Day 8 Whole 30 - 30/60/90

For the first time in months, I had the desire to go to a full body workout group fitness class at Equinox. It was actually a little bizarre. I was analyzing MYEQ for a yoga class that didn't start at 5:30 (wtf 50th & Broadway? Stop screwing with a working schedule) when I saw the 30/60/90 class I always ignore.

When I received a package with this t-shirt in it, I knew I had to go so I could wear it with black shorts and my Fiji blue sneakers. Yes, I let a t-shirt dictate my workout. It really wasn't yoga appropriate.

The 30/60/90 website says the following about the class:

30/60/90 is High Intensity Interval Training at its finest. It was developed by fitness expert Kristi Molinaro, and was named the “Best Fat-Burning Class″ by New York Magazine setting the standard for modern group fitness. “Pilates, kickboxing, and pole dancing can tone, but the interval training Kristi Molinaro’s signature class will do it faster.”

30/60/90 has no confusing choreography and no girly moves. It is a scientifically combined series of cardio drills in a high-intensity interval training format designed to get you (and keep you) in the best shape of your life. Unlike basic cardio workouts, 30/60/90 requires you to move in spurts in conjunction with a cardio strength workout that will rev up your metabolism even after you’re done working out.

Attracting women and men, newcomers and elite athletes, 30/60/90 has taken fitness to a whole new level. Kristi has developed a program based on timed intervals of steep peaks and valleys to dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and raise your body’s potential to burn fat.

I say the class is hard but it is doable. You do a move, then you have a chance to scale back for a moment before the surge. The surge can get ridiculous, i.e. I found myself flopping in a puddle of my own sweat thinking I was doing burpees off my bench. Many of the exercises are a combination of moves and by the time the surge comes around, us newbies are going to have to drop something. For example, you might need to jump on top of your bench, then jump off, do a burpee with one arm on the bench and the other on the floor, then do a push-up, and then jump back up to do it all again. The push-up is probably the first thing to go, but by the amount of flailing going on, I'm not sure I actually did the other exercises either. I was soaking in sweat, my heart rate was up, and I feel like I've been beaten, so I was doing something right.

I believe in the front row hierarchy. Those positions are earned and I admit that it bothers me when someone plops themselves up front and doesn't bring the energy (and skills) needed to motivate those standing behind them. That being said, I got to class early and put myself in my favorite spot - front row, right next to the instructor. I wanted to challenge myself to bring it, and since I have done 30/60/90 once before, I wasn't a complete beginner. I think I held my own.

The guy standing next to me was obviously a regular and I think I kind of kept up with him. He used 8 lbs weights throughout the class and I switched between 8s and 5s. He was able to hold his weights over his head during the cardio surges and I held mine to my shoulders. He is able to do push-ups. My weak little arms puttered out but I did hold planks when I could push up no more. He had some step aerobics background because we were in sync during over the bench lunges with the lovely jazz hands to boot. Basically I'm coming for him and he better be scared.

But in all seriousness, I like finding the best person in the class and following their pace. I also defer to that person if we're standing next to one another because I am easily distracted when someone is moving in the opposite direction as them. When I am the best person in the room, I really appreciate when others following my lead, defer to me. I'm clumsy and I feel no remorse if I end up kicking you in the head.

The instructor Kevin VerEecke had a solid playlist of top radio stuff and I liked his instruction style. Not overly chatty with an attention to form. He teaches the 30 minute AB Blast class right after 30/60/90 as well. I enjoyed that class, especially because the first 10 minutes were standing up. However, my quads felt thrashed so the woodchoppers felt awful.

My favorite move of the entire evening was a burpee from the bench to a twist plank to a twist push-up. I'm not at twist push-up level yet, but I will be.

30/60/90 classes are offered at Equinoxes around Manhattan. This class is at 6:30 PM on Wednesdays at 50th & Broadway.

