Thursday, January 22, 2015

Somethin’ Bad Spin Playlist

This is 3 of 3 new spin playlists this week!  Thursday night is filled with hills, hills, and more hills!  Let’s go!

The Bitch Is Back - Elton John                                              3:44  Warm up
You May Be Right - Billy Joel                                                 4:09  Drills, pedal strokes
Highway To Hell - AC/DC                                                       3:59  Build #1
You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi                                 3:44  Build #2
You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC                               3:55  Standing climb
You Make My Dreams - Daryl Hall & John Oates             3:08  Jumps 20”
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival         2:20  80 rpm
Takin' Care Of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive  4:49  70 rpm
Mama's Broken Heart - Miranda Lambert                         2:58  Downhill
Somethin' Bad - Miranda Lambert                                       2:50  Seated climb
My Songs Know… - Fall Out Boy                                            3:07  Standing climb
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People                                 4:00  Recovery
Some Nights - Fun.                                                                    4:37  Rolling hills to the finish
Pumpin Blood - NONONO                                                       3:29  Cool down
100 Years - Five For Fighting                                                 4:11  Stretch

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Get The Party Started Spin Playlist



It’s Lindi Lou’s birthday week!  You know my Tuesday morning class was celebrating…

Birthday - Katy Perry                                                                   3:35  Warm up
Get The Party Started - P!nk                                                      3:13  Build
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO                                                     4:22  Rolling hills
Fireball - Pitbull                                                                             3:55  80-100
Crazy In Love (Featuring Jay-Z) - Beyonce                             3:56  Standing flat/running
Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida                                                3:54  Jumps
It's A Beautiful Day - Michael Bublé                                         3:20  Recovery
Crocodile Rock - Elton John                                                        3:55  80-100
Birthday - The Beatles                                                                  2:42  Same pace, more tension
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons   3:21  Build
Burning Love - Elvis Presley                                                       2:51  Downhill
Don't Stop the Party - Pitbull                                                      3:26  Rolling hills
Shout - The Isley Brothers                                                           4:39  Total random
Cruise (Remix) [feat. Nelly] - Florida Georgia Line              3:27  Cool down
Picture feat. Kid Rock - Sheryl Crow                                         5:00  Stretch

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Decades Spin Playlist #3


Sunday is oldies day!  We begin in 1956 and travel through time…

Hound Dog - Elvis Presley                                          2:15  1956 – Warm up
Baby Love - The Supremes                                         2:38  1964 - More tension, continue warm up
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops  2:43  1965 - Build
Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs      2:23  1965 - Build, seated climb
You Can't Hurry Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes                   2:47  1966 - Downhill
The Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles        3:01  1970 - Build
Joy To The World - Three Dog Night                       3:37  1971 - Seated climb
It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr                             3:18  1971 - Build
Burning Love - Elvis Presley                                     2:51  1973 - Downhill
Surfin' Safari - The Beach Boys                                2:08  1974 - Running
Get Down Tonight - KC & The Sunshine Band     3:06  1975 - Recovery, Build
Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees                                              4:46  1978 - Seated/standing climb
You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta       2:50  1978 - Downhill
What I Like About You - The Romantics               2:55  1980 - 80-100
Give It To Me Baby - Rick James                              4:18  1981 - Build
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey                                  4:11  1981 - Standing climb
Into The Groove - Madonna                                      4:10  1986 - Cool down
Eternal Flame - The Bangles                                    3:58  1988 - Stretch

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Black Ice Ice Baby

This morning reminded me why I typically don't run in the winter... BLACK ICE.

We don't see it but we all know it's out there.  Some of us are more daring than others.  "I'm not going to fall."  "I won't get injured."  "It's not going to happen to me."  My blog post today isn't about slipping and falling, wearing the right shoes, avoiding icy roads, or staying indoors this winter.  My blog post is about paying attention. 

True story from today: Georgie and I were out for our morning walk.  The roads in my neighborhood were a thin sheet of ice.  The entire road.  I thought about turning around and heading back inside but Tuesdays are my longest day away from her and I had already bundled up so we were committed.

For the most part we were able to walk on grass in our neighbors yards with the occasional slippery driveway.  We watched a car slide all the way down the road, unable to make a left hand turn, ending up in the grass.  Georgie and I were about halfway home when she stopped to sniff.  I saw a car coming towards us and I started to worry that it too wouldn't be able to make the turn.  I tried to get Georgie to move along as I watched the car accelerate towards us.  I ran but Georgie wasn't budging so I pulled the leash and she went air born.  The car ended up right where we were standing and about 6 inches away from a telephone pole.  It all happened in a matter of seconds.

