We made it through Thanksgiving! My apologies that I did not post earlier in the week; I hosted Thanksgiving this year and split my week between prepping and refereeing children. For a lot of years I dreaded the idea of being in charge of Thanksgiving. When I was a kid my entire family got really REALLY sick after eating Thanksgiving dinner at a relative’s home. We are talking my siblings and I laying in front of the bathroom because our parents didn’t want to chance us throwing up all over the house (especially because they too were sick). Most of the people who attended this dinner got sick and it left a semi terrifying notion about being in charge of a large scale meal, especially Thanksgiving. The adults traced the sickness back to a poorly prepared turkey and it changed how I felt about meat and preparing meat for the rest of my life. For many years I (and then my husband and I) was just a guest at Thanksgiving and that made it easy. Once we had children, things became slightly more complicated. Both of my kids have November birthdays so when they were babies/toddlers, it was easier for us to stay home and have people come to us rather than travel. There was no way I was traveling with a 2 or 3 week old baby for some turkey and mashed potatoes. When hosting duties fell on me, I tried to make prepping and serving this meal as simple and stress free as humanly possible. For me this meant buying a fully cooked turkey (at least I knew it was prepped and cooked properly) and then preparing the sides. There was a family owned grocery store in VA that had the most amazing pre cooked, Cajun fried turkey. They actually made turkey taste pretty darn good. I felt like I was foolish for even thinking I should attempt to cook a turkey when I could buy a turkey that was this good. I would leave that to the store and felt confident that I could make mashed potatoes, vegetables and stuffing from a box without getting anyone ill.
That all changed maybe 4 or 5 years ago.
For starters that family owned grocery store sold out to a larger, chain grocery conglomerate. They still served some of the speciality items from the smaller store but the precooked Thanksgiving turkeys were not one of them. I was then left to figure out where to get my precooked turkey. Luckily for me the Fresh Market also did a pretty nice precooked turkey so changed gears and ordered one from there. The following year, feeling fairly confident, I went ahead and placed my order for my precooked turkey and focused on stuffing and dessert. I had even moved away from the boxed stuff and tried making my own- this was the big leagues. The day before Thanksgiving came and I sent my husband to pick up our turkey. Most women know that upon sending a husband to the grocery store, you are bound to get at least one call or text asking for clarification on or where to locate an item. Consequently I was not terribly shocked when he called from the Fresh Market.
“Did you order a precooked turkey?”
“Of course, I don’t cook turkey, you know that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why are you asking??”
“Because they are telling me that you ordered a raw turkey. I don’t have any other options here. Thanksgiving is tomorrow.”
Face crack of the century.
Well, folks, I had not ordered a precooked turkey at all. I had ordered a raw turkey breast. Raw, as in uncooked, raw, as in if you don’t cook this bird, nobody’s having turkey on Thanksgiving.
I took one look at that raw turkey and promptly burst into tears.
