Fitness is a big part of who I am. I exercise 6 days a week and when the endorphins hit I feel amazing! At any clothing size, I feel exercise has given my body a nice shape and sculpted arms. I've heard several times now from nurses that they have observed that people who exercise regularly recover faster after hospitalization than those who don't. Thus, I believe movement is medicine. Now that I'm celebrating 100 rides on the Peloton bike I want to share my review and whether or not it's worth investing in one.

{photo credit: IG sassyredlipstick}

Now that gyms are closed, I've gotten back into working out at home.  Since I'm teleworking I have more time to workout. I find that working out puts me in a better mood as exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Movement is key to keeping you energized. I've been planning my workouts for the week and writing them in my planner. My workout routine has been to get up early and get a strength training workout in before I start work. I find that working out in the morning is the best time to exercise. I have no distractions and just get it out of the way. Lack of time was why you didn't exercise right? Well now you're home. Then do a live streaming zumba workout at lunchtime. I'm not getting the number of steps in that I used to in a day so I think adding a fun dance workout helps with that. You have an incredible opportunity to better yourself because now you have the time. You can come out of this the best you've ever been! This is your time to start a routine of healthy habits.

Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn wrote an inspiring new book on getting healthier with fitness and clean eating. The book is just 256 pages and divided up into three sections: memoir, diet and exercise. One fourth of the book are pictures of workout circuits. The autobiographical section of this book was only a few pages unfortunately. No dirt on her 3 year relationship with Tiger Woods. The nutrition section is very practical, favoring clean eating over dieting. She says she’s done every diet out there and has finally figured out what gives her energy for her long grueling days. I have so much respect for her now that I know her story and understand how hard she works. This small-town Minnesota girl also talks about loving your body.

I love making lists from to-do lists, seasonal bucket lists, vacation bucket lists, blogging goals, style goals and grocery lists.  You can see my previous summer bucket lists here and here. At the beginning of the year, I posted my list of goals which included some fitness goals. This summer I decided to do something a bit different and create a fitness bucket list to help keep me motivated and to create a sense of accomplishment when I’ve achieved them. I’ve set up a few new challenges this season to mix things up for my body. The first half of this year I pretty much had the same routine rotating between Orangetheory with at-home fitness dvds, but at least no two classes at Orangetheory are the same.

This summer I signed up for Dancetrance 3x a week which is so much fun! See I used to do Zumba, but didn’t always like or know many of the songs. Dancetrance is a cardio dance class set to popular pop and rap songs. As an avid Dancing with the Stars watcher, I think it’s fun to learn all these dance moves and feel like a backup dancer in a Beyonce video!  I’m adding some barre classes to the mix as well. My company offers on-site yoga classes so I'm doing that once a week as well. On the weekends, I have some hikes and bike rides planned. I bought an exercise ball and have set a goal to do crunches on it daily.  Just getting it out the box and pumping it full of air was the hardest part. lol

I also want to exercise my feet since I’m always having off and on foot pain. I heard that just walking barefoot on the beach is one of the best exercises you can do for your feet to strengthen them. I also made an appointment for a foot massage/reflexology and acupressure. I've been getting facials every other month but neglecting my feet.

Since I know weight loss is 80% diet I’ve made a commitment to drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie every day this summer as a snack. I’ve got a few recipe variations so it won’t always be the same. I really like the GGS because I make it in batches of 3 and it stays fresh in my fridge over those days. I’m making an effort to eat salad for dinner and this week I’m doing one of my favorite arugula salad recipes. I plan on making my own salad dressing soon using this Cilantro Lime Dressing. I bought a water infusion bottle and have started brewing fruit infused water. I started making popsicles again, here's a list of my favorite recipes. This week I'm eating my Chunky Monkey Overnight Oats.

I’m also exercising my brain as I signed up for Toastmasters.  It's an organization that has been around 90 years and in 135 countries around the world that helps you develop public speaking and leadership skills through bi-weekly practice at their meetings.  I thought it would be a great way to boost my communication skills, meet new people and gain more confidence.

Do you have a fitness bucket list? Have you done Toastmasters?

