Review: Core Fusion Cardio – Pure Intensity

Posted on August 28, 2011 by kymarie13

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the Core Fusion Cardio- Pure Intensity DVD. This is the newest DVD of the Core Fusion series. If you read my blog you know that I am a huge fan of Core Fusion, due to lack of funds and living in New York City, I have not been able to take as many Core Fusion classes as I would like. When Core Fusion Cardio came out about a year ago I was one of the first ones to try it at the studio and I loved it! So when I saw they were coming out with a DVD I was ecstatic. Since all New Yorker’s were stuck inside this weekend due to Hurricane Irene, I decided to give this DVD a try this morning and let me tell you I was sweating up a storm inside my own apartment!

Workout DVDs are not my strong suit, it is hard to get myself motivated when there is no one else there pushing me. But once the DVD started I was hooked. It was like I was taking a class at the studio. Some DVDs are very different from the classes that you would take at a studio but this one was just like being in class, I felt like Fred was in my apartment giving me a private session. The DVD is broken up into 6 sections about 10 minutes each. If you don’t have a lot of time you can do one or two sections, or if you want a great workout do the entire DVD which is about 60 minutes.  The 6 sections are:

  1. Energy Moves –  (10:10) Wake up your muscles and get your body warmed up, this was great because I was feeling pretty lazy when the DVD first started but after I got through this I was ready for more
  2. Cardio Flow – (10:53) Sections 2-4 were my favorite, they are all done with light weights or you don’t have  to use weights if you want to modify it. The sections are what they call a cardio flow, each move flows into the next. Each section is different which keeps you engaged the entire time. I tend to get bored with DVDs that make you do the same circuit multiple times but this DVD does not make you do that, you are constantly changing up the toning and cardio moves which is great for your body. The one thing that remains constant in these 3 sections are the mountain climbers. By the end of the 3 sections you will work your way up to 64 mountain climbers! Which sounds like a lot but they do it in a way where it flies by!
  3. Power Flow – (10:36)
  4. Power Sweat – (11:22)
  5. Cardio Curl –  (10:41) Cardio Abs, wow this was hard! It was such a great workout for your core, you are constantly engaging it and you can really feel it changing your core, do this for a couple of weeks and you will have extremely strong abs!
  6. Stretch – (9:23) Having a section dedicated to stretching was great because it makes you take the time to stretch your body after a hard workout
If you have never taken a Core Fusion class, I highly recommend this DVD. It is the perfect blend between cardio and toning. It will keep you engaged the entire hour and you will get an amazing full body workout. This DVD will be in my weekly workouts. You can buy this DVD on Amazon right now for $13.49 which is an amazing deal! Hope everyone in New York and the East coast was safe this weekend! If you haven’t gotten your workout in this weekend, get out there, there is no better time than now.

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Review: Bar Method Soho

Posted on May 9, 2010 by kymarie13

I am a huge fan of Barre classes! I first found them in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the Pure Barre studio. When I moved to New York, I tried two different studios: Physique 57 and Exhale Spa. When I heard that the Bar Method was coming to New York, I knew I had to try it! After all Drew Barrymore and Rebecca Mader love it.

The origins of the Bar Method is Lotte Berk Method. Burr began teaching the Lotte Berk Method in 1991 when she was the first Lotte Berk Method’s licensee. The Bar Method Inc. founded in 2000 by Burr and Carl Diehl. Now there are over 36 studios in: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Canada.

The Bar Method is located in Soho, at 155 Spring Street on the second floor. It is about a 10 minute walk from the 6 train. When I first walked in I was very impressed, the studio was beautiful! It has 3 different studios, lockers right outside the class rooms, a women’s and men’s locker room (with showers) and a small kitchenette. The space is great. I was greeted by one of the three owners, Amy. Amy was a previous dancer and has been teaching Bar Method for over 10 years at the flagship location in San Fransisco.

The class lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. It was very similar to classes I had taken previously at Exhale Spa and Pure Barre. You start with a quick warmup by lifting you legs, then move into an arm series. The arm series is followed by thighs, butt and you end with abs. Overall I thought it was a good class, Amy was a great teacher. She really knew what she was doing and made sure to correct students if they were in the wrong positions. The Bar Method currently has four teachers and four teachers in training, two of which are New York Rockettes (Yes I took a class with them and I was like “Can I please have your legs haha).

The studio is beautiful and Amy was great but the prices are a bit steep. Now the three main barre studios in New York are Exhale Spa, Physique 57, and The Bar Method. The Bar Method class prices are the same as Physique 57.

  • $35 for a single class
  • $280 for 10 classes
  • $440 for an unlimited month

With only 1 location and only having one variety of the class, I feel that is very expensive. Exhale Spa has 4 locations, offers Core Fusion, Core Fusion Sport and Cardio, Core Fusion Yoga and Yoga classes, plus 3 of their locations are Spas. Their prices are:

  • $35 for a single class
  • $298 for ten classes
  • $150 for unlimited classes at the Soho location
  • $265 for unlimited classes at all locations all over New York and any of their other locations around the Country

The Bar Method studio was a great space but I have to say my heart still belongs to Exhale Spa, with the variety of classes, the prices, products and the staff, the experience you get is like nothing else. I am extremely happy at Exhale Spa.

