Monday night I took a new cardio/strength class at my gym. I’m always skeptical of group fitness classes – didn’t they die out in the ’80s?? Anyway, I was looking to mix-up my workout routine and decided to give SHRED a try. Here’s the description from the Equinox website -
SHRED was created by Matthew Waszen. This total body workout will challenge your cardiovascular and strength levels with body weight, free weights, plyometrics and core stability training. Push yourself to new limits by shocking your system and shredding your body fat away just in time for summer.
I chose my spot in the studio and set out my step, 12 lb body bar, medicine ball, and 5 lb weights. We started the class with some medicine ball warm-ups and proceeded on to a choreographed routine of planks, jumping jacks, push-ups, weight lifting, and cardio intervals. HOLY COW. I thought I was going to die. We did this one particulary dificult exercise: 12 jumping jacks, 12 push-ups, 11 jumping jacks, 11 push-ups, 10 jumping jacks, 10 push-ups, and so on…until we reached zero. By the end of the 45 minute class, my legs were very tired, but I finished up with an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical. This is weak 2 of my strength building phase and I’m hoping muscles will start to get a little bit stronger!
Tuesday morning was slow going – I could not wake up when my alarm went off at 6:45am. I ended up staying in bed until 7:30am! After preparing for the day and dropping of some dry cleaning, I headed out the door.
Breakfast was coffee with milk, 2 sliced fresh apricots, skim milk, and 1/2 cup Nature’s Path Optimum Slim cereal. The cereal reminds me a lot of Kashi Go Lean and it has similar stats – 9 grams of Protein and 9 grams of Fiber per 1 cup serving. This cereal is a little sweet and a lot crunchy. Two thumbs up for being organic to boot!
I squeezed in a quick mid-day workout: 3×10 lunges, 3×10 push-ups, 25 minutes elliptical, and 5 minutes rowing.
Lunch was my usual salad with sun chips!
In today’s salad:
- romaine and mixed greens
- carrots, red onion, black olives
- ~1/3 cup 4 bean salad
- feta cheese
- Tbs dried cranberries
- 2 Tbs balsamic vinaigrette
- Whole grain croutons
Last night from 6-9pm I attended a Cake & Desserts class at the Whole Foods-Bowery Culinary Center. You might remember the classes I took on pie-making and bread-baking over the past few months. These classes are small, hands-on sessions that focus on a specific kitchen skill. I always leave with a notebook full of tips, great recipes, and yummy food. Stay tuned for a complete review of the class 
Since I was busy baking during the evening hours, I had a lot of snacks rather than a regular dinner. I started off with some carrots sticks and a babybel cheese. I kept a baggie of pecans and dried cherries in my apron pocket and nibbled as I went along.
And you can bet that I had quite a few samples of the delicious things we baked. On the menu: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, Biscuits with Lemon Curd, and Blueberry Cobbler. Yum!!
