Scary Workouts: A Frighteningly Fit Halloween

The sky was pitch black save for charcoal clouds gathering. The stars were hard to see through them much less through the ceiling to floor windows in the aerobics studio.

It was 6:30 p.m. and time for boot camp class at the Y. The only problem? No one was there.

Class size can be hit or miss but I almost always have a handful of regulars. Parent-teacher conferences in the school district and Halloween events had kept them away, I reasoned. As did the chilly, unwelcoming weather I ventured further.

Regardless, I started the music — a Halloween mix for group fitness instructors from Steady 130 — and began the workout. It was full of appropriately named exercises — Frankenstein Walk and Creepy Crawlers. Before you think that I'm amazingly creative, I didn't come up with it on my own. I had help — help from an accredited, reliable source.

When I first began programming the workout for the Oct. 30 class, I did an Internet search for "Halloween Workout" and "Halloween Exercises." Most of the results were from bloggers who had created spooktacular circuits to be pinned by readers and repinned by more readers and repinned by complete strangers who follow those readers on Pinterest. These workouts are a pet peeve of mine, which I'm sure I've said before, as many of the people are not qualified to give anyone a workout, much less a wider audience. Also, these workouts often do not include modifications nor do they factor injuries, fitness levels and special needs.

I digress ... I was beginning to get frustrated because most of the workouts were just scary hard (read: lots of burpees) and didn't have the cute factor I wanted. That's when I got a message in my inbox from ACE, the organization through which I received my personal training certification. There, in all its glory, was a Halloween-inspired circuit workout that used supersets. Supersets include two exercises that are completed one right after another without rest. This workout style allows an exerciser to save time, increase intensity and overload muscles to produce results.

The exercises in the Spooky Superset Workout were great. Not only did they have the creepy names but they were easily modified for different fitness levels and not so complicated that I needed to be an acrobat to demonstrate them. And demonstrate them I did as I had a handful of girls show up just a bit late.

I did change up the workout — ahead of time and on the fly — to accommodate the participants strengths and weaknesses and the class schedule.

Here's what we did:

Four supersets with two exercises each. Each exercise was performed for 30 seconds and four rounds of each superset were completed. Participants rested for about a minute while I demonstrated the exercises in the next superset. A warm up of dynamic movements and stretches was performed before beginning the circuits.

Superset 1
Frankenstein Walk
Mummy Sit-ups

Superset 2
Full Moon
Ghost Fliers

Superset 3
Skeleton jacks (most of us modified the exercise, performing a traditional jumping jack)
Scaredy Cat (I chose this instead of the Count Dracula as achieving the supine plank could be difficult for those with wrist weakness or injury.)

Superset 4
Zombie Walk (Since I took out the spider push-ups, I wanted an exercise that targeted the shoulders. This one is a favorite from my days teaching Bodypump.)
Monster Walk (I wanted something that targeted the glutes and also incorporated some lateral movement.)

Disclaimer: Although I am an ACE certified personal trainer and certified Bodypump instructor, you should consult a physician before starting any exercise program. I am not recommending these exercises to you but merely sharing them. If you choose to do any of the exercises featured on this website, you do so at your own risk.

Food Friday: The big trick?

I felt so proud of myself. I had bitten the bullet, and I was going to hand out food items to trick-or-treaters. We had pretzels, Teddy Grahams, fruit snacks and some Dum-Dums that a co-worker had leftover from a neighborhood Halloween celebration. With enough for 200 glammed up goblins, we were ready.

But the test would be when the munchkins arrived at our door.

The first costume-clad child arrived at 5:45 p.m. - 15 minutes before the scheduled start. I decided to be the bad witch and turn him away. After all, Miles wasn't even in his Pout-Pout Fish costume yet.

Once we were donning scales and had a few pictures snapped, we were ready for the festivities. The first trick-or-treaters got dibs on the Teddy Grahams. I had lots of ohs and ahs as the little ones saw the packages drop in their bags. There was even some excited, "Look. Look! These are the bomb."

Yes. Apparently, I am the bomb. News to me.

We handed out a few Dum-Dums and pretzels before heading out to trick-or-treat ourselves. I wanted to hit up just a few houses so Miles could get the experience.

OK. I'll be honest. I really wanted to check out the house down the street that had been taken over by zombies.

We scored some Nerds(!!!), a Hershey bar, pretzels and a Tootsie Roll. For me, obviously.

