4th and Weekend Recap!

What a busy weekend! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th, I had a blast and can’t wait to tell you all about it!

I started the 4th off with a “red, white and blue-ish” smoothie,  it was delicious.  I used a mini-blender and made the white layer first, red layer second and blue layer last. That way, I only needed to rinse out the blender instead of carefully cleaning it each time. I made a white layer with homemade cashew milk, canned lite coconut milk and a little ice. I then blended some frozen raspberries and cashew milk for the red layer. Finally, I mixed up some frozen blueberries, cashew milk and spinach for the blue layer. It was a great refreshing way to start up the day!

I headed out to a special July 4th Crossfit class with a Paleo Potluck after.  I made a delicious watermelon cucumber salad from PaleOMG-and it was a big hit. I used balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, and it still tasted great.

After an intense workout, I chowed down and headed home.  Lucky for me, my husband J’s friend has an apartment directly across from the fireworks barge in Cambridge. We headed there to watch the fireworks over the Charles, they were incredible! Did anyone catch the red lanterns? Such a cool addition this year!

On Friday, we were off to Maine for a wedding.  We stopped at Red Hook Brewery on the way up with some friends-it was fun! We checked into the hotel and headed to the wedding. It was a blast, the bride looked beautiful, the food was great and there was plenty of dancing!

On Saturday, I woke up and got in a quick run.  I used the hotel gym to do some body weight work.  I was hoping the gym would have some free weights, but it did not so I used what I could!

On the way home on Saturday, we stopped in Newburyport for some beach and eats with friends. It was so hot that jumping in the water didn’t seem so bad!

What’s on deck this week?

Now, I am trying to get back into a normal work/workout schedule. J and I have a 5K on Thursday, so that will be a nice automatic speed workout.  He and I will be doing 3 X 1 mile repeats on the track today. We have a race at the end of the month that he is hoping to run quickly, so I am helping to pace him in a workout today. Blog-wise this week you can look forward to…

-The 3rd part of the “Exercising on the Cheap” series

-Race Recap from Thursday’s 5K

-Make it Fast Friday and What’s New Weekends will return

Did you have a nice 4th? How do you exercise when you are on vacation? What do you want to see on this blog this week?

Exercising on the Cheap Part 2

Hello all!

As promised, I am going to let you in on ways you can take some of the best exercise classes for free in Boston this summer!  Did you catch Part 1 of the “Exercising on the Cheap” series? If not check it out!

Boston is a great city to find free exercise. In fact, last summer I actually signed up for too many of the things below and had a hard time picking and choosing the events I wanted to attend.  As always, I love the summer because there are warm summer days to get in a wonderful run-of course for free. Sometimes, I need to change up my solo running routine.  Below I am going to outline free ways to exercise in a group all summer based on your needs.

1. I want to get hooked on a new type of exercise!

The “Healthy, Fit & Fun” series on the Esplanade is a really fun way to try something new.  The Esplanade Association puts together weekly Zumba, Yoga, Crossfit, and Bootcamp classes all taking place along the Esplanade. They gather instructors from all over the city to run the classes. All you need to do is show up and sign a waiver! Last year, I tried out the yoga classes. I had an instructor from Sports Club LA who was wonderful. The best part is, they offer classes weekly so if you can’t make one, there is always another around the corner!  Check out the link below for more information!

Esplanade Association: http://www.esplanadeassociation.org/what-we-do/programs/healthy-fit-and-fun/

Need more free outdoor exercise in your life? City Sports offers a variety of classes over the summer.  I attended their Crossfit and Yoga series last year, so fun! The classes are free and usually require pre-registration. The instructors are from studios around the area and I had excellent experiences with all of them!  They hold free exercise series throughout the year, so keep following them all year round.  Lululemon stores also hold year-round free classes.  Follow them on Facebook to get the latest schedule and registration information.  I’ve seen them hold free Yoga and Pilates classes, but they offer a variety of classes/lectures throughout the year.  Finally, the Liberty hotel holds free Yoga classes on Saturdays throughout the summer. Not a guest? Not a problem! Simply bring your own Yoga mat and you can still attend for free! See the links below to get the details:

City Sports: http://citysportsblog.com/city-sports-events/ or https://www.facebook.com/CitySports?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

Lululemon: https://www.facebook.com/lululemonPrudentialCenter  or  https://www.facebook.com/lululemonNewbury

Liberty Hotel: http://blog.libertyhotel.com/boston-things-to-do/summer-events-at-liberty-hotel/

2. I need a running buddy!

I can understand that! Sometimes, it is just easier to get through a run when you can talk with a group of people.  Who knows, you might even find someone in the group to push your pace and make you even faster than you already are!  Marathon Sports offers a free weekly running club out of their Boston, Brookline and Wellesley locations at 6:30 pm on Wednesdays.  They track your mileage and provide you with prizes for some milestones, how cute is that?  This summer, Lululemon is also offering a running club out of their Newbury Street location.  Runners meet at the Newbury Street location at 6 pm on Wednesdays for a 3-6 mile run.  I’d recommend following them on Facebook since their Run Club time and day of the week may change with the season.