If I had to rate the top Barre Studios in New York it would be:

  1. Exhale Spa
  2. The Bar Method
  3. Physique 57
Images from Bar Method.

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Cabo Wabo Mini Spring Vaca

Posted on April 9, 2010 by kymarie13

I know I haven’t been able to write as much so I thought I would fill you in on what I have been doing. My full-time job is at an Ad agency called Mother. I work as a “Mother” at Mother. A “Mother” is a glorified name for a project manager. I love my job and could not be happier but with Spring here and Summer on the way things are really crazy at the agency and I do not have as much time to write, when I get home I am exhausted!

As for exercising I have been changing up my routine. I had been doing Core Fusion for eight months straight and I had hit a plateau. I had seen amazing results with Core Fusion. Since I started  I have lost 3.5 inches on each thigh, 2 inches from my waist, and overall my body was much more toned and I had more strength. My T-Rex arms were finally starting to have some muscle on them. But after 3-5 times a week for eight months you can get pretty burned out. So I decided to take a break and I started going to the gym and running. It’s been great to have a break and find other things I enjoy. I love running but I still can not stand the hamster wheel or treadmill as others call it. I have been finding ways to overcome this, by running outside, listening to music, and doing interval training. I also have found a new DVD I love and I can not wait to tell you about it.

This week I was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my family! I had an amazing vacation, it was great to get away and turn my phone (I did not need a big phone bill). I can not tell you how weird it was to not check twitter or my email! While I was there I got to run on the beach, take water aerobics and work out with my sisters. I also got a nice tan! I hope I can go back next year and maybe stay a little longer. You can check out some of my pictures below.

I hope everyone is having an amazing Spring! What have you been up to? How are you staying in shape and mixing up your routine? I would love to try some new things!

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Filed under: MISC Wellness Info | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Review: Core Fusion Cardio

Posted on February 24, 2010 by kymarie13

What do you get when you combine yoga with cardio? Yodio or what Exhale likes to call it, Core Fusion Cardio. Core Fusion Cardio (CFC) is a 60 minute class that Fred Devito, the co-founder of Core Fusion, calls the perfect complement to Core Fusion.

CFC uses yoga mats and free weights and the room is at a slightly warmer temperature than most Core Fusion classes. I had just finished a Core Fusion class beforehand so I did not know what to expect because I was already in pain. The class is broken up into 4 different sections: 10 minute warm up, 40 minutes  of non-stop cardio, 5 minutes of abs and 5 minutes of cool down. At first I felt the beginning was slow but the class is a progression, you start out slow and you work your way up and by the end of class you are sweating like crazy.

As I said in the beginning, this is a mix of Yoga and cardio. You do different Yoga poses holding free weights while pulsing down, Fred likes to add little sounds as you do it so you don’t think about the pain in your legs. In between the different yoga poses you do… mountain climbers! Brings you back to the days of gym class. You start with sets of 8 and work all the way up to 64. These didn’t bother me as much as some of the yoga poses. Overall I liked the class a lot. It is the perfect complement to Core Fusion. After talking to Fred after the class, he said, you ideally want to take CFC before Core Fusion.

Right now they only offer Core Fusion Cardio 3 times a week. Monday nights on the Upper East side, Wednesday morning at Central Park South and Wednesday night at Soho. They will be training more teachers and offering more classes soon. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you try this class especially if you are only taking Core Fusion classes. This will bring your practice to an entirely different level. I brought my best friend to class and she is my guru of cardio classes because she loves to sweat and if she doesn’t like it than it probably wasn’t a good class. I am happy to say she loved it! Now I just have to get her to love Core Fusion too ;)

Don’t forget you have until Friday to win a Core Fusion DVD!

Filed under: Workouts | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Observations at Exhale

Posted on February 20, 2010 by kymarie13

I have been a member of Exhale for about 8 months and there are certain things you notice. If you are a member of Exhale you will probably find this funny, if you are not, look for it when you do take a class, and if you belong to another Exhale Studio, other than New York, I would love to know the things you see.

  1. Exhale is a walking advertisement for Lululemon, every girl in my class this morning, except for me, had an article of Lululmeon on. They should form a partnership. I almost feel like it’s a required uniform.
  2. If you see Exhale socks that are an off-white/gray you know that they have been a member for a long time because they discontinued those! I have been trying to get them since I joined :(
  3. If you see a girl without Exhale socks, it’s a good chance they are new
  4. If you see a girl with blue Physique 57 socks, they have made a good move, now they just need new socks ;)
  5. There is always a teacher that you strive to look like (Tammy/Kayleigh/Paige/Bergen, You inspire me,  you too Fred don’t worry)
  6. Bergen’s class will always be full and if you were stranded on an island you would want her with you (Bergen you kick my butt every time)
  7. If you can hold the plank for the first 30 seconds without coming down, you have taken more than one class
  8. If you go to Exhale Soho there is a good chance you will see most of your class at the corner Starbucks after
  9. If you take a 8am class, your class will be dead silent, an 11am class, your class will be loud until they have to hold the plank for a minute
  10. Paige has different music styles, sometimes you will get Club Fusion, other times will be rock! I love it every time
  11. You always wonder how often they clean their mats
  12. Matt Brown will always be missed from the Soho Desk but Tom is great!

If you have any observations I would love to hear them! I love Exhale, all these things make me proud to be part of the family, now only if I could afford some Lululemon clothes ;) .

Filed under: Gyms | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 5 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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