Related Posts:
The Science of Skinny
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No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline
The Brain Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Keep It Off
Brain Controlled Weight Loss

I decided I wouldn't let the cold weather stop me from lacing up my sneakers and going out for a run. On a sunny day with 55 degrees temperatures  I took my first ever winter outdoor run. I also thought it would be a great excuse to soak up some rare sunshine in the winter and get some much needed Vitamin D. That was the first time I've ever run outside in the cold so I bundled up with a hat and layers, none of which I needed and I ended up running in a t-shirt to the shocked faces of many people dressed warmly. Running in the cold did make me cough a lot, even long after returning home. I learned that even though my body was hot I think I should wear a neck gaiter next time to keep the cool air off my neck. My fleece jacket was too warm for me, I will just stick with a light long sleeved shirt layered a short sleeve shirt. Did you know you can buy a warm hat with a hole in it for your ponytail? I present the coolest invention ever - toque. Here's an interesting article that says that running in the cold burns slightly more calories because shriving increases your metabolic rate.

If you look at my last winter gym fashion post you'll see a  gorgeous blue jacket that is being sold by Nike for $250. I hesitated purchasing because of the color (not my favorite purple) and how incredibly thin it is. So I'm waiting for some reviews to hit their site of how fabulous the fabric technology is worth the ticket price. Then I was surprised to see that Target and Old Navy sell the same style quilted jacket for $35-45. Even though I want to be open to buying cheaper workout clothes, the reason I time and time again end up not purchasing anything is the lack of colors. I've never worn a black coat because I love bright colors! I went ice-skating with a couple friends recently and one of the girls got separated from us. So we stood on the ice looking for us only to realize that almost everyone had a black coat on so it was hard to find her. I feel that especially in the gloomy winter, I can't wear dreary colors. But for those who love their all black outfits, wanted to share these cute affordable pieces. I do plan on getting those fake leather panel workout pants, probably unpractical but oh well! lol

matching my nails to my shoes

My childhood was filled with ballet, swim team, violin and piano lessons. I briefly was on the basketball team in middle school, and tried out tennis and track in high school but didn't stick with either. As an adult I've been drawn back to tennis and  the past few years have enrolled in lessons each summer.

Tennis is the only sport you can play your entire lifetime from a small child to a senior citizen. It's an individual sport, so you can shine and it requires a lot of tactical thinking and mental alertness. It's great for social interaction as you meet new people to play with. I have a friend that has lived abroad in several countries working for the State Department and he said everywhere he's been diplomats are playing tennis and he realized it's great for business connections. So unlike the gym, tennis is a fun workout with social benefits! And an added plus is there's ton of fun fashion for tennis.

Last month I caught two tennis tournaments - the Washington Kastles (which Venus Williams played in) and the Washington Citi Open (which Sloan Stephens played in). It's so amazing to see professionals play because they play with such ease so just watching their brush strokes is very inspiring. Up and coming tennis star 21-year old Sloan Stephens defeated Serena Williams at the 2013 Australian Open. After which Serena unfollowed Sloan on twitter. lol The August issue of Elle magazine has an interesting article about Sloan.

Unless you've been living under a rock I'm sure everyone knows who Venus and Serena Williams are but I just wanted to share some interesting things you might not know about them. They were home schooled and started playing tennis when they were 4 years old (with their signature braids and beads in their hair). Both have won 4 Olympic gold medals, more than any other female tennis player. The sisters are part owners of the Miami Dolphins football team.


Venus Williams - 34 years old and 6'1 tall

• In 2007 she got her associate degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
• In 2011 she enrolled in an online degree program for her bachelor's degree at Indiana Univ.
• In 2011 she withdrew from the US Open because of Sjögren's syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease. She adopted a vegan diet and reduced her intake of calories and sugar to help reduce inflation  in her body and energy-sapping symptoms
• She has her own fashion line EleVen
• Previously ranked World No. 1 in tennis, the first African-American woman to achieve that rank and the oldest No. 1 still in the game.
• Back in 2005 the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally so Williams met with officials and argued for equal pay but her demands were denied. British Prime Minster Tony Blair endorsed Williams' demands and later that year the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO teamed up for a campaign to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign. Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later.

Serena Williams - 32 years old and said to be have a $100 million net worth

• Currently ranked No.1 in women's singles tennis, earned this rank for the 6th time in Feb 2013, and the oldest no. 1 player
• She's the only female player to have won over $50 million in prize money
• She's known for her unusual and colorful outfits on the court.
• Serena formerly had a special line with Puma and currently has a line with Nike
• She created her own line of designer apparel called "Aneres"—her first name spelled backward. Unlike her sister's brand, it's strictly casual clothing. And she became a certified nail technician in preparation for her upcoming nail collection with a company called HairTech, although neither lines seem to be up and running today.
• In 2008 she helped fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Kenya
• Serena dated Common and  Drake who recently admitted his fight last year with Common was over Serena. Once again she used twitter to address issues with Drake. lol 
• In the May 2014 issue of Fitness magazine she talked about her body image. Unlike her sister who is long and lean, Serena has a curvier figure and learned to love her body by all the positive motivation she received from her fans.
  

