Fourth of July weekend and my workouts
Happy Monday! Did you have a nice weekend? Mine was just great. Plenty of Fourth of July festivities, outdoor play and relaxing. Let’s chat about the weekend, and then I’ll give you my weekly workout recap.
On Friday night, Dave and I decided to stay in to rest up for the next day. We gave Rudy (our maltipoo puppy) a bath, and then had an oven pizza for dinner. And let me tell you, Rudy fluffs up like a little cotton-ball, but he does not like getting a bath. In spite of the unpleasantness of his bath, he was looking fly after his blow-dry, totally ready to meet some company.
Fourth of July in Walnut Creek
After teaching a couple of classes at Orangetheory Fitness in the morning, I went home to do a little party preparation, like chopping veggies, setting out plates and napkins and a few other last-minute things. Then I put on my American-flag swimsuit, and Dave and I walked over to the Renaissance Club Sport, which is a hotel/spa/gym close to our house. We have some friends that are members there, so we were able to join them as guests for the first part of the day by the pool.
Other than sharing this photo on Instagram, I hardly had my phone with me all day, which was the best way for me to “be present” in the holiday. Something I need to do more often.
As expected, it was pretty busy, but we were lucky enough to have lounge chairs reserved for our group in one row. While there, we had some beverages, hung out in the pool and even had lunch pool-side. And although there were a lot of kids and families, there were also “rest breaks” for the life-guards, in which only people 18 and over were allowed in the pool. I had never heard of that before, but thoroughly enjoyed it.
Other than the good conversation, the highlight of that adventure was certainly the fish tacos that many of us ordered for lunch. They were small, but very tasty. I also enjoyed the setting. The facilities were pretty fancy, and I even got to peek inside the gym that’s part of Renaissance Club Sport, and I’d love to return and get in a workout there one day.
A little before 4 p.m., we took the after-party to our house. There were about 11 of us, including two kiddos, and it was the perfect-size group to be mobile. We played corn-hole by the pool at our complex using some fabulous American flag boards that were created by our friend, then we all went up into our place to grill. Dave made burgers and hot dogs, which we had alongside some Mexican corn-on-the-cob, which I made in the slow cooker, we also had various salads, chips and dip and mini-apples pies, which were made by a friend.
Two pools in one day? Now that’s living. Here’s the scene from our place, including a lovely floral arrangement made by my friend, which was the center-piece of the food table.
I didn’t take any photos of the food spread, not only because I didn’t have my phone on me at all times, but also because we dug into it too quickly. It was all super tasty, and we finished it off in no time, so I’m guessing people were pleased.
Once we finished eating and the night-time started rolling in, we all hopped in a few cars and drove to a nearby parking lot to catch the Pleasant Hill fireworks. While the fireworks weren’t exactly fabulous, it was the perfect ending to a great day with friends. And guess who loved having people over for the first time? Little Rudy! I swear he spent all day being passed around and cuddled by everyone. I don’t think his feet ever hit the floor.
Overall, Dave and I weren’t sure what to expect from our first Fourth of July living outside the City of San Francisco, but the ‘burbs and our ‘burb friends made it completely awesome.
Outdoor fun on a sunny Sunday in the East Bay
On Sunday, Dave and I had quite a bit of cleaning up to do from the party. We finished that up soon after waking up, relaxed a bit and then headed out for a long bike ride. There are still so many places that we haven’t explored in the East Bay, and the town of Danville was on that list. I got a few restaurant recommendations from one of my kind gym members, so we headed straight for downtown Danville and selected Norm’s Place for our dining pleasure. To get there, we rode our bikes on the Iron Horse Trail the entire way and were able to look at the back of some incredibly lovely homes. We even saw horses.
We were all decked out in our Warriors gear for a day riding bikes. And my chicken salad for lunch? Totally yummy. You’re also looking at Dave’s first sandwich, which unfortunately ended up being covered in bird poo, because we were sitting under some trees. Yes, they brought him a new one shorty after. He ate it quickly to avoid a second dropping!
The trip was just about an hour there and an hour back, which was nearly 17 miles total. Not too shabby! On the way home, we stopped into Whole Foods to pick up my favorite brown rice and quinoa sushi for dinner. We then spent the rest of the evening relaxing, playing with Rudy and doing some research for a future vacation. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the weekend!