Post-Bender Gym Sesh

So it's no secret that I drink... a lot. I manage to make it to work on time (frequently early!), call my mother daily, and I can run a 50K. If I can take 18 minutes of my marathon while single-handedly keeping Dewars in business, I think I am entitled to behave in any fashion that I want. If that means that my super sees me twice a weekend just to change my clothes, so be it.

Today I was back at work, facing another 12 hour day (yes, I am also a workaholic), and I dominated my performance review. Booyah! I decided that retoxing in celebration was probably not the best decision, and headed to Equinox for a little latenight sweat session.

I started off with 25 minutes on the cross ramp. I don't particularly care for the dreadmill and the cross ramp keeps me entertained. My Achilles has been acting like a bitch, and I figured the dreadmill would just kill it.

Maybe running around town in these this weekend has something to do
with my lingering Achilles pain... nah.

Sweating is the best thing to restart your work-week after spending your weekend in fur and reindeer ears and  falling crawling out a window to smoke a pack of cigarettes.

It upsets me that the giraffe always has to sit in the corner.

I rocked out to some Cut Copy and Neon Indian and got my cardio on. I didn't push myself particularly hard, but I figured I made it to the gym and I shouldn't test to see if my heart would give out. No one likes to see a girl keel over in the middle of the gym.

The guy on the cross ramp next to me teared up while watching Ben propose to rabbit mouth Courtney on The Bachelor. I was furiously booty texting. So um yeah. Apparently you shouldn't tell someone he should stop acting like a dick and start using his more often if you'd like him to come over later. Oops.

I just couldn't get a clear shot of this guy as
he went to get a tissue to dab away his tears.

I did some upper body work. I brought the new Oxygen to the gym but it seemed like every article required the cable machine and I just wasn't in the mood to struggle to figure out how to set that thing up by myself. I used 15 and 10 lbs weights to bang out some shoulder, tricep, and bicep moves. Regretted being an über bitch because I could tell I was definitely not getting laid after running my mouth (or would that be my fingers? Yes, I insult via text.)

I did some squat kicks and moved onto my trusty adductor and abductor machines. Then I took some creepy photos of myself.

I'm going to get myself arrested when they finally
catch me taking pictures in the locker room.

I should've manned up and did some ab work but I was ready to peace out and the showers had already closed so I needed to head home, or otherwise you wouldn't be getting this post. It's time to get out of these sweaty clothes, but I will leave you with this piece of awesomeness.

The Stair-Stepper from Hell and Silent Sing-Alongs

I completed two solo workouts this week and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. Normally I use conflicts with the group fitness schedule as an excuse to skip a workout, but not anymore. Today I focused on cardio. I spent 20 minutes on the treadmill. I ran 2 miles and then alternated between inclines and sprints. Then I moved on to the stair-stepper. Sweet cocoa butter, that thing is a beast! My heart rate monitor was screaming 193 bpm and all I was doing was trying to stay upright. I lasted ten minutes, but the guy next to me had been trucking along for close to thirty. I was impressed, and I'm never impressed. To round out my cardio extravaganza, I got on my absolute favorite machine: the Cross Ramp. You get to run on an incline with no impact. It's like God's gift to the gym floor. I did a solid thirty minutes plus three-minute cool down on this machine and it was joyous. 

I listen to iheartradio Real Oldies while I do my cardio machines and I sing along silently. I don't mean that I quietly sing along, or that I kind of move my mouth along with the words. I actually look like I'm singing but the volume is on mute. I get into it. Sometimes I dance. (You should just think about what it takes to keep yourself upright on a Cross Ramp at a 15 incline without holding on while doing the Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air dance. That is a whole lot of freaking core strength thank you very much.) Do not judge me because I silently sing along to 1960s love songs while on the cardio machines... I burnt 781 calories and you're still not as cute as me.

On a side note, has anyone else tried to do cardio machines in lululemon's Knock Out Shorts? Until tonight I had only worn mine to kickboxing, dance, and yoga. Not to get too graphic, but those things were riding so far up my ass, I feel like I relost my virginity to them. Not fun and not cute.