April | 2012 | Shape Up NYC

April 2012
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Feb		May »
	1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

Things I am Loving Friday!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by kymarie13

Instead of Fit Links Friday I thought I would share some things I am loving recently….

1. Access Bars, my girlfriend who sells Melaleuca products recently got me hooked on these! They are a pre-workout bar which provides your body with the means to use its own fat stores as an extra energy source. Athletes such as Shalane Flangan and Tammy Van Wise swear by them. Do they work, I am not 100% sure yet (I will write a review soon). But they taste amazing and I love eating them before any workout I do.

2. Phillips Wake-up light, honestly if I did not have this alarm clock I would not wake up in the early mornings. I have started going to a 6am Soul Cycle class every week and this clock is the only reason I wake up. “Light gradually increases for 30 minutes before your alarm time to gently prepare your body to wake-up and feel more energetic at the start of your day.” I love this alarm clock, I have had it for a couple of months now and it really does work!

3.10 Year Journal, I am a huge fan of journaling. Ask my mom, I have 15 journals at home from my childhood (excluding my ballerina journal that got stolen when I was 7 years old ). I just found out about this journal from Ali Fedotowsky on Open Sky. It is a 10 year journal, each day has 10 years listed so you can look back to see what happened on a certain day over the years. It also only gives you a couple of lines so it doesn’t take that long to fill out. I think this is an amazing thing to have.

4. Lululemon Run: Inspire Crops II, I think these are the best leggings ever. I just got my first pair and I wear them everywhere (and I mean everywhere). The run inspire crops are made with Power Luxtreme® and Circle Mesh. They are a bit pricey but worth every penny.

5. The Soft Serve Fruit Co., I am a huge fan of frozen yogurt but having it too much isn’t good for you. Recently after a Soul Cycle class I stumbled up the Soft Serve Fruit Co. The frozen ~~yogurt~~ fruit consists of only 3 ingredients: real fruit, filtered water, and a touch of organic cane sugar. It is 100% natural: non-dairy, free of fat, sodium, cholesterol, glutens, and all 8 major allergens. A small cup of Soft Serve Fruit contains less than 90 calories. My favorite flavor is Banana. If you haven’t been you really need to try it!

If you have any questions about any of the things above feel free to email me or leave a comment. I would love to know what have you been loving lately? I like learning about new things. I hope you all have an amazing weekend. I am off to Chicago for work!

Filed under: MISC Wellness Info | Tagged: 10 year journal, access bars, Frozen Yogurt, Lululemon, melaleuca, Phillips Wake-up light, Soft Serve Fruit, Soft Serve Fruit Co. | 4 Comments »

Review: The Black Box, Crossfit NYC

Posted on April 26, 2012 by kymarie13

When my good friend, Bianca from MizzFit, asked me to try Crossfit with her, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Crossfit has been becoming quite the fitness phenomenon and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Bob Harper, trainer from the Biggest Loser, swears by it.

“Dude, it has been the best, most eye-opening experience for me. I’ve been in the training business for over twenty years and all of a sudden I start doing Crossfit and you know what it just all makes sense to me now.” – Bob Harper

It also caught my attention when Reebok came out with an entire clothing and shoe line exclusively for Crossfit. If this workout has its own line of clothing it must be good (clearly my head is in the right place). Crossfit was founded in 2000 by Greg Glassman. Crossfit is known for its virtual online community where the workout of the day (WOD) is posted daily along with blog posts about members and the upcoming games. You can participate in Crossfit two ways, either on your own getting by getting your workouts online daily or going to one of 3,400 CrossFit-affiliated gyms (aka “boxes”) worldwide (most are located in the US). In 2010 Reebok signed a 10-year deal with Crossfit, and in 2011 sponsored the annual Crossfit games which have been going on since 2007.

So what exactly is Crossfit? Crossfit is exercise program that focuses on strength and conditioning with the goal of improving your fitness level. “Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing.”

If you really want to know all the details click here and enjoy the 11 page read. The types of exercises you can expect to see at a Crossfit gym are functional movements (like pushups and pullups, deadlifts and squats, gymnastics, kettlebells, running, rowing, and olympic lifting), executed at high intensity in a group setting.

In New York City there are 6 “boxes”. I checked out the Black Box (aka Crossfit NYC) located on 25 West 26th Street. Walking the couple of blocks from my apartment to the Black Box I was extremely nervous, I had no idea what to expect. All I had heard was everyone passes out and since I have T-Rex arms I knew my chances of this happening to me were great. I walked into a large loft space that had bench presses around the outside of the room, pull up bars hanging all around the room and various fitness equipment scattered about. There was a WOD class going on as well as a clearly experienced Crossfitter with his shirt off running laps around the loft (I did not mind this). I would say the make-up of the people there were mostly guys but there was a good amount of girls there as well. Since I got there early I decided to make friends with some of the guys standing around me. One said he had been going there for a couple of months so he could get back in shape. He said so far the results has been great. He also reassured me I wouldn’t die (thank goodness, I had a double Soul Cycle class the next day I did not want to miss).

