Month: May 2017

Wednesday Workout: Vegas Workout #1: 22 Minute AMRAP Full Body Blast

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Happy Wednesday, friends! How about this weather, right?! Or as RM would say…

I took advantage of it by going for a run yesterday and today I hope to go for a bike ride when I get home from work since we took our bikes out and tuned them up yesterday.

Unfortunately, today’s workout isn’t really an “outdoor” workout, although with a set of dumbbells and a mat you certainly COULD do this outside- in fact, I encourage it! I will often do this- it’s a way to be outside and get some Vitamin D while also getting your workout in. Win- win!

This is a “simple” workout in that it’s very straight forward and doesn’t involve any complicated or fancy moves. Personally, these are the types of workouts I love to do when I’m short on time or when I’m traveling since I know they are effective. “Tried & true” exercises are called that for a reason- they work- over and over again. Plus, they don’t include any unnecessary “fluff” aspects of the exercise (which, in my opinion, is only added so you can look fancy on Instagram… ). I also love them because they allow for you to use your mental and physical strength busting out the exercises, rather than trying to figure out how the heck to execute it. That said, grab a heavy-ish weight and get to work focusing on form (always), but also on speed. Try and minimize the amount of rests throughout each round and instead try to save the rest for between rounds if you need it. This will help make it more of a cardio workout, too!

You’ll set the timer for 22 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible of the exercises below in that amount of time.

I think all of the moves should be fairly common and shouldn’t require a full-blow explanation, but if you have any questions, of course don’t hesitate to ask me! Happy sweating!

Questions for you: Have you been able to get outside to enjoy the nice weather? What’s your outdoor exercise of choice?

 

Five on Friday {5.12.17}

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Good morning- TGIF! I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s been quite a week! First , one day I dialed into the wrong conference call, next, I emailed Lauren asking why I didn’t get my first workout in the Fit in 15 quickie series, only to have her tell me it starts NEXT week, haha I think between still battling a head cold, exhaustion from the weekend and teaching so many classes, I can’t keep things straight!

So, let’s keep it simple today- here are some things of possible interest!

  • Mother’s Day Pink Ribbon Low Cut Cleat– New Balance is offering a Mother’s Day edition of the baseball cleats some of the pros (Dustin Pedroia, Robby Scott, Hanley Ramirez) are wearing these days. The pink accents represent the fact that they are part of New Balance’s Lace Up for the Cure® Collection, meaning that a portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer research, as well as the Susan G. Komen organization/foundation. As a bonus offer, if you purchase these cool looking cleats, you’ll also win a pair of pink CFX Pro batting gloves! I absolutely love all that New Balance does to support cancer (especially breast cancer) research- they are truly a company all about giving back.

  • Free Spin Class at B/Spoke Wellesley– This Sunday (Mother’s Day),  B/Spoke Wellesley is offering a FREE RIDE to sons & daughters who bring their mom’s to either the 8:15am or 9:30am class. In addition to a free class, you’ll be entered in a raffle for the chance to win gift cards to various other stores in the area such as Gretta Cole, Gretta Luxe, MiniLuxe, Cocobeet & more! If you are interested, email Grace Goodearl at ggoodearl@bspokestudios.com.
  • Gold Medal Bootcamp– On Thursday, May 18th at 6pm there will be a really cool workout opportunity in Boston Common. EF Education First and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, DeeDee Trotter are hosting a FREE, public outdoor workout! Cherry on top? Eliza of Kick It by Eliza (duh!)will also be there an running you through a “Kick It” aspect of the workout. There will be music, refreshments, a New Balance pop-up shop and more that you can check out after the event. If you’re interested in this, make sure you register here. Maybe DeeDee will even let you touch her gold medals?! 😉
  • Sweat, Shop, Snack {Round 1}- On Wednesday, I hosted my second class/event at the New Balance Flagship Store in Brighton. While it was certainly a much smaller crowd (so many people told me they couldn’t go because of other plans- May is a busy month!), the crew who showed up was fierce! Most of them had never done kickboxing before, but you could never tell by looking at them. They caught on SO fast and were so energetic- laughing and smiling throughout the whole workout! Didn’t hurt that DJ Sprino was crushing it on the turn tables (is that still a thing people say?!), per usual. The staff at NB are all SO nice and helpful- they make having events there so easy. Huge thanks to Purity Organics for providing juices again, Hint Water for providing delicious waters and GoMacro for providing macrobars for people to munch on after class! I won’t be doing any more events there until the fall as Seaport Sweat starts up in a few weeks which will add more classes to my schedule and leave less time for other events.

