Vitacost Cyber Sale!

Did you avoid shopping yesterday like the plague? I didn't even leave the apartment complex because I didn't want to get stuck in traffic!

Here's a sale that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your post workout sweats (let's be real, we all do it! No? Just me? oops.) that will not only benefit your wallet, but also your health!  What kind of sale can be better than this??

Starting at the moment this blog publishes (hopefully) aka 9am eastern time on November 24 to 11:59pm on November 26, EVERYTHING WILL BE 15% OFF ON VITACOST.COM!!! Check it out HERE!

Never heard of Vitacost?  In their own words,

With Vitacost.com, you don't have to choose between stores that sell products you don't really want at super-low prices, and stores that sell the better health and wellness products you want at crazy-high prices. We offer over 2,000 of the top, most-trusted natural brands, diet foods and healthy living essentials-the very best nutritional supplements, whole foods and sports nutrition-at discount prices, up to 50% off. And we'll deliver them right to your door for FREE if your order totals $49 or more. Otherwise, shipping is just a small, flat-rate fee of $4.99, no matter how big the box.

Doesn't that sound awesome?? I've been meaning to check it out, but keep getting distracted.  With this sale, I have no excuse not to.  I can't wait to get my shop on (I may already have a wish list going in my cart including PB2, a new fat burner, and some snacks to get me through my final paper writing).  What will you get at these super low prices??

Why I've been MIA

Soooo sorry for not having posted for awhile.  Taking 4 graduate classes (never ever ever again) and being a teaching assistant for 268 students have taken control of every moment of my waking life.  When I have had a few spare minutes, the last thing I have wanted to do is spend more time in front of my keyboard.  After this semester ends (December 12 can't come soon enough!), I will try to come back to the blogging world.

Mostly because, I have some exciting events coming up in the next few months (details to come, but hints include Ragnar Arizona and possibly a Rock-n-Roll half!).  I also still have some incredible giveaways to share with you (including my headband trial adventures!).

Right now I'm trying to survive school hell, start the Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, and try for the Runner's World Holiday Streak (run at least a mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years).

Hope your holidays are going well!  How are you staying fit for the holidays??

Stay tuned tomorrow for a special surprise I have to share with you, then await my return (I know your all holding your breath!) after December 12 :)

Group Exercise Myths Busted by Brianna!

Quick apologies to start for being completely MIA (there's a blog coming about the chronicles of my past few weeks that are circling something out of a movie...I promise!).  However, while I am getting my life in order, Brianna from Fit Girls is guest posting here today as part of the Sweat Pink Blog Swap (This link has more links to all of the fun swapping happening today!).  If you're just dying to read some of my rambles, you can find my post on her blog!  So, without further ado...meet Brianna! 

Hey everyone! I’m Brianna. I’m a blogger over at Fit Girls, and a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I teach Group Exercise classes (well… I’m a sub, so not all the time), and I’m constantly in other instructor’s classes (read: I take or between 18-24 classes a week… yes, that’s pretty much a full day’s worth of classes a week… and that’s not even including my hours training on my own, or with a personal trainer).

Well… before I get into my argument over whether or not I feel Group Exercise is the way to go in order to lose weight (or whatever your goal is), let me tell you a little about my background with exercise. In high school, I joined my first gym. I immediately started trying classes, because that’s what my family did. I did spin, step and what’s called “rock hard”, which is weight training. I wasn’t really completely into it, but I went… mostly as a reason to procrastinate on homework. I also was a part of the colorguard… anyone who has done this, knows that tossing a weighted flag is HARD. So I was an average kid, not really fat, but not skinny.

Once college started, I felt really overwhelmed. I completely stopped going to the gym, and started eating… a lot. I gained upwards of 30 pounds during my first year at school. I was now “fat”. However, I started getting depressed because of my weight, and for other reasons. I finally decided to make a change. I hired a personal trainer, and started slowly getting back into classes at the gym. My personal trainer worked with me on getting my strength back, while my classes started getting my cardio strength up. As I got fit, I started going to the gym twice a day.