The way the classes are set up is there is an intro class which anyone can take for free (did you see that, I said FREE). After you take the intro class you can decide if you want to sign up for the two-week elements workshop. The elements workshop meets 3x a week for two weeks (6 sessions total in case you didn’t drink your coffee today). EVERYONE MUST TAKE THE ELEMENTS WORKSHOP to be allowed into their WOD classes. It does not matter how fit you are you must take this workshop. You would be surprised how many people do not know the correct way to do a proper squat or pushup. Once you have completed the elements workshop you can start doing the WOD workouts. The Black Box offers 3 different WODs: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

I was lucky enough to drop-in on one of the sessions of the elements course. That day we were learning the proper form of a pushup, squat, and a pull-up from a badass instructor named Jeff. The first 45 minutes of the class went through the proper forms of the exercises and the last 15 minutes was dedicated to a workout. During the 45 minutes of proper form it was quite educational to learn that I could not do a pushup with my T-Rex arms and watching me TRY to get into a sling band to help me with my pull-ups was highly entertaining. MizzFit was kicking herself for not filming me (I was honestly happy she couldn’t get to her phone in time). During the last 15 minutes I was put through a workout that would result in me not being able to walk for the next 3 days. What did this magical workout consist of, you ask… 1 minute of squats with a 10 second rest x 4 and 1 minute of pushups with a 10 second rest x 4. That was it! And I am telling you I could NOT walk. It was the most pain my legs had been in (my legs hurt more from this than from running a half marathon).

After my experience I can now see why people do it and get addicted to it. You get great results and you build strength (you can also wear the cool knee-high socks everyone seems to wear, but you should know this trend hasn’t picked up in New York yet). The key to this workout is just showing up. If you don’t show up, you won’t get results it is that simple. MizzFit had a different viewpoint on the class which I am sure she will write about soon so check out her website. Will I join? I don’t know yet because I love trying lots of different classes (but that tends to be my downfall in fitness, too much variety). If I do join I will make sure to let you know. For more information click any of the links below:

Filed under: Gyms, Workouts | Tagged: Biggest Loser, Black Box NYC, Bob Harper, Bob Harper Crossfit, Crossfit, Crossfit NYC, Greg Glassman, Reebok, Reebok Crossfit, The Black Box, What is crossfit | Leave a Comment »

Review: SoulCycle, my other lover

Posted on April 23, 2012 by kymarie13

For those of you who know me, I tend to become obsessed with things I love quickly. SoulCycle happens to be one of those things (and if you follow me on twitter you already know this, you are ahead of the game). I have always been a huge fan of biking and spinning. I first got into biking with my Dad, it was a way we could hang out together without any distractions (it is quite hard to send a text or take a phone call while riding along the coast of California, believe me I tried it did not end well). When I moved to New York, I was quite hesitant to ride outside because New York is a hard city to ride in so I looked to spinning classes.

When I belonged to Equinox, I was a religious rider and loved taking their High Gear class. When I gave up my membership I stopped spinning. A couple of months later while I was in a Refine class I heard someone go “This class was insane, we were waving towels over our head! I will be going back to SoulCycle all the time now!”. After hearing that I knew I had to take a class. I signed up for a 2:00pm class in Union Square which I would take after my 12:00pm Refined class. I thought how hard could this be in it just spinning.

I got to class 30 minutes early, the studio was beautiful. They offered me free shoes since it was my first class (luckily I own them, but it is a $3 rental if you do not have them). I went downstairs put my stuff in my locker and went back upstairs. Just as I was finishing putting on my shoes the class before mine walked out. They were drenched.

Small warning bells started going off in my head, what had I gotten myself into, I thought this was just spin, but these people clearly were on a whole other level. They cleaned the room and let us in, it was dark and lit by candles and smelled like grapefruit (let me tell you how thankful I was for this, I was slightly nervous about what it would smell like based on what the people looked like from the class before). I got on my bike and immediately noticed how close all the bikes were and the giant speakers above my head. Warning bell number 2, this was not like any other spin class I have ever taken. A cute girl named Madison came walking in, in converse high tops (I should mention I now want to own converse high tops) and started the music. It was fast and had a great beat, I almost felt like I was in a club and then it happened… The entire class went from just spinning to dipping down on the bike in unison. I was amazed! It dancing while spinning.

