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A Naptime Circuit Workout

^^Great Harvest Apple Dapple bread with almond butter = my ultimate pre-workout breakfast

I have figured out that, like coffee, I really need a workout in the morning to get my endorphins flowing for the day. Recently I had an 8:30 pm soccer game and sat around all day in anticipation. (The weather was awful or I would have tried for a mid-day walk with Birch.) By 4 pm I was sooooo grumpy. I realized that on the days when I don’t leave the house, I really need a good indoor naptime workout to boost my mood. I have experimented with doing blog work during first morning nap and working out later in the day (aka showering first and then getting in a clean sweat later in the day.) But if I ever have a choice, I much prefer a mid-morning workout. The endorphins set the tone for the rest of the day!

So once Birch was settled into his crib…

I went downstairs to the treadmill and set up a circuit workout for the next hour. (I got lucky that B slept for 1.5 hours – so I even had time for a quick shower!) I had so much fun with this I wanted to share!

Set One

For the first 10 minutes I walked to a podcast for my warmup. This gets the podcast/relax itch out of my system and puts me juuuuust in the mood for a higher intensity.

Set Two

Next I put on a 13 minute upper body strength set from Aaptiv. This one for my Aaptiv friends:

It was a combo of cardio moves that involved strength, like burpees and mountain climbers. Loved the music in this set too!

Set Three

Thirdly I hopped back on the tread and did a quick run – I think it was about a mile. I loved how Ed coached me to add a little speed every minute until I was running fairly fast. At this point I was sweating!

Set Four

At this point I was 30 minutes in, so I felt like I’d gotten the hard part over and switched to a nice guided yoga flow to stretch a bit. My mind only had the attention span for 8 minutes of yoga! (Oh the irony of yoga.)

Set Five

Little B was still sleeping, so I decided to hop back on the treadmill to cool down with a bit more podcast walking. My all-time favorite podcast is the Dave Ramsey Show. While I do love personal finance, what I like most about it is the Q&A format. I can jump into any episode at any time and just start listening for 10 minutes here or there without feeling like I have to listen to a whole topical podcast from start to finish. Sometimes I hesitate to start podcasts because I know I won’t have time to finish the topic, but DR’s podcast is one you can take in minute by minute.

Here’s my Apple Watch report from my workout. It was a good one! I think it’s cool how you can see each set by heart rate in the graph – warm up, up and down HIIT, fast run peak, a dip for slow yoga, and my final walk.

You’ve heard me say it before, but there is no way I would have gotten this creative without all of the Aaptiv workouts at my fingertips. They really do make home workouts fun and way more challenging than me on my own! I like stringing together treadmill + strength but I would love it they created more varied kind of workouts too.

When B was up he did his own little workout – some tummy time. He’s getting to tolerate it a bit more, but he’s still not totally into his tummy and doesn’t seem all that close to rolling over.

I was extra hungry for lunch and had this huge salad: greens, sweet potato, feta, spiced pecans, pita chips and quiche. Yup, quiche on top! I sliced it up and ate it bite by bite.

I feel a little repetitive always raving about home workouts these days, but they have been SO GOOD for my mental health this winter with a little baby and I just can’t not share! I am also getting so much closer to buying a new treadmill. My belt continues to stick really badly, and I priced a replacement one and it’s more than I want to spend not knowing if it will even solve the problem. I think a new tread is in the cards, but I don’t want to spend more than $1,000, ideally less than that. (Sadly Woodway and Peloton are out of the budget!)

My requirements:

  • Solid feel for running
  • One-touch incline and speed buttons (you know, you just push 7 and it goes to speed 7)
  • Less than $1,000
  • Delivery AND ASSEMBLY available for purchase/included

I know I have asked for recs before, but does anyone have one they love? I’ve been reading reviews and it sure is overwhelming!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. We have the NordicTrack T 6.5 S Treadmill and love it! We’ve had it for a couple of years now with no issues. It has everything you mentioned, too.

    Amazon has it for $599 with FREE scheduled delivery. I think we might have purchased ours from QVC or HSN.

