Get it Right, Get it Tight?

Hey Friends!

One of the main reasons for coming back to blogging is to hold myself accountable (I’ve said that far too much but I can’t come up with a better way of putting it) in terms of health and fitness. I read so many amazing healthy living blogs and one of the best parts is not only getting ideas from each other as well as tapping into the incredible online community.  Today I am going to share some of the goals I’d like to focus on this year.

2015 was a great year but I will admit it was probably one of my least health conscious years. I developed a love for running and being fit my senior year of high school on into college. I managed a happy balance for awhile but soon became a bit too focused on “fitting in” both physically and socially to my new life in Tennessee which lead to unhealthy decisions. I attempted to keep up with my passion for leading a healthy lifestyle but soon found it too difficult to maintain while balancing school and work.

Moving back to Vermont I always assumed I’d just pick it all back up where I left it years before but of course that isn’t how that works. While I’m definitely not on the inactive roster, I 100% want 2016 to be the year I shift my focus back onto a healthy lifestyle. Here are some of my goals:

Running: I miss running! I miss training for something! So I signed up for the RunVermont Half Marathon Unplugged in early April (my first time running this race) so that is my number one focus over the next two months. I ran for the first time for longer than a mile on Tuesday to begin my training program but more on that next Thursday when I pick up my “Training Day” posts!

Yoga: I continue paying for my yoga membership because “this is the week I’m going to go” but I freaking seriously need to actually go. I can already feel my back starting to ache from not being stretched out enough. Plus my noodle arms are far too flabby for their own good so my return is necessary.

Cycling: I love spin classes and I think they are a great way to cross-train for races! Unfortunately my attendance at my beloved Cyclepath has been less than consistent. I went for the first time in awhile last Thursday to a HardCore class which entailed 30 minutes of spin, 15 of core exercies and thought I was dying. I don’t think I’ve ever made such awful faces to the instructor- sorry Ian! I’d like to get to the point where I do not make these faces… as much…

Food: I need to start cooking/prepping again. I work a lot of night shifts and my schedule varies each week now which means many of my meals are taken care of at work. While this is great for the old bank account it creates far too many excuses for me to never have a single grocery in the house and gives me a very untrue “I can eat whatever I want” mentality. My goal is to just be more prepared for my schedule each week by having healthy meals and snacks to take along with me. Lord knows I have some rather unhealthy eating habits that I could stand to kick!

Sleep: Inconsistent work schedule = inconsistent sleep schedule. I hope that by changing my activity levels and cleaning up my diet I can fix some of the issues I have with getting into a relatively consistent sleep pattern but I definitely need to make more of an effort.

And there you have it, my 2016 (and many years to come) goals for a return to healthy me.

Til next time! 🙂

Training Day: Jan 29th-Feb 4th

I’m so happy to report my workouts have gone from non-existent to sporadic to dare I say regularly scheduled! Holla! Here is this week’s success story…

Thursday: Flow @ Sangha

Last week was really great for my yoga practice, I made it to 4 classes and really started to get into a “flow” shall we speak. Thursday night’s class however was definitely a struggle. It was just one of those classes where I spent half the time just feeling entirely unbalanced and the other half of the time thinking about how unbalanced I was. I was frustrated but I just kept telling myself that if I just push through I’ll feel so much better and I really did. Everyone has those classes, Thursday was just mine.

Friday: Spinning @ Cyclepath

Maria and I made it to our weekly spin class date about 15 minutes early and had a really awesome chat with the owners. Little did we know the freezing cold temperatures kept everyone else away that night so we essentially got an hour long private class. They even played Bastille… you guys know how strongly I feel about that band, I was in heaven! Thanks so much to Ian and Kara for taking the time to help us sweat it out also thank you for not making us do push ups 🙂

Saturday: Slow Massage Flow @ Sangha

This was the first time I took this style of class which is described as being mellow, gentle and meditative. I was really excited about it because I love the instructor and I thought it’d be a great way to relax for an hour while still doing something good for myself. I absolutely loved the style of class and I’m so glad I went but I am hesitant about just how crowded it was. The studio is small and the weekend classes seem to be quite popular (such a great problem for them to have in my opinion) but I think I prefer my week day classes with a little bit more space.

Sunday: Rest

Aka Super Bowl watching and chili eating.

Monday: Rest

We did go bowling that night which was a blast but I’m not entirely sure that I exuded a lot of physical energy getting all of those strikes 😉

Tuesday: Snowboarding

I took a random vacation day to finally escape up to the mountains for a day on the slopes. It was bitterly cold but the blue skies and sun shining were only slightly less attractive than the huge piles of untouched powder. There were no lift lines, no jam ups on the trails and absolutely no limit to how truly sore I could make myself in one day. It was perfect. We spent most of the afternoon in the glades and also made a few casual pit stops at the Castlerock Pub… because why not?