SoulCycle is a 45 minute class that consists of dips, push-ups, jumping, tap backs, and other rhythm movements. It also has an arm section that can last anywhere from 4-7 minutes (yes, you are lifting weights while spinning I promise you won’t fall off the bike). Everyone in class is required to wear clip in shoes ($3 rental) and I highly recommend water ($2 if you forget your own). The class itself costs $32, yes I realize this is crazy expensive and so do the instructors. The first class I took with Madison she said “I know you just paid $32 for this class so I am going to give you the workout you deserve!” And she did I came out feeling like a new person that looked like they just went swimming in a pool.

Yes SoulCycle does have its drawbacks: it is super expensive, they do not offer any discounts or membership prices, they only have showers at two locations, and their lobbies tend to be small. But even with all these drawbacks they still get me to come twice a week (putting me farther and farther into debt ). The reasons why SoulCycle is so addicting and people pay the money they do is for the following reasons:

The instructors, the passion they have for what they do and their students is amazing. They make you want to come back to their class every week. They make it a point to know your name and make you feel like you are a part of something. I have a couple of instructors that I would never miss a class with!
The music, great music will make any class fly by and makes me feel like I am in a dance club every time
The Soul Community, I have made some amazing friends at Soul Cycle who all have the same passion as me. It is great to have that kind of support, they motivate me to make better choices and push me harder in class. I even have friends in WEHO (West Hollywood) who I have yet to meet! – Noa I am coming for you

I just started taking classes in February so I have yet to try all the instructors (I will give you an update when I do) but in the meantime below are some rockstars that you have to check out if you go to SoulCycle.

If you ever want to take class, email me! I am always up to go to SoulCycle.

Filed under: Gyms, Workouts | Tagged: Cycle, Fitness classes, Indoor cycling, New York Spinning, Soul, Soul Cycle, Spinning, UES, UnSq, UWS, WEHO | 1 Comment »

Review: Refine Method, this is NOT a Barre Class

Posted on April 21, 2012 by kymarie13

I am guilty. When I first heard about Refine Method, I was under the assumption that it was another barre class. I was very wrong. What is Refine Method then, you ask…. “Refine is a boutique fitness studio on the Upper East Side and Union Square where small group classes are trained in our signature Refine Method. The Refine Method features a seamless circuit-style technique called Metabolic Resistance Training, utilizing our exclusive Refine equipment system. Our goal is to unite exercise science with the aesthetic objectives of our clientele.

Refine was founded by Harvard-educated former New York City Ballet dancer, Brynn Jinnett, whose clients have included Kelly Ripa, Ivanka Trump and Barbara Walters, as well as professional dancers and athletes.”

Refine Method is a circuit based class using the metabolic resistance training (MRT) method. “MRT workouts (as they’re known for short) are highly intensive training sessions which combine resistance training with a cardiovascular stimulation. What this does is provide a two-pronged attack on your excess body fat. In essence, you’re performing a more intense and focused workout that is designed to achieve two things:

Burn more calories in the gym
Give yourself a lengthened metabolism increase

It is the second point which deserves more mention. You want your workouts to have an effect much after they’ve been completed. To do this, they need to push your metabolism higher and keep it elevated for a long time after you finish them. So, basically, any workout that is done in order to give your body an elevated metabolism for many hours after the workout is done may be considered an MRT workout.”

I was lucky enough to take my first class a little over a month ago (I know I am a bit behind on my reviews). I went to the new studio in Union Square which is gorgeous. It is located in between 17th and 18th streets on Broadway. The class never has more than 8-16 students at a time and each student has their own area which is nice. Having the class this small is nice because you can get individual attention when you need it. It is almost like having a personal trainer. The class consists of 3 circuits that have two weight exercises and two cardio spurts, each lasting 30 seconds. For each circuit you complete 3 sets. The class utilizes the Refine pulley system which is an amazing piece of equipment that gives you something different from always having to use weights.

All of the instructors I have taken with were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. The music that was played was great and the hour-long class seemed to fly by. If you have not gotten the chance to take a Refine Method class I highly recommend it, especially since they offer the first class for free (this is unheard of in New York City). After your first class a single class is $32, which yes is pricey, but the fact that it feels like you are working with a personal trainer it is worth it. To see their other pricing options click here. If you are always doing cardio or are a cardio queen/king, this will give you the strength training you need to compliment your cardio. For more information on Refine Method go to any of the below links.

Filed under: Workouts | Tagged: Brynn Jinnett, Cardio queen, metabolic resistance training, MRT, Refine, Refine Method | 1 Comment »