For your Friday: A few fitness studio reviews!

Happy Friday, everyone!

This week seemed longer than most...who agrees with me?! I know I'm ready for the weekend, and luckily the weather is shaping up to be beaUUUUtiful! Hope the same's true for all of you out there ;-)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought a Classtivity Passport that gives me the opportunity to take 10 classes in participating fitness studios throughout the City for a mere $49. The catch is that I have to attend all classes within a month. Now, that might not sound too difficult, but when you work a lot of evenings and your commute is an hour+, it becomes necessary to employ some scheduling acrobatics. So far, I've taken classes that had me up before the sun (I'm not pretty before I've had my coffee) and home longgg after dark. I've gotten up for classes on the weekends earlier than I rise for work sometimes! But all jokes aside, I'm not complaining because I've gotten to check out tons of studios and classes that I never would have been able to otherwise. It's been fun, and I still have four more classes to take! What do you think? Krav Maga? Bhangra? Ballet?

While I decide, here are my reviews of come recent classes I took:

A fitness class deal like none other!

Hey friends!

I hope you're having a fantastic Friday. Any fun plans for the weekend? I'm going to spend some quality time relaxing and get in a few good workouts!

Speaking of workouts, I've tried three new-to-me classes in the last week thanks to a little "secret" that I wanna let you all in on. It's called Classtivity, and it's a company that helps people find fitness and other classes in their area at times that fit their schedules. The company is operating in eight cities currently, with plans to expand. I found out about this great offer through social media called The Classtivity Passport which allows you to take 10 classes in participating studios in your area for only $49. I don't know about anywhere else, but in NYC, that's the best deal out there! You can check out the website here.

I purchased my Passport and started searching. From the participating studios, I can choose from yoga, Spinning®, Kettlebells, TRX®, dance classes, Pilates, boot camp, and many other boutique fitness classes. So far, I've taken an open vinyasa class at Jivamukti Yoga School; a SyncCycle class at SyncStudio; and a strength and conditioning class at Uplift Studios. I've scheduled a Kettlebells/TRX®-style class for tomorrow morning!

Spotlight on: IntenSati by Patricia Moreno

Hey, hey, hey! Howwww's everyone doin'? I HOPE you're enjoying what remains of summer and gearing up for what I'm sure is going to be a just outstanding fall! Can I get a *raise the roof* for the return of patterned tights, corduroy, and pumpkin flavored-EVERYTHING?! Not to mention my favorite autumn guilty pleasure: candy corn!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Fall will be here soon enough, and I've had so many summer adventures that I wanna tell you all about! As you know if you've been following this blog since I started it about a year ago (!), I try to go to as many free, outdoor, fitness events as possible. Lucky for me, there are more free fitness events around the City in the summer than I have time to attend...but I did have a fun time trying :-) My favorites were definitely those organized by Lolë, a women's active wear company with a community spirit; FITiST, and Hudson River Park. I reviewed several meetups last summer, and wrote this one recently. Last Tuesday was the last meetup at the pier, and let me tell you: it was a doozy!

I have made a habit of checking out the instructor/studio/method to see what they're all about before the weekly meetups. I'd heard of IntenSati before, but I had no idea what it entailed. IntenSati is a "transformational" workout that combines aerobic movements derived from dance, yoga, and martial arts combined with empowering mantras or affirmations that are repeated in sync with the exercises. The method, along with other other incarnations of the original--WarriorSati, CoreSati, and SoulyogaSati, to name a few--was designed by Patricia Moreno to "motivate you to live a life you love in a body you love now" (source).

Why I love The Y(MCA)

Hey lovely people :) It's so nice to have all this time to blog...I'm really dreading going back to work on Monday :( Hopefully I can find the time to keep this momentum going! There are lots of cool blog-related things in the works, so that'll provide plenty of fodder for my posts. A friend of mine is going to be working on giving this here blog a much-needed facelift, and the plans I have in mind are very exciting! So obvs, stay tuned...

So, as you may have gathered from reading some of my earlier posts, I'm a huge, huge fan of The Fitnessista. As my other bloggy friend The Trendy Trainer once pointed out, The Fitnessista is basically "the Holy Grail" of fitness and health-related blogs. I especially enjoy her "Focus On" posts, which the following is meant to emulate/pay homage to. I wanted to write a little about an organization that I absolutely, wholeheartedly support and hope to work with/for one day: The Y.

Now, I don't really support a lot of charitable causes/organizations because I don't have much dispensable income. That's kind of par-for-the-course when you work at a non-profit ;-) However, there are plenty of orgs whose work and mission I truly admire, including but not limited to: HealthClass2.0, Get Focused Foundation, and Alliance for a Healthier Generation. These organizations are all putting forth innovative, health-focused platforms to address obesity-related chronic diseases. I've noticed, however, that their primary focus appears to be on educating the younger generation to make better, healthier choices and stop the cycle of poor health that disproportionately affects low-income, minority people.  While this is all well and good, I think it's important to not only target children in the fight to end obesity and other chronic illnesses, but adults, too, which is why I really support the efforts of the Y.

