4 Cheap DTLA Fitness Classes For First Timers

I hopped of a plane at LAX and...headed straight to a workout class. 

True story. Not only was I excited for some acai and poke bowls during my recent trip to LA, but I was excited for some new fitness classes on the West Coast! 

I was lucky enough to check out 4 different studios during the 12 days I was in town and have to agree with my friend Rebecca on which was the best - but keep reading to find out which it was! 

Rise Nation

The class that I attended straight off of my flight was Rise Nation, a crazy-hard cardio class that left me absolutely DEAD. 

Rise Nation might only be a 30 minute class, but using "The Climber" delivers total-body toning. 

I was nervous after Rebecca told me that this was the roughest 30 minutes of her life - and arrived with some time to spare for the instructor to give me a quick run through on how to use the vertical climbing machine. 

It wasn't as much like climbing a ladder as I thought - it was a much smoother movement that required core strength, length strength and arm strength. It was much like spinning because it helped if you found the rhythm of the music and there were also intervals where you had to speed up your movements for a certain amount of time. 

The machine tracks the distance between your steps - so when the music is faster, you work on quick, short steps. At other points, you focus on longer climbing motions - which really work your arms and core as you stretch your body further. 

Your whole body is involved, and it takes a lot of effort to keep up with the pace of the class - especially if you're new! I found my hands cramping and my forearms burning as I struggled to hold on to the handles. I was absolutely sucking wind and it was definitely the longest 30 minutes of my life. 

Luckily, there were moments where I was able to get into the beat of the song and zone out for a few minutes at a time - usually this happened when the step distances were varied - for instance, short short long, short short long. 

It's a very hard class to try to explain, so I apologize if this makes absolutely no sense. 

At the end of the class, I was dripping in sweat and my chest was BURNING like I had just sprinted a mile. Sometimes after a really intense workout, my mouth tastes like blood. Whenever I say this, people look at me funny so I finally decided to Google it: 

Some studies also show that intense exercise can increase pressure on the lungs, which allows red blood cells to leak into air sacs, possibly causing that metallic taste.

Class at Rise Nation gave me that metallic taste and left me feeling weak and shaky. I asked the instructor what a typical distance climber was for a beginner, and I am happy to report that I crushed that number ;) 

The studio was nice and clean, the instructor was upbeat and helpful, and the only thing I found a little annoying was the lack of a shower considering how gross I was by the end of 30 minutes. I was beyond ready to eat all the things at Cafe Gratitude!

The best part? Your first class at Rise Nation is FREE. 

Speedplay

The second class came highly recommended by my friend Rebecca, who has tried quite a few LA classes. 

It was another small, shower-less studio but it was a great cardio and strength HIIT class with an instructor that I really liked. 

I took Speedplay 60, described on their website as "a perfect balance of running , rowing and floor. The class was broken down into 4 main sections which we all rotated through as a group. It was a very small class of about 6-8 people which was great. 

We started on the rowing machine, which I hadn't used in a good long while. It was rough getting the hang of it again, and I felt like I was going in slow motion through the ladder: 

Station One

500 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
400 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
300 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
200 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press
100 M Row
6 Dumbbell Press 

Station Two 

Station two was a strength based circuit using a barbell. We rotated through a set number of repetitions of the following exercises:

• Straight Overhead Barbell Press 
• Lunge 
• Deadlift
• Row 

Station Three 

For this station we went to the treadmill - they have the Curve, self-powered treadmills that can tell how quickly you're going and adjust the speed accordingly. They always take me some getting used to, but it's really awesome technology and supposedly has a lot of benefits (encouraging better form, mainly). 

Here, we did short intervals: 
.1 Run
.05 Walk
.05 Spring

After each sprint we used the resistance bands that were wrapped around our treadmills to do 10 rows. I loved the fact that each station incorporated strength moves along with the cardio. 

Station Four

Back to the floor to finish up with strength and core with this circuit using a plate: 

• Jump Lunges 
• Front Plate Raise 
• Glute Bridge with Overhead Oblique Pull 
• Sit Up (holding plate overhead)  

This class was by far my favorite - and one I would take over and over again if I lived in LA. It was a great mix of cardio, strength and core and it absolutely FLEW by. The class was small, the instructor was great, and you got to use a ton of different equipment throughout the class. 

Your first class is only $15, a steal! 

Club Pilates DTLA

I was looking for a low impact class one morning and since I can be stubborn about taking yoga classes, I figured I would give pilates a shot. The last real pilates reformer class I took was at SLT and it absolutely KICKED MY ASS so I wasn't expecting an easy class, per se, but knew I wouldn't be jumping around and irritating my shins. 

Stephanie (who made it announcement during class that she was now the OWNER, congrats!) was absolutely AMAZING at giving me help along the way. It was super obvious that I was not well-versed in pilates and had no idea what I was doing when it came to using the reformer. 

I bought my pair of grippy socks (required for the class) but a pilates-pro they did not make me. 

Some of the moves I really felt working - like the section where we did obliques! It always amazes me how many different things you can do with the reformer, and even though I felt like a fish out of water, I certainly felt the burn. 

Pilates definitely isn't my favorite type of class - but it's a challenge, it's low impact, and it works a ton of small muscles that I normally don't pay attention to. I probably won't become a regular at pilates classes, just like you won't catch me frequenting barre classes, but I understand why some people are so in love with them and certainly think those folks should check out Club Pilates! 

Worth noting that at this point, I accepted shower in fitness studios in LA should not be expected! 

YAS Spin Class 

No joke, there is a fitness center chain in LA called YAS Fitness. 

You can imagine how many times I screamed, "YAAAAAASSSSSS" during my trip to this spin class. 

This was the only studio I went to that had a locker room and showers, which was much appreciated for a girl who showers at the gym and fitness studios more often than her own apartment. 

Also appreciated was the fact that the class was a straight-up OG spin class. No weighted songs, no crunches, no push-ups on the handlebars - just spinning. 

We got clip in shoes for $2 and a free water bottle for checking-in on Facebook. The instructor, Mike, was extremely friendly and upbeat, the playlist was passable, and while I missed the metrics of a class like Flywheel or SWERVE, I felt like I got in a solid spin workout at the end of 40 minutes. 

While I was at YAS, I ran into someone I used to run with at JackRabbit in NYC back in 2012/2013 when I FIRST started running. It was so crazy!

Anyway,YAS also offers yoga classes and weighted yoga classes, and your first class is just $13! 

DIY Workout 

The last great workout of my trip to LA was the most scenic DIY everrrrrr as I walked around La Jolla Cove. Check it out here! 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 

 

The Fitness Update & 12 Favorite Moments

Perhaps you've noticed that I haven't been writing about running a whole lot. Or, at all, lately. 

That's because I haven't been doing a whole lot of running. When I do run, this is usually the conversation in my head: 

"You shouldn't run, your shins hurt." 
"You can you run, you don't have any injury at the moment." 
"You shouldn't run, don't push it, you want to run another marathon in the fall." 
"You need to go for a run for the sake of your mental sanity." 

At which point, I go for a run. 

Running for me isn't all about the physical act of running - it's a mental happy place and a huge aspect of my social life. Sure I can always wake up and go to the gym on Saturday morning - but I miss nothing more than consistent Saturday morning long runs with friends around the park followed by brunch.  

At the moment, I'm not training for anything - it seems that I'm on a constant loop of "terrible run," "painful run," "slow AF run," "randomly amazing run" with no insight about how to make the amazing runs more common. 

I'm currently registered to run the NYC Marathon in November, but recent work developments make it likely that I'll need to defer. I'm toying with the idea of a Hartford or Suffolk County Marathon earlier in the fall, but not making any decisions for now. 

All I've got on my race calendar is the Ragnar Relay this May - which I'm pumped about! I'm also pretty nervous, because I feel like I'm severely underestimating how difficult it's going to be. I need to really start upping my mileage if I want to run 22 miles over the course of 48 hours on little to no sleep. (We are looking for more people to join our team - please comment below if you're interested!) 

I'm also considering whether or not I want to attempt an Olympic tri this summer - of course, I'm petrified about the prospect of swimming a mile in open water. I've been going to the pool every once in awhile and I swear I somehow manage to get slower every time! 

I've been in a bit of an exercise funk - with no goals to motivate me. I'm on the lookout for my next big challenge, but it just hasn't presented itself yet. 

Since this update thus far has sounded very down in the dumps, here are some of my favorite fitness moments over this winter season that I never shared on the blog. 

1. Turkey Trot 

In 2015 I ran a turkey trot on Long Island all by my lonesome. I hated every second of it, and swore I would return for revenge. 

Considering I was certainly not in any racing shape, I gave up my plans for revenge and instead, finally convinced family members to join in the fun! Running a race with my little cousins, with turkey hats, was amazing! It wasn't fast, it didn't feel great, but I spent Thanksgiving morning doing one of my favorite things with some of my favorite people and for that I was #Thankful. 

2. Deck A Day Challenge 

This is the third year that I've done the Deck a Day Challenge - completing a Deck of Cards workout every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. I look forward to it every year, and though this year I had quite a butt-kicking at the start, by the end I felt strong and in much better shape. The best was doing some of these with Abby at NYSC! (Along with our personal spin class featuring Aida and Hamilton). 

3. Run & Swim & Brunch 

One morning, Abby and I went for a run followed by a mile swim. I never would have done both of these things back to back without her, but we managed to make it fun - and followed it up with a delicious meal at the new Upper East Side Dig Inn featuring an ALMOND CLOUD. 

4. The Run Where I Cried 

I've only had one of these in recent memory, and it was a December morning where I reached the top of Harlem Hill and felt like I had reached the top of Mount Everest. My legs felt strong and I had zero pain other than fatigue. I thought this was a turning point, and though it didn't end up to be the start of a wonderful running streak, it did leave my happy all weekend. It was a 9 mile run at an 8:25 pace but I felt like I had just run a Boston Qualifying marathon. 

It was during the Ted Corbitt 15K which my friend Erin was running. I joined her for awhile, ran with my friend Kayla for awhile, and waved to many friends out in the park. It's my favorite way to spend a morning.

5. Bluepoint Brewery 10 Miler 

This is always one of my most favorite days of the year - and this time, we made a weekend out of it! 6 of us rented an Airbnb for the weekend and after a broken train, made it to Patchogue where we had dinner at That Meetball Place and woke up for the best race of the year. 

Abby and I stuck together step for step throughout the race, and everyone stayed step for step with me on the dance floor afterwards. Many beers later, and a visit from MY SISTER, we made it back to the Airbnb and woke up in the morning for a quick run and bagel breakfast before heading back to the city. 

I hope this tradition continues because its the best. I ended up running around an 8:30 pace. 

6. Busch Stadium Workout 

While I was away for work in St. Louis, I had the chance to workout in one of the clubhouse gyms at Busch Stadium. I cranked up the tunes and enjoyed myself wayyy too much. Does everyone else get excited by an empty gym? 

7. Abby's First Bike Ride! 

Callie and I got to join Abby for her first bike ride on her new road bike and it was wonderful. I took my first clipped-in ride by myself and fell right into a puddle of mud while people in the park looked at me with confusion. I am happy to report that Abby did much, much better than me! 

8. Batting Practice at Dodger Stadium 

This isn't just a favorite fitness moment, this was one of the cooler things I've EVER done. My coworkers and I had the chance to play ball at Dodger Stadium on a gorgeous January evening in LA and it's something that I will never forget. And yes, I hit the ball!

9. More CP Loops 

If you haven't realized, it doesn't take much to make me happy - another Saturday morning spent in Central Park with friends - chatting, running, sun shining - longer than I had run in a long time (10 miles)! 

10. Partner Workouts

Having someone to workout with while I'm on the road is HUGE in keeping me motivated to get to the gym. In Pittsburgh, my friend Sabrina and I made a bunch of kick ass workouts to do together in the gym - she even got me to go to a hot yoga class that I ended up loving and I got her to for a run with me! The workout we created using the rower was KILLER but pretty awesome if I do say so myself. 

11. BRICK 

I landed in NY after a loooong time away for work and after a 2 hour nap ($2 tequila shots are dangerous), made my way to my happy place - Central Park. It was a ridiculously warm day for February and I did 3 loops on my bike...we had been separated for so long! I got home from my bike ride and wished I was still outside, so I decided to go for a 3 mile run too. Why not? 

My best friends Abby and Callie are amazing and training for a Half Ironman, and their Strava feeds inspired me to go big or go home. I loooved it. 

12. NP_NYC 3 Year Anniversary 

In March, November Project turned 3 years old and the amazing co-leaders, John and Paul, handed over the reins. I was really glad that I got myself up for the 5:30 a.m. workout and got to see the changing of the guard. November Project has made NYC feel like home to me - it's the reason I can walk around the Upper East Side and run into people I know, it's the reason I've seen so many beautiful sunsets over the East River. It's the reason running marathons and ultramarathons and IRONMANs doesn't seem impossible. It's the reason I have so many amazing best friends (and the reason I keep finding roommates for my apartment!) 

La Jolla Cove DIY Full-Body Workout

Slowly but surely, I'm seeing the cities and sights of California. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and now, San Diego!  

All quick trips, but I've been fortunate to have the world's best tour guide in San Fran and San Diego. Emily made sure we stuck to my jam-packed itinerary and crammed a TON into the 48 hours. 

By far my favorite part of the journey from Los Angeles to San Diego was our afternoon spent exploring La Jolla Cove and creating a workout as we took in the stunning views of sea lions, rainbows, cliffs, caves and the sea. 

Next time you're taking a road trip and don't have access to a gym and think you don't have a second to spare to sneak in some sweat - use some of these moves to stay active wherever you are. Whether it's La Jolla Cove or somewhere else, use your surroundings as inspiration - you don't need fancy machines or equipment. Here's what I came up with at La Jolla: 

LOWER BODY

Romanian Lunge

Single Leg Bench Squat 

Walking Lunges

Step  Ups

Lateral Bunny Hops

Plank Leg Lifts

UPPER BODY 

Bench Push-Ups

Plank Shoulder Taps

Tricep Dips

CORE

Seated Knee Tucks

Mountain Climbers

Russian Twists

Throwback Fitness Throws Down

A Mario Bros. mural covers the walls, instructors wear polos and whistles around their necks, and students store their belongings in cubbies. All signs point to middle school gym as you remember it in the 80s and 90s – but the workout you get at Throwback Fitness is much more intense than a game of middle school pickleball – and even more fun. 

