Rest is a Four Letter Word

I, like many people, don't enjoy rest days. What do you mean I am supposed to not workout on this day? Wouldn't activity recovery be better? Can active recovery be a 6 mile run? Try as I might, I keep finding that rest days are beneficial and even necessary to meet my goals.

Way back in 2007, I joined Equinox for the very first time. I loved it but I also needed to justify to my parents what was then considered an expensive gym membership. It was the summer after my junior year in college, I had a fake internship that only took place on weekends, and my parents were 100% financially responsible for me. To show my dedication to my pricey membership, I went to the gym every single day, sometimes twice. The instructors and front desk team loved me. I worked really hard and had a great attitude about it. But then on Day 34, I couldn't do simple v-leg raises with a Swiss ball. (And that my friends is how creepy detailed my memory is about workouts I did almost 9 years ago.) Bonne is telling me to put some effort in but I legit couldn't do it. My abs and legs were toast. Probably because I hadn't taken a day off in over a month. I went to visit my grandmother and only did a little running for a few days, and magically I was back in the gym the next week stronger than ever.

Then in 2010, I was regularly attending 2 to 3 Equinox classes a day while teaching and attending grad school full-time. February break rolled around and I was psyched to spend multiple hours at all three Long Island Equinox locations. But I felt exhausted and sick, and overcome by crippling anxiety about having to go back to school. (I really did not like teaching.) So I spent 2 straight days in bed eating the crap snacks my parents hide in the cupboards (hello Doritos!) and I lost 3 lbs. 

Jenna told me I had to start taking a rest day when we tried carb cycling. I was all, "Pure Barre is my rest day!" And Jenna was all, "Pure Barre is NOT your rest day. You need to rest, especially if you're going to go low calorie for a day." I learned that I do not like low calorie days. I also learned that rest days aren't so bad.

As I shared a couple of weeks ago, I did not workout at all on Saturday and Sunday of the Atlantic Regional. I spent all weekend on my feet cheering for Coach Bre but I was not going to CrossFit and I didn't feel like running either. Last week, I tried to take it a little easier. I went to Pure Barre Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I did go to CrossFit on Tuesday because the programming looked awesome but I wasn't adequately hydrated or fueled for running in 90 degree weather and knocking out thrusters. Anyway, I weighed in at 140.2 lbs. Rest is good.

Friday's WOD

On Friday I counted the minutes until I could go to 4:45 PM CrossFit. I thought I was pulling a fast one until I realized that I had already worked 8.5 hours. Regardless, the convenience of 8 floors separating me from my workout cannot be beat.

The founder of my organization looked less than pleased with my jorts so I felt a little uncomfortable about changing into my workout clothes before my 4 PM call. Obviously it didn't stop me from doing it though.

risked being spotted by the boss lady to scurry back to the bathroom for a selfie

Friday's WOD was hard. All that deload business doesn't apply to me because I don't have anything to deload. I started with a lady bar and then added 5 lbs plates to either side.

I picked a 14kg kettlebell for my swings but I could tell pretty quickly that it was too heavy. I didn't want to admit defeat but I was thrilled when Anthony handed me a lighter one after my second round. I was really fortunate to get a lot of one-on-one instruction from Anthony. Not only did it make me feel baller, but I now have a better understanding of how to scale the workouts for my current ability.

I had spent a good portion of my lunchtime watching videos on double-unders. I opted for the 200 single-unders, but have plans to practice double-unders in the privacy of my parents' backyard. I'm actually pretty decent at jumping rope. Thanks Bonne Marano for making me learn this important skill (and for not laughing every time I hit myself in the head)!

I finally took a shower at CrossFit. The showers are perfectly nice, but it was so humid that I felt like I was sweating through my clothes the minute I got changed into them. 

post-shower. might be sweatier than before.

I'm very proud to be covered in bruises that I didn't get from drinking. I've been showing them off to everyone.

Reunited with Bonne

Bonne Marcus taught me everything I know about fitness. Before I met Bonne, I was a girl who spent 30 minutes on a treadmill five days a week and wondered why I didn't have any muscular definition in my upper body. I skipped regular meals and relied on six-packs of sugar-free Red Bull to get through the day. Then I discovered Bonne and group fitness. The very first class I went to (back in 2007) was Cardio Intervals. Today I had the great pleasure to take this wonderful class again with my wonderful friend.

