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I recently took part in the SHAPE Day event at Healthworks in Cambridge. The Shape Day events which included BURN and master classes were put on by the club to help benefit the Healthworks Foundation. The Foundation helps empower women and children with physical activity at its two Foundation Fitness Centers: Healthworks at St. Mary’s and Healthworks at Codman. For only $20 (a discounted rate for BURN classes) women could come in and experience the strength and interval training BURN is known for or they could choose to participate in various master classes including Ride! and Zumba.
I chose to participate in the BURN class because I haven’t been to one since I started playing volleyball and dodgeball this past winter. I thought in addition to contributing to such a great cause as the Healthworks Foundation, I could do myself a favor by kickstarting my spring training.
During the course, we started with a warm up and then set out running hills on the treadmill building up to an 8% incline at our peak.
Then for our group’s first strength session we worked on squats and performed weighted lunges with hammer curls.
For our second round of interval training we worked on speed. This was my favorite part because we could control our speeds and our trainer, Lauren, encouraged us to push ourselves to move out of our comfort zone. By sprinting a little bit faster each time around, it really worked out our legs by lengthening our strides. As Lauren put it, we were to pretend we were being chased by the “jungle life in Cambridge.” Not sure if she meant the bikers or the cabbies but it felt good pushing myself faster than I normally would.
To round out the class, our final strength session involved core exercises including plank moves and scissor leg lifts.
It felt great to sweat it out and get myself back on track to work out regularly. Helping such a great cause on top of that just made the good feelings from exercise even more sweet. If you didn’t get a chance to participate in the Shape Day activities you can still donate to the Healthworks Foundation here.
I completed a full month of 2x a week bootcamp sessions, and I also participated in the special Healthworks Shape Day bootcamp class on 6/6. I’m finding that it’s a lot harder to keep up with my workouts now that i’m only 12 days to my wedding, so the Shape Day bootcamp was a lot more intense than I imagined. I really enjoyed it though, it was interesting to see three different styles teaching by trainers. My favorite part was the core exercises, I’m always looking for new core exercises so I don’t get bored. Right after class, I had a bunch of errands to get done and I looked in my drawer and saw my “skinny jeans” sitting in there. Just for fun, I decided that it would be a good day to try them on. My reasoning was that if they didn’t fit, then I was going to donate them already. They’ve been mocking me for way too long and taking up precious drawer space. I put them on, zipped them up, and they actually fit without cutting off my circulation. The timing could not have been any better! The scale hasn’t moved much at all in the past 6 months, but getting into a pair of pants that I haven’t worn in ages really makes me feel good – that’s all the verification that I need. I wore them all day, and I really do feel good right about now. In 12 days, I can take my skinny jeans on my honeymoon!
Laura Miscowski
Question of the Day: What exercises have helped you to fit back into a pair of your jeans?
(Images: from Flikr, Ro/Wererabbit)
SHAPE Day is back! Join Healthworks for SHAPE Day (Share Health and Physical Empowerment) on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Enjoy a day of discounted classes including Gravity Circuit, Single Ladies Dance, BURN, Red Sox Ride, Boot Camp Challenge, Dance Step, Pilates and more, all for a great cause! There is a $20 tax-deductible donation per workout ($10 in Salem), and all proceeds benefit the Healthworks Foundation and women and children in the Dorchester community. We invite those who can’t make it to a class to donate through a “Virtual Workout.” Please call the club to make a virtual donation.
So tell all your friends, family, co-workers – everyone! – about the event (non-members are welcome to attend as well and men are welcome at the sessions that take place in the studios). Help us to improve the wellness of women and children in the Dorchester community and support the Healthworks Foundation!
To register, and to receive more information about SHAPE Day 2009, please visit:
Boston Women's Wellness 