THE STUDIO

Throwback is a small studio within an office building. It’s lacking a proper locker room and showers if morning workouts before the office are you jam - I had to make my way over to New York Sports Club before going to the office.

That being said, the studio itself is spacious enough and jam packed with equipment like rowers, medicine balls, kettlebells and dumbbells. 

THE CLASS

Throwback offers two main classes - Strength/Power and Endurance/Speed. I've now taken both - and they are pretty much as their names imply. Leaving Strength/Power I felt strong and leaving Endurance/Speed I felt like I had gotten in a good cardio workout. Regardless of the particular class you pick, the workout is split into four sections – a warmup, Phys Ed, homework and recess, keeping with the theme of the studio. A little kitschy? Sure - but it works. 

Warm-Up

I've now taken three classes at Throwback Fitness and each time, class started by introducing ourselves and answering a quick question about ourselves - favorite game show (Figure It Out), Favorite Famous Animal (any monkey) and Favorite Cereal (Peanut Butter Puffins). After intros, the warm-up always incorporates exercises into some kind of game.

In Throwback Fitness Questions you had to perform 8 shoulder taps followed by 8 alternating lunges before you could ask a yes or no question to our instructor, Java, to figure out which celebrity he was thinking of.

We did this for three minutes, successfully guess Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, and Steve Harvey while continuously completing our shoulder tap and lunge reps.

In another warm-up we performed a series of exercises before being allowed to fire a foam ball at the little army men lining the top of the ceiling beam (harder than it looked). 

And in my last class, we played "Musical Medicine Ball" - traveling around the room performing high knees, butt kicks, etc. until the music stopped. The people left without a medicine ball were sent to the rowers for 100 meter row penalty before joining back into the game. 

Phys Ed

In Strength/Power, "Phys Ed" was the main strength portion of the class. We split into two groups and completed the following sets of exercises for 3.5 minutes, 4 times for a total of 14 minutes.

A
14 American KB Swings
14 Spiderman Push-Ups

B
14 Bent Rows
14 Megatrons (One handed snatch + lunge)
7 Squat Thrusts

In Endurance/Speed, the "Phys Ed" section is where you use the rower. I'm frustrated every time I row because I look over and see people rowing at a 2:15 pace and I'm struggling to hit 2:45. But it certainly provides a challenge and raises the heart rate! 

In both Endurance/Speed classes I took, the rowing portion was down with a partner. While you row, your partner completes a circuit of exercises (10 cannonball push-ups, 16 kneeling up/down squats, 20 bicycle flutterkicks). Either you row until your partner finishes the circuit or your partner repeats the circuit until you've hit a predetermined distance on the rower. 

At the end of Phys Ed, based on the number of meters rowed, a first, second and third place team is announced. 

Homework

This section is a 3-4  minute core-interlude. For example:
 
:30 Left Side Plank/:30 Left V-Ups
:30 Right Side Plank/:30 Right V-Ups
:30 Hollow Hold/:30 Tuck Ups

Another class, we did a 3 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of: 
12 Medicine ball sit-ups
12 Medicine ball roll-outs
12 Medicine ball Russian twists

Recess

The last part of class, recess, is where the group is split into two teams for a competition. In my first class, Recess was a relay race. Each time had 4 people lined up in a row, doing a different exercise. As one person finished 6 laps of a bear crawl, the group shifted to the next exercise. Each time you finished 20 reps, you grabbed a flag. The team with the most flags at the end of the 5 minutes was the winner.

1 Arm Dumbbell Overhead Squat – I couldn’t do this for my LIFE. I’m determined to work on these!
Reverse Lunge to High Knee
Sit-Ups
6 Bear Crawl Laps – These kill me every time! Why is bear crawling so hard?

Another time we played corn hole! Every time you completed 7 push-up jacks, 9 tuck ups and 11 frog jumps, you got to throw the beanbag. Let me  tell you - something about starting your day with corn hole really just sets you up for success.

Class always finished with both teams lining up and high-fiving and "good game"-ing and my first class, we also made a group Boomerang. 

After my first class I wasn't 100% sold on Throwback, but by the end of my 3 classes there, I found myself really enjoying it. 

THE INSTRUCTORS 

I took a class with each of the three main instructors - Java, Brian and Ryan and can honestly say that they were equally wonderful instructors. They were thorough but quick in their explanations of some complex exercises/games and super motivating and positive throughout class. Java may win for best class playlist though!

WHAT I LIKED 

I liked that Throwback used a number of complex exercises in their classes. Instead of sticking to isolation exercises, there were tons of compound moves that targeted multiple body parts at once to make Throwback a true total body workout. 

The option to choose between a class geared more towards cardio or strength is something that I think more studios should implement. 

The community vibe at Throwback is great - the instructors call almost everyone by name, and as the newbie, they were very encouraging and made an effort to learn my name as well. I also loved that during the rowing portion of class, they would continually walk around the room and let you know how many meters you needed to catch up to the front of pack - it definitely kept me from phoning it in when I got tired. 

The class manages to be just the right amount of competitive. The games motivate you, but don't get so intense that anyone would feel "bad" about their performance. 

Another aspect I like is that there are challenges that go beyond the people you're in class with - there is a Throwback Fitness-wide system for earning gold stars and completing different challenges that regulars get really in to! 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE 

In my first class, my opinion of the "games" was that they were too gimmicky - but by the end of three classes I figured out that they're designed so that you can make them as intense or as laid back as you want. 

My one complaint was that the studio was SO HOT AND SWEATY. That, coupled with the lack of showers, made me feel pretty bad for the people around me on the subway to work. 

THE RUNDOWN

THE STUDIO - 6

The studio itself is fun to look around, with all the 80s posters and paraphernalia. Plus, as I mentioned, there's a ton of equipment packed into the space and a lot is possible.  

Lacking however are the additional amenities offered at many other boutique fitness studios. 

CLASS SIZE - SMALL

There's been about 10-12 people in each class I attended, which was a perfect amount. It never seemed too crowded, though 3 or 4 more people and it might have started to feel a little cramped. 

SWEAT SCALE - 7

Both Power/Strength and Endurance/Speed were pretty damn sweaty! The way these workouts are set-up, you can push it to the limit and get a killer workout, or if you're having a meh day, take it a bit slower. 

FUN FACTOR - 9

Throwback is a great time, and that's it's appeal. Not only are you getting in a great workout, but you're doing it in a fun atmosphere - led by the great instructors at Throwback. 

AMENITIES - 4

This is where Throwback falls short. 

COST - $$$

A single class at Throwback will cost you $32, which seems a little high for what it offers. I had bought a 3 for $30 package on Black Friday, and they also offer 2 classes for $19 for first-timers, which I highly recommend checking out! 

THE BOTTOM LINE

You could go to a class like Tone House or Barry's and get a KILLER workout. You could go to Mile High Run Club or Swerve and kill it at cardio. But Throwback is the option for the days you just want an all around good workout - to not kill yourself, and to thoroughly enjoy your workout! 

I'd add this to my list of "You Should Try It!" (I should actually make this list at some point...) 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

Out Of The [Kick]Box Haus

There are only a few fitness fads that I haven’t tried, and a handful that I’ve tried and just haven’t really enjoyed (Barre – ow! Yoga – ugh! Zumba – womp!) 

There are no fitness fads that I’m not willing to give a shot (still need to make my way to a “flirty girl fitness class,” aerial yoga, trampoline and trapeze!) Even if I look like a spaz and make a fool of myself, it’s only for an hour!

Feeling like a total spaz was par for the course during my first boxing class at Work Train Fight – but the challenge fell into the land of “motivating” instead of “demoralizing” (which is how I felt attending a step class full of 60+ jazzercisers before I walked out of the only class I’ve ever quit).

Since then, I’ve taken a few classes at NYSC at have found them to be pretty enjoyable. My arms are always so sore the day after a boxing class and I love that feeling of “OH SHIT I did WORK yesterday.”

So I thought it was time to throw some legs into the mix and attend a kickboxing class – an intimidating idea for someone with little to no coordination when it comes to things that require choreography.

After looking around at some studios, and really wanting to use the 2nd Avenue Subway – I came across The Kickbox Haus on the Upper East Side. Not only did they offer kickboxing, but fusion classes with kettlebells!

I talked to studio owner and instructor Michelle and it sounded like a pretty challenging class – so I signed myself and a friend up and hoped for the best.

THE STUDIO

Kickbox Haus is a very small studio with about 10 punching bags set up in very close proximity. There’s really nowhere to put your things – I had to shove my winter coat, boots and backpack behind my punching bag which was odd but worked out fine.

It’s $5 to rent gloves.

THE INSTRUCTOR

Michelle was teaching our class and she was full of personality and energy – she gave lots of instructions and soon we were set up by our bags with kettlebells of varying weights and a mat to get started with some glute and core work. 

THE CLASS

The bulk of the class alternated between kettlebell exercises and bag work.

Michelle is extremely qualified to teach all about kettlebells – a piece of fitness equipment that’s typically misused. She was very adamant about proper form for kettlebell swings which was very helpful. Kettlebell swings tire me OUT, man. I eventually got the hang of them, but 30 seconds straight of kettlebell swinging is no joke.

We also worked on some cleans and I was a little less graceful with those – banging up my elbows, shoulders and wrists pretty well in an attempt to get the kettlebells into the racked position.

My favorite part was the bag work – incorporating not only jabs, crosses, uppercuts, hooks etc. but straight and roundhouse kicks. We did a ladder with roundhouse kicks that sounded simple, but by the time I was up to 10 kicks I was beat!

WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE & WHAT I LOVED

My favorite and least favorite part of the class was actually the same thing – Michelle took a lot of time after each set/exercise to explain what was coming next.

As someone taking my first kickboxing class and still new to Kickbox Haus, I really appreciated the in depth instruction and attention to form and proper technique. That being said, my heart rate kept coming down during the instruction, and if I were a regular I would have been irritated by all of the talking!

The periods of work were hard, don’t get me wrong – but the class overall could have felt like a much better workout if the moves had been explained at the beginning of class and then we powered through them all with less rest.

I still left feeling really glad that I had attended – and wanting to add kickboxing (with an actual bag) to my regular workout routine – as well as using kettlebell swings in more of my DIY gym workouts. They’re a great power+strength+cardio exercise!

The Kickbox Haus offers a variety of classes in additional to kickboxing and kettlebell – there’s TRX training, Muay Thai, American Boxing, and more.

If you’re looking for real training and instruction on proper technique I highly recommend taking a few classes at The Kickbox Haus.

Just bear in mind – there are no showers or changing/locker rooms – it’s a small space with the bare minimum. 

Feelin' So Fly Like AG6

AG6 is Asphalt Green’s fitness class that uses new technology to create a light-up workout experience that’s one of a kind - according to the marketers, at least. 

THE STUDIO

AG6 takes place in one of the buildings that’s part of the Asphalt Green complex on the Upper East Side. There’s not a dedicated locker room and changing area for the AG6 studio, and instead, participants are asked to wait in the lobby until it’s time for class. There are two bathrooms in the actual studio where you can change if need be, but showering after class would prove to be problematic if you aren’t an Asphalt Green member.

AG6 is open to the public, even if you don’t have an Asphalt Green membership. A little more thought and planning in terms of convenience for those folks would be appreciated.   

The class takes place in the dark, but each of the 7 stations have lights that glow and blink and flash and change colors throughout the 45 minute session.

THE CLASS

The class is high-intensity interval training and we rotated through each station 3 or 4 times. The first round was 30 seconds at each station but after that, we went for a minute at each.

The last round, our instructor gave us the option of going back down to 30 seconds but I loved that myself and another girl said LETS DO A FULL MINUTE. Getting our money’s worth, right?

Station A

We did T-pushups with a weight – with our feet on a bosu ball! It not only worked your chest and shoulders but KILLED your core trying to stabilize for the entire minute.

Station B

We stood in front of a wall with 9 circles. We sprinted up to the wall and tapped the glowing circle – which signaled the light to move to a different circle. Using hand eye coordination and speedy reaction time, we had to hit 4 circles before back-peddling to the starting line and running forwards to repeat for the given amount of time.

Station C

Resistance bands around our ankles, we pivoted in the squat position, moving up and down a line on the ground and trying to stay low with our legs spread wide.

Station E

We used circles on the ground to step out for diagonal lunges while double-shoulder pressing two kettlebells over our head.

On subsequent rounds, we added a kettlebell deadlift to the mix.

Station F

We used gliders on a slippery portion of the floor to do an IMPOSSIBLY difficult mountain climber variation where one foot was on the glider and the other was elevated. Yeah, I don’t know either. I wanted to weep every time I was at this station.

Station G 

With a mat under our knee, we pulsed in the lunge position with a shoulder press, alternating legs every 10 reps.

Station H

This was a cardio-focused station that changed each round – but always included some suicide sprints or pushing a heavy plate down the grass portion of the floor. When we were asked to double hop while pushing the plate, I thought I was going to casually tip over and die.

THE INSTRUCTOR

Our instructor was a little all over the place when he explained some of the stations – he’d change his mind about what we were doing which made things a little confusing.

The plus was that he was incredibly encouraging and motivating with super high energy throughout the class. Also? He played Dark Horse by Katy Perry which is my all-time favorite song to sweat to.

WHAT I LIKED

One of the things I liked most about this class was the fact that everyone taking it was incredibly nice. It had a great community feel, and most people in the class were clearly regulars. At the end of class, we all high fived and said great job – which is definitely not something you get at a place like SoulCycle.

The other thing I loved was that even though there were clearly people of all fitness levels participating in the class, the moves weren’t dumbed down – they were CHALLENGING.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I was actually motivated by the lights for the part where you run to the wall and hit the different targets, but for the most part this “state of the art technology” didn’t really seem to contribute much to the class at all. Sure, it looked cool and set the mood, but it didn’t provide any metrics, statistics, or challenge to the class which was disappointing. Our instructor had informed us that some of the technology was acting up – which was the second time I was told that when trying to come in for a review.

It doesn’t seem like the most reliable technology. That being said, it was still a great, challenging class. I just wouldn’t come if you’re only excited about feeling like you’re in a real life video game like some of the advertising suggests.

THE RUNDOWN

THE STUDIO – 6

As I mentioned before – there are no real facilities for those who don’t belong to Asphalt Green. The studio itself is of course, pretty cool – with its black lights and stations built into the ground and walls. It’s also very spacious.