Spotlight On: I.Am.You studio by Lauren Imparato

This evening I had the distinct privilege of taking my workout out-of-doors for a change. This, my friends, is really quite a feat of epic proportions considering the major heat wave that's been rolling over NYC the past several days. So, even though the weather forecast isn't predicting any relief from the heat 'til the weekend, I thought it might be safe to try an outdoor yoga class on the Hudson River pier. Heck, I thought, it'll probably be the coolest spot in the City to spend an evening!

Happily, I can attest that my hunch was correct! I got my vinyasa on against the most beautiful backdrop --the setting sun--thanks to another free Summer of Fitness meetups hosted by LOLE and FITiST. This evening's yoga flow was taught by Lauren Imparato of I.Am.You studio in Greenwich Village. The studio's motto is "Deconstruct to Reconstruct" and that was certainly accomplished!

Lauren led us through a sequence of swift, vigorous sun salutations, only to kick it up a notch with more repetitive sequences, one after the other. Her teaching style is very rote: there’s a lot of repetition and her cues are quick. Just when you think there’s no way she could demand another chaturanga…she does! And you love it! At least, I loved it. I admit that I am a big fan of vinyasa classes that play to my athletic side and are fast and energetic. More often than not, I enjoy the release that a really sweaty yoga session affords me, although I do dig the meditative and spiritual benefits of the practice, as well.

Coming clean on Crossfit: Did I drink the Kool-Aid????!!!

Happy Sunday, friends!

It's a beautiful day here in NYC; hopefully it's here to stay! Any plans for summer kick-off BBQs? Trips to the beach? Jaunts with friends?

If you read my last blog post, you'd know that I tried Crossfit for the first time on Saturday. As promised, I'm going to give my honest feedback, sans photos (I was too excited about the class the remember to take out my phone!). While I'll give an assessment of my first-time experience, I don't know how helpful it will be for those of you considering giving it test run because...what we did in the intro class was not what a typical Crossfit class looks like.

This, I'll admit, was a tad disappointing. Well, more than a tad--I was really expecting more. Now, don't get me wrong: I understand the importance of teaching proper form for basic exercises like squats, pushups, pull ups, and sit ups because they're fundamental building blocks for developing strength. I guess I just wasn't expecting the workout to be a little more Crossfit-inspired and a little less bootcamp.

Shake up your winter workout!

Hi friends!

Happy Weekend! Wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying yourself and maybe even treating yourself to a little pampering. I, for one, have spent most of the afternoon packing, organizing, throwing out, and sorting through things in preparation for my big move at the end of the month. I will finally (FINALLY!) be moving into my own place. I am beyond excited! For the first time in my life, I'll be able to take advantage of the joys of walking around in my undies, hanging whatever I want on the walls, and I won't have to share anything that's in the fridge! I feel very blessed to have found such a great place, and I can't wait to start moving in and making it feel like a home. Thank you, universe!

On a fitness note, I've recently started training for my second half marathon. Two great friends and I will be running in the D.C. Rock 'n' Roll Half in mid-March, and we're all pumped. Since this is my second race of this distance, I don't feel the kind of pressure or fear that I had going into my first race. I like the idea of running along with friends, and really soaking in the experience as opposed to trying to hit a P.R. So needless to say, I've been finding it hard to fit all the training into my schedule, and I find that other things are migrating higher on the priority list than my several weekly runs and cross training sessions. Oops :)

It's kind of like I have a devil and an angel on either shoulder: the devil's telling me, "heck! you've already run a half, you're in great shape, and you can totally pull it out on race day", while the angel is saying "Hilary! It's time to buckle down and get serious. Get up early if you have to in order to fit those runs in. Let's move!" I think both little aspects of my psyche have a point, and the reason I've found myself justifying a skipped run or switching around my training days is because I believe that my fitness foundation is solid. I feel like I can call on my body to really perform for me when I need it to most, and that's such a cool feeling.

Spotlight on: Aerospace NYC w/ Michael Olajide Jr.

Happy Saturday!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far! Looks as though we've dodged what were shaping up to be some pretty threatening T-storms cuz the sun's a-shinin' here in Brooklyn! Sorry to have been a bit MIA lately; hopefully I'll make up for it with a fun post.

Last Tuesday, I headed to my last free summer fitness meet up (sad, I know). The guest fitness guru was none other than Michael Olajide, Jr. of Aerospace NYC. Olajide is a former middleweight boxer who brought his skills and background as a fitness instructor to the table when establishing Aerospace NYC along with former ballet dancer Leila Fazel , a "revolutionary" gym that eliminates machines and engages participants in workouts that emulate that of a pro boxer; think: quick energy-boosting circuits of intense exercises; punch combinations; and intervals of jump rope, squats and push ups. I was expecting intensity, but presumed that the workout would emulate MMA more than it actually did. I was anticipating TaeBo, and got something entirely different...but much more up my alley.

We started off with an active warm up which I love because it preps the body for lots of dynamic movement and burns more calories than just static stretching. Then we moved into some planks, squats, and push ups, interspersed with periods of punching sequences. My heartrate went up and stayed up throughout the cardio portion, even once it was time to come down to our mats to work those abs. I'll be the first to admit that after an intense cardio session, the last thing I want to do is roll out an ab workout,  but man, it really puts the icing on the cake of a great workout. I learned some great core-stabilizing moves that improve balance while hitting all those little problem spots in the tummy area.

