Nicole

A Monstah Equinox Workout at Fenway Park

May 21, 2013 by Nicole 1 Comment

On Saturday morning, I had the chance to do a bootcamp-style workout at Fenway Park put on by Equinox. Not only is it just always a cool experience being in Fenway, but the workout was challenging and they had delicious smoothies and fresh fruit skewers for us afterwards (I’ll take seven, please). It was the perfect healthy way to start off the day, even though I kinda undermined that by eating a burrito immediately afterwards (oops).

The workout was made up of several 4-minute-long stations. There was a mix of bleacher sprints, calisthenic drills, sandbells, tabata, ropes and even yoga. I’d never used or heard of sandbells before, but I think they may need to be my next fitness equipment purchase. I like the versatility of them—you can slam them around or grip them and use them like any other weight. And it was my first time using ropes … holy hell. I will never laugh at the contestants on Biggest Loser again for crying when Bob and Jillian make them grab the ropes.

I love trying to new workouts and switching up my fitness routine, so this was super fun and something different to do. Big thanks to the trainers at Equinox Dartmouth St. for putting on a great workout!

Did you guys get in any fun workouts this weekend?

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30-Minute Body-Weight Tabata Workout

May 13, 2013 by Nicole 9 Comments

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend (blogging is so weird—it’s like writing an email to no one in particular). I just got back from a couple days on Nantucket, which was a wonderful change of pace from the Boston weekend scene.

Body-weight workouts are the best because you can pretty much do them anywhere. Your living room, hotel rooms, the beach, your backyard, a gym…they go where you go. I usually put together these no-equipment-needed workouts when I’m visiting my parents on the Vineyard or in Maine. It’d be a huge pain to lug kettle bells and other equipment with me, so I just use the weight I already carry around with me every day.

This workout is a slight variation of a traditional tabata, in that I did 10 rounds for each exercise instead of the typical 8. Deal. With. It. And before I get into the specifics, let me just put it out there that I’m fully aware my pike jump skills are unimpressive at best. Laugh away at the picture.

30-Minute Body Weight Tabata Workout

For each of the following exercises, you’ll set an interval timer for 10 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Once you’ve completed the 5 minutes of one exercise, take a quick drink of water and move on to the next.

Pike Jump into Squat Jump: Place hands on ground so you’re in a peaked pike position and jump your legs into the air. Don’t worry if you can’t get very far off the ground at first (I’m right there with you, dude!). When your feet land back on the ground, push up back into a squat position, and then jump in the air, arms overhead. Repeat.
Side Plank Lift with Knee Tuck (alternate sides each interval): Start in a side plank position on your right hand and lower your hips towards the ground and then lift back up into side plank position. Crunch your left knee in to meet your left elbow. Repeat. During the next 20-second work interval, you’ll do the same thing on your left hand. Continue to alternate sides throughout the 5 minutes.
Knee Tuck, Roll, Back Row: Start laying on your back and do a full body crunch, lifting your torso and crunching in your knees so that you can hug them. Extend back out, lowering onto back. Roll to your right so that you’re on your stomach and do a back row, lifting your legs and chest off the ground while pulling your elbows back in a row. Extend back out and roll to the right again so that you’re on your back. Repeat sequence, only rolling to the left this time.
Side Lunge Knee-Up Jumps (alternate legs each interval): Squat down on your right leg, extending your left leg out to the left in a side lunge. Bring leg back in, jumping up on your right foot and bringing that left knee up to your chest. Land back on right leg and repeat. During the next 20-second interval, you’ll do the same thing on your left leg.
Up-Down Planks: Essentially, you’re starting in an elbow plank position and, one arm at a time, going up into a regular plank position, then back down into an elbow plank…and so on. Just remember to alternate the arm you’re leading with.
Skiers / High Knees (alternate between the two exercises each interval): For skiers, you do a two-foot lateral jump, side to side, like you’re skiing down a mountain (think moguls section). For high knees, it’s like running in place only pick those knees up to hit your hands. You’ll do skiers the first 20 seconds, high knees the second 20-second interval, and so on and so forth.

What are some of your favorite body weight exercises?

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8-Minute Abs 2.0

May 9, 2013 by Nicole 11 Comments

We’ve all heard of 8-minute abs, but have you guys ever watched the original workout video? It’s…well, it’s special. And by that I mean it was filmed in the late 80s/early 90s, the spandex is on a whole new level of not OK, and the instructor’s commentary is pricelessly cheesy. Lots of “hang in there, gang!”