Let’s get to the fitness …
My weekly fitness and workouts recap
Every Monday, I like to take a minute to look back at the previous week’s workouts, so here we go …
(Photo credit to Leah Bentley Photography, 2015.)
Weekly Workouts
- Monday – Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class, foam rolling
- Tuesday –Taught a one-hour BODYPUMP class, foam rolling
- Wednesday – Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class, foam rolling
- Thursday – Taught a 45-minute BODYPUMP class and a 30-minute core class
- Friday – Taught a one-hour BODYATTACK class, did 25 minutes of yoga at home
- Saturday – Rest day
- Sunday – Did a 30-minute barre workout at home, went on a leisure 17-mile bike ride
What was good about my week of workouts?
This past week was full of teaching again, including an impromptu subbing on Tuesday of a BODYPUMP class — a day in which I was planning to take an Orangetheory class instead. Overall, I did three sessions of serious cardio (BODYATTACK) and two sessions of weights (BODYPUMP), as well as a short barre, core and yoga session. That’s pretty good variety overall, especially with the addition of the bike ride and barre workout.
What could have been better about my week of workouts?
More weights. More yoga. The classes that I teach are such intense workouts, that I don’t really have the energy or time to fit in additional sessions during the week, which means I always miss out on something. I’m just chugging along the best I can and hope to do more resistance training and go to a nice long hot yoga class in a studio soon.
I hope you have a wonderful Monday, my friends! I’m teaching a couple of classes at Orangetheory in the morning and then teaching BODYATTACK tonight. Let’s start this week off strong!
Questions of the day
How was your Fourth of July?
What was your best recent workout?
Do you have a favorite game to play at parties?
Sounds like the perfect weekend! Thanks for sharing your adventures. Have a wonderful Monday!
You’re so welcome, lady! I hope you had a nice weekend as well. Thanks for noticing my mani. 🙂
Great job on the bike ride the morning after! We contemplated watching fireworks but figured Charlotte doesn’t really care yet so we just bbq’d with friends and went home early 😉
Hi Marielle! Fireworks aren’t that exciting to me, so I would have skipped them if all the friends weren’t into it. So I get it! Glad you had a nice Fourth! Happy Monday!
Sounds like a fun way to spend the 4th of July! The weather here wasn’t great, so we didn’t get any pool time. I love corn-hole, although I’m not very good at it!
Hi Lisa! I hadn’t played corn-hole in a long time and recall being much better. I was awful hahah! 🙂 Happy Monday! Too bad about your weather.
What a fun weekend! We had a great “American” weekend as well, and thank goodness the weather was so great for it. I just love the 4th of July weekend–it is so perfect for getting out and enjoying yourself, your country, and your friends!
Hi Susie! People seem extra happy on Fourth of July too. And who doesn’t love the red/white/blue color combo? So glad you had a fun weekend, lady! 🙂
Glad you had such a great weekend! I love the story about Rudy – made me laugh thinking of him getting his bath! We had a busy weekend. I am sure you are getting sick of hearing about my move prep, because I am getting sick of doing it! But, it’s almost over. The first packers are coming in about an hour – yikes! We did a good job this weekend of figuring out what would go to storage and what would go to Japan. I think we are ready. I’m going to go teach my very last BODYPUMP class in about 2 hours and then who knows when I can teach again. 🙁 We did have a nice time going to our little city parade and watching some amazing fireworks on Saturday. That was a nice little break from all the work we had been doing. Happy Monday!
Hi Melissa, I took a full month off of teaching when we moved to San Francisco, and as much as I missed it — it was a nice little break. So when I was back on the mic, I was totally refreshed and energized. And I’m not sick of hearing about packing, because I get it. Your move is WAY more involved than mine was. It feels good to send some stuff off on the truck, so let’s just hope it makes it in time. Our stuff was QUITE delayed. Hope your last BP class went well! Don’t cry on stage hahah:) Happy Monday!
Last BP class was awesome 🙂 I didn’t cry…today 😉 I did on Saturday though – wow – it was rough! I am looking forward to a little break actually. It will be nice to just relax for a bit.
Ohhhh good work on holding back the tears today!!! 🙂 heheh! Enjoy that relaxation!
What a fun weekend! I especially think it’s awesome you took that long bike ride and in jealous of your pool time. It’s crazy hot in Phoenix and muggy right now with the monsoons. You don’t want to be outdoors at all this time of year so staying indoors and celebrating is where it’s at.