After 10 minutes of sheer panic, I knew that I couldn’t roll over and play dead; I needed to figure out this situation. It may seem so silly, being completely freaked out over cooking turkey, but that memory of spending days after Thanksgiving sick with my entire family, was and is etched so firmly in my mind. I’ve had a lifelong fear of undercooking meat or unintentionally making someone sick from a dish or meal I’ve prepared. The story has a happy ending; thanks to the folks on the internet, I was able to figure out the simplest way to make sure this turkey got fully cooked. It didn’t taste too bad either! This is a prime example of how you never really know what little things in someone’s back story make them tick. I’ve gotten past the fear of cooking the turkey but every year I do hold my breath when people begin to eat and pray that I didn’t royally mess things up. This year my daughter took a bite of turkey and said it ‘tasted weird’ (it turned out she had bit into some gristly fat) but in that moment I had a minor panic. The only comforting thing is that my husband and his parents do not hold back with their commentaries on food- if it tasted/look bad or wrong, they would for sure let me know. Spoiler alert- it is three days later and we are ok so I think I’m in the clear.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with friends and loved ones! My bike was probably the only thing this week keeping me sane. My schedule was wacky but every day I managed to take a time out for just me. I had another playlist this week (I think the final one for November) but the challenges were more interpersonal with the group rather than making sure we did a wider variety of classes. There are 5 days worth of classes in this post and run the gambit from music rides to stretches to strength to yoga. There are no straight up business rides but any ride can be turned into a high intensity one if that is truly what you need. I will stop yammering on and get to the metaphorical meat and potatoes of the post. Here are the workouts for the Sunday through Thursday of last week-
Sunday-
Another week, another playlist! For this week’s playlist we were challenged to ride with 6 other members of the group; it could be all at once or over the course of several rides. A lot of the members are on the west coast so doing some of the classes I like to do early was not really going to work (the exception was this year’s Turkey Burn). Someone announced over the chat that they were planning to take Ally’s final Sundays with Love class and 3 others immediately joined in. I was going to be home and figured I may as well jump on as well; if nothing else it is a quick 4 points and another 30 points toward my weekly total. I wanted to stack this with another class as it was Sunday and that usually means I’m ready to work. I felt like taking a Denis class with one of his well curated playlists. I went way back in time (I specifically wanted a 20 minute ride, no arm work) and found this 20 min 90s Ride from back in April. If you’ve ridden with Denis you know that it doesn’t matter if the ride is 20 or 45 minutes, you will get a tough workout. I’ve done 20 minute classes with Denis that have left me feeling like I worked for way longer than I actually did. While this class was a solid workout, it wasn’t one that will completely gas you in 20 minutes. He starts class with a 7 minute warmup; it begins with a flat road and then moves into 30 second spin ups. From there he programs two more climbs (one is a climb/jog) and a heavy cadence push to finish class. There are a couple of short recoveries along the way that kept the ride from being over the top tough. I always love Denis’ playlists; he always reaches just far enough back in time where the songs aren’t obscure but also ones you wouldn’t necessarily play in a workout. Granted he programs a mega, often used AC/DC hit track in the middle of class to keep it interesting. Overall this is a solid moderate workout; I was feeling pretty good until the last two minutes of the workout. I think this is a great all level workout and perfect for a stack.
Next came Ally’s last ride in this third season of ‘Sundays with Love’. This week’s theme is farewell, but don’t worry, Ally isn’t going anywhere. Honestly there was a moment during that ride where I started thinking ‘is she going to drop some huge news on us!?’ but then she clarified that it was just goodbye to the series. Ally programs a tough workout, divided into three blocks- understand, unlock and unleash. She starts with a 4 minute, progressive add warmup, pushing speed throughout the track. The rest of the roadmap leans more heavily on resistance work; class starts with a moderate hill, out of the saddle and then alternates between climbing and short periods of recovery. This is one of those situations where the first minute of a song may be recovery while the rest of the track is work. There are a total of 3 climbs (not counting that moderate hill at the beginning) and she finishes the workout with the longest resistance push of class. I have said this before regarding Sundays with Love; I enjoy listening to Ally talk while my body is busy with the work. It gives me something to preoccupy my brain plus I come to the class knowing that it is not just about the workout. If you are looking to get on the bike, work and be done, this may not be the ride for you. Ally goes beyond the physical and takes a deep dive into the mental and emotional. I have said this before, I never walk away from an Ally Love ride ‘empty handed’, I always come away with food for thought or piece of advice that I can apply to some part of my life. While I like and enjoy this, I definitely need to be in the mood for real talk and do not think it is for everyone. If you are ready to work out both the body and the soul, jump on the bike with Ally for Sundays with Love. You can also catch up on the rest of this season as well as the last two seasons on demand.