Something to note about AG6 is that their class schedule is limited – so be sure to check their website to see when AG6 classes are offered!

CLASS SIZE - 7

There were only about 10 of us in the class, which was great. That being said, with three people at each station, some of them were a little bit cramped – especially the one where we were pushing plates.

Sweat Scale – 7

This class was definitely a challenge and definitely left me sweaty and sore the next day.

Fun Factor – 8

It was a unique class and the technology helped to keep things fun with flashing lights, changing colors, etc. But the best part was that the class was engaged and supportive.

Amenities – 6

There are two large restrooms easy enough to use as changing rooms before class, but there is nowhere to shower (at least that I was made aware of).

Cost - $$$

Standard for NYC, a class at AG6 costs $35 for non-members and $25 for Asphalt Green members.

Bottom Line

I wasn’t as impressed with this technology as I expected to be after reading articles about its ability to tap into an athlete’s “6th sense.” It seems there’s a lot of other studios doing more with metrics than AG6. Sure, working out in a dark room that flashes and blinks and changes colors was cool, but at the end of the day it seemed a little gimmicky. Luckily, the exercises and workout spoke for themselves and provided a challenging class for a great group of people. 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Photo Credit: Asphalt Green

Fitness With Felons: A Review of ConBody

As I entered the nondescript door on Broome Street for my first class at ConBody, I immediately heard the drill-sergeant-like count bubbling up through the stairwell. I could only imagine the blood pumping, muscle-burning exercises that were accompanying the “one-two-three-four-ONE-one-two-three-four-TWO” being shouted by multiple voices.

As the doors of the elevator opened to the basement fitness studio, the voices were louder and more intimidating. I stepped into the waiting room and immediately noticed the jail cell door separating me from the studio where ex-con Shane Ennover was leading a small class.

 BEHIND THE BARS

The story behind ConBody is perhaps its most intriguing quality. It doesn’t promise any advanced equipment, crazy class formats, team competitions or fancy metrics. Instead, it promises results based on a method developed by creator Coss Marte while he served his prison sentence.

That’s right, the founder of ConBody was in prison for 7 years after running a drug ring in New York City starting at the age of 13. Overweight and out of shape, doctors warned Coss that he wouldn’t last much longer in prison if he didn’t do something about his health.

He used his time incarcerated to drop 70+ pounds and when he got out, he beat the recidivism odds by creating a business out of his workout plans.

Coss’ workouts involve no equipment other than your body and require minimal space as well – they were created in a 9x6 prison cell after all.

 The genius in ConBody is the fact that they offer not only in-person boot-camp classes in their studio in Manhattan, but they stream workouts to customers all over the world – and those customers can perform the entire workout using the space of a solitary yoga mat!

Founder Coss isn’t the only ConBody instructor who has served time. In fact, all of the studios’ trainers have spent time in prison, or have close family members who have been to jail.

THE CLASS

The class takes place in a small room with a matted floor – no shoes allowed! The only equipment are the four walls (used for wall sits and wall walks) and bars for pull ups.

The class size is small, with around 10 people in my morning class. There’s nowhere to hide and our instructor, Shane, didn’t let us half-ass anything!

Shane kept the class moving in an extremely organized way, explained everything, and kept great count (with the classes help). There was a huge variety of bodyweight exercises – both cardio and strength focused and it was a great reminder that you don’t always need a ton of fancy equipment to get in a great workout.

Jump lunges, bear crawls, pushups, mountain climbers, wall sits, burpee broad jumps and more kept the class moving and interesting. The 45+ minutes flew by with a killer ab sequence at the end that had me clutching my stomach!

THE STUDIO

As I mentioned, the studio isn’t huge. There aren’t a ton of bells and whistles but that’s to be expected from a studio that’s “prison-style.”

Though there aren’t locker rooms – there is one shower that you can sign up for when you get to the studio. But it could end up being quite a wait despite the 5 minute time limit.

BOTTOM LINE

The story behind behind ConBody is inspiring, interesting and unique. I think my favorite part of my experience at ConBody was speaking to Shane after class and hearing about the garden he now has at his house on Long Island. He took vocational classes during his incarceration focusing on horticulture.

It’s inspiring to see fitness giving people hope, community, health and a second chance. I think fitness provides that to many people – not only ex-prisoners – and time and time again it’s a great way of connecting people from all walks of life.

If you want to learn more about the amazing story behind ConBody, check out some of these stories written by major news sources:
The New York Times
NPR
Ted Talks
Elle
Inc.
The Wall Street Journal

YOU  MAY ALSO LIKE:

Body Space Fitness Delivers Solid Strength & Cardio Classes

After reading about Body Space Fitness on one of my favorite blogs, Kayla In The City, I knew I wanted to check it out and review it for myself.

Founder Kelvin Gary's boutique fitness studio first specialized in semi-private (small group) training and personal training sessions but has recently expanded it's offerings to include various group fitness classes.

Torn between Body Camp and Metabolic Burn, I made a last minute decision to take the two classes back-to-back. One at 5 p.m. and the next at 6 p.m.

Read on to find out if I survived - and what I thought of the Body Space Fitness!

THE STUDIO

Body Space Fitness is super nondescript from the outside. When you open the door on the 5th floor of a building, you're already in the thick of things - with kettlebells being swung, sleds being pushed, and medicine balls being slammed all around you.

Though the space itself isn't extremely large, it is packed with functional training equipment. There's not a stationary machine in sight - something that I absolutely love. There's an entire area where clients can get stretched out and rubbed down, an ALTER-G TREADMILL, and the main work-out floor complete with sandbags, medicine balls, TRX, sleds, kettlebells - they've got it all.

Classes take part on the back half of the "turf" and while things got a little congested during the Metabolic Burn Class, the workout is expertly designed and executed to make things run smoothly and for the space to be shared effectively.

It's as if the instructors are performing choreography in the way that they explain circuits and exercises, set stations up and dismantle them, and keep things flowing.

You can take a virtual tour of the studio on their website!

THE CLASSES

BODY CAMP FORMAT

On Body Space Fitness's website, they describe Body Camp as a "55 minute, strength based class in a small group setting features stations of functional exercises designed to sculpt lean muscles."

100% accurate description.

The class was comprised of a warm up followed by two different strength circuits.

WARM UP

I loved this warm up. Lots of agility/cardio exercises to get the blood flowing. There were only 6 of us in the class and we did high knees, caterpillars, lateral shuffles, karaoke, and more including a few torturous moves with the resistance bands around our ankles.

CIRCUIT ONE

We performed each exercise :42 ON | :18 REST for 3 rounds.

RFE Split Squat - Fancy terminology for "Rear Foot Elevated" Split Squat. These are more like lunges and we performed them hold a kettlebell (weight of your choosing!)
JB Slam - "Jam Ball" (Medicine Ball) Slams
TRX Hamstring Curls- These bad boys BURN and I struggled to do them for the full :42 seconds, especially with proper form (hips UP)
SB BO Row - Sand Bag Bent Over Row (There were tons of different weight options!)
1/2 Knee DB Press - Kneeling shoulder presses with dumbbells

CIRCUIT TWO

Again, we performed each exercise :42 ON | :18 REST for 3 rounds.

KBDL - Kettlebell Deadlifts! I appreciated the fact that the instructor, Dean, came around and encouraged me to up my weight. It's always nice when an instructor pushes you!
V-Ups
Lateral Box Step Up
SB FS - Front squats with the sandbag!
Floor Chest Press

THE INSTRUCTOR

The instructor, Dean Sheremet, was absolutely the best part about the class. He took this from just a circuit workout to a great group fitness class.

He was encouraging, enthusiastic and extremely helpful in terms of describing the format of the class, demonstrating each exercise, challenging people individually, offering advice on form and was also a great DJ (hi, Spice Girls!)

WHAT I LIKED

I loved that you could make this workout as hard as you liked based on the weights that you chose for each exercise.

I thought it was a great mix of leg and arm exercise with abs thrown in their as well. None of the exercises were too difficult to get the hang of, but all really effective!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

For some of the exercises, I wanted to challenge myself by going up in weight - especially since this is marketed as a strength focused class. But I found :42 seconds was a long time to perform a strength-based exercise with heavier weights. With the interval set at :42 seconds, it's clearly a more high-rep scenario which means lower weights.

It would be interesting if the amount of time you performed each exercise changed throughout the circuits so that you could experiment more with "going heavy."

METABOLIC BURN FORMAT

Described on their website as their "cardio and endurance based class," Metabolic Burn promises to be "filled with high intensity, calorie burning, low impact exercises using a wide variety of toys such as, but not limited to, sleds, battleropes, ViPRs, sandbags and Airdyne bikes. This class, focused more on endurance than strength, gets your heart rate up with 40 second intervals where you do the most amount of reps possible in the allotted time."

THE WARM UP

We did a lot of the same things for Metabolic Burn's warm up as we did for Body Camp. I like this kind of warm-up because it's not static stretching and actually warms you up- I was definitely breathing a little heavy by the end of it!

EXERCISES

We performed the following exercises for :40 seconds with :20 rest as we rotated to the next exercise. We completed this circuit 4 times.

Single Arm Kettle Bell Swings
Sand Bag Shoulder Press - You essentially lifted the sandbag from one shoulder, up and over your head, to the other shoulder. It was deceptively difficult!
Burpee Bear Crawl - Bear Crawl to the front of the turf, burpee, bear crawl backwards to the wall, repeat. I looked like a total spazz doing the Bear Crawl.
TRX Rows
Lateral Shuffle With Resistance Bands
Medicine Ball Jack Knifes
Sandbag Shoulder Squats - Starting with the sandbag on one shoulder and switching it to the other halfway through
Lateral Medicine Ball Throws

As you can see, these exercises were much more cardio focused than Body Camp.

The class finished a a 5 minute "Cardio Blast" where we performed the following exercises for :30 with a :12 rest - 4X through.

Hand Release Push-Ups
Crab Walk
Rope Squats

THE INSTRUCTOR

Nicole Bunyan taught Metabolic Burn and she was great! Supportive, attentive and great at keeping things moving. She had a more difficult job than Dean in terms of keeping things organized since there were so many more people in the same tiny space.

Nicole gave some great tips on form - like keeping your nose pointed up at the ceiling during the medicine ball jack knifes.

WHAT I LIKED

To be fair, Metabolic Burn is just more my style. I like the cardio aspect of classes like this - I like feeling like I'm going to die in a pool of my own sweat because I'm a freak.

I also realllllly liked the fact that a lot of these exercises are low impact. My shins have been bothering me a lot (shocker) and not having to be constantly jumping yet still getting in cardio was great.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

There wasn't anything I didn't like, really! I didn't love love love it, but it was a very good class all around.

THE RUNDOWN

THE STUDIO - 7

What the studio lacks in space and "sparkle" it makes up for in phenomenal functional training equipment, cleanliness and organization. They pack a LOT in the space that they have - and it's all things that help get their clients a killer workout.

After speaking with Kelvin, he explained that they've had some growing pains since incorporating group classes. They're working on expanding and after some renovations, the space should be a lot more conducive to all that Body Space Fitness has got goin' on.

CLASS SIZE - SMALL

Body Camp was a teeeeeny class with only 6 of us. It was great, and we got tons of attention from the instructor because of it.

Metabolic Burn was larger, but in the grand scheme of fitness classes, 12 is still a small class and allows for lots of personal pointers.

SWEAT SCALE - 7

Both Body Camp and Metabolic Burn are the type of workouts that are as hard as you make them. It really depends on how hard you push yourself! I made it through 2 classes without feeling like I couldn't go on - but I also didn't go balls to the wall during Body Camp knowing that I still had another class coming up!

FUN FACTOR - 7

This place had good vibes, great instructors and jammin' tunes. As I changed and got ready, the class prior to Body Camp was RILED UP about something - it sounded like a competition of some sort. My point is, people are happy and having fun here which makes a workout a lot more pleasant!

AMENITIES - 6

They aren't out of this world but they have everything you need. Including a hair dryer in the locker room so that you don't need to lug one in your bag!

I will say that when I got out of class, every single locker in the locker room was being used!

COST - $$$

Unfortunately, this is just the cost of a boutique fitness class in NYC - $32 a pop. But if you're a ClassPasser, you can sign up for classes at Body Space Fitness!

This is the kind of fitness studio that I love. They care about putting together a quality, total body workout that is well designed and not just about having people do burpees until they puke for the sake of it.

They offer a ton of different services, classes and packages and are filled with the type of functional equipment that's most effective (in my humble opinion).

Every time I go to a studio like Body Space Fitness and have wonderful instructors like Dean and Nicole, I'm tempted to cough up the money and time to get my personal training certification!

Definitely stop by BSF if you're looking for a great workout that will leave you in a good mood.

Everything You Need To Know To Create Your Own Killer Workouts

Nothing is worse than getting yourself up and out to the gym only to arrive with no idea of what you're actually going to do.

If you're not signed up for a class, it can be hard to put together your own workout. Do you want to focus on a specific body part? Do you want to do cardio? Total body? HIIT?

A lot of people are overwhelmed by the idea of working out with no structure - no instructor telling them what to do. But it really isn't that difficult to come up with your own killer workout.

Knowing some general workout formats can be a big game changer - once you have some go-tos in your back pocket, it's easy to mix and match exercises and plug them into the formula.

Once you pick the workout format, you can populate it with exercises for a certain muscle group, total body, body-weight exercises or weighted exercises. You can gear the workout towards a certain piece of equipment, like the TRX straps or kettlebells.

This summary of some standard workout formats is the first step to self-reliance at the gym. No more depending on class schedules or suffering through dull instructors. No more feeling overwhelmed when you aren't taking a class. You can get in a sweaty workout all on your own, I promise.

Simple Rep-Based Circuit 

Format: 
Pick 4 Exercises
Pick a Number of Reps
Repeat 4 Times Through

A simple circuit is what I usually use for strength training a certain muscle group. Because it's based on reps, I like to use weighted exercises. Depending on the number of reps you decide on, make sure you keep the weight challenging - you should justttt be able to finish the reps with proper form - it shouldn't be easy! 