  • GoMacro- GoMacro recently reached out to me regarding their company and product. I had actually tried Go Macro bars when they were on sale at Whole Foods and absolutely LOVED them, so I jumped on board to work with them. For those of you who may not be familiar with GoMacro, it’s a family-owned vegan nutrition bar company based in Viola, WI. They started the company when they decided to switch to a macrobiotic diet, which means they eat in a way that is balanced in terms of what you’re eating and when you’re eating it. They chose to do this as a lifestyle when one of the founders was diagnosed with breast cancer. They had read that a macrobiotic diet could help and figured it was worth a shot. The full story can be found here, but spoiler alert: it did help!

Along with being Vegan, their bars are also Organic and Gluten Free- plus, they taste great! When I’m looking for a pre or post workout bar, I like to make sure I’m choosing something with minimal unnecessary “filler” ingredients, lower sugar count, a decent amount of protein and have to taste good. GoMacro fits all of those criteria and I love that their core principles include keeping everything wholesome, organic and vegan. Plus, with all of the various flavors they have, it’s hard to pick a favorite!

Earlier this week I hosted another event at New Balance and was happy to be able to share some mini bars with my class participants. Everyone who tried them gushed about how “surprisingly good” they bars were. I think people tend to shy away from protein/healthy bars because they think they will taste awful, but that’s not the case with these. I brought some extras into my office and have had so many people stop me and tell me how great the bars are! Bottom line is if you’re using real, wholesome ingredients and you know the right combinations of flavors to put together, you’ll likely (hopefully) have a good tasting final product. People have this notion that “healthy” doesn’t taste good, but I think it’s because they’re misinformed with what “healthy” means- bland, no flavor, no fat, etc. – and haven’t given it a chance. We cook so many “healthy” things that taste great, but again, it’s all about what goes in and how its prepared.

If you’re interested in trying some- I suggest heading to their site as new customers can get 30% off AND free shipping! Thanks, again, GoMacro- loved being able to share goodness with so many people 🙂

Questions for you: How has your week been? have you done any fun workouts? What’s your favorite pre/post workout bar? What are you doing for Mother’s Day?

Wednesday Workout: Spin & Total Body AMRAP Workout {Featuring TIEM spin shoes}

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Good morning! Before I get to the workout, I wanted to remind you that tonight, I am hosting a workout at the New Balance Flagship Store in Brighton at 6:30pm. You can find more details & sign up here.

For now, though, let’s talk about spinning. Confession: Up until about 4 years ago, I hated spinning! I didn’t understand why people would want to use their time at the gym to sit on a bike- however, now that indoor cycling has become a “thing”, I am totally on board with spinning. Why? I like that the classes are to the beat of the music, use weights and do exercises to work body parts besides just the legs. I realize that they do not mimic an outdoor ride, but no one ever said they’re supposed to 😉 They’re just a great cardio workout.

Now that I have a spin bike at home, I love spinning even more. It was so great to have a source of low-impact cardio that could be done in the comforts of my own home throughout the cold winter months, but there was something I was missing: spin shoes. I didn’t really “need” them when it came to going to classes since most studios rent them to you (or they’re included in the price of the ride), but at home I really wanted a pair as they do make the whole riding experience better.

TIEM Athletic couldn’t have contacted me at a better time because I had just been researching various shoe brands to check out. What I love about the TIEM slipstream shoes is that they look and feel like a normal sneaker. They aren’t the big, clunky, non-bendable spin shoes that we all think of when we think of spin shoes. These could be worn as a shoe to and from the gym and no one would know they were spin shoes!

True story: Monday at the gym, one of  the trainers was wearing a pair of TIEM slipstream shoes and I told her I had the same ones. Her client was shocked to hear that the shoes on her feet were spin shoes and not just regular sneakers. The trainer said she was tired of lugging around multiple pairs of shoes and that the TIEM ones were great because she could wear them to train AND teach her spin class. We agreed we wouldn’t wear them to go running or do any sort of high impact workout- because they are really not made for that- but that they work great for what she was doing with them.

Want to know what else they work great for? This workout I’m sharing with you today! Why, you ask? Because this workout has you going from the bike to off the bike every other song, which is a much more enjoyable experience with the sneaker-esque TIEM Athletic spin shoes.

The way the workout works is you’ll do one song on the bike, then you’ll do an AMRAP of the exercises listed above for “off bike” songs for the duration of that song. You’ll need a pair of dumbbells (or two pairs if you want to go heavier/lighter on some exercises). For the spin songs, I’ve also included suggestions in terms of position & resistance if you decide to go with the play list I’m showing you below.