My Chiropractor told me to strengthen my core for over all body strength so I've been incorporating more pilates and ab workouts into my workouts. In my yoga class we always do one handed side planks and it got me thinking, maybe I should start doing more planks at home. If you'd ask me to participate in a 30 day plank challenge before I would have had zero interest! lol But I'm going to give this a try. I'm honestly not sure I can make it up to 5 minutes in one month, but it's worth a shot. I downloaded a free app to time me. I'm posting about it here on my blog to give me accountability to actually do it! lol

I want to share with you something that I am so excited for! Beachbody just released P90X3! It's only 30 minutes a day of working out but it will give us all incredible results! I'm a big fan of short and sweet workouts as I've really enjoyed T25.  I'm putting together a P90X3 challenge group where you will get daily support and motivation, comment below or message me for more information on how you can be a part of this exclusive group!

I should mention that P90X3 is not the third step to P90X so it doesn't matter if you've never done P90X before. With every workout being just 30 minutes long, it's so much easier to plan for your workout and there's no room for I don't have time excuses. P90X is one of the most successful brand names in the world! Having something new to keep my focus and interest is exactly what will keep me engaged this new year!   

The base kit includes 16 workouts so you are never going to get bored. Everything from cardio to strength, pilates, yoga and MMX.

What is P90X3 about? Well many P90X fans were hooked on the science of muscle confusion – which introduced variety to the workouts and prevented plateauing. P90X3 takes a hint from that success and from studies showing the most dramatic body transformations happen within the first 30 minutes of exercise. Enter muscle acceleration, a Tony Horton-approved highly-structured schedule with an incredibly high level of intensity and an unprecedented variety of moves. The gurus behind P90X3 combined exercises and added some twists to maximize your time and keep every muscle challenged for a full 30 minutes

For the first time the P90X app is available on Android and iOS. The app includes P90X guided workouts, tools to track your reps, weights and progress. Launching soon, is the P90X3 addition – which brings you workout specific tracking modules, scheduling options and the motivation you need to power through the 90 days. There's two ways you can purchase the system, either the Challenge Pack which includes the 90 day workout, the nutrition guide, program manual, schedule of workouts, shakeology, free 30 day trial of the club membership, free shipping and a discounted price when you get the package. Or you can just purchase the program alone.  That is $119.00, and the equipment needed are weights, bands and an optional pull up bar but you can use a band with an over the door attachment if you don't have one!

Check out the mashup video below, it's the opening song for my favorite zumba instructor's class! It's a mix of these four songs:

Michael Jackson - Beat It
Rihanna - We Found Love
J-Lo - On The Floor
Owl City+Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

My friends and I competed together in the Electric Run under the team name Glitter Bomb.  After doing my first 5K Color Run, I had this craving for another fun run!  Have you noticed how many fun runs there are now days? The color runs, glo run, the mud runs, hot chocolate run, jungle bell run, and cupid undie run. The Electric Run is a 5k run/walk at night with amazing lighting effects that are synchronized to music! Very similar to the Glo Run and Cosmic Run. It's untimed, so it's just meant to be a fun social event so I had time to take some 60 pictures, well many were out of focus. lol I talked about my training for the race yesterday. I registered for the Electric Run the day registration opened and that was a good thing because it sold out in 2 days!





When we arrived to the race location, there was the most beautiful sunset! Then it was pitch dark when we got to the check-in area, I lost my friends momentarily because I stepped away for a minute and panicked and it took multiple phone calls to find each other so stay close! lol Don't think about using the port-a-potties since it will be completely dark inside, I don't know why they didn't put glow sticks inside them. Since we got there late, we were at the end of the start line so we waited one hour in the crowd to start the race. They had the most awesome playlist blasting that really hyped us up! When I did the Color Run, when you registered you signed up for different start times at 10 minute intervals which I think is a better system then waiting in line for one hour for them to let small waves of people go at 10 minute intervals. I was in the first wave at the Color Run so there was no wait, but others waited by the party stage not trapped in a line. Once we were allowed to start running at the Electric Run, with so many people, it ended up being very slow moving space due to all the walkers, initially I thought will I even be able to run?

