Two-a-Day Tuesday

It’s pretty much confirmed that I am the biggest loser in the entire world.  I really must lead a sad life if having friends take my classes makes me THIS happy.

Thank you Katrina, Bridget, and Geoff for buying the YMCA BuyWithMe deal and coming to class tonight!  TWO classes for Bridget and Trina, and a two hour workout for Geoff.  Yay, yay, yay.  🙂  I can’t wait for them to all try my spin class tomorrow.

Liz’s Kix class rocked, per usual.  I was sad to miss out on Kix at CBC last night, even though I couldn’t believe how much free TIME I had in the evening without a class to go to.  I was done with my errands and back at my apartment by 8pm and literally asked my roommates, Is this what it’s like to have a night that starts before 8:30?!  Anyways, Andy posted a video from last night’s class on Facebook, so if I watched the video and did all the moves in my head, it’s like I still went right?  Check out the video on the Corpbasics Facebook page here to see what all this CBC stuff is all about!

Anyways, back to tonight – Liz honored one of my song requests, so that also made me happy.

Below is what I did in Muscle Power tonight.  I planned out my whole class ahead of time (I don’t always do that) but I left the routine in the printer at work.  So I had to improvise some of it.  Also, I did NOT listen to Pink’s “Funhouse” all the way through because it definitely had the word “F*cker” in it.  I wasn’t even prepared to yell over that part like I usually do if I know a swear word is coming.

WARMUP

COMBINATION ONE

Cardio, legs, shoulders, chest

• Runups on the step, with right foot lead.  30 seconds.
• Jumping Jacks.  8 in each direction – front, side, back, side, front.
• Lunges / Overhead Presses.  Keep one foot directly behind the body on the step while arms press overhead.  16 slow reps, then 8 pulses while holding arms overhead.
• Runups on the step, with a left foot lead.  30 seconds.
• Jumping Jacks.  8 in each direction again.
• Lunges / Chest Presses.  Keep other foot directly behind the body on the step.  This times, arms press in toward chest.  16 slow reps, then 8 pulses with arms squeezing in.
• Spiderman Pushups.  10 total, right and left being 1.   (I’m LOVING these lately if you couldn’t tell!  Plus Liz requested them.)

COMBINATION TWO

Cardio, legs, shoulders, biceps

• Up, up, down, downs.  Facing sideways, straddle the step and bring right foot up, left foot up, right foot down, left foot down.
• Squats / Lateral Raises.  Right foot on step, left foot on floor.  Squat and lift leg to side (works outer thigh) so that the right foot is supporting the body weight and the left leg is lifted to the side.  The arms come to a lateral raise.   Do 12 reps, then hold the lateral raise and keep the leg lifts going.   Then hold the squat on the floor – do two pulses and 1 regular for 8, then hold for 8.
• Bicep Curls.  16 slow reps.  Then hold left arm halfway and do 8 singles on the right.  Then hold right arm halfway and do 8 singles on the left.  Finish pulsing both halfway.
• Repeat the up up down down combo and the squat combo on the other side.

COMBINATION THREE

Chest, Core, Legs, Triceps

• Incline Pushups.  With hands on step and feet on floor, do 10 pushups and then hold the plank for 10 seconds.
• Side to side jumps.  Without coming out of plank, walk the feet in until legs are straight and butt is in the air.  Jump the feet side to side, keeping hands on step.
• Plie Squats / Overhead Tricep Dips.  D0 16 slow, then hold the plie squat while doing tricep extension pulses.
• Decline Pushups.  With hands on floor and feet on step, do 10 more pushups.  This time 5 with the right foot lifted and 5 with the left foot lifted.  Hold plank for 10 seconds at end.
• Repeat Plie Squat combo on other side.

COMBINATION FOUR

Biceps, Triceps, Core/Obliques, Shoulders/Back

• Sitting on the step:  Concentration Curls, 1 bicep at a time.  First 16 fast, then 8 slow (up hold down hold), then 8 pulses.
• Sitting on the step:  Tricep Dips.  8 with right foot over left, 8 with left over right, 8 second hold with both feet on ground.
• Sitting on the step:  Bicycle Twists.  16 total with feet off the ground.
• Lying face down on the step. – Arm raises first with arms in a Y.  Then with arms in a T.  Then arms straight behind the body, palms up.
• Lying face down on the step.  Lift arms up.  Lift legs up.  Lift both arms & legs up – swim.

