 I had a blast with the Barre 3 team out of Chapel Hill this past Sunday! Huge thank you to Dana, Brooke and the entire team for joining me on the water for some SUP Yoga fun. We paddled, laughed, balanced, splashed and relaxed. It was fabulous! Can't wait to see you all again soon! :-)
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 This is one of my favorite upper body workouts. The entire workout as written will take anywhere from 45-60 minutes. If you are short on time, you could cut the sets down to 2 for each muscle group or run through the entire workout top to bottom one time.
Enjoy! Equipment: Cable machines, free weights, battle ropes, med ball, body weight, mat Warmup: 5 minutes of dynamic stretching for total body Round 1: Chest/Back (using cables) 8-12 reps, 2-3 sets 1. Lat Pull Downs 2. Chest flyes 3. Seated cable rows Round 2: Shoulders/Chest (free weights) 8-12 reps, 2-3 sets 1. Overhead press 2. Chest press 3. Angled deltoid raises Round 3: Total body 2-3 sets 1. Single rope waves (30-60 waves) 2. Slam ball slams (10-20 slams) 3. Burpees (4-10 reps) Round 4: Core (abs/back) 2-3 sets 1. Prone spinal extensions (8-12 reps) (lying face down, slowly lift upper and lower body away from the ground, then lower back down to start) 2. V-sit with a twist (10-20 reps) 3. Low plank to high plank (or just hold plank) 30-60 seconds Round 5: Biceps/Triceps (free weights/bodyweight) 8-12 reps, 2-3 sets 1. Bicep curls 2. Overhead tricep extension 3. Tricep dips off a bench  Our SUP field trip FINALLY happened in early May after a year fraught with crazy weather including hurricanes, intense heat, and flooding. Ten of my 21 students in my SUP Fitness courses at Duke took a break from studying to join me on Falls Lake for a gorgeous afternoon of paddling, yoga and exploring. Mother Nature was so kind and gave us a spectacular blue sky, warm sun and cool water. Thank you to all of my students for making this a fantastic year and thank you to those who were able to come out and paddle for a few hours. It really is a highlight of the school year and the course! Happy summer and paddling friends. My SUP Fitness course at Duke University is wrapping up in one week. Twelve awesome students have worked with me all semester-long on all aspects of SUP from paddling, turning, and water safety, to SUP yoga and SUP workouts. We meet twice a week in the pool at Brodie Rec center which is a fantastic way to learn and build skills, strength, balance and confidence. There is nothing like being outside on open water on a SUP though and this past weekend we got to take all of our skills, knowledge and practice to the great outdoors and Jordan Lake. Despite the warm 80 degree air temps, the water was still a bit cool and very choppy. My group of SUPerstars was not deterred by the rough chop or the cold water. They came to SUP and so we did. It was a fabulous afternoon and I am so grateful for the chance to share this sport with such enthusiastic, interested and energetic students. Thank you all.
 I've been thinking about body-image and self-image recently...sparked by some conversations with friends and students. Found this quote and picture which sums up the attitude I try to have about myself and others. And what I teach my students/clients in the gym and on the yoga mat. Letting go of judgement. Letting go of competition. Letting go of negative self-talk. Celebrating and focusing on all that we can do...all that we are...instead of focusing on what we cannot do...and what or who we are not.
