Bridal Boot Camp – Day 39

Day 39 – August 13

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Today I wanted to talk about my favorite things – gym things that is.

I wanted to tell you about some of my favorite classes, moves and stretches.

Right now my favorite class is currently TRX Training with Charles Gibson on Mondays at 12:30 pm and Thursdays at 11:45 am. I love this class because it really does feel like playing, which is perfect because Charles calls it his “Adult Recess.” It also really helps me get ready for the week.

The moves we do in that class vary, but some of my favorites are on the stability ball. Last Monday, Charles had us try and balance with our knees on a stability ball. It takes incredible core strength to do this, but while you are doing it, it sort of just feels like playing around.

This move is so hard, but works incredibly well.

Another stability ball move that I both love and hate, is one where we get in plank position with our forearms on the ball and our feet out together behind us. Then we do big circles with our arms, make our core stay super tight and firm as we maintain our balance while rolling our arms around. From here we usually move right into knee kicks and we bring one knee up to touch the ball while we are still in plank position, then switch legs. It really burns the ab muscles in a good way.

On the TRX I’ve really gotten stronger in my chest and arms just from dong various pull moves, but my favorite TRX exercise is the Pendulum. To do this you need to stick your feet in the handles and hold yourself up in push up position. Then you swing your legs from side to side. It feels like playing around, but it’s a great ab move. If you get bored and want to change it up you can always swing your legs in and bend your knees bringing both of them to the side of one elbow. Do it again on the other side and embrace that oblique burn! You can find lots more fun TRX moves here.

This feels like being a kid again and playing on a jungle gym.

Another class I love is Total Strength with Ellen on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 am. Ellen mixes up the class so that you are doing weight training in your arms, chest, back, core and legs. There is a lot of squatting done in this class as well.

Usually Ellen has us use dumbells in both hands, but seeing as how my hands were full, I couldn’t take a picture of myself doing this move.

A move I feel like Ellen has really helped me perfect is my one-legged dead lifts. For some reason I love this move as I feel like it really helps tighten my back as well as helps to tone up my legs. To make it more challenging, sometimes Ellen has us do an arm row.

Another move that Ellen has us do is to hold ourselves in a squat position, shift all our weight to one leg, and then lift up one leg out to the side. It burns in the glutes real good.

On Wednesdays I have been trying to make time to take two classes in a row. Cardio Camp starts at 11:45 am with Sandra, and afterwards she also teaches Amazing Abs at 12:30. It amazes me how you can work your abs in so many ways that aren’t crunches!

One of Sandra’s go-to moves it to have us lay down with our backs on the floor and our legs up on a stability ball, then we roll the ball in for hamstring curls. It’s a lot more challenging that it seems, but I love how my hamstrings have gotten firmer since I’ve started the whole Bridal Boot Camp.

I’m still loving all the moves that Terry taught me with a kettlebell. The kettlebell swing is a great move for your glutes and hips and feels more like messing around than working out. Plus it looks super cool. The kettlebell bicep curls are also a more fun variation to help tone up those guns. I like using them more than weights sometimes just to change it up.

Always remember to keep your chest up and your core engaged.

Another favorite of mine is Velma’s spinning classes at 6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last Tuesday, I brought in a friend of mine to do it with me. She had never been to a spinning class before but I think she really liked it. Velma encourages everyone to stay on pace by yelling out “Boom, Boom, Boom…” every time your feet should make a rotation. She changes the speeds up to make sure your heart rate is climbing, but follows it with recovery time. It’s a great cardio workout!

Instead of taking my word for it, you should come to a class for yourself just to try it out. The Arena District Athletic Club offers free trial memberships and I think everyone should at least come see what I’m talking about! Find a class that you love and that is convenient for you. Tell them Charlie sent you.

Find a Printable List of Classes Here.

The Arena District Athletic Club is more than just a gym, it’s a premier fitness facility located in the heart of the Arena District in downtown Columbus. We provide convenience and quality, featuring top-of-the-line equipment, top-notch personal trainers, spa-like locker rooms and a wide variety of free group fitness classes daily including Cardio, Spinning, Barre Fusion, Yoga, Boot Camp and more. We offer free 2-hour parking and convenient contract-free memberships, to fit your healthy lifestyle needs. Don’t just join, belong.