Example of a Shoulder Circuit

10 Reps Dumbbell Shoulder Press
10 Reps Front Plate Raise
10 Reps Lateral Dumbbell Raises
10 Reps Front Plate Pull

Repeat 4X 

Example of a Leg Circuit 

12 Reps Side Lunges with Dumbbell
12 Reps Sumo Squat and Press with Kettlebell
12 Reps Jump Squats
12 Reps Glute Bridges with Plate

Repat 4X

Simple Time-Based Circuit 

Format:
Pick 4 Exercises
ick a Length of Time To Perform Each Exercise
Repeat 4 Times Through

While I tend to use a simple circuit for strength-training, there's no saying you can't throw together a timed circuit as well - this is a great option to get in some quick cardio using body-weight exercises if you don't feel like using the treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike. 

Example of a Cardio Focused Timed Circuit 

:30 High Knees
:30 Butt Kicks
:30 Mountain Climbers
:30 Burpees

Repeat 4X

You can always challenge yourself to repeat the circuit more than 4 times if you're up for it! OR string together a few different circuit. You might do a cardio timed circuit in combination with a shoulder simple circuit and a tricep simple circuit to incorporate more muscle groups into your workout. 

Tip: When you're strength training, try to pair chest exercises with tricep exercises and back exercises with bicep exercises! 

Tabata

Format:
Choose 1 Exercise
Perform the Exercise Hard for :20
Rest for :10
Repeat 8 Times

Tabata workouts don't sound too difficult on paper, but I promise they'll get your heart rate up! They're a way to create a High Intensity Interval Training workout - otherwise known as HIIT! 

While 1 in the tabata format takes 4 minutes and ensures sweat - you can also string together a few different exercises, completing each as a tabata, to create a killer workout. Again, you can choose to do this based on a specific body part or total body depending on what exercises you choose.

Tabata workouts tend to work best with little to no equipment - body weight exercises are best! Pick 5 different exercises and you've got yourself a super-sweaty 20 minute HIIT workout. 

Example of an Ab-Focused Tabata Workout: 

Exercise 1: Plank Ups 
Complete :20 on, :10 rest 8X Through (4 Minutes Total)

Exercise 2: Russian Twists (Weighted or Unweighted) 
Complete :20 on, :10 rest 8X Through (4 Minutes Total)

Exercise 3: Diamond Sit Ups
Complete :20 on, :10 rest 8X Through (4 Minutes Total)

Exercise 4: Leg Lowers
Complete :20 on, :10 rest 8X Through (4 Minutes Total)

Exercise 5: Mountain Climbers
Complete :20 on, :10 rest 8X Through (4 Minutes Total)

AMRAP 

Format: 
Pick Around 5 Exercises
Assign Reps To Each Exercise
Choose a Total Workout Time
Complete As Many Rounds of the Exercises As Possible in the  Designated Total WorkoutTime

I'll be honest, this isn't one of my favorite formats - but it is super effective and great if you're looking for a benchmark workout that you can use to track your progress in the gym. 

AMRAP workouts are used in Metabolic Conditioning training (MetCon). It's basically a way to get in your cardio quickly by going reallllly hard for a short period of time. It's high intensity all the way through, but it's over fairly quickly! A typical length of time for an AMRAP is anywhere from 10-20 minutes. 

Example of a Total Body AMRAP 

10 Burpees
10 Push-Ups
20 Sit Ups
20 Mountain Climbers
Complete the Above Circuit As Many Times Through As Possible in 16 Minutes

You can also complete an AMRAP workout by choosing just 1 exercise and completing as many repetitions as possible in a given period of time. 

Example of a 1 Exercise AMRAP 

Complete As  Many Burpees As Possible In 10 Minutes

Using the same AMRAP routine once a week and tracking how many rounds or reps you're able to finish in the given period of time is a great way to measure progress. AMRAPs are also nice because they allow you to rest as necessary. 

EMOM 

Format: 
Choose 3-4 Exercises
Set A Number of Reps Per Exercise
Pick A Total Length of Time
Start a New Round of The Series of Exercises At The Top Of Every Minute For the Designated Length of Time

This one's a little harder to explain as a specific formula, but it's quickly become one of my all-time favorite workout formats! It's very popular in the world of crossfit, but I promise it's not that intimidating once you get the hang of it! 

To put together an EMOM workout, choose 3 or 4 exercises with a set number of reps and completing each mini-circuit one time through within 60 seconds. The trick is, you need to start over at the top of each new minute. So if you manage to finish in :45, you've earned yourself :15 before starting from the top. If you finish in :55, you'll only have 5 seconds to rest!

It's up to you to decide how many minutes you'd like to do an EMOM workout for, but for ones where I'm repeating a mini-circuit, I tend to go for 10 minutes. It's hard! 

Example of Total Body EMOM

For 10 Minutes:

8 Medicine Ball Slams
6 Burpees
4 Diamond Sit-Ups

Complete all three exercises in succession at the top of every minute for 10 minutes.

Make sure you're challenging yourself. You shouldn't be finishing the exercises within :30 circuits. If you find that's the case, up the number of reps or add another exercise to the succession. 

Pyramid Workout 

Format:
Increasing Weight, Length of Time or Reps Per Exercise
Followed by Decreasing Weight, Length of Time or Reps Per Exercise

There are a ton of different ways to put together a "pyramid" workout that can work for either HIIT or strength/weight training. 

For strength/weight training, you work your way up the pyramid by raising the weight while lowering the number of reps you're performing. 

Example of a Bicep Curl Pyramid

Round 1: 15 Reps With 5 lb dumbbells
Round 2: 12 Reps With 7.5 lb dumbbells
Round 3: 10 Reps with 10 lb dumbbells
Round 4: 8 Reps with 12.5 lb dumbbells
Round 5: 6 Reps with 15 lb dumbbells
Round 6: 4 Reps with 20 lb dumbbells

You can also set up a pyramid workout by performing bodyweight (or weighted) exercises for increasing, and then decreasing, lengths of time. 

Example of a Timed Pyramid 

:15 Rest Between Each Set

Set 1 :10 Squats
Set 2 :20 Squats
Set 3 :30 Squats
Set 4 :40 Squats
Set 5 :30 Squats
Set 6 :20 Squats
Set 7 :10 Squats

Yet another option is to make up your pyramid workout with an assortment of exercises. 

Example of Multi-Exercise Pyramid 

55 Jumps Lunges
45 In & Out Crunches
35 Push-Ups
25 Star Jumps
15 Burpees
15 Burpees
25 Star Jumps
35 Push-Ups
45 In & Out Crunches
55 Jump Lunges

You can either rest as necessary, or for :15 in between each exercise. 

Ladder 

Format: 
Decreasing The Length of Time or Number of Reps for Each Exercise Every Round

Unlike a pyramid workout, a ladder workout just goes in one direction. You can either work up the ladder or down the ladder. It's up to you how many different exercises you choose to include in your ladder. 

Example of an Upper Body Ladder

10 Dips
10 Push-Ups
10 Plank Shoulder Taps
10 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

9 Dips
9 Push-Ups
9 Plank Shoulder Taps
9 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

8 Dips
8 Push-Ups
8 Plank Shoulder Taps
8 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

7 Dips
7 Push-Ups
7 Plank Shoulder Taps
7 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

6 Dips
6 Push-Ups
6 Plank Shoulder Taps
6 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

5 Dips
5 Push-Ups
5 Plank Shoulder Taps
5 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

4 Dips
4 Push-Ups
4 Plank Shoulder Taps
4 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

3 Dips
3 Push-Ups
3 Plank Shoulder Taps
3 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

2 Dips
2 Push-Ups
2 Plank Shoulder Taps
2 Inch Worms

:15 Rest

1 Dip
1 Push-Up
1 Plank Shoulder Tap
1 Inch Worm

You can also do a ladder workout based on time. 

Example of a Time-Based Lower Body Ladder 

:60 Squats
:60 Left Leg Lunges
:60 Right Leg Lunches
:60 Glute Bridges

:30 Rest

:50 Squats
:50 Left Leg Lunges
:50 Right leg Lunges
:50 Glute Bridges

:30 Rest

:30 Squats
:30 Left Leg Lunges
:30 Right Leg Lunges
:30 Glute Bridges

:15 Rest 

:20 Squats
:20 Left Leg Lunges
:20 Right Leg Lunges
:20 Glute Bridges

:15 Rest 

:10 Squats
:10 Left Leg Lunges
:10 Right Leg Lunges
:10 Glute Bridges

Deck of Cards Workout 

Format: 
Assign An Exercise to Each Suit
Go Through The Deck, Performing Each Exercise For the Amount of Reps Specific By The Card Number
(Jacks = 11 Reps, Queens = 12 Reps, Kings = 13 Reps and Aces = 15 Reps) 

This is such a great workout format, and one that I continually use when I'm feeling uninspired. It's so easy to cater a deck of cards workout to a specific body part, though abs is one of my favorite body parts to target with this format. 

This keeps you moving and the time flies by! 

Example of an Abs Deck of Cards Workout 

Diamonds: Diamond Sit-Ups
Hearts: Bicycle Crunches
Spades: Toe Touches
Clubs: Leg Lowers
Jokers: :30 Plank

Say you pull an Ace of Spades: Perform 15 Toe Touches
If you pull a 7 of Hearts: Perform 7 Diamond Sit Ups

Go through the deck until you've completed all 52 cards. 

*In case you're wondering, you'll perform each exercise a total of 106 times!

 *There's also an app you can download so that you don't need to use an actual deck of cards! 

Happy workout creating! Let me know your favorite workout format - I'm always looking for a way to mix things up and keep things interesting at the gym. There's nothing worse than a workout that is boring! 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

Huffington Post's CEO Sweats and Speaks at SWERVE

When I returned to New York City after a month in Toronto, I was ecstatic. Not because Toronto wasn't a great city - but it isn't home. 

Thrown back into the hustle and bustle of city living, I immediately set about filling up my calendar with plans. Social plans, blog plans, fitness plans, family plans. But one thing I've really been craving is learning. I miss being a student because I miss the mental stimulation that comes from lectures and note taking and critical thinking. 

Living in a city as culturally rich as New York, I've realized that there's absolutely no excuse not to seek and gain more knowledge. I can complain about missing class and research papers and guest speakers - or I can make it a priority to find opportunities to learn. 

Boozy brunches and nights that don't end until the morning are great as a twenty-something living in Manhattan. But I don't want to look back on my time living in this incredible city and feel that I didn't experience the full-scope of what it has to offer. 

So I'm here to suggest to you a wonderful event series that every business-savvy, fitness-loving, twenty-something should do their best to check out. The Speaker Series at SWERVE. 

This event was the trifecta of things I am constantly seeking:

Fitness, Food & Learning

SWERVE is by far my current favorite spin studio in NYC. Every time I take a class I'm reminded of it's amazing amenities, incredible instructors, meaningful metrics, satisfying smoothies - I could go on and on with the alliterative accolades.

For the past four months, SWERVE has hosted a speaker series which gives you the opportunity to take a class, drink a smoothie, and listen to a guest speaker "whose journey shows the value of embracing uncertainty and relentlessly pursuing a goal." All for $40. 

Cue the endorphins and inspiration. 

The Class 

Challenging, motivating and sweaty as usual. I somehow ended up with close to my PR score despite not having been to SWERVE in months! I credit the amazing riders around me who were absolutely crushing it and our instructor Erin who made the entire room feel like rock stars. It was impossible not to let it push me (and my legs) past what I expected. 

The Smoothie 

Before the ride, the entire class was allowed to choose between the Purple PB, Kalin' It and Iced Matcha smoothies. They were lined up along the bar and waiting for us when we finished class. 

SWERVE's smoothie bar is K-I-L-L-E-R and I even go for breakfast sometimes without taking a class. This was my first time trying the Kalin' It smoothie and it was wonderfully sweet despite being very green. 

My favorite is still the Skinny PB. What I love about the smoothie bar is the fact that all of the nutrition information is listed on the menu! 

Talk with Jared Grusd 

This was the highlight of the event, for sure. For 45 minutes the CEO of the Huffington Post talked to the group about his career in a way that was so down to earth, so real, and so engaging. 

Jared Grusd's career has included positions at some pretty notable companies - Google, AOL, Spotify and now, The Huffington Post. NBD. 

Throughout the night I found myself nodding along with points that he made about navigating career choices and decisions.

His answers weren't always what you'd expect from a CEO, and I thought I'd share some of the major points that he made during the talk and subsequent Q&A (because I took notes, obviously!)

Risk and Reward

FOR THE FIRST PART OF HIS CAREER - HE DIDN'T REALLY TAKE A LOT OF RISKS 

Finishing undergrad and going to Law School wasn't really a risk - it was a safe option for someone who wasn't sure of what they wanted to do with their lives. 

First attempting to go into entertainment law because of connections in LA was another safe move. 

It was refreshing to hear Jared admit that sometimes, taking the safer route really is the best option. He didn't spin some fairy-tale story about taking tons of risks and gambles that catapulted him to the top. 

But Jared's story did include some big decisions and opportunities. The first real "risk" came when he jumped off the corporate ladder he was climbing (in the world of law) and went down a few rungs to start over at Google. At the time, it wasn't a guaranteed success story, and meant a pay cut. 

AT A LOT OF COMPANIES, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE CLIMBING A LADDER. THE PROMOTIONS AND PAY COME AT JUST THE RIGHT TIMES TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN'T GET OFF. 

But there's nothing preventing you from starting over somewhere new if it means the potential for new opportunities that will eventually get you further. 

People Are Important

BUT HE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANY MENTORS. 

The fact that Jared so readily admitted that he didn't have a mentor throughout his journey was a little jaw-dropping. Sure, it's nice to think that we'll have someone to give us eye-opening wisdom and hold our hand down our career paths - and maybe some of us will be lucky enough to find that. But we're also capable of figuring things out on our own. 

That being said, now, Jared says the most important thing when it comes to being a successful CEO is authenticity and creating a solid team. To do that it's important to

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE GREAT AT THE THINGS YOU AREN'T GREAT AT.

While building that team, Jared looks for people with an "X-Factor" because, 

"I'M REALLY ATTRACTED TO AWESOME PEOPLE." 

Passion

He then told a story that I absolutely loved, which involved a woman's "X-Factor" being her homemade guacamole which she competed with at fairs and festivals. 

When I hear "X-Factor" I usually think that I don't have anything to "WOW" people with. No insurmountable obstacles that I've conquered or stories of bravery and leadership. 

But as Jared spoke and gave examples, he made a great point. It's about showing that you have a passion. 

PEOPLE WITH A PASSION OUTSIDE OF THEIR JOB ARE ACTUALLY BETTER EMPLOYEES. THEY WORK HARDER BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND HAVE TIME TO PURSUE THOSE PASSIONS.