I then joined another gym about a year into my journey. I kept my other gym membership going so I can still work with my personal trainer; however, most of my classes were at the other gym. I fell in love with the classes at this new gym. They are all powered by Body Training Systems. I started taking BTS Group Kick, Group Ride, Group Power, Group Step and Group Groove.

Meanwhile, I started getting fitness certifications. I got my spinning certification, am working on my BTS Group Groove certification (sent in my tape this past weekend….ahhhhh) and will be getting my TRX Group Exercise certification soon (November 4^th… YAY). I have also stopped working with a trainer, and focus completely on classes.

Anyways, now that you know my background with exercise, I am going to tell you something. My way of working out may not be for everyone. I do believe that, for me, a mix of personal training and group classes are the best way to go. They really are triggered for everybody!

Here are some myths I have heard about Group Exercise:

Myth 1: Only women do them… and the guys who do them are feminine.

FALSE: While the class is majority women, there are quite a few men who take classes. And trust me; the men I take classes with are NOT feminine at all! They are tough and strong. They find that the classes are more motivating.

Myth 2: Everyone’s going to stare at me!

FALSE: Everyone’s into their own workout, nobody’s going to even pay attention. The only one who may look at you (especially if you’re new to the class) is the instructor… and he/she are only going to check if your form is right. Also, many new people stand in the back, so they are less seen by everyone else. The more experienced people/ show offs (like myself LOL) are in front.

Myth 3: Classes are only for fit people… there’s no way I can keep up!

FALSE: Classes are for everyone… you can do them at your own level and build up to the higher levels.

However, the group exercise classes aren’t for everyone… but I would suggest trying one! You may fall in love with it. My mom has tried to take classes with me, and she HATES them. However, you can’t get me, my grandma and my aunts away from them. Also, don’t forget, not every class is going to be “right” for you. I HATE yoga with a passion… but my aunt loves it. I LOVE Group Kick… but my grandma hates it. You have to find what’s right for you… and stick with it!

Any questions?

Email me at bwinning@cse.edu

I will be more than happy to answer any questions you have about group exercise (or about exercise in general…or about life)!

Thank you for reading my post! Be sure to check out my page:

Fitgirls02.blog.com

https://www.facebook.com/fitness.grls

Brianna =)

Words of Wisdom

This weekend has been filled with work, work and more work!  I have a real blog post coming soon, but until then, check out this list of 41 ways to motivate yourself to get moving!

All of these are shared by the awesome members of Girls Gone Sporty Ambassadors (including yours truly)!

I am now borring some of the creative alarm names and am thinking of starting a reward jar for myself ($1 in for every workout to go toward an exciting race and/or piece of gear!

Here is the link for our ways of motivation: http://www.girlsgonesporty.com/articles/fitness/how-to-motivate-yourself-to-exercise-41-ways-to-help-you-get-out-the-door

What are your favorite ways to encourage yourself to get moving?  Any suggestions I need to borrow??

Blacklight Dance Party

At the Campus Rec center at the University of Arizona (one of my favorite gyms!), I (along with an awesome team of instructors) began a tradition of having a blacklight dance party.  Last semester was a FANTASTIC success (we had over 70 people!).

My outfit!

Last night was the second party.  The instructors were super excited!

Not the best pictures, but 5 fabulous instructors ready to dance! 

However, we only had 15 people.  The event wasn't as advertised (they only made tiny flyers--I didn't find this out until the day of).  It was scheduled during midterm week for the undergrads.  Yes, there are reasons, but we were super bummed.  

We did everything we could to make it fun (and fun it was!), but it was still extremely disappointing.  

Have you ever had an event rock the first time and not work as well the second?  How did you get yourself excited again?  

Sickness and exciting news

(I normally would put an exclamation point after exciting news, but I realized that every single title so far has had one.  Therefore, I left it out!)

I managed to get some kind of bug and have been down and out for the past couple of days.  Stomach troubles are no fun.  I attempted to use the time to get the mountains of reading done that I have to do, but just wasn't feeling it.