That being said, it’s not a bad ab workout, and I’ve done it countless times. The problem is, if you don’t switch up your workout routine, any fixed sequence is going to eventually stop being challenging. 8-minute abs quickly became an easy joke of a workout for me, and it was time to give it a serious makeover. Not just regarding the wardrobe (c’mon man, the bright blue spandex shorts with tube socks combo should be illegal), but with the exercises as well. I kept the structure of the workout the same, and switched up most of the ab movements. The result was an 8-minute abs 2.0 workout that actually challenged me again.

And before we get to the workout breakdown, how sick are the Nike running leggings I’m wearing?? I’m obsessed and trying to wear them as much as possible before summer hits—think they’d pass as Casual Friday-appropriate? I may test that boundary…

8-Minute Abs 2.0

You’ll do each move for 45 seconds and move immediately on to the next without taking a break. The last move (elbow plank) is only held for 30 seconds.

Leg Lifts: Laying on your back with hands under your bum for support, lift legs off the ground and up, perpendicular to the ground (keeping them straight the whole time). Lower.
Side V Crunches (Right): Start laying on your side with bottom arm stretched outwards on the ground for support. Do a side crunch, lifting your legs up and crunching them in to meet your elbow and raised torso.
Side V Crunches (Left)
Toe Touch Crunches: Lay on back with legs lifted perpendicular to the ground. Crunch up, reaching your hands towards your toes (you don’t actually have to touch them—I can’t, anyway haha)
Cheek-to-Cheek Plank: Start in an elbow plank position. Keeping shoulders level, twist your torso to lower your right hip to the floor. Return to plank position and then twist the other way, lowering your right hip to the floor.
Side Plank Lifts (Right): Start in a side plank position. Lower your hips towards the ground, and then lift upwards, crunching into an arch passed your original straight plank position. Continue lowering and raising.
Side Plank Lifts (Left)
Seated Leg Scissors: Sit with hands lightly on ground by your sides for support, lean back slightly and lift legs off the ground. Crisscross them back and forth keeping toes pointed, left over right then right over left, and so on.
Butt Lifts: Lay on back with legs lifted perpendicular to the ground. Lift butt straight off the ground, reaching toes towards ceiling, and then lower. Try not to rock back and forth too much (the momentum makes the exercise easier, but you’ll get a better workout from slow, controlled lifting and lowering).
Windshield Wipers: Lay on back, legs perpendicular to the ground and arms outstretched for support. Lower your legs to the right, twisting your hips, until they are just hovering above the ground. Lift back to starting position and over to the left side. Continue back and forth in a windshield-wiper motion.
Elbow Plank (30-sec): You know the drill!

My parents’ dog Ginny was visiting while I shot this workout and between high-fiving me in the face with her paw and running in front of the camera every 5 seconds, I would say she definitely is not a proponent of fitness. Had to give her a little loving scolding:

Stay tuned for 8-minute abs 3.0—I’m sure after a few months, my muscles will have mastered and become bored of this one as well!

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Directing Traffic in My Pajamas

May 6, 2013 by Nicole 7 Comments

This jacket is great for directing traffic, helping school children cross the street and walking through the woods during hunting season. It also made for a fun outfit this weekend. I paired it with pajama-esque polka dot pants because I like attention thought it’d be a nice mix of preppy and trendy.

jacket: Zara // top: ASOS // pants: Forever 21 // shoes: Aldo // sunglasses: Ray-Ban // bracelets: Alex & Ani and LIT Boutique // necklace: Urban Outfitters

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Sweet Potato Hummus

April 30, 2013 by Nicole 10 Comments

I’ve already shared this sweet potato hummus recipe as part of a toast snack, but it’s so freaking good and I talk about it so frequently that I think it deserves its own blog post.

I eat it with pita chips and veggies, and also spread it on whole wheat sandwiches along with avocado, spinach and tomatoes. It’s delicious—I probably eat that for lunch at least four days a week.

Ingredients

Yields 2 ¼ cups

1 cup packed mashed sweet potato (about 1 large potato)
1 ½ cup chickpeas (about 1 can, rinsed)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp maple syrup
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel the potato and cut it up into chunks. Boil until soft when poked with a fork.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Using a food processor, blend together.
Refrigerate until cool.
Serve.

It’s a crazy week over here because I’m moving tomorrow (I’ll talk more about that later) so I’ll have to add the nutrition info for this hummus another day.