Monday-
Monday was the season finale of Dancing with the Stars and it only seemed fitting to revisit one of my absolute favorite Cody rides. Cody’s 30 RuPaul’s Drag Race Ride from back in April (right before the season 13 finale) is a party on the bike. I posted about this on IG- it might be sacrilege to say that any ride but the Britney ride is the most favorite/best Cody ride. For me, the Britney ride was my favorite until the Drag Race Ride dropped. Cody was the one who actually got me in to Drag Race; I remember when I first started riding with him (right before the pandemic started), he would make always Drag Race references or show opinions in class. It sounded amazing and I knew I needed to see what it was all about. I hadn’t seen a drag show since my early 20s and had no other frame of reference for RuPaul other than “Supermodel”. At this point we were heading into a full lockdown and it seemed like the the perfect time to start binge watching a new show. My daughter and I proceeded to watch every season of Drag Race that we could find between Prime Video, Hulu and Netflix. Before we watched I thought it was going to be a brighter, more fabulous version of Project Runway, which is one of our favorite shows. Spoiler- it is not at all like Project Runway, but still one of the greatest shows on TV. RuPaul doesn’t have all those Emmys for nothing! I would recommend watching a couple episodes by yourself before watching it with a kid; my daughter and I watched the first one together and she was completely enamored. I, on the other hand, realized that this was not for kids but at that point it was too late. Most of the double entendres go over her head and she is a straight up RuPaul super fan at this point. I think if she could meet any famous person on the planet it would be 100% be RuPaul.
So bringing this all back to fitness, when I saw that Cody was doing a ride to celebrate the season 13 finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race I could not have been more excited. This ride absolutely does not disappoint; it is peak Cody entertainment with all of the Drag Race opinions and commentary you did not know you needed. There is plenty here to enjoy even if you are not a fan of the show. It may even pique your curiosity to go check out some episodes (Prime Video has a lot of seasons, you can also check out clips on YouTube. My recommendations would be seasons 5 and 7 and All Stars season 2). The music is all pop/dance tracks with a couple RuPaul/Drag Race alum originals thrown in the mix. Cody plans a solid all level workout in this ride; you could make this ride as easy or challenging as you want or need. He starts with a 3 minute flat road warmup and then jumps right into the classwork. The roadmap for class consists of a pretty even split between resistance and speed work. He programs recoveries throughout to give the rider the opportunity to pull back and lower the heart rate. Most of the climbing is done out of the saddle and the sprint work is in intervals; the rider can always modify with less resistance and seated efforts. Overall this is a good time; you get a nice sweat while being thoroughly entertained by Cody. This is definitely one of those rides I keep handy for days when I need a 30 minute distraction from life. He might just make a Drag Race fan out of you too!!
I was not feeling another cycling class after the Drag Race Ride but wanted to do something else to get time in for my challenge. I flipped through the on demand menu and found this new 20 minute core workout from Emma. We all know I absolutely hate core work but there are some days when that seems to be the best option. I didn’t feel like jumping around and laying on the mat seemed like a good plan, even if it involved crunches. This is a really solid core workout; Emma plans a fairly dynamic well rounded strength workout that doesn’t focus solely on a handful of movements. She plans three rounds of varied exercises all targeted at strengthening the core. The warmup/activation is a short but tough plank series. I found that while we were supposed to be in the warm up, it seemed as if we dove right into the work. She follows this with a sit up/crunch series, some oblique work and finishes class with a 3 x 3 core circuit. I believe I have said this before; I dislike a lot of core classes because they tend to focus on a small number of repeated exercises. If I don’t like or have trouble with one of those exercises, my brain immediately goes to ‘I hate this’ or ‘I want this to be over’ and an overall feeling that the workout was a huge waste of time. Emma plans enough different moves in this class where if one isn’t successful there are plenty of others in the circuits. If she can win over this core hater, I would consider that a success. If you are looking to add a little more core work or want a strength workout that doesn’t involve standing or jumping, this is the one for you. While everything is on the floor, it is definitely not easy!