Hi Megan! It’s pretty hot here right now, but we took frequent dips in the pool. And on the bike ride, there were some shady spots and wind, so that also helped. But I like a good indoor celebration as well hehehe. Hope you had a nice weekend!
I love that festive floral arrangement! Your weekend sounds like it was so fun and relaxing. I am so jealous! We spent most of the weekend doing kitchen renovations, but I did manage to fit in some BODYPUMP practice. Enjoy your day!
Hi Heather! You will be so happy once your kitchen is complete though, so it’s worth it! Happy Monday to you, lady! 🙂
Sounds like a great holiday! Our weekend was wonderful and I’m sad to see it leave. Yesterday I had an awesome early morning run that left me feeling refreshed after a little too much indulging over the weekend. Have a great start to your week 🙂
I think Fourth of July weekend calls for indulging! But yes, a nice run can make you feel better from it hehehe. Glad you had a good one, Jenna. I agree that I’m sad the weekend is over!
Looks like you all had such a great weekend!! A mixture of fun and relaxation-a good combo! My workouts have been a bit redundant lately with lots of strength training, but I have heard so many great things about OrangeTheory fitness. They don’t have a studio in Richmond. I would love to try this class sometime when I travel next. Have a great week!
Hi Alex! Thanks for saying hi, and I hope you had a nice weekend. Yes, there are Orangetheory locations all over, so hopefully you’ll get to try one, one day soon. Good work on your strength training! I hope to get more of that in this week, because I’ve been cardio heavy with all the classes I teach. Have a great day!
What a great way to celebrate July 4th. I hardly used my phone at all during the weekend. Now that I think about it I spent very little time on my computer. Family time was the weekend priority.
That’s the way to do it, Jill! I put my computer away for nearly the whole weekend too! 🙂 Have a fabulous Monday, lady!
Looks like you had a fabulous weekend! Love your 4th outfit 🙂 When I was home I went to a gym that is similar to Orangetheory (not exactly but close), and the focus for the day was abs. My abs are still sore and I took the class on Thursday!
Oh cool, Sara. Was the gym a chain or just a one-location studio? Yay for sore abs!!
Just a one-location studio. They have an interesting concept where it is 4 intervals – 5 minutes on the treadmill 5 minutes on the floor. And each day has a specific target area when we are on the floor. Hence ab day!
What a great holiday, and I love your bathing suit! Really cute and patriotic. This weekend was spent with Dan’s family at their lake house, which is on a gorgeous lake. We had a ton of fun swimming and doing other water activities. We even got Selma (my dog) to swim with us for the first time! Today she’s exhausted and can’t stay awake 🙂
Hi Gretchen! Oh cool!!! The lake house is a perfect place to spend the holiday weekend. And how neat that Selma swam!!! yay!! Happy Monday, lady! 🙂
My 4th was great! It was relaxing. We went and watched fireworks. WE haven’t had fireworks in Colorado for a long time because of drought, but thankfully we were able to have them this year! 😉
Hi Emily! I was surprised that so many fireworks took place in the Bay Area too because we are in a drought. But they did them. Glad you had a nice weekend too! 🙂
Your weekend looks like a blast! My fourth was pretty perfect too. Although, I need to head back to Orange Theory this week to work off the insane amount of food I consumed this weekend!
Hi Stacie! I think we all doing some over-indulging on the holiday hehhe, so I’m right there with you. No big deal! Hope you have a happy Monday, lady! 🙂
Looks like a great holiday – My phone was on airplane mode most of the weekend and I feel SO REFRESHED because of it!! xo
Hi Cassie! Good for you! It’s so important to disconnect sometimes! Saw you got into some hiking, so I bet that was fun. Happy Monday!
Looks fun! I had a great weekend of food, friends and family. My favorite party game has to be beer pong or corn hole. I love any workout on my TRX!
Hi Christine! Thanks for saying hi! So glad you had a nice weekend full of all the good stuff. And I use TRX in Orangetheory and LOVE the way it feels. Happy Monday to you!
I hardly had my phone on my all weekend either, which was actually quite nice! I also enjoyed lounging by a few different pools and it was heaven…totally forgot about the “rest breaks” at pools and waterparks…brings back memories as a kid–I hated those breaks then, but thoroughly enjoy them now 😉
Hi Katie! How did I not know about rest breaks? hehehe! Glad you had a good weekend lady! 🙂 Happy Monday!
