Hi! I wanted to share something a bit different today - all my eats from yesterday plus a day in the life of my new job! So as most of you know, I did leave my job in advertising and I started a new job as a full time Thrive trainer at City Fitness here in Philly! I am also still teaching group fitness classes as well, so I'm totally immersed in what I freaking love to do. It's a WHOLE different schedule and new challenge but I'm so ready for it. I am training semi-private groups with the Thrive training modality (learn more about it here, it's an AWESOME functional training program) and I'm already amazed by the support of my new bosses, co-workers and the motivation of the few clients that I'm starting with! 

WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) 

So here's a little sneak peak into what it looks like to work in fitness (when you're first starting out)...

7 AM: Alarm goes off, I have coffee and a little pre-workout snack (too sleepy to get a pic) of half a mashed sweet potato, half a banana, a tablespoon of Sunbutter and some raisins. I got this sweet potato breakfast bowl idea from Jen at peanutbutterrunner.com and I am OBSESSED!! Michael also used to mash sweet potato and banana together in college for a side at dinner. It's a winning combo, please try it. 

8-9:30 AM: I head to the gym near my apartment and practice a few of the strength moves in the Thrive training library as well as put myself through a workout that I will be putting my clients through eventually. This helps me gage the intensity and helps me to program my workouts for them. 

9:30-11:30 AM: I eat my (second) breakfast (pictured below) of an AMAZINGGGG chocolate smoothie bowl - recipe coming soon, this one was a winner!! It was packed with protein and healthy carbs. I also pack my day's worth of food, work on this blog post, take care of a few emails and get ready for the day. I also had a few handfuls of trail mix on the side.

11:45-12:30 PM: I commute to Center City by train and head to City Fitness. My current hours are afternoons/evenings, so I've been getting to work around noon and leaving around 9:30 at night. The gym is slow until about 5:30, but I try my best to work the floor, meet new people and set up some assessments! 

2 PM: I train a client. She does AWESOME. 

3-3:30 PM: Eat a delicious salad with spinach, grilled chicken, avocado, tomato, cucumber, olive oil & balsamic and an apple on the side. I'm really craving a coffee but resist the urge to spend $5 on an almond milk latte, because I can't ever just buy a plain old coffee...

3:30-6:30 PM: Shadow a few of the trainers, work the floor and get ready for my clients in the evening. I also noshed on a couple of these protein balls, they're so good! I have been making The Healthy Maven's protein bites every week. They're great. Actually kind of addictive...I made a batch of 20 on Monday and they're already gone. Whoops.

6:45-8:45: Train a few clients and I also had a couple people come in for an assessment! 

9:00: I eat this combo of veggies, rice, brussels sprouts, sweet potato and ground beef before I got ready to make the commute home (I walk about 15 mins to the train station and the train ride home is about a half hour). The wind was CRAZZYYY last night and literally almost knocked me over getting to the train station. 

10:30 I am HOME!!! I had a snack of cottage cheese, PB and jelly (yes, it looks disgusting, but trust me it's so, so good) before bed and then hit the hay at around 11. This morning I'm up and at em' - teaching an 8 AM cycle class at Body Cycle Studio before heading to City Fitness for a team workout, several assessments and some client sessions. It will be another long day and I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Have a GREAT one, you guys. 

XO- Rach

Is there something you just CAN'T go without eating every day? 

Gone are the days where we have time to focus on and isolate each and every muscle group at the gym. Time is precious these days and furthermore, there is limited space and equipment at the gym with the new years resolution crowd! That is exactly why compound movements should be your best friend. They will get you the results you want without spending tons of time at the gym.  Simply put, exercises can be broken down into two basic categories: compound and isolation exercises. Compound exercises work more than one muscle group at a time (most of the time almost all muscle groups!) and they are always multi-joint exercises. Isolation exercises use one muscle group at a time and are only single joint exercises. Here's an example to make it clearer to visualize: A barbell squat includes movement of your hip & knee joint and fires up your quads, glutes, back, core and hamstrings. This is a compound movement. A seated leg extension includes the movement only at your knee joint and only targets one muscle group: your quadriceps. See the difference?  Now of course there's always a time and place for isolation exercises, but if you're short on time or can only get to the gym 2-3 days per week, read on to see how compound exercises can be a game changer.