Wednesday: Sore

So sore, just so unbelievably sore. I had really high hopes of going to my favorite yoga class of the week around lunch time but I just couldn’t have imagined that would have been very fun in my condition. Walking up the stairs to get to my evening class last night was the worst kind of torture. Oh well, it was worth it 🙂

On to this week’s plan…

Thursday: 30 minutes of Yoga at home

Friday: Spin Class @ Cyclepath

Saturday: Snowboarding with the family for the birthday!

Sunday: Rest

Monday: Flow Yoga @ Sangha

Tuesday: Spin Class @ Cyclepath

Wednesday: Flow Yoga @ Sangha

I’m really happy with how these last two weeks have gone fitness wise, they aren’t perfect but they are so much better and it’s amazing how great I feel just being more consistent. Hope you are having a lovely Thursday!

How is your fitness routine going?

Bowling: Exercise or not?

Training Day: Jan 8th-14th

Late in the day post but a post no less!

Thursday: N/A

I planned for a yoga class during lunch but had some pop up meetings at work that I couldn’t get out of. I had already made plans after work to see the lovely Heather once more before she left for New Orleans (a date I’d never miss) so sadly my work out plans did not happen.

Friday: Cyclepath “Club Sweat” (70 minutes)

I’ve mentioned my cyclepath love many times on this old blog of mine but it truly is such a great spin studio. I mean one of the owner’s checked us in, gave us glow stick bracelets and then even took the class with us! It was one hell of a high energy class let me tell you! I haven’t sweat like that in awhile but it was soooooo good. We did a lot out of the saddle which really got my arms and core involved which I loved. The playlist was perfect for the style of class, Maria and I are on a mission to figure out what the last song they played was!

Also, you know how last week I mentioned how I fell in love with my new Hunter boots? Well I love them so much that I forgot them at the studio and obsessively drove back to the studio only to find it closed for the evening. I immediately emailed the owner to make sure that they would be there when I arrived AS SOON AS THEY OPENED the next morning. He was really nice and practically didn’t judge me for leaving my kids behind at all.

Saturday: In Home Yoga (30 Minutes)

I was really hoping to get to the yoga studio but unfortunately some car issues have created quite the stand still in my schedule. I did complete a 30 minute yoga series while watching “Tree House Masters” (addicted, seriously Mr. Nelson BUILD ME A TREE HOUSE!)

Sunday: Planks (10 Minutes)

The plan was to snowboard but the car situation mentioned above sidelined that goal. Super bummed that I didn’t make it to the slopes but I will try again this Sunday! I did some planks that I didn’t want to do but felt inspired to do while watching football.

Monday: N/A

I had planned for Monday to be a rest day and rest day it was!

Tuesday: Running (30 Minutes)

I was trying to get to yoga again but ran out of time and instead took to the gym in the office to get a 20 minute run in (plus 5 minute warm up and cool down). It felt good to get my legs moving!

Wednesday: N/A

I wanted to get some sort of work out in but it didn’t happen. I did almost reach my step goal on my fitbit though so that is super exciting!

Week Overall: I felt alright about this week, it wasn’t as active as I hoped but it was okay.  I was definitely trying to make it to yoga more than once in the week but my schedule got the best of me. I’ll try again this week though!

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Yoga @ Sangha before work and then headed off on a road trip to Saratoga Springs, NY with my lovely lady friend Sarah!

Saturday: Does shopping in Saratoga count?

Sunday: Snowboarding (hopefully) with my dad! When your parents live in Colorado they don’t exactly see the “joy” in Vermont skiing unless the conditions are damn near close to perfect. So let’s hope for great weather 😉

Monday: Yoga @ Sangha

Tuesday: Spin class @ Cyclepath

Wednesday: Yoga @ Sangha

How did your work outs go this week?

Anyone ever been to Saratoga Springs?

Fun Facts Friday!

So happy it’s Friday! So ready for the weekend 🙂

1. “Yes Please” to Amy Poehler’s new book.

This book is everything I thought it would be. Witty, honest and endearing it completely shows her personality for better or for worse. I’m such a big Amy Poehler fan and getting to know how she got to the place she is with such funny and random stories strung throughout has made me love her even more. The only thing I will say that is a bit weird is how much she name drops, I can’t tell if she’s over doing it just to be funny or if she told everyone and their mother that she would mention them because even for this celebrity obsessed girl, it’s a bit much!

2. DIY Instagram Coasters are super fun to give as presents but you should start them a week before giving them to the person not a day.