Marathon Sports: http://www.marathonsports.com/pages/wednesday-run-groups-boston-brookline-wellesley

Lululemon: https://www.facebook.com/lululemonNewbury

3. I want to find a new gym!

Whether you are looking to switch gyms or simply get started at a gym, there are plenty of options to choose from!  After following Healthworks Back Bay on Facebook, I recently earned a 1 month free membership.  They posted that they were looking for extras in a 1 hour photo shoot in exchange for a 1 month membership-very easy!  Healthworks is an incredibly nice gym, and they are very generous when it comes to free trials.  As someone who had never been to Healthworks, earlier in the year they gave me a 5 day free trial.  Finally, if you have a friend that attends Healthworks, they have monthly “Member Appreciation Days” that allow members to bring a friend for free.

Healthworks: https://www.facebook.com/healthworksfitness?fref=ts

Gym deals are scattered all over Boston.   I had an amazing experience trying out the Tabata class at Equinox during my 1 day free trial.  If you live near a Boston Sports Club, keep an eye out for 3 day free trial flyers in your area (think anywhere with a bulletin board or pamphlets around).  The Allston BSC location often had trainers standing outside their gym with a prize wheel.  The prize wheel allowed people to spin to win a certain number of free days to try out BSC, a fun way to engage new members!

Your exercise options are limitless this summer!  Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Exercising on the Cheap series!

Exercising on the Cheap Part 1

Hello all!

I’m a sucker for a good deal. Exercising in Boston can be pricey.  With that said, I am constantly looking for ways to pay less for exercise classes. Lucky for me, the summertime in Boston is FILLED with opportunities to exercise for free! Need to shake up your exercise routine?  Here are five tips for finding free ways to exercise near you! Want specific classes/deals to look out for this summer? Stay tuned-this will be an ongoing series on the blog.

1. Just ask.

Gyms and studios want members. They get members by reeling you in and getting you hooked on their brand. It is to their advantage to give you a free trial with the hope that you fall in love and have to join. I quickly learned that just about any gym/studio will let you try them out for free! Gyms often give you anywhere from a 1 day to 1 month pass to try them out. Many gyms and studios publish this on their website, but not everyone does. It pays to call/e-mail/go in person and tell them you’ve been dying to try them out. Odds are-they’ll let you try for free!

2. “Like” healthy resources in your area.

Sign up for newsletters and follow studios on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media outlet.  Studios send along special promotions or incentives in their newsletters. If you aren’t worried about doling out too much of your personal info, many times studios will send you a free class or discount on your birthday if you provide them with the date.  Additionally, if you haven’t worked out at a certain studio in a while, many of them try to get you to return by sending you a deal to get you back in the door. Following these studios on social media can help you to learn about events at the studio and any promotions they have going on at the time.

3. Follow less likely sources.

You would be surprised how many sports stores, local parks and recreation departments and even Universities offer free health lectures, exercise classes and contests. Follow them on your social media platform of choice and find out about cool events in your area! In Boston, lululemon, City Sports, Marathon Sports and Athleta all host weekly classes/lectures/runs for free that they advertise on Facebook.  All you have to do is sign up!

4. Talk to your friends.

Recently, a friend of mine was looking for some workout motivation and needed a workout partner. She then got an e-mail from her gym offering a 5 day pass for a friend, of course I was all too happy to scoop that up! We then found out that her gym has monthly member appreciation days. On those days, all members are able to bring a friend for free! Depending on the gym, they may offer members a certain number of free passes per year as well. You might need to treat your friend to a post workout smoothie if he/she keeps taking you for free 🙂

5. Be on the lookout for new studios.

New studios need new members. A lot of studios will have an opening party with free classes or at the very least reduced price classes at first.  Signing up for your local “deal of the day” website is a great way to find out about new studios with promotions.  Gyms with monthly memberships may enroll the first batch of members at very reduced rates.  I try to stay on top of new studios in the area through social media or other health/fitness blogs in my city.

First Post!

Hello out there and welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog! I’ll start by telling you a bit about myself and my blog. I’m Emily, a Boston girl who loves to exercise. I ran in college and have since used various forms of exercise to supplement my running.  I’d still define myself as a “runner” but am constantly on the look out for new ways to sweat!  I plan to share my experiences finding the right balance of healthy eating and exercising after college. Exercising and meal planning can take up a great deal of time and money, I’d love to share what I do to save on both in Boston.  I live in Boston with my husband and dog, Casey, so you will likely be hearing a lot about them as well. I’d love for this blog to be as interactive as possible, so please feel free to ask questions or suggest the types of posts you’d like to read!