Day in the Life

Good morning, friends.

I had a glorious Monday because I was home at 8pm and not 11pm.  You have NO idea how thrilling those couple extra hours of extra time were to have last night!

Day in the Life

My day looked like this:

  • 6:45am — Alarm goes off.  **Groan**
  • 7:25 — Out the door.
  • 8:00 — At my desk.
  • 8:00-4:15— The whole 8 hour thing.
  • 4:15-5:00 — Commute to the Y.
  • 5:00-5:30 — Chit chat with my boss, Jess (another trainer back from Italy), Ashley (instructor friend back from Antigua), get changed, scarf a snack.
  • 5:30-6:30 — Own workout.
  • 6:30-7:30 — Personal training client (hi Jen!)
  • 7:30-8:00 — Impromptu meeting with another fitness instructor
  • 8:00-8:30 — Drive home, chat with Slesh, throw together quick dinner
  • 8:30-9:00 — Wrote this blog post while eating
  • 9:00-9:15 — Wrote tonight’s blog post
  • 9:15-9:30 — Shower
  • 9:30-10:30 — Get ready for bed, send off some Y emails, finalize playlists for tomorrow’s classes, chat with Tim (who is away AGAIN — on business this week), 5 minutes of breathing with no electronics before bed.
  • 10:30 — Bedtime!  Early for me!!

Thank goodness I don’t have a “day in the life” blog.  HOW boring would that be?!

Cardio Workout

Anyways, last night’s personal workout was an elliptical sesh.

The bootcamp program I’m following called for “5/5 Cardio Intervals.”  It was definitely a sweaty 50 minute workout!  Here’s what it looked like:

This concept can be adapted to any cardio machine, where you start by warming up lightly, then alternate between five minutes at a normal pace and five minutes at an increased intensity pace, until you you’ve done that four times and it’s time to cooldown.  If you try this one on your own, please make sure to adapt your resistance to your own level of fitness.  You don’t want to just be starting out with a cardio program and be on a 9 resistance!

By the end:

Calories burned = happy Athena.  Not that these machine calculations are ALL that accurate anyways, but still.  Yay!

If you are in the mood for a long cardio workout where you can zone out but still work really hard, this is a keeper.

If you choose a cardio machine workout, what is usually your machine of choice?  And how long do you stay on it for?

Mine is the elliptical or the spin bike, for sure!  I definitely need something low impact to offset all the H.I.I.T work I do in all my Circuit classes and all the jumping I do in Kickboxing and Cutz!

Enjoy the day.  🙂

Double Workout Post! How to Pass 35 Minutes on the Elliptical & Spicing It Up with Stations

Good morning folks,

First Order of Business

My giveaway winner!  This was a really exciting giveaway as it generated a lot of exposure for both Fitness & Feta and for DanceFIT – we each got a lot of new followers and Facebook likes in our respective communities!  Thank you to each and every one of you that participated.

Using the random number generator, the winner is…

…commenter #15, Lindsey!

(I didn’t include #1 since that comment was Gina’s herself).

The winning comment was actually her DanceFIT Facebook like, but Lindsey’s original comment was “I loved this post, I did ballet my whole life and love learning about new exercise classes that involve dance.  I heard BalletFIT was awesome and would love to try it!”

Congratulations Lindsey, please email me at Akaralekas@gmail.com for details on how to redeem your free class!  🙂

Next Order of Business

My Tuesday night workout.  Since I’ve been opting out of Kix (grrrr) because of my shoulder, my Two-A-Day Tuesdays have recently been dedicated to elliptical work followed by my Circuit Training class.

If you have any questions before trying any of my workouts, let me know!
(And of course make sure to clear any new exercise routines with a physician first).

For my elliptical workout, I did the following.  It really helped to pass the 35 minutes I had dedicated to a machine tonight!  As you know, I am not a big fan of getting on a machine for extended periods of time, so switching things up really helped me keep going as opposed to keeping a steady pace, incline and resistance for the whole 35!