Jared himself is an IRONMAN and triathlete and while that might sound like a hobby to some people, it proves a lot about someone's personality when they pursue challenges and have passions. Even if those passions are guacamole. 

Real Talk 

I loved that Jared was so honest in his answers. When asked how to go about changing a bad company culture, his answer was

YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR COMPANY CULTURE. 

Instead, there are some factors to consider when deciding whether or not you want to stay despite a less than ideal work environment. 

AM i RESPECTED BY MY BOSSES AND COWORKERS? 

Jared's biggest pet peeve is bosses who treat their subordinates as if they have all the power and control. 

DO I HAVE THE RUNWAY AND ABILITY TO GROW HERE? 

AM I FAIRLY COMPENSATED FOR MY WORK? 

Realistically, it's hard to find a job that fits all three of those criteria. Satisfy two, and you're doing pretty well. Only achieve one, and it might be time to start thinking about whether or not it's what you really want. 

When It's Time to Move On 

This was my personal favorite part of Jared's talk - when he explained why he decided to leave his job at Google to work for AOL. 

By his mid-twenties he had reached a position at Google that he had assumed he'd spend his entire career seeking. 

Many would sit back, buy a set of golf clubs, and ride out their days until retirement. 

But I identified with the part of Jared that thought, 

i'm not stimulated. this is an amazing company and it would be amazing whether i am here or noT.

So he left for a place where his contribution would be felt - a place where he could test himself and where he needed to "create momentum from nothing." 

Look Where Nowhere Else is Looking 

Jared's two biggest tip for success was

find value in places that no one else is finding value 

To be successful, you cannot accept the status quo. You need to constantly be searching and seeking and looking for solutions and ways to solve problems that no one else is paying attention to. 

He credits his growth at Google to this concept of finding a slightly better way to change a light bulb. 

I left the Speaker Series at SWERVE feeling ready to conquer the world, my career, an IRONMAN - I wanted to do it all. These were just a few of the points that Jared touched on in his talk - I learned a ton more about his personal story and career as well. 

It's crazy what some inspiration, motivation and thought-provoking conversation can do for you. 

I highly recommend SWERVE's Speaker Series and look forward to seeing who they bring in next!

 

 

 

Workout Wednesday: Flywheel Class Review

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to take my first Flywheel class for free thanks to an event hosted by Rachel from RachLMansfield.com and Jordan from The Balanced Blonde. 

Everyone always tells me they think I would love Flywheel - SoulCycle's equally trendy and expensive but less cult-ish and more performance-based counterpart. 

THE STUDIO 

The class was held at Flywheel's Chelsea location (on 17th Street between 7th & 8th Avenue) but they have many throughout New York City (9 to be exact) and throughout the US. They've even gone International - hey, Flywheel Dubai!

Everything looked new and sparkly clean but walking in was totally overwhelming. It was PACKED and I was surprised to find that there were no locker rooms - just shower/changing rooms and a bathroom. The lines were long and class started late because there were still so many people waiting to change. 

There were lots of things around the waiting area that were convenient - like hair ties and mints, apples and bananas but I wish there had been locker rooms. 

The cycling studio itself was large and set up stadium-style so that no matter where you were sitting you had a great view of the instructor. 

THE CLASS 

Flywheel offers 45, 60 and 90 minute classes and the one I took was 45 minutes. For me, that's a good amount of time for a spin class because I typically am able to push myself realllly hard and am completely dead after those 45 minutes.

WHAT I LIKED: 

-The shoes all seemed brand new and the bikes were nice as well.

-Focus on Metrics: Each bike has a small computer that lets you know metrics throughout your ride including RPMs, torque (resistance) and an overall score. 

-TorqBoard: Another thing I loved about the class was that if you had a username registered with Flywheel, it appears on a leaderboard (the "TorqBoard) that comes up on the screens throughout class so you can see how your score stacks up. They also give you the option of opting out of the TorqBoard, which I think is great since some people might not feel comfortable with it. 

Having metrics is HUGE for me in a spin class. It's why I love SWERVE and Peloton so much. Not only does it ignite my competitive spark with the other people in the class, but it drives me to do better each class that I take and to compete against myself.  

-What I appreciate about Flywheel is that while they have you "tap it back" a number of times throughout class, that's pretty much the extent of the movement on the bike. There's no crunches and squats and other weird bullshit that you would never do on a bike (I'm looking at you, SoulCycle and Cyc!)  

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

There was one song that focused on arms during the class - using 2 or 4 pound bars instead of free weights. As usual, I half-assed this portion and focused on keeping  my legs going. 

THE INSTRUCTOR 

The instructor was great about letting you know how much resistance should be on your bike and how fast you should be aiming to spin during every song.

The music choices were solid as well and there was just the right amount of inspirational babble. I'm not being sarcastic - there really is a sweet-spot for that kind of stuff during a class. 

THANKS RACHEL & JORDAN! 

After class, we all got goody bags from Rachel and Jordan filled with chia seeds, Justin's peanut butter and other treats. There was also free Suja juices and samples of Barely Bread awaiting us in the lobby. I was so surprised by how delicious the odd-sounding red-cabbage, lemon water concoction was! (It was the Lavenade that I tried). The Barely Bread grain free loaf was ok, but the bagels were downright disappointing. 

THE RUNDOWN 

THE STUDIO - 6

The amenities were gorgeous but it was a real bummer not having a separate girls locker room where I could change. Instead, tons of people were waiting in line for the changing rooms. The line was so slow moving because people from the previous classes were showering. 

CLASS SIZE - Large 

There are probably around 50 bikes per class so you definitely won't be getting any personalized corrections or attention from instructors during a Flywheel class, but spin is one of those things were a large class doesn't really make or break the workout. You've got your own space so it doesn't feel overcrowded. 

SWEAT SCALE - 8 

I always leave spin a sweaty, sweaty mess. This was no different at Flywheel. 

FUN FACTOR - 7

The fun factor here didn't really come from anything that Flywheel did, but rather the fact that I just generally enjoy spin classes. Give me a dark room with loud music and some stats to push myself and I'm having a good time. 

AMENITIES - 9 

Free apples, bananas, water bottles, hair ties, mints and shoe rentals earn Flywheel a big thumbs up. 

COST - $34

It's expensive, but standard nowadays in NYC. 

For first time riders a Flywheel, they offer a $15 class voucher on their website. 

THE BOTTOM LINE 

Everyone who told me I would love Flywheel was right. And if I could afford it, I might become a regular. Flywheel is a no-nonsense on the bike spin class that uses metrics and a competitive atmosphere to push you to a great, sweaty, workout. Flywheel has secured itself a spot in my top three spin studios and I'll certainly be back. 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

How To Stay In Shape When Traveling For Work

So you’re on the road for a week, or two – maybe even for a month. Your work hours are long, your gym is back at home along with your workout classes and normal running routes, and you’re staying in a dark, comfy hotel room. Have you tried waking up at 5:45 a.m. to work out when you’re in a pitch black hotel room?  A place normally representative of relaxing vacations? It is no easy feat, my friends.

But if you're a fitness fanatic who frequently finds themselves on the road for work, it's NOT impossible to fit workouts into your trip. And in fact, it could be a huge factor for stress relief and keeping some semblance of sanity and routine when life becomes very work-centric. 

Here's what 3 years of traveling for work have taught me about staying (somewhat) in shape on the road! 

Get It Done Early 

Whether you're typically an early morning workout person or not - when you're on the road, it's always best to get it done in the a.m. You're there for work, and things are going to come up throughout the day that may turn what was supposed to be an early shift into something much longer than intended. 

A group of coworkers may ask you to go out to dinner, and you can't say no. Your boss may give you an assignment that can't wait. And you might just be too damn tired at the end of the day. The excuses will only pile up as the day goes on - so set that alarm and get 'er done. That way, all of your focus can be on the job at hand. 

No Excuses 

There are going to be many, many reasons you can give yourself as to why you shouldn't work out. Even more excuses than you normally manage to come up with. While you're traveling for work there's a whole new slew of "why-nots." 

"The gym here sucks" 
"I'm going to be too tired at work if I get up now" 
"No one else works out on the road" 
"I shouldn't go for a run when I don't really know the area" 
"I can't take a class" 
"I don't have my bike" 
"I only have 20 minutes" 
"I don't want to run into co-workers" 

You need to dig deep and find a way to silence those voices in your head that are non-stop-naysayers. If you set an alarm for a morning workout, you need to dig your heels in, show some resolve, and just do the damn thing. Instead of giving voice to all those excuses in your head, I suggest: 

Remind Yourself Of Why You WANT To Workout

Remind yourself of all the reasons your alarm is going off at a somewhat ungodly hour. Don't' even let your mind go toward the excuses - immediately re-route those thoughts to remember why you set the alarm in the first place. 

Because Exercising Is YOU Time 

You're traveling for work and you're constantly surrounded by coworkers. But for those 45 blissful minutes in the hotel gym at 5:45 a.m. - you're only worried about YOU. 

Because Exercising Relieves Stress 

Work work work and no play is no good for your stress levels! Working out is a huge way to handle the stress of your job. 

Because Exercising Will Start The Day Off Right 

Starting your day with a healthy dose of endorphins ensures you won't be the grump who shows up miserable to work in the morning. 

Because It's What You Do 

When you're home you exercise, so why should things be any different when you're traveling? Traveling for work already throws many aspects of life out of wake - but it's in your power to keep exercise as a consistent part of your daily routine. Do it. 

BECAUSE YOU HAVE FITNESS GOALS 

Whatever your fitness goals may be - remind yourself of them in the morning. Maybe you're trying to achieve the elusive pull-up. Maybe you're training for your first triathlon - don't let a work trip derail your hard work and determination to achieve your goals. I trained for a marathon through multiple work trips - and while it wasn't fun to run 13.1 miles in a new city before a 12+ hour day, I was determined to run my first marathon. And I did! 

You'll Feel Better 

This is usually the first thing I tell myself. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. and trudging to the gym half asleep never feels good. But I am 100% guaranteed to feel better on the way back up to my room - and that feeling tends to stay with me throughout the day! Reminding myself of that fact is usually enough to get me up and out. 

*I cannot stress enough that one thing you should never use to try to get yourself to the gym are body-shaming thoughts like, "You ate out last night," or, "You're going to gain so much weight on this trip if you don't go." Trust me on this one, self-motivating reminders of why working out makes you FEEL good are 100X more effective. 

Manage Expectations 

Just because you're successful in getting yourself to the hotel gym, doesn't mean you're going to have a stellar workout. I've found that I need to manage my expectations while I'm on the road and can't expect to feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger after a workout in a gym with little more than dumbbells and an elliptical. You need to be okay with a decrease in: 

Length of Workout 

Realistically, you're going to hit the snooze button a few extra times when you're on a work trip. At least I know that I do. While I normally work out for around an hour at my home gym, I'm more than happy if I can get in a solid 30-45 minute workout on the road. 

Intensity of Workout 

Same here - my head is normally not as "in the game" for workouts when I'm on the road as they are in a group fitness class or workout in a place I'm familiar with and comfortable in. Not to mention the equipment available in a hotel gym can put a serious damper on intensity. That, paired with long hours, means I'm not dripping with sweat at the end of all my work-workouts. I usually try to get in one HIIT workout per week on the road where I am really kickin' my booty. 

Complexity of Workout

This goes back to the equipment and space that you have to work with. You're probably not going to be able to do a ton of complex exercises if all you have to work with are free weights and a treadmill. I prefer to see it as a challenge - what's the most interesting workout I can create with not a lot of options? It usually means lots of body weight exercises! (Hi, burpees - ugh). 

This is also where the Internet can come in reallllly handy. There are tons of "no equipment, small space" workouts available online. There are apartment workouts and hotel room workouts aplenty on Pinterest! Use them!

Embrace the Space and Get Creative

That being said, some hotels have wonderful fitness facilities and you should take advantage of those when they're available! Don't just phone it in because you're in a hotel gym - use what is available to you. 

I've stayed in hotels with lap pools, tennis courts, bosu balls, spin bikes, classes, running groups, kettlebells. You just need to adapt to the tools you have available. 

Switch up the way your format your workouts - add in some tabata, choose 10 exercises and cycle through each for a minute before taking a :60 rest and repeating. There are so many different ways to assemble a challenging workout and none of them are entirely equipment dependent. 

One of my favorites is a deck of cards workout where you assign a different body weight exercise to each suit. As you go through the deck, you perform the exercise as many times as indicated by the card. There's even an app you can download so you don't need to bring 52 cards to the gym. But you could do that too, I guess! 

Keep It Fun 

The odds of you working out are already diminished. If you add to that plans for a workout that you don't love - you're setting yourself up for failure. If you love running and shoulder day, focus on those during your trip. If you really hate the stationary bike - keep that out of the mix. Crazy about planking? Give yourself something to look forward to and come up with a plank-filled workout! 

Do What You Can 

So you had to be in to work at 6:30 a.m. and there was no way you were waking up at 4:00 a.m. to workout. Don't write off the day entirely! Do your best to stay active in any way possible throughout the day. Walk as much as you can. Convince your coworkers to do some mid-day wall sits and planks! It might sound crazy, but I've done it! And I guarantee your coworkers are in the same boat and feeling pretty bad about their lack of exercise during the trip. They might be more willing than you'd think to lunge across the office or do some dips on their chairs. 

Find Someone To Hold You Accountable 

If you can find a co-worker who is just as committed to working out while traveling - that's a HUGE bonus. My friend and I try to plan our workouts together as much as we can - if we plan to meet at a certain time, you don't want to be the one that doesn't show up! 

If you're the lone crusader from your company hitting up the gym - have one of your fit-friends from home check in in the mornings. If they Snapchat you a picture of them lacing up their sneakers, it might be that extra oomph you need! 

Workout Like A Local 

Take advantage of your new location! One of my favorite things to do is visit a November Project workout if they have a tribe in the city I'm working from. I've gotten to attend workouts in Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Toronto thanks to work travel. These workouts are a huge breath of fresh air because they double as social time away from work and remind me of home. 

There's also nothing saying you need to workout in the hotel gym all the time! See if there are any nearby fitness studios where you could sign up for a class. Bonus? Many places have first time student discounts - and since you're from out of town - chances are you haven't been there before! 

I've also signed up and run a road-race while traveling for work which was a great way to experience the local running scene. 