Bonne now teaches at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in Roslyn, New York. The JCC has a beautiful Wellness Center that is available to its members, as well as the public for a fee. Us non-members can attend a group fitness class for $20. Bonne very nicely put me on the guest list.

So this morning my alarm goes off at 6:57 am and it takes me a moment to figure out what's going on. Do I have work? Which work? Where am I? Do I have to drive to Brooklyn? Are there children involved? Once I remember that I am getting up to go workout with Bonne, the biggest smile appears on my face and I go in search of an all black workout outfit. I need to look slim. I've put on 20 lbs. I'm kind of embarrassed.

I ate oatmeal and almond milk for breakfast (stay tuned for a post about breakfast choices in the near future), and head off to the JCC. It's conveniently located off of 25A and I arrive in plenty of time.

Bonne's classes are most importantly fun. I have never been unhappy in one or itching to leave early. If you're not enjoying yourself, it's more difficult to give 100% of your all. It's doable. I've done it. It's not pleasant. The next best thing about Bonne's classes are the variety. Bonne says she's ADHD when it comes to exercise, and this means that you get to use lots of great fitness toys. After a solid warm-up (I love marching. More people should march) we got on the step for some basic rights and basic lefts. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Step is the best thing that you can do to firm up your legs. All of your muscles are targeted from your calves to your inner and outer thighs. You can work your glutes and your core while working your legs from different angles. Step is great, and not offered nearly enough. Today we also used the BOSU, medicine balls (really cute little ones that I found much more manageable than the bigger balls of the same weight - keep the dirty jokes to yourselves), and resistance bands.

I had so much fun, and it was great to see Bonne. If you live near Roslyn, definitely check out Cardio Intervals on Thursday mornings and Super Sculpt on Tuesdays.

Woohoo! Bonne is back on Wednesdays!

    After months of requesting (okay, maybe harassing is a better word) the Group Fitness managers at the Long Island Equinox locations, Bonne has evening classes again!  Unfortunately I'm moving next week, but I was able to attend tonight's Strength and Sculpt.  My butt kills!  The thing I love most about Bonne as an instructor is her attention to form.  She is great about making small but crucial corrections that end up making a big difference.
    Bonne will be teaching cardio at 4:30 pm and sculpt at 6 pm on Wednesdays at the Roslyn Equinox from now on.  Make sure to get there.  You'll thank me.

Tuesday Triple

Today I took 3 classes at the Roslyn Equinox.  I was pissed that the rain shut down the road I usually take and caused me to miss the first 10 minutes of my first class.

Cardio Sculpt - Taught by my favorite instructor, Bonne Marcus (formerly Marano), this class mixes intense cardio drills with sculpting intervals.  Bonne always mixes it up and she has awesome moves for ab work.  I HATE doing traditional crunches and Bonne's ab exercises get real results quickly.  One thing we do is squat and rotate with a medicine ball.  Every third rotation, we pick up our leg and stick it.  This is great for creating a flat midsection!  I'm also a big fan of the rocking horse and we tend to do a lot of those.

Athletic Flex - I tried this class for the first time today and I loved it.  A lot of shoulder and back work, which I tend to shy away from if I'm working out on my own.  What can I say?  My legs are much more powerful than my arms and I like to show off.  We used the body bar quite a bit and we used 8 lb weights for the duration of the class.  The thing I liked the most about this class was the instructor's use of dynamic deadlifts.  I am definitely going to feel it later today/tomorrow.

CARDIO Burn! - I am obsessed with Yves Maco's group fitness classes.  He is the reason I was able to lose 20 pounds.  I also lost 6% body fat.  His kickboxing classes are insane, but this class is also awesome.  I love when I have Tuesdays off from work and get to go.  CARDIO Burn! is spent on a bench and incorporates light weights.  I use 3 lb weights.  I have tried 5 lbs and I thought I was going to die.  The choreography was really hard for me at first, but I started taking Yves' dance classes and now I can fake my way through the cha chas and the turns.  The intensity of Yves' classes deliver the almost unbelievable results.  My HRM said I spent most of the class between 175 and 190.

I did 13 minutes of the PRECOR afterwards because I wanted to read the new SELF and cool down a little bit.  Overall, my HRM tells me I burned 1,764 calories while at the gym (including the 15 minutes between Cardio Sculpt and Athletic Flex that I spent socializing and drinking a protein shake.)  Not bad for a Spring Break morning.