Once we finally found some space to actually run, I have to say a good portion of the route was in the dark with no music.  There were parts that were paved and parts that were gravel. The gravel parts made me really nervous. It was pitch black, in a crowd, and I was running on an uneven surface, and at one point even rolled my ankle. We ran next to a river so between the night air and water breezes the weather was just perfect! I did like the decorations they had, the lighting elements and music to pump up and energize your run. For instance they had:

Glowing arches changing color in tempo

Glowing paper lanterns in neon trees

Glowing Tunnels 

An art display with dancing patterns and figures on the walls

Lit up umbrellas hanging from trees

At the beginning, middle and end of the run they had  mini cans or bottles of Rockstar Recovery drink (who sponsored the race). Rockstar Recovery was named the Worst Energy Drink by Men's Health magazine for having 280 calories due to 67.5 grams of sugar. It has more caffeine than a cup of coffee and the has the controversial herb guarana so I passed on that. It's definitely not to be mixed with alcohol which they sold at the end of the race - $5 beers. To be fair there is a sugar free version of Rockstar recovery that is not carbonated made with Sucralose. I had to google the ingredients since the company doesn't list it on their website. I overheard lots of people say how nasty it tasted, that explains why there were so many almost full bottles on the ground which were easy to trip over since you can't easily see them in the dark. At the end of the race were cups of water and Kirkland granola bars (if you happened to see that table).


There were a bunch of spectators yelling us on saying "Go! Go! You're almost at the end!" and kids putting their hands out for high fives. If you ever have the chance to do this run, do it! It is so much fun!  The next day my whole body was sore. If you have done fun runs, what has been your favorite?

 

I wanted to wait until I got back from vacation in Spain to start T25 and boy was I dripping sweat on my first workout! I did the Core Speed workout first and it was so much fun! He had fun zig zag moves and I really impressed myself doing the one hand burpees! It was a non-stop high energy burn. My heart monitor got up higher than I have ever seen it!

The end of August is upon us - and with it will come jeans, sweaters and football! But that does not mean it's time to let our health and fitness journeys fall away! If you want a workout that is fast, fun, makes you sweat and makes you ENJOY it all at the same time, T25 is the way to go! And guess what!? T25 challenge pack is only on sale until midnight tonight!!! Save on a program that is 25 minutes a day for 5 days! You get both the fitness system and shakeology (the BEST nutrition available) at half price!  A 25 minute workout is only 1% of your day. - check it out.

Time is running out but there is still time to commit and challenge yourself to CHANGE YOUR LIFE!  Comment below or message me and I can help you get set up to be the healthiest, happiest and proudest version of yourself you can be! 

Do you want to build extreme muscle and bulk with Dynamic Set Training? With Body Beast, different training strategies are used from prefatigue sets to drop, force, and tempo sets, creating greater time under tension and a faster and more effective workout. Body Beast has three specially designed phases, with corresponding nutrition phases, to help you build and bulk. It was developed by champion bodybuilder Sagi Kalev who provides lots of quick, simple-to-prepare, delicious meals.

You don’t need to join a gym, hire a spotter, or have an Olympic weight lifting set. With dumbbells, the correct nutrition, and the desire to work hard, Body Beast will help you pack on lean muscle! If you're a man that wants a strong body with real bulk, then Body Beast includes 12 different cutting-edge workouts for you, check out the preview below.

For the entire month of August, the Body Beast Challenge Pack (combo of both fitness system and shakeology) will be on sale. It's over $80 of savings if you were to buy them separately! 

Today is the last day to get the discounted price on the Focus T25 challenge pack. Shaun T creator of Insanity made a workout system that is only 25 minutes each! This is only available for sale through coaches. You can watch a video clip of the workouts here.

I'm a recreational hiker (carrying my purse at times lol), I do hikes on fairly even surfaces, not more than 5 miles at a slow to moderate pace. On my last hike I was pushed to go faster than I normally do and it had lots of downhill hiking which is hardest on knees. Well for the next 3 days the back of my knees were so sore! I've had this happen before but it never lasted so many days! So I finally broke down and bought some hiking shoes, my first pair!