I also highly suggest looking up the running groups and running stores in the area to see if you can find other fitness-minded people to workout with in the area. Who knows, you might even make a lifelong friend! 

Be Smart 

Always, always be smart. If you're exhausted, if you're feeling injured, if you've got an 18 hour shift ahead of you - reconsider your workout. Go for a walk instead, or take all the extra sleep you can get. Being on the road is stressful. Traveling isn't great for immune system. If you're body is telling you that it needs to take it easy for the remainder of the trip - listen to it! Your gym, your fitness classes, your running group will all be there waiting for you when you return! 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

Top Toronto Workouts & A 10K Recap

While I was in Toronto, I managed to get in a workout per day with 3 rest days - one per week. Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty impressed! 

It helped that I was in a major city with fitness at my fingertips. There were three workouts in particular that stood out during my trip. 

MEC TORONTO 10K

When Brynn and I knew we would be in Toronto with a day off on Sunday we started looking up a race to run. We found a race put on by MEC that offered a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon. The best part was it was 5 minutes from our hotel and only $15!

My pre-race meal was the delicious sandwich I had at the Beet Organic Cafe. We got to bed at a decent time and in the morning I made myself PB2, a multigrain sandwich round and a banana – it looked like a taco but it worked given the hotel-room circumstances.

We weren’t expecting much out of a $15 race, but Kind and Vita Coco were both there along with Tiger Balm and a few other vendors offering samples. Bib pick up was a breeze (and they called it chip pick up aw!)

This 10K (my favorite distance) was by far the best course I’ve ever run in my life. Not only was it perfectly flat, but it was absolutely gorgeous. We ran through a bird sanctuary with water on all sides. It was an out and back and at one point we crossed over a bridge that gave a breath-taking view of the Toronto city skyline. It was so hard not to stop and take a picture! But if you take a look at my Strava map and use your imagination, you can pretend to see the amazing water views. 

My goal going in was a sub 8:00 pace and negative splits and I’m happy to report that the race was a success on both of those fronts!

Towards the end I paced myself off of a girl slightly in front of me and it ended up being a lifesaver. When the finish line came into view at 6 miles, I booked it for the final .2 and it was THE BEST FINAL KICK OF MY LIFE! That’s a bold statement, but entirely accurate. I felt like I was flying.

As soon as I crossed the finish line I turned around to find her and we both had big smiles and hi-fives for each other which was awesome.

My splits were
8:00
7:48
7:40
7:35
7:28
7:28
and 6:20 for the last .2

Later, when I looked at my results - I was pleased to find that I was the 13th Female finisher! 

SPOKEHAUS SPIN CLASS

A few of my co-workers and I were determined to fit in a spin class during our time in Toronto. It had to happen early on, or there would have been no shot as we got more and more run down as the weeks progressed. 

We found a spin studio close to the hotel that happened to have a 2 for 1 deal - meaning that we only paid $14 for a class. Not too shabby (especially considering the exchange rate was in our favor!) 

The waiting room looked all white, shiny and new with automatic lockers. I didn't look in the locker rooms, but I'd imagine those were nice as well. The shoe rental was included in the price of the class, which is always a plus. Unfortunately, the bikes were pretty outdated - they didn't have any bells and whistles and there were definitely no statistics (my favorite part of a spin class, personally). 

I liked the name and I liked the logo - but unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy the class. It was VERY heavy on what I refer to as "bike dancing." Lots of "and crunch to the right, crunch to the left" along with push-ups and "tap backs" while speeding along with little to no resistance. If you like SoulCycle, you'd probably  like a class at Spokehaus, but I'm one of those obnoxious people who insist that doing those types of things on bikes is silly and downright bad for your body. 

I'm also the type of person who doesn't give a crap about being the odd one out in the middle of a group fitness class - for the most part I did my own thing, focusing on spinning with higher resistance in time to the music. I even sat out the arm track which is a blatantly obvious thing to do. Ooops for drawing attention to myself, but I'll never see any of these people again anyway! 

My biggest eye-roll came during the last song when electric candles were placed around the room. I might have audibly groaned. 

NOVEMBER PROJECT YYZ 

For those of you that are new around here, I'm part of a fitness cult, I mean, group, called November Project. You can learn all about it from all of the press it's gotten in places like the New York Times, Good Morning America and the Washington Post. But essentially, its a group that extends far beyond New York City, where I first joined, to include 28 cities across the world. We workout at 6:30 a.m., which is crazy to some people, but ideal for me! 

I was able to wake up early on my first Wednesday in Toronto and hop in a cab to the meeting locations for Toronto's November Project tribe - at the Baldwin Steps of Casa Loma Park. My cab driver was definitely a little concerned about me when I told him to pull over and drop me off - seemingly in the middle of nowhere in the early morning hours. 

But I was quickly joined by others ready to workout. The Toronto tribe leaders, Sam and Michelle, were out so babysitters Ben and Arden took the reins with a killer pyramid workout. 

1 Loop around Casa Loma Park (this includes a fairly steep hill!) 
2 Sets of Baldwin Steps
55 Lunge Jumps (PER SIDE)  - these are my least favorite exercise ever, for sure. I would have rather done 55 burpees. But it was good that I was forced to do them during this workout! 
45 In & Out Crunches
35 Push-Ups
25 Squat-Star Jumps
15 Burpees
1 Loop around Casa Loma Park (this includes a fairly steep hill!) 
2 Sets of Baldwin Steps
15 Burpees
25 Squat-Star Jumps
35 Push-Ups
45 In & Out Crunches
55 Lunge Jumps Per Side

Then, I proceeded to run the3.5 miles back to the hotel! The run didn't feel effortless, but by the end my  legs were feeling much better and I was able to negative split, with my last mile clocking in at a swift 7:19 pace and the last half mile at a 7:07! 

Getting to go to a November Project workout put me in a GREAT mood that lasted throughout the day. I can't explain how waking up at 5:45 a.m. on my own accord and physically exerting myself game me MORE energy throughout the day - but it definitely did! 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 

I'm A Triathlete! TOBAY Triathlon Race Recap

Helloooo! Here is where I delude myself into thinking that the readers of PB Is My BF have been waiting with bated breathe for my TOBAY Triathlon race recap. 

I love writing race recaps for something to look back on. Sometimes they are reminders of a well-organized, fun race that I'd like to do again. And sometimes they're reminders that "I WILL NEVER RUN THE BROOKLYN HALF MARATHON EVER AGAIN..." (lies). 

PRE-RACE PREPARATION

Saturday A.M.

Saturday morning Callie and I walked our bikes and backpacks across Central Park and hopped on the subway down to Penn Station. We met our friend Abby and the joys of traveling on the Long Island Railroad began. Let's just say that LIRR cars are not bike-friendly and we had to create some interesting bike sculptures in order to keep our bikes out of the aisles. 

2 hours later we were at my house and shortly thereafter, headed to pick up bagels for some relaxation at the beach. 

Saturday Afternoon

Abby and Callie get major points for loving my North Shore beach despite it's rocks and for happily floating around for a little bit in the Sound to test out the temperatures. We were pleasantly surprised that it was so warm! 

I was happy as a clam eating my egg bagel with egg salad, lettuce and tomato while soaking up the sun and chatting. We stayed a few hours, changed back at my house, and accompanied my parents to the yacht club for a drink on the deck.

Surprisingly, I was feeling pretty zen every time the tri came up - I think part of me couldn't believe it was actually going to happen. Throughout the day we would vocalize our fears - mine being drowning, Callie's being getting a flat but overall we were confident that it would be a fun day no matter what happened. 

Saturday P.M. 

After a beer at the yacht club (it was a struggle to keep it to 1 - Monkey's Fist IPA by Shipyard is fab) my parents dropped the three of us off at Mavi - a Mediterranean and Turkish restaurant near my house. 

We went to town on pita with hummus, babaganoush, white bean salad, and olives before entrees of chicken shishkabob with bulgar, rice, grilled veggies and tzatziki sauce. I still don't have a "go-to" pre-race meal but after reading my nutritionist Julie's advice, I thought Mediterranean was a good choice. I'm used to eating it, it's fairly simple, and my meal had protein and carbohydrates along with some veggies. Bonus points: delicious and such a cute little restaurant! 

We got home and were all shocked at how exhausted we were considering it was only 7:30 at night. We got our things organized for the morning and I did a little Addaday and lacrosse ball rolling while we watched Mean Girls. That movie will truly never get old. 

Obviously I couldn't go to bed without the dessert my mom had picked up for me - Tate's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies! If you've never had a Tate's cookie (Long Island made!) you need to get on that. They have tons of Gluten Free options too. 

I took a Melatonin before bed because I expected to have trouble sleeping due to nerves, excitement, and sleeping on the couch but I'm constantly surprising myself with my ability to sleep - I didn't have any trouble at all. 

WHAT I PACKED 

I've got my pre road race packing down to a science but with a triathlon, damn is there a lot to think about!

GENERAL 

Tri-Shorts - I found mine on clearance at Marshall's well over a year ago, when doing a triathlon was just a tiny little thought in the back of my mind. Impulse buy for the win! I saw tons of people wearing Orca shorts and they worked perfectly for me. I trained in them too, because no new things on race day!

They're fast drying, have leg grips that keep your shorts from riding up your quads during the bike, and a quick drying pad between the legs that helps make up for the fact that you're not wearing fully padded bike shorts. 

The tie in the front kind of bothered me, but for $15, they were great. Another brand I saw out on the course a lot was Zoot. 

Flip-Flops- Before the race, I walked around in flip-flops and left them at my transition area when we walked down to the water for the start of the swim. 

Road I.D. - I finally got a road I.D. and I've been wearing it on all of my bike rides and runs - especially with so many awful stories in the news about runner's being attacked.

Nutrition- Since working with Julie from The Athlete's Palate, I've been trying to be better about fueling during workouts and now, races. I've been using Clif Bloks and have always had success with Clif Shot gels so I packed one of each. 

Water Bottle- I'm very bad at hydrating, but I kept a water bottle at transition to remind myself to drink! 

Sports Bra- Duh. 

Shirt- My original plan was to take off my wetsuit after the swim and finish the tri wearing my tri-shorts and a sports bra. But then I realized I needed to pin on a bib for the bike and run! I pre-pinned my bib to one of my favorite shirts - my blue Sugoi one - it's so light and soft!

Necklace- Yes, I wore my necklace for the entire race! I'm so used to working out in it that I didn't notice it once. 

SWIM 

Wetsuit- I don't know if I would have made it through the swim without wearing a wetsuit. It provided so much buoyancy and gave me a little extra confidence. It didn't fit me perfectly, it's my mom's, but I'm glad I had it as my security blanket. 

Swim Cap- We were the white swim cap wave and we had to wear the swim cap provided by the race. I was nervous it wouldn't fit my head, but it was actually perfect. 

Ear Plugs- I had a slight scare while setting up my transition area when I realized that my ear plugs were in my dad's truck. Luckily, he was able to go and grab them. I've never swam without them, and constantly get swimmer's ear, so that would have been a disaster. 

Goggles- Self-explanatory. I like the pair I use. Callie found them and I'm not sure of the brand, but they stay fog-free for the most part and are pretty comfortable. 

BIKE 

Bike- Important 

Helmet - Also important. Safety first! 

Flat Repair Kit- I keep this in a little pouch under my seat, though if I had gotten a flat during the race I'm not sure I would have been able to repair it on my own. 

Cycling Shoes- I love mine because they're teal and they're actually tri shoes! Again, I bought these a long long time ago before I even owned a bike, and they ended up working really well. They slide on super easily, which is what makes them great for tris. That being said, they're very open and my feet freeze in the winter. 

Cycling Socks

RUN

Feetures Socks - I love the pull tab on these. No blisters!

Garmin Forerunner- I didn't want to down my Garmin on the swim, so I put it on when I got out of the water and wore it for the bike and run. 

Sneakers- For the run portion I wore my Asics GT-2000. I haven't been loving any of my sneaker options lately, but that might be because everything hurts regardless of what shoe I choose to wear. I like these Asics because they're very cushioned. 

SUNDAY A.M. 

Our alarms went off in perfect synchronization on Sunday morning at 4:45 a.m. I shockingly wasn't all that exhausted due to the 9:30 bed time. 

The first thing I saw was a text from my sister, who had also set her alarm for 4:45 a.m. so she could wish me good luck. AW! 

We quickly dressed while my dad loaded the bikes onto the rack on his truck. My mom thought it was so weird that Abby, Callie and myself all wanted the same thing for our pre-race meal: 

2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Toast
1 Banana
Peanut Butter
Cinnamon

Callie and I also had coffee. 

The car ride was uneventful as we ate and made comments like, "I can't believe this is about to happen," and, "Just going for a lovely swim in the Sound." We enjoyed pump up music like Shots! and Yeah! Nothing says "IM ABOUT TO RACE MY FIRST TRIATHLON" like Lil Jon at 5:30 a.m. 

SET-UP

My dad pulled over near the entrance and we took our bikes off the rack. After a short meltdown where I couldn't work the tire pump and was convinced I had a flat, we walked over to packet pick up (super easy) and started to set up our transition areas. 

I racked my bike without incident and laid out my towel while attempting to organize things on it in some type of order. I didn't have a chart or layout, but I imagine that one day I might very well be that anal triathlete who has checklists and balloons for my transition area. 

For now, I just tried laying everything out in the order I thought I would need them. That's when I realized my ear plugs were missing and frantically told my mom through the fence that my dad had to look for them in the truck. I also handed her my bag - something I would miss when it came time to pack up all my things at the end of the race....rookie. 

Next stop was "Body Markings" which might have been my favorite part. While the lady wrote my number and age on my arms and legs she told me it was so I could see someone in my age group and try to pass them. Gotta love that competitive spirit! I felt like a badass with my new tattoos. 

But this badass realllllly needed to pee. So we hopped on the porta potty line which was long, but not too awful. 

Dad saved the day with the earplugs and after lots of hugs and "OMGS" we headed back to our bikes where I slipped on my wetsuit, grabbed my goggles, swim cap and earplugs and headed toward the water. 

As we got closer, my eyes tracked the course and my stomach twisted. That looked far. We joked as we walked, "Look - it's like a minute walk from where to go into the water and wehre we get out - it must be really short!" But I could stop looking at all those buoys marking our route. 

It helped when my parents popped up next to us near the water. They got this really great picture of us looking like athletic aliens. I gave them lots more hugs and my mom told me she would see me when I got out. 

