thursday night after I taught, I went to my first softball game since about 7th grade. Although it wasn’t a super intense workout, I was definitely using muscles I hadn’t used in awhile. And not to sound like a total chick, but I broke a nail when I tried to catch a ball. And I didn’t even catch the effing ball. Fail. And we had half of the Harvard baseball team from the Call Me Maybe video playing with us, and we still lost. Double fail. BUT- we did have some sweet t-shirts.

 

Friday morning after a light spin, I went to my first Core Fusion Cardio class at Exhale. These classes are all the rage in Boston, and I was excited to finally check it out. It was AWESOME. Such a different kind of workout than I’m used to, but great for toning, burning and SWEATING. I didn’t take any pics, but here’s a class description from their website:

“Get ready to sweat. This barre-less class leverages moves from the original Core Fusion class, but combines them with sets of plank runs (like mountain climbers, but more challenging!) to raise your heart rate and maximize calorie burn — all while sculpting and lengthening muscles. Core Fusion Cardio also incorporates yoga postures with light weights.”

Apparently there are all different kinds of Core Fusion, but I’m glad I went to the Cardio one. If you live in the area, I highly recommend checking it out. Claudia was my teacher and she was awesome. Great energy but was not obnoxious about it at all (you know the kinds of teachers I’m talking about.. the overly perky, smile-y, “I could do this all day and not break a sweat” kinds of teachers) yeah she wasn’t like that! In a good way. I felt nice and sore the next day. The ONLY downside was that you’re in a plank/downward dog position frequently in class, which was making me feel a little dizzy towards the end. And it’s kinda pricey ($25/class) but definitely worth the splurge every now and then!

I taught Saturday morning down the Cape, then came up to Boston to go night kayaking through the harbor. I haven’t had great experiences kayaking before (steering into river banks, feeling like I’m going to fall over, chafing, being cranky the whole time.. yup) so I was a little hesitant, but my boyfriend’s mother is a kayaking fiend and has been trying to get us to do this night kayak with her forever, so we finally gave in. And it was so incredible. We launched from Kendall Square in Cambridge around 6:30, and had an 1.5 hour kayak down the Charles and into the harbor. We stopped at the Barking Crab for a bomb casual seafood dinner (pulled right up to the dock!) and then put on our night gear to head back to Cambridge. By this point, it was around 9:45, so it was dark, which meant we outfitted ourselves and our kayaks with glowsticks, lights, and head lamps.

Saturday night rave, or kayak?

I wish I could have taken pictures on the way back but my phone was locked away in a dry bag (I don’t trust myself not tipping over), but it was SUCH a beautiful night. It was almost a full moon, so the water was surprisingly bright, and the city as lit up and looking gorgeous as usual. We were going against the current on the way back on the Charles, so I hope I burned off some of the lobster food baby that was sitting in my belly. All in all, we kayaked for almost 3 hours and I got a great workout. I tried focusing on using my core to paddle, but my shoulders ended up being pretty sore the next day. Whooops!

Anyways, I had so much fun trying out new workouts. Not only is it important to switch it up so you don’t plateau, I think it’s also important for your sanity so you don’t go crazy doing the same thing over and over. Speaking of which.. I’m starting CrossFit soon.. more to come on that later.. eeks!!

What are you guys loving at the moment? Any hot new workouts you’re digging? I’m on the prowl for more!!

-Emily

 

 

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Kick-ass Body Toning Circuit

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This “Slimmer in 7 Days” Workout kicked my ass this morning. I hope they didn’t mean you were supposed to do this every day for 7 days, because I am going to be so sore tomorrow, it might be my off day. PS- don’t be fooled by how easy this model makes it look. I certainly did not look that good when I was doing it, and I definitely wasn’t smiling. (Insert sweaty, shaky, panting picture here).

WHAT YOU NEED: Two sets of dumbbells- one light, one heavy (2-5 lbs, 8-12 lbs)

PS- This is a circuit, so do all the exercises once through, and then go back and do them AGAIN for even more fun!