I’ve only had these shoes for a few weeks, but I’m already totally loving them- they really just enhance the spinning experience so much! I’m considering getting SPD pedals for my road bike, too, although clipping in and out at stop lights & intersections kind of scares me, lol.

If you’re in the market for a multi-purpose spin shoe, definitely check out TIEM Athletic- they’ve got various colors to choose from & the staff is so nice! They often do pop up sales at the various spin studios in and around Boston, so if you follow them on Instagram you can stay in the loop.

Thanks, again, TIEM, for providing me with some awesome spin shoes!

Questions for you: Do you like spinning? Do you bike outdoors? Do you have your own spin shoes?

Vegas Recap {Where we stayed, what we did, where we ate}

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Hi there! I’m back for a full recap of our Vegas vacation. If you missed my “What I Wore” recap, you can find that here.

For as long as I can remember, RM has always wanted to go to Vegas together. He’s been so many times, and just absolutely loves it there. I went once years ago with my girlfriends and had fun, but also think I was a little young to really appreciate all that Vegas has to offer (besides clubs open all night 😉 ). When we finally found relatively “cheap” flights for the both of us, we booked a last minute long weekend trip out there- totally uncharacteristic of us to be so spontaneous and book this type of trip 1.5 weeks ahead of the travel dates, but it ended up working out great and we had the best time- enjoy the recap!

Where We Stayed

RM did a bunch of research on places to stay, even though his favorite place has always been the Bellagio. We ended up staying at the Wynn, because, surprisingly enough, they had the best rates of all the hotels that we were looking at. While it’s a bit off the main hot spots of the strip (unlike the Bellagio  that’s right in the midst of everything), it was not so far like Mandalay Bay so it didn’t feel totally removed. We were also a super short walk to the Pilazzo and Venetian, which are also very popular hotels for gambling and restaurants.

The Wynn was an absolutely GORGEOUS hotel. The lobby, the employees,  the flowers, the art, the shopping, the food, the pool, the rooms… everything was really top notch. Our room, in particular, really wow’d us- it was incredibly spacious and well equipped with everything we could’ve wanted or needed. Waking up and getting to just press a button to open the curtains for the view of the strip was really cool (and convenient!).

My sister also surprised me with a bottle of bubbly as a late birthday gift, which was SO thoughtful! This made for a great poolside drink 😉

The main thing I was looking forward to on this trip (well, besides hanging with RM nonstop) was  soaking up some serious pool time. Luckily, the Wynn had multiple pools to choose from so this was easy! For the first day and a half we were at the “party” pool, which was wonderful for people watching. That pool was closed on our last day, which actually worked out well since we were looking for a quieter pool experience.

We also took advantage of the hotel’s gym, which was such a nice hotel gym- it had everything you’d want and we were both able to get in some quick sweat sesh’s before sitting by the pool. Fitness doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t have to be super time consuming, remember? 20 minutes and we were in and out!

Where/What We Ate

Food is always a big part of our travel. Before trips, we like to think about what types of food we want to eat when we are away: Italian, Steak, Sushi, Mexican, American, etc. Generally when it comes to food, we have a nice breakfast to start the day, we snack on something light for lunch and then go out to a nice dinner. Here were our choices during our trip:

  • Terrace Cafe– This was in the Wynn and we ate there multiple times since it was so good and convenient. Our first day we were starving so we had lunch there- we shared a wrap and the Super Food Salad which was so good that we ordered it another day for lunch, too. It was packed with organic quinoa, farro, baby kale, radishes, tomato, bell peppers, onions and an herb vinaigrette. We definitely plan on re-creating at home, and topping it with grilled chicken! We also had breakfast there every morning, usually consisting of eggs and either yogurt, fruit, pancakes or something similar. We always get one sweet and one savory dish when we go out to breakfast and then share them. They have fantastic eggs benedict options (using a turkey patty as the base or a crab cake as the base) which are worth checking out if that’s your thing.

  • La Cave– On our first night there, we got a bit of a late start (needed a nap!) so we opted to pop into La Cave, also in the Wynn, for a light dinner. We shared another great salad, chicken skewers & a flatbread. It was the perfect amount of food for us.

  • Nobu– This sushi restaurant came highly recommended by my cousin, and was also a “must visit again” for RM. Their first location is in the Hard Rock hotel, but they have a newer location at Cesar’s Palace. Unfortunately Cesar’s didn’t have any availability so we had to trek it to the Hard Rock. it was worth it, though- the sushi was absolutely delicious and the service was impeccable!