Tuesday-
AT’s 2020 Turkey Burn was this week’s group class for the playlist; I thought that I had done this workout last year but surprisingly I did not. I tried to plan out my week to not have this year and last year’s Turkey Burns back to back to give my legs a break. AT’s Turkey Burn 2020 (and I’m sure it is the same with 2021) is everything you would expect from an Alex class- high energy, tough workout, lots of enthusiastic hype and a solid playlist. I love riding with Alex because he is in the pocket with the rider throughout the workout while simultaneously cheering them on every step of the way. You cannot help but catch some of that enthusiasm, even if it is through a screen. He starts with a 4 minute flat road warmup, speeding up for 2 short pushes. This is a tough workout; Alex definitely designs an aggressive roadmap for these 45 minutes. He programs a dynamic and balanced workout; there are sprints, jogs, HIIT and climbs as well as three designated recoveries (there is also some down time in the intervals). I believe there is room here to modify to tone down the metrics but that will in no way make the workout any easier. Alex tends to program shorter ranges for the metrics but use those as minimums (with no maximum). You may need to finagle your resistance to match how you are feeling in the workout; the key here is to be able to stay on the bike for 45 minutes. If you are able to ride the bike for that long, I think you could tweak this workout to customize it for you- especially since it is a fun, energetic and uplifting ride. This may sound crazy but sometimes catching the feeling and essence of the ride gives enough of a push to propel you through the work. Some rides just hype me up, especially if I am in the mental space to be uplifted (if that makes sense). There are times when we are more open to the message and feeling than others. As a practice, Alex tends to tap into those feelings (for me); if he’s selling, I’m buying! It is interesting to take a look back at the mindset during Thanksgiving 2020 and think about how far we have come. It gives me hope that we can only go up from here! If you are looking for a tough, sweaty workout with the energetic essence of AT, look no further than 2020’s Turkey Burn. It will work you out, uplift the spirit and put a smile on your face.
I’ve been trying to get more into stretching after I workout to help ward off some of my aches and pains and aid in my performance on the bike. Plus it is an easy way to get 10 extra minutes toward my 300 minute total for this week’s challenge. I prefer the 10 minute stretches; I don’t think that 5 minutes is enough to get a really good stretch. If I’m on the mat for 5 minutes, an extra 5 isn’t going to kill me. I usually stretch while checking emails (multitasking for the win!) so I don’t feel like I am ‘wasting time’. This 10 minute Ed Sheeran Stretch with Robin is a solid full body stretch. It felt good to stretch after taking a high intensity ride like Alex’s. Robin picks a few more relaxing Ed Sheeran tracks to wind the whole body down from exercise. I think anyone who is interested in adding more stretching to their overall routine would definitely benefit from bookmarking a couple of these longer full body stretches so they are easy to find. You could even stack them on top of your workout so one finishes and the other starts right up. I find a lot of excuses to not stretch and get back to my day to day but it really does make a difference.
Wednesday-
My legs were dead from AT’s class on Tuesday; I knew I needed to take a break, especially if I wanted to be able to this year’s Turkey Burn on Thursday. I planned to do a 45 minute Yoga class as my daily workout and found this Power Yoga class from Mariana. For my challenge this week we had to take classes with at least 6 members of the group to get those points. I needed 2 more points and coincidentally 2 girls from the group announced they were going to do this 10 minute Glutes and Legs class with Adrian at 9am. I figured it was the perfect opportunity to check that off the list so I jumped on that class before yoga. If you’ve ever lifted with Adrian, whether it be 10 or 45 minute class, he keeps it at a 10 for the entire workout. This workout is only 10 minutes long, but in true Adrian style, he puts his own spin on a shorter workout to take advantage of every minute. This class involves only two moves, each done for 30 seconds, with a 15 second rest and repeated for the entire class. Since it is only two moves, you hit those areas (butt and legs) pretty hard for it only being 10 minutes. It was just enough to work the legs without ridiculous soreness the following day.