Therefore, I spent yesterday messing around online.  I caught up on blogs (between the Sweat Pink and Girls Gone Sporty Ambassadors, I could read fitness blogs all day every day--not that I'm complaining!).  I also was inspired to contact some awesome companies (mostly independent Etsy shops...my kind of places!) for giveaways and have gotten some awesome feedback.  Be on the lookout for them in the coming weeks :)

I also was feeling particularly miserable and lazy, so I started working on longer term fitness goals.  I loved the 10k mud run (and didn't do too horribly!), so I have decided that within the next year, I want to try for a half marathon.  In order to start making strides (pun intended) toward that, I signed up for a 15k in December.  The Hot Chocolate 15k in Phoenix!  I found a 12 week training plan and the race is 11 weeks away, so I have decided to dive in week 2 (as soon as I can move without feeling nauseous!) and try it.

Hope everyone else is doing well and has avoided the sickness that is going around (at least in Tucson!).

Any advice for starting training for longer distances?

Spur of the Moment Toro Loco Challenge!

Yesterday morning while I was chatting online with a friend Jen, the first friend I made in Tucson, as we were both attempting to put off work, she told me that one the people in her department had extra free registrations to a mud run the next day (today).  I decided to just go for it.  No one else was able to go with me, so I registered and made plans to just rock it the next day.

The race was the ToroLoco Challenge.  I decided to brave the 10k (it looked like it had better obstacles!).  I didn't really have any goals, just to finish it.  Therefore, I just let myself enjoy the race.  I finished in 1 hour and 38 minutes--not too terrible for not pushing myself AT ALL.  It averaged out to a little over a 15 minute mile.  Adding in walking some (probably like a third) and the lines for challenges, I'm very happy with that.  I was honestly expecting it to take a tad longer.  Here are my results:

My results! (The places were just for who had already finished the race, so I'm sure it was lower overall)

18th in my wave (of probably about 40). I'll take it!

I was honestly surprised at how good I felt throughout the race.  It made me feel a lot better about the runs I have coming up and running more.  It is way more fun when there are other people around! 

The race was decently organized.  Some of the obstacles had no volunteers so participants weren't really sure what to do.  A lot of the obstacles were just dirt as opposed to mud.  However, over all, I had fun!  It was a very low key atmosphere which was nice for a first race.  

Since I was by myself, I don't have many pictures.  I did get some before and after pictures on my phone:

Before

After

The last 2 obstacles are a slip and slide and a zipline into a big pool of water, so I was surprisingly not that dirty at the end.  Speaking of a zipline, an awesome stranger came up to me (he had also done the race alone) and told me he wanted other people to see the zipline so he recorded me on it and hope that it was ok.  I told him it was as long as he sent it to me!  Here's the super fun end to an overall awesome race! 

I absolutely cannot wait for the next 2 mud runs that I'm signed up for!  The next one is with a group of friends, but the one after that I'm doing alone again and would love to push myself harder than I did today.  Hope everyone has had a Saturday full of getting dirty and sweating pink!  

Meet Meeka!

My roommate and partner in crime is a 3 year old Whippet/German Shepherd mix named Meeka.  Isn't she cute??

This morning, I decided to take her with me for a short, 20-ish minute run.  It was a gorgeous day, so we drove to a trail that runs along the wash (read: dry river bed) throughout a lot of Tucson.  There was actually water running, so that made it even better.  She wore her orange Zumba® bandanna for the occasion.

Meeka was SO excited, the first 10 minutes were what I expected, with her running everywhere but me mostly able to keep up a decently consistent pace.  There was a place to go down to the wash, so I took a break to let her play in the water.  She loved it, but was kind of scared of the mud (she is a weird dog, afraid of everything!).  The day was so pretty, I decided to just keep walking.  We went a mile down the trail and then turned around.  The next mile was pretty uneventful, until it came to finding the car.

I completely forgot where I had parked!  We walked up and all through one shopping center, back down the trail, back up the trail, through another center...and I still couldn't find it.  Probably half an hour later, I finally figured out where we needed to be going--about half a mile from where we were.  At this point, I was dragging a panting, exhausted dog.

