Change is in the Air

Happy March everyone! It feels like there's a lot of change in the air- we had warm weather last week in Pittsburgh and pretty much all of the snow is melted, and there seems to be a shift towards more positivity when I'm talking to people. Spring is (almost) here! I know that we still probably have another snowfall or two coming our way, but I'm going to soak in all of the warmth while I can.

This week I started to integrate some classes with Apple Fitness + to my week! Last week I got an Apple Watch to replace my Garmin that's lasted me 6 years, and with it I got a 3 month trial for the fitness classes. After I try out a bunch of classes, I'll definitely share my thoughts on the classes versus my experience with Peloton Digital! To distinguish these classes, I'll mark the ones with Apple Fitness + with AF+, and Peloton as P. Here's a look at what I did this week-

Monday

Time to Walk with Dolly Parton (Apple Fitness+)

For today's walk, I decided to try out a feature in Apple Fitness called Time to Walk. These are guided audio workouts with famous and inspiring people. The first one was by Dolly Parton, who is an amazing story teller! She talks about writing a few of her most famous songs, and I love how the workout combines the story telling with the actual song. This was such a pleasant walk!

45 min Pop Bootcamp with Jess (Peloton)

This was a really fun bootcamp-usually Jess's classes are super difficult and make me want to cry a few times but this one was just fun. It was still a great workout but was definitely on the easier side. Didn't mind that at all and felt super strong the entire time.

Tuesday

Time to Walk with Draymond Green (AF+)

Today's guided walk was with NBA player Draymond Green, where he talked about getting started in basketball in his small town, and all the roadblocks he hit along the way to becoming a successful player. This one was really interesting to listen to since I don't really follow basketball and haven't heard of him, but loved hearing his story. There were also some images included while he talked- my watch would buzz when a photo was included which I thought was a really cool and immersive experience. 

30 min Total Strength with Andy (P)

Final week of the program! Today's full body workout was all about power and explosive movements- everything was taken up a notch and we used more of our full body to use larger weights with our movements. This was such a fun workout!

20 min HIIT Run with Matt (P)

It's finally warmer out, so I headed out after the strength workout to go for a quick run. It was super windy which made this run a bit harder, but I was happy to be out there. Today also marked the one year anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery's death, so I felt fortunate to be able to run safely and dedicated my miles to his memory to #FinishTheRun

Wednesday

20 min Cycling with Bakari (AF+)

I had a full day of meetings today, so I woke up earlier to get in my workout before the day started. This was my first cycling working with Apple and it was awesome! I chose a Throwback Hits playlist which was really fun and kept the class enjoyable. I really liked Bakari's energy and his smile was infectious. I'll be sharing more thoughts on the actual app and watch experience after trying it more, but so far I'm really impressed.

Time to Walk with Uzo Aduba (AF+)

It was an absolute BEAUTIFUL day outside- it was up in the 60s and bright blue skies. Had to take a longer walk to enjoy! I absolutely loved this guided walk- Uzo is another fantastic story teller and had her dog along with her for her walk. She talked about getting the role on Orange is the New Black and growing up in a migrant family. It was fascinating to hear her stories and I really enjoyed this entire walk.

Thursday

40 min Run

During my lunch break I headed to the park to run- it was a beautiful day again but a little colder, and was perfect for running. I ended doing a 10 minute warmup and a 30 minute walk+run on the Peloton app. I mostly ran the entire time but did take two of the shorter walk breaks to enjoy the weather a little more. 

Friday

Time to Walk with Shawn Mendes (AF+)

I wasn't expecting to like this walk much because I'm not a HUGE Shawn Mendes fan, but it was surprisingly insightful. He talks about always feeling pressure to live up to past successes and what will happen if he doesn't measure up. I also liked how he talked about going to a coffee shop while on tour and getting it to go so he could hurry somewhere else, but his tour manager was staying and just enjoying the time in the coffee shop, which made Shawn realize that he should take time to slow down and savor these moments. I'm always the same way in life- rushing and hurrying and missing those magical times!

30 min Total Strength with Andy (P)

It's so hard to believe that we're almost at the end of the program and this is my last leg day! Not sad to see those go because squats and lunges are not my favorite move at all. 

40 min Ride with Tunde (P)

Nice shakeout ride after crushing my legs. Love Tunde and loved these rides- a HIIT class followed by Pop.

Saturday

Time to Walk with Misty Copeland (AF+)

I've been a big fan of Misty Copeland and her amazing artistry as a ballerina and performer, but on this walk I learned a lot more about the adversity that she faced. It's always so amazing to me when people can work their way out of a terrible childhood and become such a success, so this was a really inspiring listen. Plus, the songs she included at the end were AMAZING- some Lauryn Hill and H.E.R- beautiful songs.

30 min Dance with LaShawn (AF+)

To be honest, the dance classes are what I first zoned in on when I signed up for the trial. I was so excited to try them out finally, and they definitely lived up to my expectations. LaShawn was delightful- making the dance moves easy to follow but also made me feel powerful and almost like I could dance a little! I loved the hip hop music and the time flew by. Definitely need to take all of the dance classes!!

30 min Greatest Showman Ride with Robin (P)

I've been waiting so long to take this class- it was from way back in 2018 so I was really happy to get a chance to take it finally! Of course the playlist was amazing, and the class in general was so much fun. I want more movie musical rides- Hairspray, Chicago, Moulin Rouge, please!!

Sunday

30 min Total Strength with Andy (P)

And just like that- Total Strength is complete! Today was a really tough workout with more endurance-based exercises. It was the same as last week and I still really liked it! I upped my weight this week for a challenge and this was a TOUGH workout. All that's left is my strength test that I did at the end of week one- really excited to see how much progress I made.

20 min Holiday Ride with Tunde (P)

A cooldown was definitely needed after that class, and this was perfect. Yes- I listen to holiday music year round! It's so cheerful which is just what we can all use, no matter the time of year.

10 min Focus Flow: Hips with Chelsea (P)

Rounded out today's stack and the week of workouts with this amazing yoga class. Great stretches and helped me wind down. Love!