Gaining Confidence and True Friends… The Sports Bra Challenge

Posted on May 27, 2012 by kymarie13

I actually wrote this post a week ago and I sent it to a friend to check. When I sent it to her I knew something was missing and I knew exactly what it was. When I got her comments back, there it was staring me in the face in black and white “it would be nice to hear more about your personal experience at the event, as opposed to just what the event was.” I know I can write about the things I do but I know I am lacking when it comes to sharing my personal experiences. Funny you would think if someone starts a blog they would be able to share but that is not always the case.

About a week and a half ago, I took a SoulCycle class in the middle of Union Square in my sports bra. Why did I decide to spin half-naked in public? That is an easy answer, to help support the S.E.A.K. Foundation’s mission to help give teens and younger adults the courage to feel comfortable in their own bodies and to hang out with some amazing friends I have made since I started taking classes at SoulCycle.

If you told me I would be doing this when I was younger there would have been NO WAY I would have gotten on that bike, but as I got older I started to realize one important thing. It doesn’t matter what you look like, what matters is the people you surround yourself with. They will give you the confidence you need to grow and strive. Growing up I had a lot of negative friends in my life and a lot of positive ones (one in particular that has been my best friend since 5th grade). Over the years I quickly realized that no matter what I looked like my true friends were always there to support me.

Since I have moved to New York I have become somewhat of a Fitness Fanatic (okay who am I kidding here, I am TOTALLY a Fitness Fanatic). A lot of what I do and talk about is fitness related and bless my friend’s hearts, always talking about that can get annoying. When I started SoulCycle I met some amazing people who I now consider some of my closest friends. Not only do they get my crazy fitness habits they get me. I can’t imagine not spending my Saturday nights with them, I don’t know many other groups that can finish off 8 pastas and 6 pizzas (Partee). So going out to ride in the Sports Bra Challenge was not only to support a great cause but to be out there with my friends that give me confidence and inspire me to always give it my all. You guys know who you are, I am so thankful I have met you.

Alright now on to the event itself. This was S.E.AK. Foundation’s second annual Sports Bra Challenge. The Sports Bra Challenge is a day-long charity fitness event centered around women working out in a series of group fitness classes in their sports bras. Men and woman came out to support and empower one another to feel comfortable in their bodies – exactly as they are. This year the challenge supported the City of Hope’s Positive Image Center, which helps cancer patients regain and retain confidence in how they look while undergoing treatment.

The Sport’s Bra Challenge started at 2:00pm with a live performance by No Way Josie and then throughout the day they offered a yoga class and Crunch fitness class called Pound Rockout. At 5:00pm and 6:00pm they had two SoulCycle classes with a 100 riders each! For a special music performance they brought PS22 from Staten Island (the same choir that sang to President Obama) to perform the last couple of songs for each of the rides. SoulCycle classes are always an amazing workout, but the best part was the experience and seeing everyone that came out to support the cause. Even Olivia Ward (The winner of the Biggest Loser Season 11) and her sister Hannah Curlee came out to support the cause. Just seeing everyone have the confidence to ride in their sports bras was very empowering. I am so happy I was able to be a part of such an amazing event (See me below in the neon orange sports bra, I am towards the back).

Photography Credit: Gail Tobias

S.E.A.K. (Strive, Embrace, Achieve, Know) is a non-profit foundation that helps teens and young adults express themselves, feel comfortable with who they are both mentally and physically, and discover the inner-confidence and passion to achieve their goals.  S.E.A.K.’s educational resources and services include after-school programming focused on fitness, nutrition, health and other aspects of personal wellness. To find out more about S.E.A.K. and how you can get involved please visit their website or Facebook page. You can also check out this article about The Sports Bra Challenge by, the Director and Co-founder of S.E.A.K., Jenny Gaither.

I hope you are having an amazing Memorial Day weekend and I hope that you surround yourself with people who give you the confidence to be yourself. Friends are truly one of the most powerful things you can have in your life.

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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:

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Review: 24 Hour Fitness Madison Square Park

Posted on February 22, 2010 by kymarie13

Today I went to check out 24 Hour Fitness in Madison Square Park. It’s located on the Northwest corner of Madison Square Park between 5th Ave and Madison. The easiest way to get there is the R/W train 28th street location or the 6 train 28th street location. I had read many mixed reviews before I went so I didn’t know what to expect. The lobby has a circular front desk when you walk in. A juice bar is to the  right and membership services are to the left. The front desk staff was very friendly and found someone to show me the club right away. Even though it was 6:45 there were membership representatives there which is very nice because at most gyms their membership representatives leave at 6:00pm.

All the cardio machines are located on the street level. Each cardio machine has their own TVs and iPod hook up so you can listen to your music or iPod workout. They have bikes, treadmills (that range between 25 degrees and 45 degrees), stair climbers, and various ellipticals. For being 7pm in New York City, there were surprisily a lot of machines open which is nice. The lower level has all of their weight machines, free weights, stretching room, spin room, and dance studio. There are about 25 bikes in the spin studio and the dance studio is very spacious. They offer a variety of different classes that you do not have to pay extra for.  All their machines are nicely spaced out so you don’t feel to claustrophobic. The only area that felt a little tight was the free weights. The locker rooms have all the amenities you need: towels, soap, shampoo, a few blow dryers, and razors. They also offer monthly locker and laundry service.

The club was really clean which I was very impressed with. The membership representative was very nice and answered any and all questions I had. Now for pricing. There is a $29.99 initiation fee, which is waived if you are a student. The club is a month to month membership. When you join you pay the first and last month (whenever your last month is). Right now the monthly fee is $69.99 but on Thursday, February 25th they are raising their prices to $110 a month. This monthly fee includes all locations in New York. In New York there are 3 locations. Madison Square Park, Soho, and 53rd street (this location has a pool). All 24 Hour Fitness Clubs in New York are Ultra Fitness which means all amenities are included in your monthly price. Also all clubs are open 24 hours a day, kind of crazy but apparently there are people who come at crazy hours.

24 Hour Fitness Clubs are privately owned, they were started in the West Coast and if you look at the map you can see they are everywhere, they are now trying to expand their clubs on the East Coast. You have probably heard of 24 Hour Fitness on Biggest Loser, as all of the trainers on that show are from 24 Hour Fitness.

Overall I was very impressed, it was super clean and offered everything I needed. I really like the $69.99 a month price but $110 will be pushing it for me.

Images from 24 Hour Fitness.

Filed under: Gyms | Tagged: , , , , , | 8 Comments »

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    Hello! My name is Kristine and I live and work in New York City. Since I have been here I have realized how hard it is to maintain a healthy balance while living in the City. Work starts to consume your life and you can get lost in everything around you.

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