Workout Wednesday: SurfnTurf through a Snow Storm

The day before Thanksgiving means early dismissal from school for this English teacher. Translate: I could go to SurfnTurf class!

As soon as my last class was over, I changed into my workout clothes and headed to TI Fitness. It was just starting to snow and I loved the idea of making some #surfsweat while there was a snow storm going on.

View from the 4th floor studio

The first part of the class was on the boards with a fast paced mix of cardio. One thing that keeps me coming back to these classes is the challenge of the pace. As soon as I think I'm going to keel over, the instructor slows things down just a bit to let me catch my breath. 

After a brief break, the fill class was divided into three groups to move through stations that combined strength and cardio. We ran the stations for 4 minutes each repeating the exercises until time was up. 

Station #1 was with the hand weights: 15 cross punches, 15 squat press, 15 plank rows. 

Station #2 moved to the cones: 5 high knees, medicine ball jump, repeated 4x, suicides, and jump rope 10x. The instructor modified the suicide for me to jump rope 30x.

Station #3 was with medicine balls: 15 full sit-ups, 15 squat toss, 

Station #4 was at another set of cones: shuffle cone to cone with squat jump at each, up & down the stairs 2x (hand weights optional).

Station #5 was at the kettle bells: 15 swings, 15 figure 8s, and 15 jacks.

Station #6 was at the ladder: plank walk, side jumps back to start, 10 sit-ups.

We finished up with a round of abs…ugh. I'm going to feel that tomorrow.

As usual it was a great workout. I'll be going back for some Turkey Burn on Friday.

Are you burning some calories today?

**Note: I was in the process of writing this post after getting home from the class when the power went out. The snow storm is dropping tree limbs and drivers are knocking down poles. I am now comfortably checked into a hotel where I will wait for the power to come back on! **

Trail Tuesday: Top to Bottom Circuit

Even though I'm not currently running, I still spend Tuesdays and Thursdays on the trail…watching the high school Run Club runners.

We meet after school in the parking lot and then they head out. I walk to the trail and wait for them to pass by about a mile into their run. It works.

Today I decided to be more active while waiting for the runners and the trail seemed like a good place to do my first #holidaysweat challenge workout.

I received the workout in the Holiday Sweat Challenge Monday email. It was designed to be done on the TRX (which I don't have), but the email included modifications (love that). I completely changed the atomic push-ups to spiderman planks aiming for the same over-all effect.

It took a while, but I did find a relatively soft spot on the trail to do the workout (not where the photo was taken, that's just for the blog (; ).

My arms are going to be sore tomorrow. I can feel it.

Did you workout today? Tell me about it.

November Beach Day

After a frigid couple of days, Sunday turned out to be a very nice day, so mrC and I decided to get out and enjoy it. We leashed up the dog and headed out for a leisurely 5K walk to our favorite local beach and back.

When we left the house the temperature was in the low 50s but it was sunny. I picked my outfit hoping I would be warm enough while putting some of my new running gear to use, even though I wouldn't be running.

Oiselle birds of a feather long sleeve and Eddie Bauer vest

Athleta Miles Compression Tights and Mizuno Wave Rider 18

Part of the walk to the beach takes us through a shady section, where we paused to watch some friendly horse riders pass by. Because there was a breeze, it got a little chilly out of the sun.

At the beach we took in the views from the lifeguard stand, watched some ducks, and took a moment to stretch. My legs were a little sore from my Saturday morning workout.

Once we were sufficiently warmed up in the November sun, we headed back. On the way home we stopped to check out the new bridge and stone work. I love that there is always something new to see on our trips to the beach.

My outfit kept me comfortable on the walk, but I would have been too warm if I had been running (even without the vest). It was a perfect day for a walk to the beach, and I know mrC and I weren't the only ones who enjoyed it.

Do you like to visit summer places outside the season?

Staying Healthy through the Winter Months

The opinions in this article are my own. I do not work for, or with, any brand mentioned in this article, nor do

I have any official relationship with them.  I have a relationship with GigaSavvy, for whom I create original editorial content.

When it comes to the winter months and the holidays, staying healthy gets harder for me.

As much as we all want to curl up under a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa, we need to remember that staying active will keep us healthy. This article explains the benefits physical activity.

Here are some tips that I try to follow to stay active and healthy through the winter months:

1. Have a plan: since my normal routine disappears over the holiday breaks from work, I try to plan my workouts in advance. I've posted about this before here and here. I will literally schedule my workouts on the calendar around all of our other obligations so that the family knows. Often times, I can get someone to join me and teach them the importance of staying active by showing them.

2. Check out your local gym/studio: many gyms/fitness studios offer holiday discounts on classes or packages. The fitness studio I use also offers classes at times that I usually can't attend, so I like to check out their monthly schedule and see when I can squeeze in a class. 

3. Set goals: pick goals that you know will benefit you based on your fitness level and the type of fitness you are focused on. If you are training for a race, make it a running goal (distance total or total number of runs to do). If you are just looking to burn calories make a goal for the number of workouts that you do or the amount of time you spend working out that can be squeezed in at any time. If you are trying to get to the gym more often, set a number as your goal.

4. Add a workout buddy: this does not have to mean that you workout together. It just means, pick someone that can hold you accountable and encourage you. Share your activities with each other through email or text messages. If you are on social media, share Instagram pictures or Facebook posts. I like to join challenges that offer a support group, like the Holiday Sweat Challenge. 

5. Pick a reward: this keeps me motivated, especially because I reward myself with new fitness gear. Think of something that you really want and use it to hold yourself accountable. Get other people involved in the reward so that it becomes a group effort (combine with "Add a workout buddy").

Hopefully if we all follow these tips (or at least some of them), we will find staying healthy throughout the winter months and all of the holidays to be much easier.

Feel free to leave a tip of your own in the comments!

Saturday Sweat: Wake-up Workout

This morning I got up too early, but I guess that's what I get for going to bed at 8:30 last night.

Weekend plans kept me from my favorite Saturday morning activity, SurfSet, so I put together my own workout session in the basement.

All of the mini-workouts are Tabata or HIIT (my favorite) and I use my GymBoss interval timer to keep track of the rounds.

If you are interested, I posted about the ab workout here and the jump rope workout here.

Fire the Glutes was a mix of moves that have been recommended to me by Dr. Bri and other runners over the years. I did two rounds of a 20/5 Tabata set.

The 30-ish minute workout was a great wake-up workout that got my heart pumping.

The cool down was a nice 5 minute stretch session.

I'm still waiting out my TFL injury and soon will be recovering from my meniscus repair. In the meantime, I hope to use workouts like these to get in some cardio and strength. Otherwise, I think I would go crazy!

How do you sweat it out on busy Saturdays?
Do you have a wake-up workout? Leave a link so I can check it out!