This workout gets major points for being a stellar aerobic--and anaerobic, for that matter--challenge. I didn't sweat as much as I have during previous workouts on the pier, but this workout was no less intense. I love that boxing techniques played such a significant role in the workout, and that definitely upped the fun factor for me because who doesn't get enjoyment from throwing jabs and upper-cuts at whatever's bothering you in the moment?! I find it pleasantly cathartic.

I'll definitely be incorporating some of the ab moves I learned into my regular routine, so that gives this workout points for being routine-ready and portable: everything can be done in the comfort of your home, gym, hotel room, etc! After completing this workout, I learned that the sport of boxing is about so much more than weaving around a ring and throwing punches: to be a good boxer, you have to be agile and quick on your feet, on top of being strong and coordinated. I think we're all seeking to improve upon these elements in our quest for our best fitness, so boxing is certainly a great conditioning tool.

Check out all the cool classes Aerospace offers here!!!

Spotlight on: Bari Studio

Hey friends!

Happy Hump Day! I hope you're having a splendid week. For this post, I wanted to share with you all another great experience that I had working out on Pier 25 with the crew from Lolë, FITiST, and this time around: the Bari Studio! The combo dance-cardio-toning class was taught by the lovely Audrey, and it involved a lot of choreographed dance moves and a great toning sess that works those glutes like no other!

A few comments about the method: Bari is unique because it's new, and has therefore been crafted using elements from various forms of traditional exercise and fitness systems, including dance, Pilates, yoga, gymnastics, martial arts and sports training. The Bari Studio website claims that it's worked and consulted with physiologists and kinesiologists and even professional athletes to perfect its method which all leads to smarter instead of harder workouts.

Don't get me wrong, though! This routine was tough! The first half of the workout, I found myself pirouetting, skipping, sassy-walking, and grape-vining across the grass, all of which I completed without (phew!) injuring myself or anyone else. I worked up a sweat which certainly made up for the foolishness that I displayed...publicly...for over 30 minutes.

Spotlight on: As One

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying the week. I'm looking forward to some much-needed R&R with my parents and brother--we're off to Cape Cod on vacation. I'm really looking forward to our time away together, especially because getting away from it all to unwind and recharge is such a crucial component to living a fitness-able life. If you don't take that time for yourself, how will you find the energy to work out to your fullest potential?!

Now let's get down to FITNESS! This past Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to attend a fitness meet-up sponsored by Lolë, Hudson River Park, and FITiST. As part of the Summer of Fitness event series, the fitness meet-ups offer free yoga, boot camp, core training and boxing-themed classes, taught by various qualified instructors. The word 'free' always appeals to me, but the coolest part about this series is the variety of workouts and the quality of the studios and instructors who participate. Many of the meet-ups feature workouts hosted by super-swanky, exclusive studios that may not be affordable to the general public. These events are great because they eliminate the single most frustrating element of fitness--inaccessibility--and highlight one of its best: group exercise.

The class I took was lead by George and Mark from As One fitness center, and they lead us through a tough HIIT routine that consisted of 8 exercises repeated for 8 rounds with thirty seconds rest in between each set. We did squats, push ups, squats with hands over head, rower sit ups, backward alternating lunges, planks, and last but certainly not least, my beloved burpees! There were several moments when I thought I just couldn't push out another second of a plank or another rep of lunges. To make the time go by faster (and distract myself from any bodily pain I was experiencing), I kept repeating those cheesy mantras over and over in my head to get me through, like: "It's mind over matter;" and "Pain is weakness leaving the body;" and even "Fatigue is your body adapting," (I stole that one from Mark!). It's amazing how much a little inner motivation can propel you to complete that last set, lap, or rep!

Everybody Tae Bo Tonight!

Hey everyone!

Exercise has always been something I've enjoyed, and being active has been a part of my life from a very young age. I remember taking long walks around the neighborhood with my parents and brother as a kid, and riding bikes around the local track while my mom walked or jogged. I was always involved in extracurricular sports in middle and high school, but I've learned as an adult that I excel more at solo sports like running and Spinning (if you consider Spinning a sport like I do!). When I was a teen, I remember getting my sweat on with exercise videos in our basement and really digging how the videos break up cardio monotony. Believe it or not, I burned it up to the likes of Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, Mari Winsor of Winsor Pilates fame, and who could forget...the inimitable Billy Blanks!

What's the point of all this, you ask? When I decided to start a blog, I knew that I wanted empowerment to be a central theme, but I also wanted to give practical tips and fitness-related advice. In terms of living an active lifestyle, empowerment is a crucial element that often comes in the form of accessibility and options. I'm a big fan of both when it comes to working out, so I thought it would be fun to share some reviews of fitness trends--including exercise videos!!--to encourage you to look outside the box when your workouts are starting to get a little ho-hum! 

I hope you enjoy my first review of Billy Blanks’ Advanced Tae Bo workout!