  • Stand holding a lighter dumbbell in each hand and bend elbows to bring weights near rib cage, palms facing each other.
  • Keeping weights tucked by ribs throughout move, tighten abs as you lift bent right knee up to hip height, then kick forward with right foot.
  • Bending right knee again and keeping it at hip height, immediately hinge forward slightly from hips and do a rear kick, extending right leg behind you, foot flexed. (Beginners can touch their right toes to floor between kicks for balance.)
  • Straighten up, bringing right knee forward, and repeat sequence.
  • Quickly alternate front and rear kicks until you’ve done 10 of each. Switch legs; repeat.

  • Stand on right leg with left leg bent behind you, holding a heavier weight in each hand, palms facing fronts of thighs.
  • Lean slightly forward from hips for balance.
  • Bend elbows to slowly curl weights to chest level, palms facing floor.
  • Lower weights to start.
  • Do 12 reps. Switch legs; repeat.

  • Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a light weight in each hand, elbows slightly bent, palms facing fronts of thighs.
  • Step out to right with right foot (so feet are shoulder-width apart), and keeping knees aligned over ankles, sink into a squat as you bend elbows out to sides to bring weights up to chest level, palms facing floor.
  • Quickly step back to start position by pressing off right foot, lowering weights as you go.
  • Do 8 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

  • Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a heavier weight in each hand, arms by sides.
  • Take a giant step back with right leg and sink into a lunge so both knees are bent 90 degrees as you raise arms straight out to sides at shoulder level, palms facing floor.
  • Hold for 1 count, then lower arms as you step right foot forward to return to start position.
  • Do 12 reps. Switch legs; repeat.
  • Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward, holding a heavier weight in each hand.
  • Bring both hands over left shoulder, elbows bent, dumbbells near left ear.
  • Take a wide step out to the right with right foot, toes slightly turned out, and sink into a plie squat (knees bent 90 degrees, knees over ankles) as you lower weights diagonally to the outside of right hip. (Beginners can take a shorter step out to side.)
  • Hold for 1 count and press off right foot to return to start.
  • Do 15 reps. Switch sides; repeat. 
  • Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a lighter weight in each hand straight overhead, palms facing forward.
  • Keeping arms overhead throughout, lunge forward with right leg, right knee bent 90 degrees and aligned over ankle, left knee bent 90 degrees toward floor.
  • Quickly push off with right foot and immediately step it backward into a rear lunge to complete 1 rep. (Beginners can return to standing position between lunges.)
  • Do 15 reps. Switch legs; repeat. 
  • Sit on floor with knees bent, feet flat, holding a heavy weight in each hand, palms facing floor.
  • Lean torso back 45 degrees and lift arms forward, keeping them straight, about a foot off floor so weights are on either side of thighs.
  • Keeping abs tight and back straight throughout, pulse weights up and down 1 inch — that’s 1 rep.
  • Do 20 reps. (Build up to 40, depending on your fitness level.) 
  • Place light weights on floor shoulder-width apart.
  • Grasp dumbbells, palms facing in, and get into full push-up position: shoulders directly above wrists, body balanced on hands and toes in a straight line from head to heels.
  • Maintaining this position, lift left knee in toward chest.
  • Quickly switch legs, bringing right knee toward chest.
  • Alternate lifting each knee in toward chest in a brisk rhythm.
  • Do 8 reps per leg. 
  • Holding a heavier weight in each hand, lie on back, arms by sides, palms facing in.
  • Extend left arm straight up toward ceiling and bend knees 90 degrees, lifting feet in air so that shins are parallel to floor.
  • Slowly lower left arm across body to outside of right shoulder as you bring both knees down toward left until they nearly touch floor.
  • Hold for 1 count; return to start.
  • Do 15 reps. Switch sides; repeat.
Phewwww. Anyone else sick of this girl smiling yet? My fav moves were the weighted Mountain Climber (gives it some extra ‘oomph’ and the last one- total killer on the obliques)  I instantly felt tighter and more toned after doing it. I left out one move that I didn’t really like (sorry) but you can find the complete circuit over at Fitness Magazine. They have awesome workout plans and a great mobile app that’s convenient for new workouts on the go.