  • Delmonico Steak House– We both felt like steak on our last night so we went to Delmonico’s as it’s one of RM’s favorite Vegas steak houses. This was another phenomenal meal! We started with a terrific bottle of Barolo wine, oysters & a salad and then shared their signature Ribeye steak, corn puree & potatoes. Oh, and finished with the most delicious pecan pie 😉 Worth every penny!

I also wanted to share a little tip that helped us save money. Vegas is expensive- there’s just no way around it, but I also think our hotel was exceptionally expensive and when I got the bill for 2 margarita’s by the pool the first day ($32!!!), we realized we should try to find a way to cut back there a bit. During our walk down the strip we found a liquor store and grabbed some beers and mini wine’s and filled one of the bathroom sinks with ice and keeping the drinks on ice in our room. We would take a plastic bag with ice & drinks in it down to the pool and they never noticed or cared! At $9-$20 a drink, it saved us A LOT of money! The bubbly from my sister helped, too 😉

What We Did

We had grand plans of going to see a few shows and night clubs, but once we got there, we realized we didn’t want to be tied down to specific plans.  The Chainsmokers were playing at our hotels club/night lounge the night we got there, but the concierge said they wouldn’t actually get on until 2-2:30am… considering that was PST (3 hours behind) and that we had been up since 4am EST, we decided to forgo that idea. Instead, we went to the new(ish) Cosmopolitan hotel and had a drink at their Chandelier bar, gambled a little and went to their lounge bar which was really a fun scene. We spent a lot of time at the pool- having drinks, enjoying the music and some pretty awesome people watching. We walked a good portion of the strip one day which I enjoyed- the sites are so amazing, the hotels so grand, and you just see things there that you wouldn’t see back home. I learned how to play BlackJack and really enjoyed it (while we were winning!), but want to now learn how to play craps because that looked like so much fun.

Bottom line, you can pretty much do anything you want in Vegas: shows, clubs, lounge bars, pools, pool parties, drinking, walking, eating well… limitless possibilities, which is just part of what makes the city so much fun.

Overall, the trip was so great- I was so proud of us for being spontaneous.

But the real question is… Where to next?!

Vegas Recap {What I Wore}

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Good morning! We are back from such a wonderfully fun/great little weekend getaway to Las Vegas (if you follow me on Insta, I’m sure this is old news to you by now 😉 ). Usually I do one vacation recap post, but since so many of you sent me messages (or told my husband!) that you loved my outfits, I thought I’d do a specific post just for that. I am by no means a “fashion blogger”, but I will say that I had a blast thinking about & putting together outfits for our trip. I just felt like Vegas required some sort of “WOW” factor with regards to my night time attire, and I definitely think I was successful in getting that with what I ultimately ended up wearing.

Also on that note, Vegas is a whole different animal- literally ANYTHING goes when it comes to clothing/shoes/accessories there. But that’s what made it so fun- these are outfits that I wouldn’t necessarily wear on a normal dinner date night out in Boston (although you could!), but they felt right in Vegas and it was fun to play “dress up” for a few nights. Some of the clothes is this season, some is last season, but I’ve tried to link to similar items below. Enjoy!

Night One: White Jumpsuit from Bebe. I got this last year, for my bachelorette party and since then I’ve really only felt it appropriate to wear two other times: in Italy & Vegas. I feel like it’s a huge statement outfit because it’s all white, so I can’t wear it often. I couldn’t find the exact link, but here are some similar ones you might like:

White Jumpsuit #1
White Jumpsuit #2

Night Two: I have a thing for jumpsuits/rompers- no lie! I ended up finding this at Express… on sale… only one in the store AND it was my size. Match made in heaven! It couldn’t have fit better and it was so fun because I was able to wear funky shoes. I got these shoes at a small boutique in Brooklyn and look for any excuse to wear them. For the life of me I can’t find a link to the romper which is so annoying since I literally JUST bought it 😦

Night Three: Another score from Express. I got this crop top last year before we went to Italy on our honeymoon and was always looking for the right thing to wear it with. Since it’s a very cropped crop top, I knew I needed something that was high waisted. I found this midi length side zipper skirt at Express before we left (now on sale) and I think it worked out really well. I added the yellow shoes (Target, last year) for a pop of color. The weather was so dry in Vegas that I was able to wear my hair straight again.

Midi Skirt

And there you have it! Dressing up can be really fun 🙂 if you guys like these types of posts, I can start putting more together (and coercing RM to take more & better photos to show off the clothing pieces!).

Questions for you: Do you like to dress up or do you prefer more casual clothes?