My March Challenge
This past week, I set a fitness goal for the month of March of sticking to one studio for the majority of my exercise routine. I'm taking a vacation from my "regular" routine of hitting the gym a couple times a week, and class hopping- which I thoroughly enjoy. I talked to my friend Stephanie Tieman, owner of CoreStrong in Covington, KY, about working out solely at CoreStrong for a couple reasons. I'm under the watch of one set of eyes, and I want to show the versatility you can get at one studio like CoreStrong, when you are tired of working out at the gym. We sat down and talked about my goals. Changes can occur in a month, but it is a short period of time. I want to sculpt my body a little more and build lean muscle.
Day 1- I took Stephanie's CoreStrong class. Today we focused on sprints (on the rowers and running) and some partner work. Strength was also incorporated with TRX band and isometric work. My heart rate monitor (CoreStrong has a Polar Cardio GX monitoring system that shows your calories burned and heart rate up on a board throughout class and later emails you your workout results) showed that I worked primarily in the hard and maximum zones, getting quite a bit of anaerobic activity. Today I burned 479 calories in 53 minutes and had a Maximum Heart Rate of 181.
Day 2- I started today with metabolic rate testing. On an empty stomach, I sat still for 15 minutes breathing into a machine that measured my metabolic rate. This sort of testing can show you how many calories you should be eating and burning in a day and where your metabolism falls on a scale, and determine if you have a normal, slow or fast metabolism, helping you know how many calories to intake according to your fitness goals. After testing, with some seriously sore glutes, I took another of Stephanie's CoreStrong classes. The beauty of this studio is that she gives her students variety depending on what they did the day before. Each class focuses on something different to avoid overtraining in one area. Today I burned 404 calories in 56 minutes staying in the medium and hard heart rate zones, since the class focused more on strength.
Day 3- I brought my husband, Steve, and we did partner stations. Today was HARD. Tire flips, sled work, rowing, sprints, box jumps, and boxing. 438 calories burned with a maximum heart rate of 172. (Steve wants me to report that he burned 760 calories in the same amount of time.)
Day 4- Stephanie trained me individually. I opted for heavier weights than usual. We worked on kettle swings on the Bosu balls, push-ups with rows, single leg squats, and a glute-bridge series on the Bosu ball. I love when I learn new things from a trainer- there is always something new we can learn from each other.
With such a wide variety of classes out there, I find myself only depending on my gym in a bind. And with companies like ClassPass spreading like wildfire around the US, gym-goers can more easily justify adding a few outside classes at private studios such as CoreStrong to mix up their routine. There is something for everyone out there, so if you find yourself in a rut, get out and explore some new options!