We celebrated my daughter’s tenth birthday over the weekend. I honestly can’t believe I no longer have any kids with single digit ages; I won’t lie, I had my own ‘how did this happen’ moment today. I was flipping through pictures on my phone, thinking how did this little one with her baby male pattern baldness grow up into a big kid with a full head of normal hair and a ton of opinions? I think all parents can attest that when the youngest passes any milestone or phase of life, it is extra hard. There’s the realization that this is it, this is the last time this thing will happen- it’s the last time we will have a single digit child. I know it sounds corny or cheesy but I was feeling some kind of way about the whole thing. It’s not like I want to go back in time to toddler tantrums, silence equaling destruction or a complete inability to blow one’s own nose (except on your shirt) but a couple moments would be nice. Alas, I know it is impossible to go back in time so photos will have to do. Plus I know we have a lot of exciting years ahead of us and that makes me happy.
We have some friends who have a daughter with a birthday one week after my daughter’s so we decided to have a combined roller skating party. We ended up renting out the rink for 2 hours and letting about 20 girls go crazy (within reason). We wanted people to feel comfortable sending their daughter to an indoor birthday party so it made sense to have the space all to ourselves. About half of the girls could actually roller skate and the other half were using those walkers to help them skate. I’ve never seen so much falling in my entire life- from both groups. Thank goodness they have young bodies because I think one tumble like that and I would have been done. I watched them fall, get up, move, fall again all while having fun. We only had one girl with tears from a fall but thankfully she wasn’t hurt (I think it was more embarrassment than anything). Looking at some of these girls, you see how kids can grow up so quickly. I love my daughter’s friends, they are all very sweet girls with nice parents…but they are definite cool girls. These are the girls who definitely would not have been my friend back in the day- me who was a slightly overweight, frizzy haired girl with glasses and an immense love of books. I guess these things are cyclical; my daughter one day may have her own daughter that wants to sit and read all day and do extra credit rather than play sports. She, just like me, will wonder where the heck did this kid come from!?! Then the antics will ensue and the cycle continues.
I didn’t have nearly as much time in the latter part of the week so there are not as many classes discussed in this newsletter. I managed to finish all of my playlist for week 2 of my challenge so that has me feeling good. I was driven a lot by the music for many (possibly all) of the classes discussed below. The instructors are reaching deeper and deeper into the musical vault and I am here for every minute of it. Every workout here is strong enough to be done on its own or in a stack with maybe the exception of the Bike Bootcamp (although it is always possible based on your own fitness goals). Let’s get to the good stuff and finish up last week’s workouts-
Thursday-
The theme for me this week has been PLAYLISTS! I don’t know if the instructors are doing something extra special with the music or I am just finding the classes where the music is speaking to me the loudest but these playlists have been everything! I have been pretty vocal about my love for Denis’ 80s and Classic Rock Rides. I had been trying to find a time to fit this 20 min 80s Ride in and finally got it on Thursday. The playlist in this ride, as always, is fantastic. Denis reaches back into the 80s and pulls out a 6 track playlist of hits that you don’t always associate with exercise but are still fire. I appreciate that he finds a way to broaden the scope of the 80s Rides beyond hair metal and Eye of the Tiger. Denis programs a nicely balanced workout with a little bit of everything- climbs, spin ups and choreography. He starts with a 7 minute warmup, progressively adding resistance and moving into some speed work. There is a short programmed recovery and then the only climb of class. The ride finishes up with choreography and sprints. Denis teaches a consistently tough, well balanced class- you get exactly the workout you expect and want. I never walk away from his rides feeling let down or disappointed. If you love 80s music and have only 20 minutes to exercise, this is the workout you need in your life.
I finished Denis’ ride and hopped into Ally’s 30 Intervals and Arms. I have gone on record saying that Intervals and Arms is my least favorite class on the platform. This particular I&A class, though, may have changed my mind about this workout. I was initially attracted to this ride because of the playlist; Ally programs a mashup of classic rock (mostly 80s stuff) and K Pop to create a true listening experience. It sounds like a weird mix but totally works. I think part of what makes this playlist so amazing (and this ride so enjoyable) is how meticulously Ally matches the songs with the work. The song playing at any given moment absolutely compliments the workout. My largest takeaway in the class was not the music but the message. I lament how I&A is my least favorite because it is so hard to push the metrics and it always seems like people are cheating the leaderboard (that annoys me, don’t cheat! Every time you ride you get stronger-that should be enough). She calls Intervals and Arms ‘the class that pays the bills’; it is the class where you come to put in some of the maintenance work that will enable you to continue growing and progressing as a rider. I honestly have never thought about it that way but it makes so much sense. I get caught up in the metrics and how I wanted my output to be higher or climb the leaderboard and forget the big picture. It is funny how readjusting your focus can allow you to look at something in such a completely different light. I can’t guarantee I won’t complain about the leaderboard cheating but I definitely have a whole new appreciation for this class. I always have enjoyed the way Ally teaches this class; she makes the entire ride progressive resistance training. In this particular class there are 4 endurance interval and 3 upper body weights blocks. All of the work is done in the saddle with a moderate to heavy resistance. The goal here is to push through the slight discomfort for 4 minute blocks and gradually add a little more resistance for every new block. The arm blocks each focus on a single exercise for the entire duration of the block. The moves are simple but done non stop for the entire 2-3 minutes; the repetition turns those light weights into some serious burn. I think there is a ton of room in this class for modifications since all the work is done in the saddle. The rider can stay on the low end (or even below) of the recommended resistance and stop pedaling during strength blocks to bring the heart rate down. There is a ton of wiggle room for the rider to take this class and make it their own. If you are looking to slow it down a little and listen to some fire music, this is the class for you. If you are looking to get stronger on the bike and put out more power, investing time in a class like this will help. You may not run up the leaderboard or PR but strengthening these foundational skills will help you grow as a rider in the long run.