There is a lesson in yoga, Aparigraha, about which I've written and spoken several times. I come back to it A LOT. It means "non-greed", "non-attachment." On the mat it can help us to recognize the individuality and uniqueness of our personal yoga practice. It can teach us that it's possible to admire other students' postures without feeling jealous or envious. It teaches us to meet our body and mind where they are today. Just for today focusing on what we can do and how we feel. Off the mat, the same ideas can hold true. With a gentle awareness, it is possible to let go of jealousy or greed and "admire" strengths, abilities and beauty we each uniquely possess. It has taken a longggggg while (years) and a lot of personal work to get to a point of unconditional self-love and comfort in my own skin. There are definitely days when that positive self-image might waver. But I'm thankful that there are more days and moments than not when I can be happy for others and their beauty, accomplishments, successes, their whatevers...AND be happy, proud, feel beautiful about myself too. This quote I'm sharing here reminds me of the laundry room post from a week or so ago. We all have strengths. We all have flaws. We have weaknesses. We have "stuff." We can look at others and wish to be skinnier, prettier, stronger, richer, smarter....like they are. But to what end? If you were suddenly "prettier", then what would happen? You would have no worries? Everything would go your way? I think we know that is not true. If we walk around all day comparing ourselves to others, we lose sight of the amazing and incredible person inside of us. Right now. YOU. No matter what you might be working on friends, please remember that we are each a work in progress. None of us has it all figured out. We can pick out a goal, set an intention, make a plan....BUT....let's also not lose sight of what we already have done, can do, have accomplished, have achieved. If you have attended any of my in-person classes, you know that at the end of class, I often ask a question for each person to answer. One of my favorite questions is: "What is one thing that you are proud of that you CAN do...or that you have accomplished...or that you are good at?" We go around the room and it's a lovely way to learn a little more about one another and to highlight something we are proud of. It gives us a chance to "admire" what others can do or who they are without questioning our own abilities. Today friends...I would love for you to pause for a few moments and answer this question for yourself. Think about. Write it down at home or maybe share it here. Thanks for reading and listening and being a part of this group friends. I admire all of you. :-)  This is our Week 1 of workouts. Follow along with all my videos at BurnAlong.
Use my code: MFF49 to get a year subscription for 49.00 Find my name and "favorite" all my workouts so you can easily access them everytime you are on the site. Super easy and fun!  When Tim and I were newly married, we moved to Richmond, and were lucky to live about 8 minutes away from one of my uncles and his wonderful family. My Aunt Mary, Uncle Martin and my 4 cousins were generous and consistently thoughtful of us, including us in family dinners, birthday parties, even Christmas morning pictures on their stairs. Every time I would go to their home, I admired how tidy everything looked. The kitchen was warm and cozy...the family room was all picked up... there were no bills, papers, messes anywhere. It was perfect. One night I finally asked my aunt, "How do you keep everything so neat?" And she laughed and said "Oh Maria...thats what the laundry room is for. Have you looked in there?" I laughed and admittedly took a peak and did in fact confirm that there was quite a bit of stuff in there...outta sight, hidden behind the door. Fifteen years later, this memory has stuck with me for three reasons. First, it was very sound and helpful advice that I definitely tried soon after. Gather up all your things, toss them in the other room, shut the door. Outta sight, outta mind. Voila. Clean house. Second, beyond the superficial housekeeping benefits, I appreciated even more that my aunt was honest about her mess. She had the same piles and clutter that I had...she just moved them out of sight when guests were arriving. She didn't pretend. She was real. She told me her mess was just behind the laundry room door. The third reason I won't forget is that during that time of living in Richmond, I experienced the scariest, life-changing health scare of my life to that point. My challenges with Crohn's are well-documented elsewhere but one of the biggest learning lessons of my battles with this disease has been the discovery that "everyone has something." No matter what we look like, how old we are, how many times we go to the gym, how much money we have, how much school we have attended. We all have a battle, a challenge, a backstory, a "something." We all have stuff. It’s our stuff. And most of us have our own internal "laundry room." The place we put our stuff, our stories, our secrets. A place where we tuck it all away. Some of us might feel comfortable opening that