Love the flowers, it always makes it fun to be in the holiday spirit! I wish I could have gone hiking in the East Bay when I visited SF last January, but my friend who I was staying with in Berkeley doesn’t have a car so we were limited to the BART.
Hi Alyssa, Well I will tell you that it’s WAY hotter in my area than in Berkeley – especially in the summer, so it’s probably okay you missed out. 🙂 Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend!
Ashley, you make the Burbs look so good! And warm – I can’t even imagine being near a pool today haha. Killin it at Suburban life!!
Hi Jill! Well thanks. ‘Burb living has its perks for sure. 🙂 Hope you had a great Fourth of July as well!
The Fourth was great! Definitely hard to get back to reality! Glad you had an amazing weekend – hope you have a great Monday!
Thanks, Jamie! Yes, tough to get back into the swing of things. But then here we are … halfway through Monday and doing our best! 🙂 heheh
I also noticed that I hardly had my phone with me on the 4th and it was awesome. Definitely need to put down the electronics every now and then.
Totally agree, Sam! I enjoyed not having my phone with me. I may have to do that more often! Happy Monday! 🙂
Wow so much pool fun… sounds like you had a blast! Sorry, but I found it too funny that a bird pooped on the sandwich- that has got to be a first! Also glad you got to enjoy whole foods sushi… that stuff is legit like crack for me ;).
Hi Niki! I am a BIG Whole Foods sushi fan. And it was totally gross when the bird pooped on his sandwich, yet also quite amusing. So laugh all you want heheh! I hope it never happens to you when dining al fresco. 🙂
Well I’d say that your weekend looks just as good as a trip to Tahoe! 🙂
I’ve been to the Club Sport in Pleasanton and they have two adult-only salt water pools; it’s so nice! But they don’t have Les Mills classes so I can’t quite justify the $200 per month fee.
And how funny that Dave’s sandwich got pooed on by a bird! haha! I’m glad he was able to get a new one. 🙂
Hi Sarah! I know, they should really get Les Mills classes at Club Sport. Adult-only pools in Pleasanton? Cool! I sure like the sound of that. Hope you had a lovely weekend as well! 🙂
Do you have a specific routine for your barre workouts at home? I want to do more barre at home and could use some inspiration!
Hi Bethann, I followed an online workout that gave me all the moves. I don’t do barre that often and am certainly not a pro. I’d suggest some Googling for good barre workouts to move with. 🙂
thank you!
What a fun weekend in the sun!! I’ve been trying to be more present and without my phone on the weekends (and especially holidays), too. That floral centerpiece is adorable!
Thanks, Heather!! Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well! 🙂
I like a lot of outdoor games like cornhole. I think they are easy and allow you to be social. I guess you could get pretty competitive with it though! Looks like you had a great 4th of July weekend. 🙂
I sure did have a nice weekend, Lauren! I hope you did as well. 🙂
What a fun weekend! Looks like a good time.
Thanks, Renee! I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. 🙂
I didn’t know that you taught at orange theory! I hear those workouts are killer. I really want to try one but I am terrified 🙂
Hi Deborah! Yes, we have a new Orangetheory Fitness in Walnut Creek, and I’ve been coaching there since it opened two months ago. It’s a great workout! Happy Monday!
I was totally inspired by your workouts to go to a BODYPUMP class last week while I was in Olympia. It was so fun – I had forgotten what a great workout it is. I’d love to try the other Les Mills classes.
Yay, Dani!! LOVE IT! You need to come try one of my BODYATTACK classes too! 🙂 Happy Monday, lady!
I love that floral arrangement! How pretty is it! You will be pleased to know I actually did a body-attack-type workout at home this week, and I loved it! Why I ever stopped I don’t know. Thank you for the inspiration lovely! xx
Hi Krissy! Glad you got a little BODYATTACK-flavor-ish in your life! Hope it was fun. And have a wonderful day!
I love it when you say ‘walnut creek’- it sounds so country when it’s just outside of SF right? Looks like you guys had an absolute blast!
Hhahaha, yes, Walnut Creek is a lovely little spot just outside the City, which also has a downtown and many people who live here moved from San Francisco. But you know, it’s NOT San Francisco, so I make that clear hehehe. 🙂