I followed Adrian’s class with Mariana’s 45 minute Power Yoga. I picked Power Yoga because it moves at a quicker pace than a regular flow and enjoyed the shorter Power Yoga with Denis that I did last week. Overall this was a tough class; it probably should be labeled as intermediate or even advanced. It moves at a much quicker pace than the one I took with Denis (not a big deal) and brings in elements of not only yoga but Pilates, HIIT and barre. You definitely need a yoga block for this class; it would be difficult to do a lot of the exercises without one. Mariana refers to this class as ‘the one with the block’ for a reason. The moves are a little more complicated and multi-step; for someone who has never taken a yoga class or does not have a ton of experience, this would be a tough class. I found myself getting mixed up and needing to watch her more than I did when I took Denis’ class. That being said, I enjoyed the class and got a lot of out of the workout. The playlist is a good mix of rock/alt rock that keeps the class moving even through the more difficult sequences. While I don’t know if I would do this class again, it was a nice change of pace and departure from my usual workout. I’ve enjoyed rediscovering yoga through Peloton; Mariana did a wonderful job articulating the movements and explaining the workout. I enjoy Power Yoga because it makes me feel like I worked out. The workout is dynamic, fast paced and hard work. If you are semi comfortable and familiar with sun salutations and yoga poses, this class would be an excellent addition to your workout regimen.
Thursday-
On Thursday most of my challenge group wanted to take AT’s Turkey Burn Ride at 8am ET. I felt a twinge of guilt because some of them are on Mountain and Pacific time and were getting up at 5 and 6 in the morning to do that ride- I didn’t have it in me to get to the bike by 8. In my defense I woke up at 6am to start prepping for Thanksgiving- cut veggies, start potatoes in the crock pot, double check that I had everything I needed to make the meal. My biggest fear in planning something like a Thanksgiving meal (aside from my turkey issue) is being knee deep in cooking and realize that I forgot or do not have enough of an ingredient. Luckily that did not happen and my meal went off without a hitch- it was a ton of work, but everything turned out well. I got a bunch of stuff done that morning and was ready to go for Robin’s Turkey Burn Ride at 11am. I am so glad I waited and did this ride with Robin- it was so well planned and fantastic. Robin leaves nothing to chance; outfit is on point, playlist is FIRE, workout is tough but not impossible and most importantly, the theme is one of energy, enthusiasm, togetherness, hope and self love. I knew this ride was going to be amazing when she kicked everything off with “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie- you could be 8 or 80, that is one of those songs that lifts the mood. The roadmap here is moderate to difficult, depending on your fitness level and needs/wants. The ride consists of 3 rolling hills mixed with 3 sets of intervals. She programs plenty of recovery between the climbs and sprints and keeps the metric ranges wide to make the ride accessible to all types of riders. Robin encourages modifications throughout the ride; scaling back on the metrics and taking efforts in the saddle could definitely make this class an all level workout. I sound like a broken record but if you are able to ride the bike for 45 continuous minutes, I believe you could tackle this class. I always think that the endorphins that come in from these fun, uplifting rides paired with the music help carry the rider through the workout. I ignored a lot of my metrics while doing this ride, focused on enjoying the music and workout and came very close to a PR. The class starts with a 7 minute, 2 part/track warmup. The first part is a flat road to get the legs moving and the second is a short climb (this is NOT one of the 3 class climbs). She starts the working portion of class with speed intervals and finishes the ride with 2 sprints. The longest resistance push of the class is a two part climb that clocks in at around 5 minutes. There is a lot of workout in this 45 minute block but between Robin’s stories and the music, class flew by for me. It gave me the opportunity to sit and take inventory of the things that I am truly grateful for this year. I think with our busy lives always going, picking up, taking, dropping off, it is nice to have some time to ourselves to process the good parts of right now. Granted we may be working toward something bigger and better and have other goals in mind, but there’s a lot of good in appreciating the now. While the theme of this ride is Thanksgiving, the message is one that exists all year. If you get the opportunity and have the time, take this ride- it is 45 minutes of good vibes that will give you that little extra boost you need to take on the rest of your day.
I know I have said this before, but I am so thankful for you all; the readers who come back week after week to see what my kids have done and hear me ramble on about Peloton. I appreciate your support more than you can possible know! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends, stayed safe and hopefully got in some time on your Peloton! I will see you back here later to wrap up the weekend!