Often times when running or walking, athletes are not paying attention to what is actually going on around them.  Running.  Sight seeing.  Wait, how's my form?  What's my pace?  Is my heart rate in the target range?  Race goals.  Daydreaming.  Brainstorming.  Stressing.  Singing.  In the zone.

I'm only sharing this because it could happen to you.  Run "on defense."  So please, leave the headphones at home.  Focus on your surroundings.  Stay alert and be careful out there!

[Related Post: Running Safety]

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Conquering Fears: I Went Rock Climbing!


On Friday, I went rock climbing!

A few weeks ago during my 7:30am group training, one of my clients mentioned rock climbing.  Actually she has mentioned it a few times but I never really thought I would ever go.  But this time two others in my group showed interest, a date was set, and a few hours later reservations were made and waivers were electronically signed.

My role at the gym is to educate, motivate, and tailor workouts based the goals and fitness levels of each individual but really my clients inspire me everyday. Wendy is an incredible, strong athlete—and a grandmother!  Beth is recently retired and decided that her new “full time job” was the gym.  Her dedication to her health and fitness is inspiring to everyone that meets her.  Bill is the newest member to join our group.  He works hard every session and is always up for a challenge.  If they could rock climb, I needed to put my fears aside and just do it.  I always say #NoExcuses right?

When we arrived at Carabiner’s in New Bedford, we were all amazed at how cool the facility was.  We were going to rock climb!  Wendy went off on her own to use the auto-belay while Beth, Bill, and I took the intro course and learned all the knots, set up and safety.


Overall the day was really fun.  We didn’t do too much climbing in the intro course but I could tell it would be quite the workout!  If climbing correctly, you need great forearm strength and strong glutes, calves, and quads.  (I woke up this morning with really sore lats!)  Everyone in the group did such a great job and we were all surprised at what we could do.  In the few times I climbed, I only made it about half way up the wall before yelling “Take!”  Part was fear, part I didn’t know where to go next, and part my muscles were starting to fatigue.  [Sidenote: Jen, you need to run!]

BUT THEN as we were packing up, I decided to give it one more try.  Bill was belaying for me.  Wendy and Beth were my cheerleaders.  AND I CLIMBED UP THE WHOLE WALL!  I wanted to stop a few times but they kept me going.  Role reversal!  It was awesome!  It was a small accomplishment but very proud moment.



Not sure when I will rock climb again as the closest climbing facility is about an hour away but I do hope to make it back someday!

Friday, January 2, 2015

Begin a Fitness Routine

It’s Day 2 of 2015 and Day 2 of New Years Resolutions.  If you’ve been consistently working out and running in 2014, this blog post isn’t for you.  I’m talking to every single one of you that decided on January 1st that it was time to get off the couch and get moving!

Set goals.
A lot of my clients’ New Years Resolutions are very vague: lose weight, eat healthy, start running, etc.   If your goal is to lose weight, ask yourself how much do I want to lose, how long will it take me to get there and what do I need to do to accomplish that goal?  Set SMART goals.
  • Specific.
  • Measurable.
  • Achievable.
  • Realistic.
  • Timely.

Have a plan.
You know what they say, “A goal without a plan is just a dream.”  Whether it’s a running specific goal or you’re starting to strength train and eat better, develop your plan.  Map out a few weeks and refer back.  This will help you stay on track.

Ease into it.
The worst thing you can do the first week of January is go hard on your resolutions every single day.  Being too ambitious and diving right into a new routine or high mileage running will only set you up for burnout and injuries.  Your body needs to adapt and recover.

Hire a coach.
Nor sure what to do or how to get started?  Hire a personal trainer or certified running coach for some guidance and expert knowledge.

Be patient.
Fitness doesn’t happen over night.  Diet and exercise takes a lot of discipline and self-motivation.  All you can do is stay consistent and keep working towards your goals.

Have fun!
Enjoy the process.  Hard work is easy work.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Run More. Race Faster.

Happy New Year!


2015 started out on the right foot for me (or was it the left foot?) with a 4 plus miles at the beach with friends followed by a new tradition of post-run brunch.  We all filled out Marathon Sports bibs with our resolutions.  Y’all know how I feel about that but it was fun.  It's going to be a great year!





Thanks for the photos girls!