This was the part where I needed to start consciously breathing slowly and deeply to keep the nerves at bay and I was shocked that I was able to do it. I had an almost totally calm feeling as we stood knee deep in the water (somewhere, got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair...) which was a beautiful temperature. 

THE SWIM

Next thing I knew we were going! As I looked around, i saw that almost everyone still had their heads up and were slowly making their way towards the first buoy while the group naturally spread itself out a little bit. 

My wetsuit, which I had promptly peed in, was helping me float fabulously and I didn't feel too much urgency to start freestyling - my doggy paddle technique was going just great. At one point, Callie and I looked up and were right next to each other doggy paddling along - we smiled and cracked up which are two things I did NOT think would happen during the swim portion of my first tri. Tears and stress? Yes. Smiles and laughing? Not so much. 

Soon Callie started swimming for real but I was like, "Nah, this whole swimming with my head out/backstroke/doggy-paddle is extremely inefficient but it's also much more relaxing and enjoyable." 

I swallowed a lot of water. A lot of times I just stopped and treaded water in place. The sun was very bright and I couldn't really see where I was going. It was very slow going. I veered off course more times than I can count. I ran into some people. Some people ran into me. A lot of times it seemed like I wasn't getting any closer to the end. But there was never a time when I thought, "I'M GOING TO DROWN OUT HERE!" In fact, I even remember thinking, "This is actually kind of cool that it's a gorgeous day and I'm going for a swim in the Sound." I probably stroked a total of 20 real swim strokes, but I traveled the half mile and emerged from the water with a smile on my face and that my friends was the first victory of the day. 

SWIM TIME: 26:13 or 3 minutes/100 yards

TRANSITION ONE

My wetsuit was the one that was victorious, however, as I struggled to unzip it on my run from the water to my bike. People kept trying to help by shouting to me which shoulder it was over but heck if that helped. I was so frazzled from having just spent a half hour in the water with the sun in my eyes and earplugs in my ears. I was a little discombobulated. But I did hear my parents yell for me which made me happy, even if I couldn't focus on actually making eye contact with them! 

I made it out of my wetsuit and since it doesn't fit me perfectly, it was really easy to peel it off. I put on my Garmin, drank some water (definitely not enough water), popped a Clif Blok in my mouth, wiped my feet off on the towel and put on my cycling socks and shoes, threw on my shirt, strapped my helmet, lifted my bike off the rack and wobbled my way to the bike start. I was actually surprised at how fast I ran in my cycling shoes - maybe not smart, but thankfully I didn't eat it. 

I got on my bike without much trouble and was on my way to the bike portion. 

TRANSITION ONE TIME: 3:04

THE BIKE 

I didn't know much about the course going into it other than there was one fairly large hill. 

The course wasn't too crowded in the beginning which was nice, but soon I found myself surrounded by more people. For much of the bike, part or all of the street was open to traffic which I didn't love, but it didn't cause too many problems. The one part that sucked was when we were on a main road that was still open and we could only ride in the shoulder. I wanted to pass people on the up-hill but was forced to slow down at some points. 

When I got to that one large hill - there was no question that it was "the one." It was a hill alright. My legs were screamin' and seeing people walking their bikes up it realllllly tempted me to do the same. But I shifted down to the lowest gear, grit my teeth, and made it up the hill even when I felt like the end would never come. 

After that, the rest of the course was fairly flat and the end was downhill. None of the turns were too scary and though my legs were tired, I tried to give them pep talks that they still had to run 3 miles. 

On one of the downhills I shakily grabbed my water bottle and took a sip and somehow managed to get it back in its cage without flipping over the handlebars. 

The bike was probably the most enjoyable part of the race for me, but that's also because I was purposely taking it easy and trying to relax and enjoy. 

Soon I was nearing the bike finish and gingerly dismounting while trying not to flop onto the ground. My legs were like jelly! 

BIKE TIME: 32:24 or 17.6 mph 

TRANSITION TWO

The run from bike back to transition was a lot slower. I switching socks and decided to go for it, putting on my Feetures followed by my Asics. 

I should have already had my Garmin going, but alas, I did not. 

I grabbed my Clif Shot gel and got to see my parents again as I went out for the run! 

TRANSITION TWO TIME: 1:46 

THE RUN 

In my head, this was going to be the victory lap. The best part of the tri. Totally fun. Easy, breezy. I had practiced going from biking to running twice and both times was pleasantly surprised. 

But the TOBAY Triathlon course had some serious hills in store that I was not mentally prepared for. 

The entire first 1.5 miles of the run course was straight up up up. What made it even worse was that it was an out and back, and the entire time people who had already made it to the turn around were whizzing past me on the downhill. It sucked. Plain and simple. 

My shins were absolutely screaming bloody murder. 

At the second water station, I did something I RARELY do - I walked while drinking my cup of water. Even though I only had 1.5 miles to go, I ripped open my Clif Shot gel - I needed something, anything, to get me up the rest of this mountain. 

When I finally made it to the turn around and started running downhill, things got marginally better. My legs were still in pain, but at least I knew I was in the home stretch. 

Without around a mile left to go, someone near me on the course started joking with a friend about how crazy we are to do this stuff for fun and it made me smile and get out of my head for a second to realize "Hey, I'm doing this, I'm going to finish my first triathlon!" 

When the finish line was in sight I was able to kick it into high gear and finish strong, bursting across the finish line and instantly chugggggging a water. I was definitely super dehydrated. Woops! 

First I saw Callie and gave her a big sweaty hug and high five - WE DID IT! Then my parents came from the other side and got sweaty, wet, salty hugs too. It was so so so amazing to have them there since they have heard me bitching and moaning about swimming for over a year now. 

They took some very flattering post race pictures and next thing we knew we were cheering Abby across the finish line too and WE WERE ALL DONE! 

The run was actually so much faster than it felt at the time (unless the course was short!) 

RUN TIME: 23:50 or 7:41 pace 

POST-RACE

We packed up our things (I forgot my wetsuit and had to go back for it later, fail) and went over to the post-race festivities for ice cream and beer. It was a really nice finish area and we sat out in the sun recapping the race and taking more pictures because heading to Huntington for brunch with our familias! Avocado bacon burger with a Bloody Mary was the perfect recovery meal! 

I was asleep within 10 minutes of the train ride back to the city and a lazy blob the rest of the day! 

THOUGHTS:

 The race was very well organized and the perfect size! It wasn't overwhelming at any point and everything went pretty seamlessly. 

The swim, though many people said it was long, was very calm and warm. 

Now that I know I don't need to be Michael Phelps to travel half a mile in the water, I'm much more comfortable with the idea of tris. The fact that I managed to do the whole swim without ACTUALLY swimming is comforting and also something that I now see as a challenge to improve on instead of an insurmountable hurdle. 

Callie did the best braids!!! 

Having my parents there for this was HUGE. They are my biggest supporters and the fact that they woke up at 4:45 a.m. and dealt with my stressed, overwhelmed, scared, anxious, crankiness all day means the world to me. 

Every race should have beer afterwards. 

I love the shirt that we got! 

Most people have asked if I'm "hooked" on tris now. I definitely plan on doing more, and I still hope that I can make an Olympic Distance happen someday. But I wouldn't say I'm addicted. It's a lot more stressful and a lot more work than simply running a race - the logistics of traveling with my bike alone make me think this isn't something I'll be doing every weekend while I'm still living in NYC. 

That being said, I had SO MUCH FUN doing this with Abby and Callie. That made all the difference in the world!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Pre-Race Nutrition Tips from a Pro

Hi folks! I survived my first triathlon, but I'm going to keep you in suspense for the recap as I process yesterday's experience. 

In the meantime, I'm going to share some fun nutrition information that Julie Sparkes from The Athlete's Palate shared with me prior to race day. She's been helping me for a few months and I'm happy to report that my stomach cooperated throughout training and tri-day thanks to her advice and guidance. 

So here ya go!

1) What are some tips for fueling the week leading up to a race? 

• Drink lots of water but not too much. Make sure that you are well hydrated but not to the point that you're going to the bathroom frequently. 

• A week or two before the race when tapering most athletes are really hungry. I recommend that you eat foods with more fiber. A good option is chilli because is so healthy and filling, you can make a big pot and it's easy to reheat during the week. 
   
• Add fruit to your carbs to help slow down the breakdown and will slowly release in your  digestive system. This will make you feel full longer and will help reduce those snacking habits. 
   
• Maintain eating foods that your body is used to and easy to digest. This will prevent any digestive issues. 

2) How long of a workout until you should consider refueling during it? 

• The body is burning energy as soon as you start your workout. Carbohydrate and sodium stores should be replenished every 20 minutes into the workout and continue to be replenished every 20mins. As workouts increase in time or intensity this becomes more critical. 

3) What are your thoughts on carb-loading and how far out from a race would you start? 

• Carb loading in moderation is important because it gives you a chance to top up your glycogen stores. Glycogen is mainly stored in the liver and muscles. When you fuel, your body breaks down the carbs from your food during digestion and converts the carbs into glucose. Your body will use the glucose right away and will store the remainder in your muscles. The greater the glycogen storage you have, the longer you will be able to maintain your exercise intensity. 
   
• With being said, for endurance sports I recommend to eat a good serving of healthy carbs during your training 3-4 days before your race.  
   
• Here are some examples of carbs that are high in nutrients and carbohydrates: 

Starchy Vegetables

• Potatoes
• Yams
• Squash
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Taro
• Pumpkin
• Plantain
• Beets

Whole Grains

• Brown Rice
• Quinoa
• Farro
• Oats
• Bulgur
• Whole Rye
• Whole Barley
• Buckwheat
• Freekeh

4) Pre-race meal (the night before and morning of) tips

• Eat food that your body is used to and easy to digest. Don't try anything new the day before the race or the morning of. Eat meals that are high in complex carbs, healthy fats and lean protein. 

5) Is a post-race beer detrimental to recovery? 

• As a holistic nutritionist I can't say that alcohol in anyway is beneficial but with that being said I like to have a celebratory beverage just like the next person. Life is all about balance and sometimes it is good to reward yourself! On a positive note beer does have the perfect carb to protein ratio with 4:1 which helps with recovery. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Ready or Not - Here (tr)i Come

Somehow, the Tobay Triathlon is upon us. In two sleeps I will be waking up in my childhood bed at an ungodly hour to journey to my first multi-sport race.

Joining me on the course will be two amazing ladies and the world's best support squad. Yet despite the comforts of home, the fun of racing with two friends, and the support of family members:

I am straight up petrified, people.

This is the first time in awhile that I'm attempting something I've never done before and it's scary. I've tried thinking back to how I felt before my first marathon and I don't think I was this stressed out. With my marathon, I bought into the whole "trust your training" mantra hook line and sinker.

But with this tri, my training hasn't had me run into the Long Island Sound with hundreds of other people kicking, swimming, and splashing around and on top of me.

Physically, I know I can handle a sprint distance triathlon. Mentally, it's a whole 'nother story.

It's no secret that I've struggled with swimming. Multiple times I've cried about it (dramatic, I know). I'm not comfortable in a 4 foot deep pool with no one around me. How the hell am I going to make it a half mile in the murky, crowded Sound?

It comes down to determination and reminding myself of how far I've come and how badly I've wanted to become a triathlete. It's focusing on the fact that I have overcome a lot of mental challenges already - getting to the starting line wasn't a cake walk. Here's a reminder to myself of how I got here:

• Over a year ago I got myself into a pool. I've consistently swam, even taking lessons in a disgusting Chinatown pool, for over a year despite dreading it each and every time.
• I worked for months at a running store after my 9-5 day job - saving everything I made there until I could buy myself a road bike.
• Embarrassment didn't stop me from clipping in for the first time in the middle of Central Park completely alone - where I promptly tipped over into a giant patch of mud.
• Despite my initial fears, tears, falls and flats - I've learned to love my bike. It's taken me fun places, brought my roommate and I closer, and even introduced me to new friends.

• Biking and swimming provided an outlet while I suffered through months off from running.
• Being able to swim in a giant pool in the middle of Central Park is just one of those NYC things that makes me question how I could ever leave. Also, I question how I never noticed Lasker Pool until this summer.

As I was typing this and listening to showtunes (naturally) - I Have Confidence from The Sound Of Music came on. New theme song for Sunday:

I've always longed for adventure

To do the things I've never dared

Now here I'm facing adventure

Then why am I so scared

So many people have promised me that during my first tri, many things can and WILL go wrong - but that I will still absolutely love it. We'll find out if that's the case on Sunday!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

A Week of Workouts In The Woods

While I spent a week in the woods with 20 family members, the calendar crept closer and closer to August 28 – the date of my – gulp – first triathlon.

Here’s how my training went down for those 7 days.

Saturday – Intervals

This was my first time running “fast” in about 3 months. It was hard – but it felt so nice to feel that burn in my lungs again and I was on such a runner’s high when I finished.

I warmed up for a mile and then ran hard for a quarter mile before jogging a quarter mile. I did 8 fast quarter mile (200 meter) repeats before a cool down mile for a total of 6 miles (the most I’ve run since the Brooklyn Half in May!)

I am slower now than I have been in at least 2 years, but I honestly just loved the sweaty, spent feeling at the end of a hard workout.

Warm Up Mile: 9:01
Mile 2: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:58
Mile 4: 7:59
Mile 5: 7:54
Cool Down Mile: 8:41

I was happy that I was able to drop the pace from my first mile to my last!

Sunday – Nike App Workout + Bike

I woke up Sunday morning not really wanting to work out, if we’re being honest. It was gross out, it was the first day of vacation, and my dumbbells were locked in my sleeping father’s truck.

I walked up to one of the smaller cabins that no one was staying in and played a workout video from my Nike app – a few burpees, side planks, and pushups were part of the 28 minute routine which wasn’t really much of a challenge.

Then, later in the day, my uncle decided to try to tackle his 40 mile bike ride. He participates in a two-day century ride every summer and is in the middle of his training.

I was really nervous to join him on this ride because it meant going on a winding, hilly road with no bike lane. But I decided to give it a shot.

We got about 7 miles before it started to rain – no service + wet, winding roads didn’t seem like the best plan so we stopped under in awning in town to wait out the rain. Luckily, my dad happened to drive by at that exact minute and we flagged him down. Our bikes juuuust fit in the back of his truck.