door to others; some of us keep it closed from public eye. I share this today because that laundry room conversation taught me that we cannot judge others by the way they look or appear. And we cannot judge ourselves against how others look or appear. Everyone has something. Until my aunt told me that she sticks all her piles into the laundry room, I compared myself to her every time I sat in the kitchen. “Why can’t I seem to get organized?” “Why does my life look like such a mess?” Fifteen years ago there was no social media but I liken this situation to how we can flip through pictures on facebook, instagram, snapchat and think “Why don’t I look like that?” “He sure does have his act together.” “Oh gosh..another perfect family picture.” “Wow her house is always neat.” I ran into someone a few weeks ago and after exchanging pleasantries she said, “Gosh you are really doing well. I love all your pictures and posts. Looks like you’ve really got it all figure out.” I burst out laughing. I don’t think I or anyone will ever have it all figured out. We can present an image, a persona, a snapshot in time but that in no way defines or represents the whole picture. And that’s okay. It’s our choice what clutter and messes we share and don’t share. BUT....we gotta remember the laundry room lesson when we start the judging and making comparisons. It does us little good to compare how we feel, look, act based on our perception of someone else’s image. That perfect person you see? She has a laundry room. That rich celebrity? He has a laundry room. That perfect house. There’s a laundry room in there. The laundry room lesson is one of understanding, honesty and compassion. Understand that we are all working on something. Life is messy. We clean up as best we can and sometimes we do a great job and other times not so much. When possible, be honest with ourselves and others...even if it’s just one or two trusted friends. My aunt had no idea how grateful I was for her honesty that day long ago but clearly it made an impact. Have compassion for ourselves and others. I often think of that phrase “everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. be kind. always.” Before we judge others, remember that we all have challenges. Before we compare ourselves to others, remember we all have a laundry room. For those of you who made it this far in my blog post, thank you. This was a long one. I wrote this as a reminder to all of us that we are each working on something. Do your best to let go of judgement and comparisons..of yourself and others. You are each YOU and that is fabulous. Finally....thank you to my aunt Mary for teaching me about the laundry room. xoxo I have shared this story and metaphor with several yoga classes and students over the years and I wanted you to finally know. :-)  Day Four.
Back on New Year's Eve, I shared this quote/picture on instagram and my fitness FB page. The quote was taped to the mirror where I get my hair done and was something that I needed to see and read in that moment. At the time I was feeling pretty negative and unproductive with some career goals and It was like the universe knew I needed a swift kick in the butt. A reset of my mindset. It worked. The next weekend I started shooting video for my online workouts and putting some other plans in motion. Today I was back in the same chair at the salon, looking at the same quote and thinking, this is perfect for our Spring Training Challenge. Whatever your reason for jumping in with us, it's time for you to take care of you! No more judging, comparing, complaining. Work with what you got! Like we said on Day Two, let go of the past, be present today, and create space for your intention/plans to manifest. We are four days into this challenge and we are getting ready to ramp things up. Fitness and wellness are always my focus with these challenges. What I've learned over many years in this career though is that fitness and wellness come in many forms beyond just the physical. Just as I do with my clients and students, I like to start off with mindset preparation, refection and goal-setting discussion before jumping into workouts or more intense tasks. Intentional Task for tonight/tomorrow: As we wind down the week here on Friday and enter the weekend, please think about one or two goals you are going to work on over the next 4 weeks. They could be big giant huge goals...or maybe something smaller. Your intentional task for today or tomorrow is just to write these down. Big or small, we will work on them together. On Sunday evening, I will post a week of workout ideas and nutrition suggestions, as well as a week's worth of recommended videos from my BurnAlong site for your first full week of fitness and movement. If you want to join BurnAlong to be able to view all of my videos, you can check it out at www.burnalong.com. There is an option to do a free trial. You can also get a year's membership for 49.00 using my discount code MFF49. You do not have to join BurnAlong to be a part of this challenge! You will have to join if you want full access to all the workouts. Let me know if you have questions about any of that. Have a great evening friends.  Day Three.
