Fitness Friday

Brrrr, it has been cold around here and I am longing for summer--I would even take Spring at this point.  I have realized that having a pool covered up out back is awesome in the summer, but a real big tease in the midst of below zero temps.  And our hot tub isn't even working right now so that's not an option.  I know cry me a river, right.  So, what other way to long for summer than talk about getting swim suit ready!

I have been following weight watchers this month and it is going pretty well, I (fingers crossed) am going to weigh in with my first 5 pound weight loss tomorrow.  I was .2 away last week, so I have to figure that I at least lost .2 pounds this week.  I have done pretty well in the eating department, but would still love to cut some out some of the processed food that we have in the house.  We have been much better with having fruits and veggies for snacks, and I must say the key to eating them is to cut and prepare them as soon as I get home from the grocery store.  It's definitely a lot more work than just running to the pantry to get a snack, but I have definitely felt better and I am not craving sugar as much as I was before, so that's a start!

In terms of fitness, I have always been pretty good about getting to the gym so that isn't too difficult for me.  I am trying to incorporate so different classes into my workout schedule to vary things up a bit.  One class that I am loving right now is called Centergy.  I think I talked about it before, but it is a mix of yoga, pilates, barre type stuff set to music.  The reason I never liked yoga or pilates before was due to the lack of good music--well this hits the spot for me.  I also tried Group Power this week--I think other places it is call Body Pump or something similar.  It basically a total body weight class with a barbell--again set to music.  I NEED good music to be motivated--well and someone telling me what to do, so these classes are fitting the bill.  I know some people don't enjoy group classes, but I have found that I feed off of the energy of the people around me and it's like doing a trainer telling me what to do and I don't have to think about it.  If you haven't tried any group classes, try one, you just might like it. 

The other staples of my routine are spinning and running.  Back to the classes--my gym now offers an AWESOME class called Pedal and Pump.  Basically it is a mix between spinning and then every 3 songs or so, we pick up hand weights and do weights while still spinning (at a slower pace :))  It burns a ton of calories because your heart rate stays up the entire class.  I haven't taken a SoulCycle class before--the class that Kelly Ripa swears by and she is crazy fit, but it seems like it would be similar to this class so hopefully I will see the same (ok, probably not the same), but similar results.

In terms of running, I am trying to get in one run a week focusing on speed training.  Like I have said before, I am not fast, and I am not running races to beat times or anything, but I'm sure that I could go a little faster if I trained a little bit with some speed work.  I am going to give it a try.  I'll report back on how it goes--let's just hope I don't fall off the treadmill trying to go faster.  I've heard that treadmill injuries are on the rise :)

Do you have any group classes that you love?
What does your fitness routine look like?

I am also thinking that I would like to do some shakes/smoothies.  I got a new blender this week.  I know, exciting stuff again so I want to do some more protein shakes and it's a good way to get some more fruits and veggies in.  Any thoughts on protein powders?  I am finding that I really need some more protein when I am done working out or I am super hungry the rest of the day.  The problem that I have though is that all the protein bars are really high in points.  Thoughts?

Alright, well that's all for Fitness Friday.  We have a fun, busy weekend ahead which I am looking forward to after a couple of lazy weekends.  Whoo hoo for babysitters!!!!!