I wanted something that was light and didn't look like hiking shoes but still in the hiking shoe category so I got the Teva Sky Lake. The description says it has a "waterproof seal, the heel has serious shock absorption, nylon shank to keep the foot stable and in control, and the rubber sole designed for grip in multiple environments". I'm pretty excited about my new shoe as for the longest time I would do my easy to moderate short hikes in whatever sneaker I had at the time. I couldn't wear something ugly and I liked the design of these dark grey shoes with purple accents.

For the future to prevent injury I was reading up on this and I learned I need to:

• Vary your steps and avoid moving in a straight line for the entire hike. Walk in a zigzag pattern up and down hills, walk sideways, or walk backwards since repetitive motions can lead to pain.
• When going downhill, step slowly, and don't be afraid to crouch down and use your hands. The more slowly you move, the less jarring motions you'll feel in your knees. 
• Add dried pineapple to your trail mix. Bromelain, an ingredient found in pineapple, is a natural anti-inflammatory that will help speed up recovery of knee and joint pain.

View from the bottom and top

I took another hike this weekend in my new shoes and my special hiking socks from Thorlo. The walking terrain was jagged, rocky, steep descents and slippery but the shoes supported my feet no matter the trail surface and best of all didn't need any breaking in period. I was happy to have a light weight hiking shoe that fitted the bill for both style and performance.

I signed up for my first 5K with some people from church. I don't count last year's Warrior Dash a real race per say, just an obstacle course.  I heard that Color Me Rad is the most colorful 5K you will ever run!  The idea came from the  Holi celebration in India. There's also The Color Vibe, Run or Dye, The Color Run, and Color in Motion 5ks which are the exact same concept as Color Me Rad race. My friends did the Color Run and Run or Dye and both races gave them a free white t-shirt to wear for the race. The Color Me Rad run gave us free dark blue t-shirts that you can't see dye on so I wore my own white t-shirt. I washed my shirt four times and am still waiting for all the color to come out.

The coloring used is colored corn starch, so it's safe, but you still need to protect your eyes with sunglasses which they give you. You need to be sure to shield camera lens because the dust can get inside your camera, I got a lens error message for awhile even though I was careful. I coated my blonde hair with coconut oil otherwise the color could remain for a week, I also wore a headband and bandana for triple protection. Like the Warrior Dash because there's so many people it's done with staggered start times and its untimed. The bombardment of color bombs are sprayed on by people so everyone finishes the race looking like a pack of skittles. Unlike a lot of other races this one was pretty affordable, only $30 and a portion of the proceeds went to the Special Olympics.


I'm not a runner, I used to run on the treadmill occasionally until last summer when I bought the wrong shoes and injured my foot. In May of this year I started running again and on my first run could only do 10 minutes! Actually who am I kidding, that was my only run of this year! lol To be honest I didn't train for this race despite having every intention to train for it and even getting a training guide from a friend.

The morning of the weather was perfect and they had a fun pre-race prep rally with a zumba instructor on stage leading dance steps. As you already know running isn’t my strongest discipline,  but I was pleased with my pace and resisted the temptation to get carried away speeding off from the start. I would definitely say this was a beginner friendly race, shoot there were kids and babies running, but it was amazing motivation for me to do my next race. There were some friendly spectators yelling encouragement which helped. The good news is I didn't come in last! Well that would be pretty hard considering I had the first start time. lol

Since I had a lot of energy at the beginning of the race I actually surprised myself and ran the whole race! Lots of people walked it and I just ran right around them! I only wanted pink and purple dust on me but the purple pretty much just looked pink. I ran around the people spraying colored water, so that's why I'm not as saturated in color. In the end I figured I did something fun and fitness related at 9am on a Sunday morning while most people are still in bed. Course I got strange looks from people on the subway on my way home.

I have a few tips for your first race:

1. Get a good nights sleep. 
2. Use the bathroom before the race and before the lines get long 
3. If there are cameras en route, smile, wave, and make sure your number isn't covered. My number was on my back at Warrior Dash instead of the front of my shirt and everyone else could find their photo by number on their website, I looked through dozens of pages of their unIDed pictures but still couldn't find me.
4. Have a snack within half an hour of finishing so you're not famished. They gave us water and a mini lara bar, but you should be prepared not knowing what they will offer you. 
5. Have a small backpack or fanny pack to keep your belongings in. I ran with a plastic bag that contained my purse, not too convenient. lol 
6. Resist the urge to put a temporary tattoo on your neck, I had a heck of a time removing mine. lol 

Well, the Color Me Rad 5K was a success! When's the next one? I signed up for the Electric Run!