And then it was back to passing out treats. Our neighborhood gets what seems like an insane amount of trick-or-treaters. We actually ran out of goodies within an hour. Shortly after our little trek, we were down to just pretzels.

The kids didn't seem to mind. Many had bags with plenty of treats and were into the idea of trick-or-treating. However, one little kid (the same one who rang the bell at 5:45 p.m.) looked at the bag and then looked at Mark.

"Do you have anything else?" he said. "I don't like pretzels."

Umm, no. No, we don't have anything else. Maybe I was just done by this point but I thought the kid was a little rude. If he had a gluten sensitivity, I would have ran in and got the Hershey bar out of Miles' bag but ... yeah ... I'm not going to ... well, no.Just no.

It made me wonder if the other kids hated the pretzels just as much and were merely more courteous. Are pretzels really that much of a Halloween no-no?

I'm not sure but it is something to keep in mind for next year. I could do just Teddy Grahams and fruit snacks since those were well-received. Or, I could do what our daycare provider does: raisins and fruit cups.

Big hits, for sure.

P.S. Thank you for reading this post. While I did want to recap what was popular, I also wanted to post pictures of Miles and the costume I made. Because I'm self-involved like that.

Food Friday: No tricks, just treats

I was the witch of the neighborhood last Halloween.

Instead of passing out candy like a normal person, I decided that I was not - in no way, shape or form - going to contribute to the obesity epidemic in the United States. I was not going to give children chocolate and sugar just because they looked cute and were wearing costumes. I was not going to add their bags of fat and processed goods. I just wasn't.

And so, last year, I went to Universal Merchandise (a bulk party store of sorts in Fort Wayne), and I stocked up on spider rings, pirate tattoos and pumpkin erasers. Things that were fun. Things that were not edible.

I sat outside with Mark, Miles and Denali, and I handed out those things (along with a single teeny-tiny Tootsie Roll). Some of the little kids were appreciative; others, the older ones and the homeless man, were ... shall we say ... skeptical. I was ... shall we say ... embarrassed. My plan meant well but it just wasn't any fun. Halloween should be fun.

Even if it means passing out a treat or two.

This year, I'm ditching the rings and my stainless steel bowl is going to be filled with goodies -- ones that I can feel good about passing out.

Snyder's Of Hanover Pretzels Mini Snack. Sure, they are processed and salty but it's a low-fat alternative with one mini bag containing less than 50 calories. I have found these on sale at Target and CVS, and I have paid about 10 cents per unit - comparable in price to fun-size candy bars.

Teddy Grahams. Who doesn't like something sweet? Teddy Grahams have less sugar than candy with just 7 grams and offer at least a bit of staying power. These are great for younger children, like Miles, who might go trick-or-treating but can't/don't eat candy. If you want to do me one better, I saw mini bags of Annie's bunnies but they were a bit more than I wanted to spend.

Fruit snacks. I was happy to see that Target's Market Pantry brand had Halloween fruit snacks - 100 percent juice - for less than 10 cents a unit. Fruit snacks aren't as good for younger toddlers but I haven't met a kid who hates fruit snacks. Just be sure they brush well as the gummis can get stuck and lead to cavities.

Unreal Candy (if I can find it). I liked the Unreal candy so much when I had the chance to try it, and it is something I can feel good about - no corn syrup, GMOs or hydrogenated oils. I heard rumors from PR folks that mini sizes should be available at Target and CVS but I have yet to find it. These would be great for the older kids who should be able to decide how to ration candy and limit portions.

And while I am super amped to hand out treats this year, Miles will be making his trick-or-treat debut.

We'll probably just take him to a few houses around us to show him off to neighbors and maybe score some sugar (for me) to keep me going through the excitement. After all, trick-or-treating is for the parents. Right? Right!

Addendum

My friend on Facebook posted this note, and I think it's important to keep in my mind to make sure everyone has fun on Halloween. 

With Halloween upon us, please keep in mind, a lot of little people will be visiting your home. Be accepting. The child who is grabbing more than one piece of candy may have poor fine motor skills. The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy may have motor planning issues. The child who does not say "trick or treat" or "thank you" may be non-verbal. The child who looks disappointed when they see your bowl, might have an allergy. The child who isn't wearing a costume at all might have a sensory issue (SPD) or autism. Be nice. Be patient. Its everyone's Halloween. ~Borrowed from "I Love Being A Mom & Wife"