Just for today..... I don't know where and when I started using this phrase in my teaching. One day these words were just there. Three little words...."just for today." Examples....”Just for today...we can drop the knee into low lunge if that feels better.” “Choosing child’s pose instead of down dog...just for today.” “Just for today, taking our intention from our mat into the rest of our evening.” Yesterday I watched/listened to one of my own yoga workouts at the gym. This is not only for quality-control :-), but also a chance for me to “take a class” and not have to think...just follow. I heard myself say "Just for today" several times and it was a unique position to be in; hearing my own words in my headphones while I moved through my yoga flow. Even though I preach it and teach it, yesterday was one of the first times I actually got to experience and feel the meaning of those three little words in a class and it was pretty powerful. “Just for today” gives us permission to take things at our own perfect pace. I didn’t have the energy to hold my high lunge posture so I had the freedom to drop to a knee “just for today.” Taking this idea off the mat and into life, “just for today” allows us to take something that might seem difficult, overwhelming, or challenging and make it a little less intense or stressful. Sometimes we can get so caught up in what we ought to do, perceive we should do, are supposed to do....that we neglect to listen to our bodies and our intuition. “Just for today” takes the pressure off the “should’ve/would’ve/gotta” mentality and let’s us determine what actually feels right at that moment. “Just for today I am going to spend 30 minutes reading a book.” “Just for today I’m hitting snooze twice.” “Just for today, I’m going to accomplish 2 things on my to-do list instead of all 15!” This spring training challenge is all about YOU and working on some of your own goals whether they are physical, work-related, emotional, etc. On Day one we reflected on aspects of our lives where we might feel imbalance. On Day two we wrote down some intentions. At this point, it all might seem overwhelming already and we haven’t even gotten through day three! That’s where “Just for today” comes into play. Today’s intentional task: 1. Think about some of your goals you are starting to set. Think about some of the reasons why you are participating in this challenge. 2. Though you might have big, broad, ambitious goals, let’s see if we can take any one of these ideas and create a smaller, attainable part of it using a “just for today” sentence. Example: I need more sleep. “Just for today, I’m going to stop whatever I’m going at 10pm and get myself into bed by 10:15pm.” Write your “Just for today” sentence somewhere you can see it. Have a lovely evening friends. Thank you for being a part of this challenge. I can feel the buzz of energy from all of you and I'm so excited to be in this together with you.  Day Two.
I am hoping that Mother Nature read my post yesterday and realizes that after all this snow and cold and rain, we need some balance with sun, blue skies and warm temps. Soon! Hope you are all doing well and for those of you on the east coast, you are staying warm, cozy, and safe today in this winter/spring weather. Yesterday I taught a "Mini-Yoga Mala" to my college students. On the equinox and solstice, it is common tradition to practice a Mala which is 108 sun salutations. Since I only have 75 minutes with my students, I offered them an abbreviated version of 27 sun salutations. Three rounds of 9 salutations each. We used "balance" as our overarching theme for class and then had a separate dedication for each of the three rounds. Today I share these three dedications with you as a framework for establishing some balance. Remember that the beginning of this challenge is all about creating a healthy mindset and keeping it all simple. Here are the three dedications: *Let go of the past.* *Practice being present.* *Practice patience and create space for our intentions to manifest." Today's tasks: 1. Think about what you wrote or considered yesterday. Where and what are the imbalances that you hope to work on? 2. Set aside 5 minutes today to create three statements using these intentions and the area of imbalance. Example: My imbalance is sleep. I need more to balance what I do during the day. Here are my three intentions: 1. I intend to let go of past habits of staying up late to do work, answer emails, read messages on my phone. 2. I intend to listen to my body's cues and go to bed when I'm tired (of course this is after my children are tucked in...which means I gotta get them to bed earlier too!) :-) 3. I intend to make small changes to my schedule and my nightly routine to let my sleep habits improve over time. Physical task: 1. Maybe you already exercised or worked out today or maybe not. If it's still on your "to-do" list.....get 20 minutes of movement into your day somehow. Use my ideas from yesterday or make time for the gym, a walk, or some snow-shoveling! Have lovely afternoon. |
Maria FinneganWelcome and thank you for visiting this site. I'm happy and grateful to have a place where I can write about fitness and wellness. In addition to blogging about exercise and sharing workouts, I also use this space to tell 200-word stories about the inspiring and amazing people I encounter in this career. I look forward to sharing as many of these journeys as possible, and would love to hear from you if you would like me to tell your story. You can contact me anytime. Thank you so much for your interest and your effort. Think fit...be fit...stay fit! You are stronger than you think. #STYT Archives
July 2019
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