3 Major Reasons Why You Should Do Compound Exercises

1. Functionality

Compound exercises are functional. In our daily routines, it is very rare that we are only utilizing one muscle group at a time. Pretty much every movement in every day activities, like walking, running, carrying groceries, sitting, playing sports, etc. involve moving multiple joints at a time. Compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, etc. mimic these everyday movements and can make us stronger for life. 

2. Bigger Bang For Your Buck

As compound movements utilize more muscle groups at once, your working harder, burning more calories and building strength all over your body in less amounts of time. Compound exercises also allow you to lift a bit heavier weight because you're engaging your entire body. Front squats and deadlifts, for example, are one of the best exercises that can be done (especially for you ladies!) because they require essentially every muscle in your body to work hard! And I'll tell you this - my core is sore every time after I do front squats because our cores work so hard to stabilize in a front loaded movement, and NEVER after I do crunches. Forget the endless crunches and work various muscle groups at once! 

3. Increase Lean Muscle Tissue All Over

Contrary to popular belief, heavier compound movements are really the tools you need to "tone" and "tighten" your entire body. Lifting heavy weights with proper and safe form will most definitely not make you bulky or spike your testosterone levels! It will do just the opposite: burn fat, boost your metabolism, define your muscles and make you one strong, badass lady. 

Here are some excellent resources around the web to help you learn more about adding compound exercises into your workout: 5 Compound Exercises You Should Add To Your Workout, ACE Fitness 5 Best Strength Moves For Weight Loss, Health Magazine Difference Between Isolation & Compound Exercises, Livestrong Here's a couple of my favorites! The first one is a side elevated squat with an upright row and lateral leg raise, phew! This one works literally your entire body and gets your heart rate up like no other. I also can't live without my sumo squats! 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbfNLeyn2nE[/embed]

Now tell me, do you incorporate compound exercises into your workout? Would you like to start? Would you like to see more workouts on my blog incorporating movements like these? Have a great day!! XO- Rach

You know those days that when it turns 5:30 p.m., you think back to what happened earlier in the day and it feels like a week ago? That was my day yesterday. I think that Daylight Saving time has something to do with it because it's now pitch black outside when I leave work, but it was just a long, strange day. I missed my train in the morning, a grumpy old man at CVS told me to drop dead around noon after I accidentally cut in line to buy soap and then a man approached me as I was rushing to catch my train to introduce himself and tell me that he was catching a train too but took the time to introduce himself (jeesh could you be a little more subtle, bud?) People, man. Lessons learned today: kick my ass into gear in the mornings, DON'T cut old men in line at the Pharmacy and maybe put my earphones in while I walk to the train.  Let's get to the fun stuff - sweat! 

Here's what my week of workouts looked like last week:

Monday: 

Teach 6 a.m. spin class 

Tuesday:

5K run along the river and a few stair sprints up the Art Museum steps. I loved this workout. I can't get enough of the fall weather and being outside after work. I mean, look at this view! 

Wednesday:

21-15-9-6 reps of hang cleans, push-ups, kettlebell swings and push presses 

4 Rounds of 100 meter run, 10 alternating box pistol squats, 5 bicep curl & press, 15 in and outs

Thursday: 

Early a.m. sculpt class

Friday:

Rested and carbed up for the half marathon!

Saturday: 

Philly Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon! First time I've ever run 13.1. 

Sunday:

I stretched a bit and put my mom through a little circuit workout. I didn't do all of it with her but it actually felt good to move my sore body! Then we went for about an hour and a half walk that was only supposed to be 30 minutes. Oh, and lots of eating. 

It was a solid week of workouts, but I really am looking forward to getting back into more strength training and mobility. Running has taught me a lot but I'm totally ready to switch it up again. 

I will leave you with this boot camp inspired workout that's adapted from my Super Circuits class & my half marathon playlist that I didn't even listen to during the half marathon! But I promise it's been on repeat otherwise. 

Can you tell that circuit style workouts are my favorite? Best bang for your buck!  

Have a great Hump Day, everyone!

XO- Rach

Did you have a weird Tuesday, or am I the only one? Is Mercury in Retrograde or something?

What was your favorite workout of the week?