    Good luck. I’m sure you’ll find the right one and love it!

    Reply

  2. I’m with you, morning workouts are the best—you’ve got the day beat before it even starts! Also really helps the psyche. LOVE the variations you did on that workout- will definitely check it out. Thanks, too, on the podcast suggestion as I, too, tend to shy away from those that require more of my immediate time—I prefer those that you can listen to in spurts :-). You go, girl!

    Reply

  3. I have baby #2 on the way and didn’t feel comfortable running outside in the dark anymore, so we invested in a treadmill. I wanted one that I could test out prior to buying and was under $1,000 including all setup costs. We got ours from Dicks Sporting Goods. It’s small, folds up, and we’ve already gotten our use out of it having it 6 months. I don’t think you will regret the investment – we haven’t 🙂

    https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/horizon-fitness-t101-treadmill-18hrzut101trdmllxtrd/18hrzut101trdmllxtrd

    Reply

  4. I got a Nordic Trak T7.0 when we moved to Minnesota in 2010. It is still going strong and survived moves across states. I need to have it serviced this year and probably a belt. We got it at Sears and had them deliver and set up.

    Reply

  6. I recently discovered the Dave Ramsey show and can’t get enough! I re-worked my whole budget and was able to make a significant increase to my retirement savings. As for the treadmill, I found one used locally and have had it for almost 10 years. Its been really good to me (I’ve put a lot of miles on it) and I’m so glad I bought used. Especially because it was practically new because the original owner never used it. Worth looking into!

    Reply

    • Glad you love the show too! We’ve already done one used treadmill off Craigslist. I don’t regret it because it showed me how much I would use it, but it’s 10 years old and it’s just not ideal for anything more than a slow jog at this point. I hesitate to get another used one in fear that we’d get another one with problems!

      Reply

  7. We have a Sole treadmill and love it. My husband is 6ft 3 and I’m 5ft 10 so we bought the F80, but the F63 is slightly cheaper if you don’t need such a long belt. Great treadmill!

    Reply

  8. I use Aaptiv and I never thought of mixing the shorter workouts together! What a great idea! We have a Sole F63 Treadmill and it’s been really great! It has a decent length to the belt (which was a requirement for my 6’1″ husband) and has a smooth incline. And it folds up if you need that too. We’ve had it for 2-3 years and have had no problems!

    Reply

  9. It was more than $1000 but we financed it through the company and got a True brand treadmill and LOVE it. So reliable and not shaky at all. I think it was 24 month of no interest rate so we just divided our payments ourselves into 23 payments and paid it off. I recommend.

    Reply

  10. When my treadmill was “sticking” it was actually the drive belt and not the one you walk on – if you can, check to see if it is starting to wear (losing the “teeth” from the inside of the belt). It took some googling for videos on how to replace, but the drive belt was less than $20 for my treadmill. And it no longer slips.

    Reply

  11. A morning workout even if ten minutes just sets my day on the roght foot! I love Aaptiv. I’ve always wanted a treadmill, too. Good luck with the search. I’be heard Nordic Track models are great.

    Reply

  12. We also started with a cheapie from craigslist and used it for a while then several years later found another one on craigslist. It is True so more expensive brand (originally 1700 and we got it for 400) but affordable on CL! It might be worth keeping an eye out on CL for a more expensive, newer brand that is affordable. We LOVE the True and it has been so nice to have in the basement! Because we got it from CL I don’t feel guilty that it doesn’t get used much in the summer. Good luck!

    Reply

    • I haven’t because you have to pay for a month to get one free (as far as I know you can’t do a free trial without a credit card?) and since I use Aaptiv for now, I don’t want to pay for both!

      Reply

  14. I like listening to Dave Ramsey too, because it helps me stay on track financially. Living in the age of heavy marketing on social media of more stuff can make it a challenge to budget and all of that without some motivation. He does get a little grumpy/ feisty from time to time, ha!

    Reply

    • I’m using an Amazon cloud cam that has an app to check in and I usually use my iPad or my computer browser to watch. I like it so much more than carrying around a parent unit like my older Motorola monitor has.

      Reply

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