COMBINATION FIVE

Glutes, Cardio

• Incline the step.  Glute work on all fours.  Extend right leg straight behind body.  Lift straight up and down, toe pointed down, for 10.  Then 10 crossing the leg over the opposite calf (inside).  Then 10 with the leg more to the outside.  Finish with pulses up to the ceiling and a lot of squeeze & holds.  Repeat on other side.
• Jump Rope.  15 seconds regular, 15 seconds side to side, 15 seconds front and back, 15 seconds regular.

COMBINATION SIX

All Abs

• Mountain Climbers.  Regular slow, then regular fast.  Finish by holding the plank 10 seconds and turning right into a side plank hold for 10 seconds.
• Elbow to Knee.  On all fours, extend right arm front and left arm back.  Bring right elbow to left knee.  16 times.
• Oblique Mountain Climbers.  Slow then fast.  Finish with the same 10 second plank hold and then into the left side plank for 10 seconds.
• Repeat the elbow to knee move on other side.
• V Up.  Start lying flat on back like a starfish.  Come to sitting bringing arms to legs in a V.  Do 10.
• Oblique Up.  With right forearm flat on ground, bring left arm to right leg as the body lifts up.
• 6 inches.  Hold feet 6 inches off the ground with hands under butt to support lower back.  Hold 15 seconds.
• Heel Taps.  Feet flat on the floor, tap each heel for 15 seconds.
• Repeat – V Up, Oblique Up on other side, 6 inches, and heel taps.
• Last move.  Hug knees into the chest, then extend legs long.  Do 12.

COOLDOWN / STRETCH

How my roommates and Geoff felt after class:

SUCCESS!

For a post-workout dinner, I actually ate the salad I made for lunch since I ended up getting a free lunch at work today because of the meeting I was in.  I had lettuce, grilled chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and bleu cheese crumbles with light raspberry pomegranate dressing.  Yum!

I’m already sore.  Time for bed.

Exciting Purchases

Just wanted to share some items that I’ve recently purchased because all of these items really excite me.

Warning:  Fitness nerd alert!!

1.  New Exercise Book

This book is not as good as the Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises.  However, I needed something new.  So I’m trying 101 Workouts for Women.  I’ve found a few new things so far, some stuff I’m using tonight in Muscle Power.

2.  Yoga Socks!

Yes, I finally gave in and bought these.   Usually if I can’t decide on whether to buy something, I leave it at the store.  If I’m still thinking about the item a few days later, or still REALLY want them the next time I see them, then I get them.  Sometimes the urge to purchase passes – but not this time!  I snagged these in the Yoga Lifestyle section at Barnes & Noble, but I’ve also seem them available at Target, Whole Foods, and a couple other places.

Look how cute my feet look in them 🙂

3.  Old Navy Sports Bras & Running Shorts

These were only $10 per item!  And I had an Old Navy Groupon to use before the end of July, so I really didn’t spend much at all!  The “So Long Nasty Workout Gear” post from Carrots N Cake a few weeks ago really inspired me to get some new stuff since I can’t even remember the last time I bought a new sports bra.  Literally years ago!?!  Ew, Athena.  Ew.

4.   New Snack

Whole Foods’ roasted & unsalted Organic Soynuts.  Doesn’t sound that good, but I keep reading about these in some other healthy living blogs so I decided to give them a whirl.  I’ve been munching on them tonight and they actually taste pretty good.  They give you that crunchy feel that you would get from eating a potato chip, so you get that “I’m snacking” satisfaction, but these are actually good for you!  Another health benefits of soy nuts article here.

Sidenote:  While I was catching up with my aunt on the phone today, she requested suggestions for new healthy snacks.  My suggestion for today aside from the soynuts is plain oatmeal with sliced up peaches in it.  (Thanks Katrina!)  The peaches add a little sweetness and flavor to the plain oatmeal without having to load it up with sugar or cinnamon.  Yummy!