Fiona's Field Trips

Fiona's Challenge has taken Team Alibi on quite a journey for the last three weeks!  Some of us have visited our home base at the Cambridge gym for the very first time, and we've all made the trip to our BURN sessions at the Focus studio across the street from the main gym.  But last week, some of my teammates and I had taken a few more "Fiona's Field Trips".

Fiona's Field Trip #1: Trying a new gym- Back Bay Healthworks!
Teammate, Zahra and I biked over the river in the morning to the Back Bay Healthworks.  I had never been there before starting the Challenge and was excited to see the great number of cardio machines, studios and, really? ... a cute little cafe so you can grab a healthy snack on the go!  What a cool idea.

We attended Fusion Strength in the street level studio.  It was an INTENSE combination of Pilates and Yoga core strengthening work on a mat or foam roller with round hand weights.  Very challenging class, with great instruction from our teach, Eden, who was great at explaining all the moves with a little touch of humor that made holding the moves for another 4... no, just kidding, 8 reps! a little less painful.  :)  I wish I could have stuck around with Zahra for the Breathe class.  I saw her and the rest of the class with their legs up on the mirrored wall getting some serious stretching and meditative breathing in while I was heading out to work.  I'll have to come back for that one!

Fiona's Field Trip #2: JFK Pool Access!
Did you know that as a Healthworks member, we get discount entry at the JFK school pool a block away from the Cambridge gym even if we're not a town resident?  Well now you know!

Julia, Alibi teammate and swimmer extraordinaire, gave me and Jess some pointers at our team optional swim clinic at the pool last week.  They were both beat from hitting BURN at 7 that morning and then getting some laps in that eve (!), but Julia was a real trooper checking out my completely-out-of-synch breaststroke and Jess's rusty freestyle.  Some lap swim, kicking, pulling, and with some clear pointers from Coach Julia, we got a good workout and a nice break from our usual gym routines.  Thanks, Coach Julia!!! :)

I have to say, I'm a little jealous of our Cambridge Challenge rivals, the JFK School Teachers, who are right next to the pool every day. (And yes, that is a bust of JFK with a baseball hat and three leis that overlooks the pool deck!)

Fiona's Field Trip #3: Pilates Reformer Studio (back to Back Bay!)
The BURN sessions in Cambridge are great, but while Fiona Fit is providing the opportunity to try some other brand new things, I wanted to take full advantage of her offer.  So off I was to the Pilates Reformer Studio!

The Spa and Reformer Studio is downstairs, outside and down the hall from the main gym and reception desk in Back Bay.  (Woah, this gym is way bigger than I thought!)  It's an intimate studio with some initially scary looking equipment that was the least bit scary once instructor Kaley explained the basic elements: a footbar, some springs (just below the footbar) that you can add or remove for resistance, the carriage that moves up and down, and the straps that you can use with your hands and feet for core strengthening, flexibility and muscular alignment in a lying, kneeling or seated position... pretty quickly it went from medieval rack to a pretty cool, even elegant machine!

The workout was challenging, but not at all fast paced or too hard to figure out and really focused more on small muscle groups that help with alignment rather than what I was afraid of - trying to move my entire body weight up and down this thing, or something!  The challenge was in getting your muscles to be coordinated and work symmetrically which is harder than it sounds.  I really enjoyed it and want to come back to the Reformer ....after a few refresher Pilates classes, I think.  There's a lot to get out of the Reformer, but I think there might be more for me to gain if I brush up on the basics first.


There is so much to enjoy at the Cambridge Healthworks, and for someone like me with the attention span of a goldfish, I'm pretty grateful that Healthworks and Fiona's Challenge provide even more simulation than a gym with just a great variety of classes.  There is just SO MUCH to try!!!

Hmmmm.... maybe next Field Trip should be to the Massage studio?  Yep, I'm going to work on Field Trip #4!  I'd say, "Stay tuned!" but I'll probably be too relaxed to blog about it.  :)