  • Minutes 1-5:  5 minute warmup – incline 4, resistance 6
  • Minutes 5-8:  Fast front jog – incline 6, resistance 6
  • Minutes 8-10:  Fast back jog – incline 6, resistance 6
  • Minutes 10-13:  Repeat fast front jog – incline 6, resistance 7
  • Minutes 13-15:  Repeat fast back jog – incline 6, resistance 7
  • Minute 15-16:  Forward hill – incline 8, resistance 8
  • Minute 16-17:  Continue up the hill – incline 9, resistance 8
  • Minute 17-17:30:  30 seconds down the other side – incline back to 6, resistance 8
  • Minute 17:30-18:30:  Repeat forward hill – incline 8, resistance 8
  • Minute 18:30-19:30:  Repeat the continuance up the hill – incline 9, resistance 8
  • Minute 19:30-20:  30 seconds down the other side – incline back to 6, resistance 8
  • Minute 20-21:  Backward hill – incline 8, resistance 8
  • Minute 21-22:  Continue up the hill – incline 9, resistance 8
  • Minute 22-22:30:  30 seconds down the other side – incline back to 6, resistance 8
  • Minute 22:30-23:30:  Repeat backward hill – incline 8, resistance 8
  • Minute 23:30-24:30:  Repeat the continuance up the hill – incline 9, resistance 8
  • Minute 24:30-25:  30 seconds down the other side – incline back to 6, resistance 8
  • Minute 25-26:  Forward jog recovery – incline 6, resistance 8
  • Minutes 26-30:  Tabata intervals.  20 second sprints, followed by 10 second jogs.  Repeat 8 times – incline 6, resistance 8
  • Minutes 30-35:  Cooldown – lowering the incline and resistance down to 1 by the end

Note:  These incline and resistance settings can be adapted to your own individual needs!

For Circuit Training class, I set up 5 different stations and the divided the class into 5 separate groups of 3.  We worked out for one full minute at each station, followed by 45 seconds of cardio intervals in between each one.  The first circuit targeted upper body, the second targeted lower body, and the last set was geared toward all abs.  It was very bootcamp-ish!

Setup:  Steps for station 1, Body Bars for station 2, Bands for station 3, Steps at station 4, and more Body Bars at station 5.

Warmup

Upper Body Stations

  1. Pushups with hands on step
  2. Rows with bar
  3. Bicep curls with band
  4. Tricep dips on step
  5. Overhead presses with bar

In between each of these, we did the following cardio:

  •     Jumping Jacks
  •     Jump Rope
  •     High Knees
  •     Football Runs
  •     Side to side ski

Lower Body Stations

  1. Alternating front lunges on step
  2. Calf Raises with bar over shoulders
  3. Outer thigh presses lying flat with bands –> Warning:  Make sure your bands are thick enough that they don’t snap!!!
  4. Squat pulses up and over step
  5. Bridge raises with bar

In between each of these, we repeated the cardio intervals:

  •     Jumping Jacks
  •     Jump Rope
  •     High Knees –> This time knees up to the side.  Definitely my “awkward fitness move” of the night!  There’s always one, right!?
  •     Football Runs
  •     Side to side ski –> This time we added the option of extending one leg even further behind the other and pitching slightly forward.

Abdominal Stations

  1. Sit on step genie twists
  2. Bar over shoulder drops
  3. Hold plank
  4. Heels on step – regular crunches
  5. Bar over shoulder twists

And of course, in between we finished with the same cardio intervals

  •     Jumping Jacks
  •     Jump Rope
  •     High Knees –> I originally planned high knees here but got bored with them so improvised with some alternating back and front kicks.
  •     Football Runs –> This time 4 counts of football runs to one side then a big jump to the other side, alternating sides.
  •     Side to side ski

We finished class with glute presses, supermans to work the back, and a long stretch!

[Picture Source]

Lots of hard work tonight, everyone did a fantastic job.

Last Order of Business

Today’s Be Thankful Challenge:  I am thankful for my physical therapist, Erin, and her certification in Graston technique.  Works WONDERS!

Question of the Day:  Tell me what you’d like to see more of in Fitness & Feta!  I’m open to suggestions for different types of posts.  I love all my readers and followers and really want to target what YOU are interested in seeing more of!

