With the crisp fall weather came Sam Adams Octoberfest in bars! B, his siblings, bro-in-law and I got dinner at Mexicue in Chelsea. The food was an awesome mix of BBQ and Mexican food. We followed that up with a drink at Mustang Sally’s. I was psyched to discover Octoberfest but couldn’t help but thinking that with the colder weather comes the heavier (and higher calorie) beers. I love them and the calorie count is not a deterrent but definitely something to keep in mind during my workouts. 

I had a few appointments after work today and was able to get in a nice workout. I did an easy ride on the bike and followed that with some intense strength training. I read this article today about the scientifically proven most effective tricep workouts. I’ve done most of these before but decided to pair them with a bunch of bicep workouts superset style. Already as I type this my arms are a little sore.

This morning, my spinning instructor didn’t show up, so I was forced to improvise. While most people left the classroom, I decided to stay on the bike for a half hour, mixing up some sprints and hills. I wasn’t sweating as much as I usually do in a spinning class, but it was still a good workout. Afterwards, I tackled a thigh workout I found on the Fit2Flex blog. I was familiar with most of the exercises, but pairing them together really helped me feel the burn. Looking forward to sore legs tomorrow!

For this week’s lunch, I made a nice Greek salad that consisted of the following things - 
tomatoes
green pepper
red onion
mushroom
cucumber 
black beans 

I drizzled olive oil and some seasoned feta over this and paired it with pita bread and hummus. A nice, refreshing and filling lunch!

Monday night I scooted to the gym after a client meeting and did another evening of mixed cardio. I’m really liking this on my non-running days. I did 30 minutes on the bike, 10 on the stairmaster and 5 on the rowing machine. Even just that small amount on the rowing machine tires out my arms, it boggles my mind that B and some of my other friends would do that for hours in college! And in a real boat!

After my sweaty cardio sesh, I decided to use a Bosu ball to add core work and balance to my strength training. By doing some of my usual exercises on a Bosu ball, I was able to work my whole body in less time.

My Bosu ball workout looked like this -
(all of the following are with the Bosu ball facing up with the exception of the pushups) and tricep dips
pushups 2x10
tricep dips 2x10
single leg lunges 2x15
squats 2x15
butt lifts 2x15
crunches 2x15
bicycle crunches 2x15
plank 2x30 seconds 

I really liked this. I had hoped to take a yoga class that night but the schedule didn’t work. By incorporating the Bosu ball, I did a bit of the balance work and strength training that would have been covered in class. 

Saturday began incredibly lazy but then pumped up a bit as I spent a good amount of time at the gym. On my way, I was finally able to examine some of the new sculptures in City Hall Park in daylight. The sculptures are all simple but very cool graphic shapes. According to the NYC Parks & Rec website, they were created by Sol LeWitt, who called them structures rather than sculptures. This is the first time the pieces are on display outside and I feel very fortunate that I can enjoy them on my commute to the gym! When I have more time to explore I’ll snap photos of the other sculptures.

Once at the gym I decided to mix it up, doing 30 minutes on the bike, 15 on the stairmaster, 10 on the arc trainer and 5 on the rowing machine. In the end my entire body felt like it got a great workout! I rounded out my cardio with some upper body strength training and abs. 

Thursday I was fortunate to get out of work at a decent time. I had wanted to fit in a yoga class but when none worked with my schedule I decided to try out C’s Physique 57 workout. I didn’t have all the equipment, but made do. I found a lot of the leg work on the bar to be very challenging and different. I was only able to do half the workout, but hopefully the other half has more upper body exercises, I didn’t feel mine were challenged enough at all. One thing I really liked about the video was that they had two girls to focus on, one did the more beginner versions of the exercises while the other did more advanced. It was great being able to see both and adjusting based on my fitness in that particular area.

Despite finding the workouts new and different, the personality of the woman on the video turned me off. It was hard to put my finger on, but overall the way she spoke to the audience weirded me out. I will probably try this again to get the full effect because so many people have raved about their classes. Hopefully next time I’ll have a more glowing review. 

I returned to NYC early this evening and was able I get in an awesome workout. Though I was moving a lot this weekend, indulging in treats and booze left me feeling a bit sluggish and yearning for a good workout. I got in a half hour of some intense upper body strength training before going into spinning early. I did 15 easy minutes on he bike before class started. The instructor Danielle was new to me and though I enjoyed her hill workout, the music wasn’t for me. She did have a very cool approach to he entire class which I really enjoyed. Whenever we were required to stand on a hill or sprint, she told us a bike had gotten ahead of us and we had to overcome it. Though I know I should be competing with myself, my competitive side got excited at the prospect of “catching” this bike. It really helped me to push through.

I tried the above mood this weekend and today because let’s be honest, nobody is a fan of the bra bulge. I’m not a curvy girl but am still self conscious in some tops because of the way they cut in. This bizarre stretch was Shape Magazine and though it’s pretty awkward to do, I’m hoping it will work with my strength training to make me feel more comfortable! Definitely starting at home though while I perfect the move.

Because of no work yesterday and a lovely morning lounging in bed I was unable to get a bike for spinning this morning. I grabbed my book club book, One Day, and biked on my own for 50 minutes. It felt like a nice relaxing way to start the day while still getting in some cardio. 

With the day off for President’s Day, I did my run in the evening. I did four miles and felt pretty good despite my right hamstring feeling really tight. After my run I tried a kettlebell workout from SELF magazine. I haven’t worked with kettlebells before and found it interesting to feel the difference between using those or weights. The amount of reps they suggested didn’t seem like much, making me think I should have been using a heavier kettlebell, but we’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow. 

Yesterday’s beautiful spring weather didn’t last. Today on the way to the gym my fingers FROZE. I still couldn’t feel them when I handed over my key fob and the guy behind the counter commented on my Valentine’s Day manicure. I’m a huge nerd, but it made me smile. 

Today’s spinning class was AMAZING for several reasons. 1. it was grammy music themed 2. we did hill sprints followed by song length sprints and then hills, such a hard workout that everyone let out big sighs of relief after each interval, it was awesome 3. because I knew most of the music, I wasn’t distracted (like I’ve been a lot lately) and could really focus on pushing myself.

After spinning I did abs and a strength routine I had cut out of SELF magazine. I left it at home so can’t scan for you now, but I’ll be sure to do that within the next week. If you’re ever looking for new strength workouts, SELF has sooo many videos online. It’s a great free resource and can help you from getting stuck in a routine that doesn’t produce results. 

Ce-lo - The Song Known as Forget You
Eminem and Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie
Train - Hey, Soul Sister
Lady Gaga and Beyonce - Telephone
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Glee - Don’t Stop Believing 
A bunch more I forget at the moment, will update if I remember.