BodyCombat Kicked my Booty

For the most part, my workouts consist of running, the elliptical, and BodyPump.  While those are all good workouts, I have found myself getting pretty bored at the gym lately.  So I've been stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new classes. Last week it was NewBody and this week I took my first BodyCombat class.

I really didn't know whether or not I would like this class since I've never had any interest in martial arts.

I was also a little self-conscious because I had seen the instructor around the gym for years and we chatted a bit before class. She is really nice, but I much prefer to be anonymous when there is so much potential to make a fool out of myself :P

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As it turns out, the moves were not as hard to follow as I expected and I found myself having a really good time.  There were a lot of fancy terms being thrown out but they are not nearly as complicated as they seem and in spite of this being my first attempt at this kind of workout I didn't feel totally out of place.

We did a lot squats, lunges and kicks so my legs got a good workout, but it was my arms that were really feeling it by the end of the class.  Punching and jabbing for an hour is no joke :P! Seriously, it took my shoulders 2 days to recover and I even skipped the Pump class I had planned on doing the next day cause I could barely lift my arms. 

I'm not sure that this class is something I will add to my regular routine, but it will definitely be a new go-to when I feel like switching things up.

Have you ever taken BodyCombat or a similar class? 

Does knowing your instructor make you more or less comfortable in group exercise classes?

New to Me Class - Newbody

I was at the gym today earlier than I normally would be on a Sunday since I have a birthday party to go to this afternoon.  I am most definitely not one of those people who wakes up early on weekends to get their workouts done if I can help it. I much prefer to sleep in and relax over coffee and reading before I get moving on Saturdays and Sundays!   

Newbody was on the gym's class schedule this morning and although I had sort of dismissed it in the past, I figured why not take a new-to-me class since I was there anyway? Here is the class description as per the Goodlife Fitness website:

"Newbody is a low-impact cardio conditioning class that is easy to follow for all fitness levels. It will re-define your body and empower you to achieve your goals. Enhance your workout with the use of optional hand weights."

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Admittedly, most of the people in the class were quite a bit older, and I wasn't expecting a super challenging workout. But I had a blast!! It was one of those classes where you're just smiling the whole way through. Sounds cheesy, I know, but its true! The music was awesome, a mix of recent songs by the likes of Britney Spears and Cascada, and some older tunes like Pump up the Jam (Dance Mix 94 anyone?!?!), and the moves were simple enough but also easy to adapt if you want more intensity.  We did a warm-up, three sections of low-impact aerobics using the hand weights (they have 1, 2, and 3 pounds weights; I used the 3 pounds and while I would have liked a heavier weight I'm not sure if that would be safe since there is a lot of movement), and then one section of just strength work followed by a cool-down.

My heartbeat was up the whole time and it is a was nice change to be doing full-body movements (as opposed to what I'm used to with Bodypump).  My upper body gets a better strength workout with Pump but I found that I had a greater range of motion with the squats and lunges in this class and my legs were feeling it!

From what I've heard this class in only available at Goodlife gyms.  So if you're in Canada and a Goodlife member check it out :)!

Do you have a similar class at your gym? 
Do you get your workouts done in the mornings on weekends or do you prefer to do them later in the day? 

I'm going to Iceland!!!

I love, love, love to travel.

The semester I spent in Germany was undoubtedly the best 6 months of my life. Not only did I get to live like a local, but I spent most of my weekends traveling around the country and the rest of Europe.

Last year, I satisfied my need to get out of Ottawa regularly with frequent trips to New York City and I enjoyed every second of those. But lately I've really been wanting to go somewhere new.

I first started thinking about Reykjavik, Iceland a few months ago and last week I decided to register for the half marathon there in August :)!  I mean, how gorgeous is this:



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I can't wait to run through this city and explore other sights like these:



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I'm thinking about booking a post-race massage at the Blue Lagoon as a special treat. Doesn't that look so amazing?!


So this is what I'll be looking forward to and training for in the next 3 months!

Have you ever been to Iceland?
Do you travel for races?

Lazy Monday

Weekends always go by way too fast, but this morning was especially rough.

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It took me forever to actually get out of bed and despite several cups of coffee I was sleepy all day. Thankfully I had some easy stuff to take care of at work because my brain could not handle too much thinking :P

Most days I look forward to my workouts; after sitting at a desk for 8 hours all I want to do is move! Today was not one of the days.  But I knew I'd feel better if I did something active, so I decided to break out this old treadmill walking workout:

Time	Speed	Incline
0-5	4.0	1%
5-10	4.2	1%
10-15	4.4	1%
15-20	4.3	5%
20-30	4.3	7%
30-40	4.0	10%
40-50	4.0	8%
50-55	4.3	6%
55-60	4.3	4%
60-65	4.2	1%
65-70	4.0	1%

I  had a couple of episodes of Gossip Girl to catch up on so that kept me entertained while I walked and I followed this up with 15 minutes of yoga.  My legs are pretty sore from BodyPump since I increased my weights yesterday so they needed a good stretch.

This workout was exactly what I needed today. Hopefully I'll be more energetic tomorrow!

How was your Monday? 

Do you enjoy walking workouts?