I found the easiest tutorial ever on Living Your Creative to make some coasters and while it was so simple and they came out so well I made the mistake of trying to do 24 of them the night before Christmas. Fail. I must have missed the part in the directions that said they need to be sprayed and set with acrylic like a week after the modge podge is put on. OH well I did bring them along with me to show everyone what they would be getting when I complete them and so far the reviews are all positive. I’m actually really happy with how they came out. The one above is my little sister Meghan while she was studying abroad in Greece. How cool is she??

3. I’m the proud owner of Hunter Boots.

As all of you know the weather has been an absolute disaster in these parts lately but thankfully for me the boy and I wandered out Tuesday night to grab my much anticipated Christmas present. We went into Dear Lucy, one of the most adorable little shoe stores on Church Street and I immediately went in for the kill on some original tall matte black Hunter Boots. Add in the welly boot socks they are the perfect warmth for these arctic temperatures outside. Safe to say, I’m in love with this club.

4. I won something at Cyclepath’s Anniversary Party!

 

Last month Maria and I hit up the one year anniversary party for the spin studio and we both ended up winning prizes. I’m not entirely sure what I won but it’s exciting regardless. Tonight we are going to check out a class called “Club Sweat” which is described as a nightclub themed spin class. I’m going to have to find something that glows in the dark… I’m so excited.

5. I’m going to watch this season of the Bachelor.

I haven’t seen any since I was maybe in my freshman year of college but I’m going to try again with this season. Why? Not sure but I think it’s going to be a great decision.

Cyclepath Spinning Studio

Hey there!

To begin I just want to let you all know that our hotel softball team had an impressive victory last night, I know that you were concerned so I just wanted to get that out of the way.

      Pitcher and Shortstop reporting for duty.

To celebrate a few of us headed out to the beach to have a little bonfire and some hot dogs before the storm came in and forced us out.

Sandy toes on hot summer nights, what could be better?

Moving on!

Spinning isn’t something I have done frequently in life but every time I have gone to a class I always walked away so glad I did it.  It gives me that cardio without running which is a really nice change especially coming off a half marathon.  I’ve gone a few times to this great new-ish spinning studio called Cyclepath right in downtown Burlington.  I’ll admit I’ve been incredibly sporadic about going but I’ve been looking into making it more of a routine and finally found the perfect opportunity. I received an email a few days ago that they would be dropping the price on their normal monthly unlimited memberships from $120 to $60 in the summer months. To pay per class is $15 which is pretty typical for fitness classes around these parts. So I jumped on the deal immediately!

I realize that it is summer and an amazing time to take advantage of exercising outside but if you are anything like me “scheduling” a time in my busy day to then push myself can be somewhat difficult.  Plus there are days like today where the clouds opened up and God says “I hate you, Alfalfa!”

I saw an opportunity to use a Little Rascals quote and took it, sue me.

Anyway,the instructors (I’ve met 2 so far) pretty much treat you like they know you.  They seem genuinely excited that you are not only getting your spin on with them but also don’t seem to mind having a quick chat before or after class.  In the past I’ve been weirdly quiet in fitness classes. I have this odd anxiety about talking to the instructors but for some reason I never mind chatting them up for a minute or asking questions. For me, Cyclepath is basically the spin studio equivalent of Cheer’s and everyone does in fact know your name! (Minus the beer but they do have Kombucha on tap)

Sorry the picture is so grainy, gotta love that orange and white sign though!!!

Today’s lunchtime class was called InSANEterval taught by the lovely and perfectly intense Sara. The class was fast paced and flew by! She pushed hard but never overwhelmingly and always gave options in case anyone was feeling tired.  I like when I feel like the instructor is talking to me but also sort of let’s me do my own thing and she did that very well.  Also, any time work out classes are dimly lit I’m all about it. It reminds me of being at a club and sweating my butt off dancing awkwardly to the music, except not at all.

Speaking of club-like atmosphere, they let you request songs to be played during classes through their website which is a flippin’ brilliant idea! I mean personally I would lose my s*&! if “Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart played.  Hello Favorite Song Ever!

My only complaint was that I forgot my “real-people” workout gear and instead looked like I had just rolled out of bed in a baggy t-shirt.  I’m pretty sure there was a hole in the knee of my tights… epic fail.

Cyclepath is also Juice Box, a juice and smoothie bar that I decided would be the perfect post-class treat.  Last week after class I tried their pear, apple and kale juice and it was great- plus the girl who made it was literally one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met!  This time I went a little heavier and got the “Energizer Honey” because it had peanut butter in it and it was wicked delicious.

#cubelife

I can’t wait to take advantage of their classes with this discounted membership. If you live in the Burlington area or plan on visiting soon you absolutely must make a stop at Cyclepath/Juice Box! They’ll kick your butt and then tell you you’re pretty afterwards;)

Have a happy rest of your hump day!