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

Today’s Meals, Moves, and More

Well I’m about ready to faceplant.

But first:

Today’s Meals

  • Breakfast:  Non-fat plain Greek yogurt from Trader Joe’s with pumpkin granola, sliced apple, and blueberries
  • Morning Snack:  Sliced banana with almond butter
  • Lunch:  Leftover eggplant & chickpea salad with a whole wheat pita
  • Afternoon Snack #1:  Apple
  • Afternoon Snack #2:  TLC 7 grain crackers
  • Dinner:  Round 2 of leftover eggplant & chickpea salad.  I’m boring today and had the same meal twice!

Today’s Moves

Unfortunately, I either have to opt completely out of or really modify Kix classes for a few weeks.  Doctor’s orders.  I gotta give my shoulder a break from so much jabbing.  I drove to the gym with the intention of getting on an elliptical for another machine workout (I did one yesterday morning too), but I got grumpy just thinking about it and just went to Kix at the last minute instead.  I was late so I didn’t have my usual spot up front and having to modify just made me grumpy all over again.  Lose lose.  It was a great class, I just hate not being able to do all of it the way I want to do it.

…I start physical therapy next Friday.

Here’s the workout from my Circuit Training class that I taught after Kix.  I didn’t go into the details of how to do each of these in this post, so if there are any questions about any of the moves, please let me know!  Of course if you are just starting a new fitness routine you should consult with your doctor first.

Warmup

Circuit One

  • Cardio:  Tabata Run Ups on Step (same as class last Thursday)
  • Lower Body:  Straddling the step, squats + alternating front kicks
  • Upper Body:  Sitting on step, concentration curls
  • Abs:  Sitting on step, genie twists

Circuit Two

  • Cardio:  Tabata High Knees
  • Lower Body:  Single Leg Squats
  • Upper Body:  Tricep Dips on Step
  • Abs:  V Ups with Twist

Circuit Three

  • Cardio:  Tabata Mountain Climbers
  • Lower Body:  Plie Squat + Lunge Combo
  • Upper Body:  Pushup + Row Combo
  • Abs:  Plank Twists

Circuit Four

  • Cardio:  None because of time + gas smell + the first three really hard sets
  • Lower Body:  Calf Walks around Step
  • Upper Body:  Seated Rear Lateral Raises
  • Abs:  Scissor Kicks + 6 inch hold

Circuit Four

  • Cardio:  None because of time + gas smell + the first three really hard sets
  • Lower Body:  Single Leg Hip Raise
  • Abs:  Hug It Ins
  • Abs:  Pull In + Extensions
  • Abs:  Regular Planks

Bonus – Another new playlist!  It’s a good one.

  1. Ashley Simpson – “You Make Me Wanna La La”
  2. Adam Lambert – “For Your Entertainment”
  3. LMFAO – “Sexy and I Know It”
  4. Allstar Weekend – “Dance Forever”
  5. David Guetta & Akon – “Crank It Up”
  6. Neon Trees – “Girls & Boys In School”
  7. Brooke Hogan – “Ruff Me Up” feat Flo Rida
  8. Kelis – “22nd Century”
  9. Hey Monday – “Homecoming”
  10. Dennis Ferrer – “Hey Hey (Radio Edit)”
  11. Luke Bryan – “Country Girl Shake It For Me”
  12. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
  13. MGMT – “Kids”
  14. Arcade Fire – “Keep The Car Running”
  15. Jack’s Mannequin – “Bruised”
  16. Imogen Heap – “Hide & Seek”

Have you guys noticed the “On My iPod” page I added to the F&F layout?  For workout song suggestions!  I suggest you check it out if you are bored with your current music selections.  🙂

Today’s More

1.  A funny comic:

2.  A nice quote:

“Exercise and application produce order in our affairs, health of body, cheerfulness of mind, and these make us precious to our friends.”  -Thomas Jefferson

3.  And the exciting things that came in the mail!

Question of the Day:  What were your own meals, moves, or more today?  Ever just eat the same meal twice in the same day?

Goodnight!