I had been really excited to complete a 40 mile ride (my longest ride is 38 miles) but it wasn’t in the cards for this vacation – though my uncle did manage to do it the following day!

Monday – HIIT

This was the day that my aunt wanted me to come up with a workout for us – which I happily agreed to and created this.

10 Jumps up the stair
10 Dips
25 Squats
25 Mountain Climbers
10 Shoulder Taps Each Side
10 Pushups
50 Toe Taps

We went through this circuit 5 times before heading to the top of the driveway for 7 hill sprints.

Tuesday – First Brick Workout!

I knew that this was the week I needed to try a bike to run transition. I’ve heard that it’s by far the most difficult part of a triathlon. Getting off a bike and getting your legs to switch to running is apparently not the most enjoyable or comfortable thing in the world. I can now 100% confirm this rumor as fact!

I went out with my uncle and we biked 5 miles before turning around and heading back for a total of 10 miles. I took the return trip a little quicker, trying to replicate the effort I’ll be putting in come race day.

After 10 miles at around 15 mph I got back to the top of the driveway where my sneakers were waiting for me. I swapped my Pearl Izumi cycling shoes and helmet for my Saucony Rides, handed my bike off to my uncle (THANK YOU!) and headed out for 3.1 pretty painful miles.

At first, my legs felt like complete jelly. I was thinking to myself, “Well, this isn’t as bad as people say. My legs don’t necessarily HURT, I just can’t really feel them and it’s kind of hard to run when you feel like you’ve got nothing holding you up…”

After about a mile, the pain set in. But by then I knew from my Garmin that I was moving at a sub 8:00 pace which I did NOT want to give up. I was absolutely shocked – it was the first time I had run sub 8:00 miles since the Brooklyn Half!

I pushed through the 3 miles and finished with a 7:44 pace.

I was exhausted just thinking about the fact that when I do that in 2 weeks, it will be AFTER swimming a half mile. And people do Olympic distance tris…? 

Wednesday – Circuit

Wednesday I created another circuit for my aunt and I that was a little easier on my legs – no hill sprints! And my momma joined!

We did

1 Minute Jump Rope
1 Minute Crunches
1 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
1 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells

:45 Minute Jump Rope
:45 Minute Crunches
:45 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
:45 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells

:30 Minute Jump Rope
:30 Minute Crunches
:30 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
:30 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells

Afterwards, we did some lunges, high knees, butt kicks, bunny hops etc. before finishing up with 7 Minute Planks

1:00 Plank
1:00 Left Side Plank
1:00 Right Side Plank
:45 Plank
:45 Left Side Plank
:45 Right Side Plank
:30 Plank
:30 Left Side Plank
:30 Right Side Plank
:15 Plank

The 7 Minute Plank routine is becoming a staple for me – I do it at least once, usually twice a week. And it’s gotten noticeably easier over the past few weeks!

Thursday – Bike + Doughnut Run!

This was a fake brick workout since there was around 30 minutes between my bike and run.

First I headed out for a 15 mile bike ride and later, my sister and aunt ran about 3.5 miles to a local doughnut shop to pick up fresh donuts for the fam.

My uncle picked us up and oh lord were we sweaty.

It was my first time going for a run with my sister EVER and it made me so happy!

Friday – Arms + Swim

I started off the morning with a few arm exercises using the dumbbells – mainly shoulder stuff.

Then it was time to suck it up and get in the water – something I had been putting off all week. My dad and I used Strava and the power boat to roughly figure out where a quarter mile was and then my mom kayaked besides me as I swam a ¼ mile out and a ¼ mile back for a total of around ½ a mile – what I’ll need to swim in my sprint triathlon.

Unfortunately – it wasn’t pretty. I panicked, got frustrated, got in my head, cried a little, yelled at my mom when she offered advice, and declared that I would rather waste the $135 than do this triathlon.

I was wearing a wetsuit – which made me float SO much. I wasn’t scared of drowning or anything like that, but actually SWIMMING just wasn’t happening. There was a lot of backstroking. That’s pretty much all I did the entire ½ mile. As soon as I tried the freestyle stroke, I made it about 5 strokes before I stopped. Having no “end” of a pool in sight was a huge mental hurdle.

I was being dramatic when I said I didn’t want to do the tri – but this swim did absolutely nothing to ease my fears about the swim. In fact, it only magnified them.

Saturday – Bootcamp

Saturday I looked at an old picture from my favorite boot camp class that I go to on Long Island if I’m home on the weekends and completed it (minus the running portions usually included after each set of exercises).

It was a killer workout as usual (Marianne Fitzgerald is THE BEST) and a perfect way to prepare for hours sitting in the car heading home from vacation.

30 Squat press
20 Superman Push-Ups
10 Burpees

30 Mountain Clumbers
20 Release Push-Ups
10 Burpee Star Jumps

30 Wall Jumps
30 Jack Pushups
20 Burpees
(I completed this set as 15 Wall Jumps, 15 Jack Pushups, 10 Burpees, 15 Wall Jumps, 15 Jack Pushups, 10 Burpees)

30 Curls with Squats
20 Lunge Jumps
10 Burpee Squat Jumps
(I completed this set as 15 Curls with Squats, 10 Lunge Jumps with 10 lb dumbbells, 5 Burpees Squat Jumps, 15 Curls with Squats, 10 Lunge Jumps with 10 lb dumbbells, 5 Burpee Squat Jumps)

30 Walking Leg Lift Lunges
20 Knee to Elbow Jumps
10 Mountain Climbers

30 Power Jacks
20 Plank Jacks
10 Drunk Chicken 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

No Equipment HIIT Workout To Pack on Summer Vacation

This past week I spent 7 days nestled away at Camp Fieldstone in The Adirondacks. Despite packing my 10 lb dumbbells and knowing the effectiveness of body-weight exercises - I was a little unmotivated without a gym for the week. I woke up early every morning and entertained the eternal internal battle - get up and workout vs. click snooze. 

That is - until my aunt asked me to come up with a killer workout to start one morning off on the right foot. My wanna-be-personal-trainer was up for the challenge. I created the following NO EQUIPMENT, MINIMAL SPACE workout. 

I then proceeded to make my sister take pictures of each exercise for me ;) Thanks, Sam! 

10 Jump Up Stairs

10 Dips

25 Squats

25 Mountain Climbers

10 Shoulders Taps Each Side

10 Push-Ups

50 Toe Taps

Repeat 5X

Next, we went up to the mountainous driveway and ran 7 hill repeats! 

BOOM. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

 

Week of Workouts: Swim, Bike, Run Fun

We are a month out from my targeted FIRST TRIATHLON and I’ve been “ramping up my training.” It’s only a sprint distance triathlon – so I don’t have to do anything too crazy, but I will definitely be powering through some tiredness to cross the finish line.

Let’s look at the workouts of the past week, shall we?

Sunday

Circuit Workout

Sunday morning I woke up in Schenectady New York after a day at the Saratoga Race Track and needed to sweat out some beer.

Allison, Emma and I headed to the park and did my perfect no gym, no equipment outdoor workout. I love it – it’s easy to do anywhere, it’s hard, it’s total boy.

And then, I busted out TWO PULLUPS on the playground which made me so excited. Being able to do a pull-up was one of my New Year’s Resolutions and even though I haven’t been focusing on it, I guess my strength training has been paying off. Such a nice surprise.

Monday

Bike Ride

I was up bright and early to start the week with a 35 mile bike ride. I felt strong – though I have yet to replicate the 18.7 mph pace that I somehow managed on my first 30-miler. My pace was 16.5 mph – but my elevation gain was only 676 feet. I’ve been a bit of a wimp and know I need to challenge myself with more hills on my rides. This week away in the Adirondacks should be quite the wake-up call!

My nutritionist, Julie from The Athlete’s Palate, has stressed that I really need to start fueling before and during my longer workouts. I’ve started taking shot blocks during my weekly long rides and so far they’ve been fine on my stomach. That being said, it’s only been one, and a serving size is 3. We’ll get there eventually…

PT Exercises

I’m trying hard to stay on top of my physical therapy exercises since my hip is still an issue (and because doing strength exercises is just smart in general) – but it’s hard to fit swimming, biking, running AND strength in during the week.

On Monday I took my lunch break to do 25 minutes of strength exercises (one legged deadlifts, glute bridges, lunges – all that fun stuff) and “7 Minute Abs,” a new favorite.

-1 Minute Plank
-1 Minute Left Side-Plank
-1 Minute Right Side-Plank
-:45 Plank
-:45 Left Side-Plank
-:45 Right Side-Plank
-:30 Plank
-:30 Left Side-Plank
-:30 Right Side-Plank
-:15 Plank

Tuesday

Swim

Tuesday morning my roommate and I were supposed to do a BRICK workout to practice the bike to run transition. It’s what I’m most nervous about other than the swim, yet I haven’t managed to try it even ONCE yet. Eek.

During Monday’s bike, something in my glute felt seriously not great – there was a weird clicking happening and I didn’t want to get back on the bike Tuesday morning.

Instead, I ran a mile to the pool, swam 1,400 yards, and ran the mile home.

Everyone keeps telling me that swimming will get easier but – we are not there yet.

Arms

On Tuesday’s lunch break I did 30 minutes of arms at the gym. My triceps were wrecked the next day – success!

Wednesday

Run - November Project Bridge Day 

This was the second week in a row that I went to November Project! It’s been great to be back – I’ve limited myself to one or two runs per week and the goal is to keep my running days on Wednesday so I can keep getting to NP.

This week was bridge day – I don’t remember the last time I ran hills so it was a HARD workout, but those are the workouts that make you feel the best when they’re finished.

Thursday

Swim 

Even though swimming hasn’t gotten any easier or more enjoyable, I was proud of myself for sticking to my twice-a-week resolution and going by myself on Thursday morning. I ran there and back again and did another 1,400 yards.

My new pair of goggles made this swim slightly less unpleasant.

Abs

During lunch on Thursday I headed to New York Sports Club for an ab deck. My physical therapist told me she doesn’t want me doing a ton of crunches – she wants me focusing on ab exercises like jackknifes and planks that force you to make a different movement with your abs than crunches (which work outwards – or, something…)

I create a Deck of Cards Workout with some ab exercises I thought my PT would approve of –

Plank Saws
TRX Jackknifes
Sit Ups
Plank Hip Twists

I’m not usually very sore after ab work but I woke up Friday morning and could DEFINITELY feel this deck.

Friday

Off

Saturday

Speedwork 

I woke up on Saturday morning and headed out for my first speed work in well over 2 months. I’ve lost a lot of speed and endurance so this was ROUGH both mentally and physically, but when I was done I felt on top of the world. That runner’s high man, it’s no joke!

1 Mile Warm-Up
8x200 (200 Fast, 200 Jog, 200 Fast, etc. for 4 miles)
1 Mile Cool-Down

I’ll be spending a week with family at a Lakehouse – so we’ll see how much exercise happens. But there’s a lake to swim in, my bike came along for the trip, and a set of 10 pound dumbbells snuck their way into the car as well.. 

YOUR TURN: 
ANY IDEAS FOR EASY, QUICK, EFFECTIVE WORKOUTS I CAN BANG OUT IN THE MORNINGS ON MY VACATION? 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

The Perfect Workout For Summer Weekends

Every summer it shocks me when I look at my calendar and realize that I've managed to book every single weekend with some sort of plans. 

In the winter and spring, as I'm saying yes to alllll the weekend trips and parties - I'm super excited. The thought of long weekends at the beach and week-long family vacations without a care in the world are completely intoxicating. 

But without fail, once the summer is in full-swing, there comes that moment where I wish I could click PAUSE. The prospect of 10+ straight weekends out of my apartment, out of my comfort zone, out of my routine gets a little bit overwhelming and I feel like I need a break from all the summer vacationing. 

Am I the only crazy one who feels like this? Who just wants a weekend to wake up in their own bed, go for a run, eat some brunch, and spend the rest of the day watching Netflix on the couch? Not feeling guilty that the sun is shining and everyone else has awesome plans? 

Sigh. 

I know that come fall I will be pining for the fun-filled days of summer so I am certainly trying my best to soak them up while they're here. But one major struggle with all the weekends away from my apartment, Central Park, and my gym are fitting in a Saturday or Sunday sweat-sesh. 

Here's a workout I created while home on Long Island that is perfect for a backyard, beach or park. That means "I don't have a gym in the Hamptons" and "I don't have a gym in Cape Cod" and "I don't have a gym at the lake" are no longer excuses. Find some wide open space, enjoy nature, and get your sweat on with zero equipment necessary! 

HOW-TO

Starting on one side of your yard, park, beach, etc., do the following cardio exercises until you reach the other side. Then, perform the strength exercise before heading back to where you started from using the same cardio exercise and finishing with the same strength move.

So for the first round, you're doing walking lunges followed by 25 mountain climbers and then returning to the other side with more walking lunges and 25 more mountain climbers. Repeat for each exercise. 

For the second round, do each cardio/strength exercise just once. You'll travel the length of your backyard/park/etc. doing walking lunges followed by 25 mountain climbers and on the way back you'll move on to the next exercise - burpee broad jumps followed by 25 shoulder taps. 

Click on the exercises below if you're unfamiliar for a link to an example! 

ROUND ONE 

Walking Lunges --> 25 Mountain Climbers
Walking Lunges --> 25 Mountain Climbers
Burpee + Broad Jumps --> 25 Shoulder Taps
Burpee + Broad Jumps --> 25 Should Taps
High Knees --> T Push Ups (10 to left side)
High Knees --> T Push Ups (10 to right side) 
Butt Kicks --> 25 Plank Saws 
Butt Kicks --> 25 Plank Saws
Lateral Shuffle (to the left) --> 25 Squats
Lateral Shuffle (to the right) --> 25 Squats
Inchworm --> 50 Jumping Jacks
Inchworm --> 50 Jumping Jacks
Sprint --> 20 Leg Lifts
Sprint --> :30 Plank 

ROUND TWO 

Walking Lunges --> 25 Mountain Climbers
Burpee + Broad Jumps --> 25 Shoulder Taps
High Knees --> T Push Ups (5 to left, 5 to right)
Butt Kicks --> 25 Plank Saws 
Lateral Shuffle (to the left) --> 25 Squats
Lateral Shuffle (to the right) --> 25 Squats
Inchworm --> 50 Jumping Jacks
Sprint --> 20 Leg Lifts
Sprint --> :30 Plank 

YOUR TURN: 
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR GYM? 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: