My December Challenge

Since the marathon, I’ve felt a little lost as far as exercising. What DO I do if I’m not training for a race?

I’ve realized that I really just thrive on a workout plan. I was trying to think of some challenge for myself or see if there were any blog challenges I could participate in, but nothing jumped out at me.

Until!

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Yesterday, I was reading Well + Good and saw their holiday fitness plan, created in junction with Fitist.

6 Performance (Barry’s Bootcamp is our first stop when we want results, or to burn off some serious holiday steam. We heart Keoni, Noah, and Joey, though all the instructors are pretty great.)

4 Cycle (We love that Flywheel now has showers, making a lunchtime class possible. Kate, Holly, and Aleah are our go-tos)

4 Yoga (No better way to chill out from holiday stress. We especially love Elena Brower’s class at Virayoga and Stacey Brass’s class at YogaMaya)

4 Core (Flybarre totally rocks. This super-sculpting barre class is the perfect complement to the performance and cycling classes)

Now, this plan looks awesome, but it also costs $475, and I certainly don’t have an extra $475 to spend on top of my already-pricy gym membership, so I’m going to take on this plan and work it into my life using just my existing gym membership and various Groupons and vouchers I currently have. I’ve been wanting to try Flywheel, and it’s also near my office, so I may pony up to try that as part of this plan.

My Plan:

6 30/60/90 or Pace4Success

4 running (at least!!)

2 cycle

4 yoga

4 Core: I’ll do either Barre Burn or CoreFusion (I have a GiltCity voucher and my new office is near one of the locations!)

How are you staying fit in December?

22 comments on “My December Challenge

  1. Joan

    Don’t suppose you can give us an idea of some comparable “types” of workouts for those of us whose gyms think BodyPump is the hottest new thing? 🙂 I’ve read your previous posts on some of them, but I feel like I’m not grasping the general idea of what I could do instead to get the same benefits.

    Reply
  2. Kristina

    In addition to running and spinning, I just signed up for a beginning TRX class at the spinning studio where we spin – looks like it could be fun and very challenging!
    Also, we’re headed to Colorado and New Mexico for the holidays, and I’m hoping to ski (both downhill and nordic) for a day or two and also do some climbing at the climbing gym. I wish I could climb on a regular basis here, but I’m happy to enjoy it when I can!

    Reply
  3. Corrie Anne

    That sounds so fun!! We just joined a new gym so we get some freebies with personal trainers and nutritionists. They’re also offering some holiday specials I may take advantage of. I was literally dreaming about meeting with my personal trainer last night… lol

    Reply
  4. Michelle

    Oh man. I just started a TRX class and it’s promising to KICK MY BUTT. 🙂 I’m hoping that combined with spin and my regular running will help me fight the holiday gain!

    Reply
  5. Liz @ An Interesting Year

    My goal for December is to run 3x/week (I’m sloooowly building up mileage after an injury hiatus so I can start training for a March half marathon), and to keep up with the New Rules of Lifting for Women, which I just started. 2x/week is my goal, but we’ll see how that goes…

    Reply
  6. Linda Chan

    I have been struggling to stay fit post NYC Marathon. I enjoy running, but I do not enjoy running in the dark, and since I work, I don’t really have many options for running while there is light out. I have been pretty swamped at work, but I have been trying to get back into my group fitness classes. I really enjoy martial arts classes. Have you ever tried Bo-Hi-Do at the gym? I like straight boxing more than kickboxing, but the kickboxing aspect of the class probably gives me more of a total body workout. I still haven’t gotten back to my previous fitness levels that allowed me to keep up with 60% of the ab work at the end of the class. I’m trying.

    I am inspired by your post. I will have to give some new group fitness classes a try. I was thinking about VIPR. I wanted to try Barry’s Boot Camp and Flywheel, but I feel like I should just go to my gym and not spend more money on classes when my gym has plenty of options.

    Reply
  7. Dori

    GREAT plan!!! I’ve been really into FlyWheel lately, even though I am not typically a spinning person these days. They make it fun. Also, you should try Refine! First class is free. I know it’s not convenient for you at all, but definitely worth a try!

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      @Dori: I do want to try it at some point…but am very lazy getting up to the UES :)Maybe I’ll try to plan it around a Junior League meeting at some point.

      Reply
  8. Kimra

    First of all, I love the way that plan is structured. Second, it made me think of how fun it would be to do some kind of 12 Days of Christmas challenge, like 12 one-minute planks, 11 runs, 10 miles on the bike, 9 something-somethings … OH MAN. Apparently I need my fitness to be a game!

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      @Kimra: Right? Ass-kicking workouts? Mind-body workouts? Barre workouts? Cardio? OH YES.

      And yes, I have to have fitness as a game, too. I like your 12 days of Christmas…DO IT!

      Reply
  9. Laura @ Joyful Shimmy

    I think I may do something similar to your December plan! I have been doing Tabata instead of 30/60/90 since the times are more convenient. I like Jill’s Barre Burn class. Oh and I love Nadia Zaki’s class INNER Series (great for core workout).

    My plan for December- start a Couch to 5k series since my ankle is finally fully healed. I am committing to visiting Equinox 4 times per week this month. Honestly, my goal is break a sweat 4 times per week in order to maintain my sanity.

    Reply
  10. Kara

    Hello – I just found your blog and wanted to say hi! I ran the NYC marathon last month and as soon as it was over, I thought the same thing…now what?! I need a new training plan!

    So, I’ve been doing a lot of cross training and physical therapy so far…which will definitely continue throughout December. I’ve also been going to a lot of hot yoga classes, and signed up for some Core Fusion classes as well. I can’t wait to try those out!

    Reply

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