Friday-
I had an appointment Friday morning that ended up starting a half an hour before the original scheduled time (oddly enough, this helped me in the end) so I didn’t have a ton of time to work out. I had looked at this ride on Thursday and knew it had a really strong playlist; it seemed to be the perfect solo workout. If you only had 30 minutes to workout, this class will give you everything you need- fire 80s playlist and a tough, well balanced workout. I cannot say enough about this amazing playlist; Emma keeps making these playlists, you almost forget she’s simultaneously kicking your butt on the bike! She starts with 80s Fleetwood Mac which goes right into Prince and then Genesis; seriously go on the app or the bike and check out this playlist. I feel like there are popular 80s tracks and tracks that are always played in 80s rides; Emma pulls from popular 80s music that you might not always hear in a workout. The roadmap in this ride does not lean too heavily on any one metric; she programs 3 climbs and 3 intervals. The class starts with a fast flat road with short bursts of speed, moves to out of the saddle jog intervals and the first heavy climb of class. From that point on she alternates between climbing and speed work while giving short moments of recovery along the way. While I found this class to be challenging (I don’t know if Emma’s classes are ever NOT challenging) there is a lot of room to modify. I find back and forth between speed and resistance work does not gas me nearly as quickly as a long block of climbing or sprinting. Pulling back on resistance could definitely make things easier and the climbs and jogs could be done in the saddle. I loved this class and bookmarked it to do again- Emma gives you a sweaty workout to an epic 80s soundtrack. The music alone makes this class a must take!
Saturday-
I had to take two bootcamps this week for my challenge; I did one early in the week but kept putting off taking the second one. I was really sore from the first one and used that as a mental excuse to keep waiting. When Friday rolled around and I still hadn’t done it, I knew it needed to happen for me to finish the playlist. If there’s one thing that pushes me more than anything it is finishing this thing with as many points as possible. While I went back and forth on taking a shorter bootcamp, I had had my eye on this particular class for some time because of the playlist. Even if you are not the biggest hip hop fan, I predict you will enjoy the music in this class. Jess plays so many essential hip hop tracks; the ones that pump you up and get you going. I saw that she was playing B.O.B. and I Don’t F with You (the clean version) and that was enough to get me psyched up about this workout. I am convinced you need to be psyched up when heading into a Jess Sims workout otherwise it is going to be a straight uphill climb (both literally and figuratively). These bootcamps are always tough and Jess never ever dials in the workout. You might be cursing at her; I think at one point when we were on the bike I just yelled NO at the screen for no apparent reason. It was as if my brain had completely left my body and the only reaction to what was happening was a full on toddler NO. Immediately after I began having the ‘wtf was that?’ internal conversation with myself. As with all 45 minute bootcamps, the workout is divided into 4 segments- B/F/B/F. She begins with a four minute flat road warmup while picking up the pace for a few quick bursts of speed. Jess comes out of the gate STRONG with this one; the very first working segment on the bike is a listening game. I won’t tell you the song (you can look on the playlist if you are curious) but the whole thing is a lot- dare I say aggressive for so early in the class. She jumps from that listening game right to seated Tabata pushes (you can see why my NO seems appropriate) to finish off the first bike block. The second block on the bike is a little less aggressive (it is all relative and by no means easy). She starts with two resistance pick ups (both under a minute but still tough) and moves into out of saddle resistance pushes to finish the block. The first weight block is a 3 move, ascending unilateral ladder. The three moves are done on just one side, starting at one rep and moving as far up the ladder as you can for 3 minutes. There is a short break and the same thing is done on the opposite side. This is seriously difficult; you don’t realize how tough unilateral work can be until you go non stop on one side for a full 3 minutes. For the second weight block and final exercises of class, she programs a 6 minute A and B EMOM (each with 2 moves), alternating between the two sets of exercises. She begins with 6 reps for the first 2 minutes, 7 for the second and 8 to finish out the last two minutes. As always we finished with the ever popular plank party. I found both of the weight blocks to be equally challenging; the intensity and duration of the weight work is tough. That being said, the workout feels dynamic and fresh- I don’t feel like you get the same old thing with Jess Sims. She is consistently raising the bar and thinking up new ways to take weight work and make it interesting. I might be yelling NO but she definitely serves a quality workout every time. The playlist gives this class that extra something; I know sometimes it can be easy to downplay the music when trying to get through a tough weight circuit. You are concentrating on your form or just finishing the sets. The playlist in this class is fantastic and gives the brain the opportunity to latch onto to something other than the same old ‘oh wow this is terrible’ rhetoric. If you are ready to get your cardio and weight work all in one package, look no further than this Hip Hop Bike Bootcamp. It is not easy but you will definitely walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment- and possibly a little sore the next day.
That is it for me! Birthdays are finally over for now (my husband is coming up in December) so hopefully I can be a little more focused and organized. Then again, Thanksgiving is next week so that could all go out the window- but I can hope, right?Have an awesome week and I will see you back here for the mid week update!