After walking/running a total of 3 1/2 miles, this is how she spent the rest of the day.

Overall, it was an adventure well worth the time to be outside enjoying the fabulous, clear day!  We'll see if she'll be excited to join me again.

I was offered free admission to a mud run nearby tomorrow, so I might just do it and see how it goes!  Wish me luck!

Goals!

It hasn't even been a week and I'm already good at procrastinating blog posts...this isn't a good sign!  Hopefully it will become as addicting as they say and I'll fall into the habit soon.

Last weekend, I got on the scale for the first time in probably a month and it was a shock to say the least.  My clothes still fit (my skinny jeans were a little tight, but nothing that caused alarm) and, while I definitely wasn't losing weight, I didn't think I had gained more than a couple of pounds.  Well that couple was actually 10.  10 pounds!!! I haven't been this heavy since my semester studying abroad in Argentina when I had red meat, red wine, and chocolate or dulce de leche (heaven in the form of carmel) for every meal (not even kidding about the diet!).  Needless to say, a slight panic ensued.

Yes, I know that I have put on some muscle, but I could stand to lose some of those pounds.  So, like any normal obsessive compulsive personality would do, I started making lists.  Weight goals.  Diet plans.  Workout schedules.  Race registrations to force me to get moving as to not embarrass myself.  Purchasing a glitter headband to remind myself to still be happy with how I look (don't judge-it was a low point).

One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was for accountability.  So, blog-o-sphere, here is my plan.  Don't let me make excuses!

Goal 1: Be down at least 5 pounds by the time my mom comes out to participate in Fitness Fest with me the first weekend in October.

Goal 2: Be able to run a 3k with my mom that same weekend (she's one of my healthy living role models...I want to be as incredible as her when I'm her age!) in less than 20 minutes (or at least finish it).

Goal 3: Be able to finish a 5k the next weekend.  I agreed to do participate in the Great Pumpkin Race organized by my fellow sweat pink ambassador Cara at Running In Sanity (I won't lie, part of the reason I agreed to do this was because I wanted the orange polka dotted bondi band, but didn't want to wimp out and just buy it!).

Goal 4: Be comfortable enough with my body (I'm not putting a weight with it) to do the Phoenix Terrain Mud Run on October 27 in just a sports bra and shorts.

Goal 5: Train to feel more confident for mud run number 2, the Dirty Girl mud run, on November 17.

In addition to working toward these goals, I'm going back to logging all of my food.

What do you think?  What are some of your healthy living goals?

  

Here Goes Nothing!

I've been a fitness blog stalker for quite some time--starting with my fabulous friend Bean's blog Just Plodding Along.   I wanted to be cool like her, but hadn't been able to fully motivate myself to make the leap. When she posted the link to become a SweatPink Ambassador with Fit Approach and I was accepted (YAY for awesome communities of healthy women!), I decided it's time to actually take the plunge.

I am a 24 year old group fitness addict who is trying to branch out into other fitness activities like 5k's and mud runs (I'm registered for a few of both in the coming months...eek!).  I am an AFAA certified group fitness instructor also licensed in Zumba®, Zumba Toning®, Aqua Zumba®, Zumbatomic®, Flirty Girl Fitness Booty Beat, and hopefully soon Pound Fitness (yes, it's a mouthful but I didn't want to leave anyone out!).  I started teaching group fitness classes a little over a year ago because I wanted the accountability of having to go work out as I started graduate school (I liked the motivation that if I don't drag my butt to the gym, then no one gets a workout!).  As graduate school wears on and gets increasingly stressful and busy, I don't have the time to commit to all of my classes.  However, I am hoping that the blog-o-sphere and SweatPink community can help to take that place.  Sometimes it takes other people knowing you missed a workout to make you suck it up and make the time.  At least for me.

This is me post a fabulous team taught 90 minute Zumba class (we did crazy hair...I don't always rock the sweat band and side ponytail!)

I am really excited for this blogging adventure as I work out the balance of being both a serious healthy liver and a serious academic (hence the blog name!).