Healthy Chicks

[my sister and I after half marathon #2, both wearing our medals proudly!]

I’ve never really been a competitive person. During high school I stuck to rec basketball, as the competitiveness of being on the team freshman year kinda sorta freaked me out. I swam on my pool club’s summer swim team for several years, although I was always more interested in breaking my own record than showing someone up. This past April, I ran my first half marathon to see if I could do it (and cross it off my bucket list), and then another one in October to keep the momentum going and break my Personal Record (which I did…by a whopping 5 minutes).

I’ve never been the girl to make a pact with my friends to see who could lose the most weight, and ulta-competitive contests aren’t really my cup of tea.   As you can see, personal challenges is where it’s at for me. That’s why I decided to create my own workout challenge for the week before Christmas. I had been slacking majorly on my workouts lately, and thought this would be a great way to get back into it and jumpstart my metabolism for the holidays. So, starting on Monday I set a goal of taking a core fusion class every day until Christmas.

As you know I’m a huge fan of core fusion, but it’s also a killer workout and no matter how many classes I take, my thighs always shake and I’m sore for a good few days. Because of that reason, I’ve never dared to take three, or even two classes in a row. This would indeed be a challenge for me.

Here’s how it’s mapped out so far:

Monday 12/19: Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD (includes four 10-minute workouts: arms, legs, thighs & glutes, and abs)

Tuesday 12/20: Core Fusion Cardio at Exhale Spa (a 60-minute sweat-inducing workout incorporating planks, mountain-climbers, weights, kickboxing moves, and abdominal work)

Wednesday 12/21: Woke up sore, but pushed my way through the Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD (today I only did arms, legs and abs as I was pressed for time) but made up for it later by taking Core Fusion Yoga at Exhale Spa (an amazing 60-minute workout incorporating sun salutations, core strengthening, stretching and toning all guided by upbeat music!) I must say, I absolutely loved this class, and it was a huge treat because I’d never taken it before. I’m totally adding this to my weekly schedule!

Thursday 12/22: I’m feeling good today, so tonight I’ll be taking Core Fusion Cardio again at Exhale. Bring it on!

What’s on my Plate the next few days?

Friday 12/23: Core Fusion Open at Exhale (a signature Core Fusion class that tones and sculpts your arms, legs, thighs, glutes and abs) This is by far the most difficult Core Fusion class for me, as you really feel the burn, but I’m going to push through because the results are absolutely incredible!

Saturday 12/24: MY LAST CLASS!!!!! Core Fusion Open at Exhale (the perfect way to bring on the holidays!)

I’ll keep you posted on how the rest of the week goes? Have you ever created a workout challenge for yourself? What did you do to keep yourself motivated?

Yesterday during the final meditation phase of my Pranavayu yoga class at Exhale, our teacher (David Magone) said something that really stood out to me. Each day he brings a new lesson to his practice, and yesterday’s was on worrying.

He said that we all spend far too much time worrying, jumping from one worry to the next, that we’re wasting time. As we’re busy taking time to worry, we’re actually hurting ourselves by missing out on the time we have to take action.

For the next 10 minutes, he had us lay there on our mats, eyes closed. Whenever a worry was to jump to our mind, we were to mentally bring ourselves back to the practice, the now. After all, a worry is something that comes from the inside, and by the power of our mind we can shut that worry out for a while, or ultimately eliminate it alltogether.

If you’re like me, you worry way too much about things that aren’t even worth worrying about. For instance, I tend to worry too much about the future: the what if, the but, the fear of the unknown. However, lately I’ve realized that worrying isn’t going to change anything. Instead, I’m working on staying positive and living my day-to-day life as it comes.

What a relief a worry-free life could be.

Do you spend too much time worrying? What could you do to mentally shut some of these thoughts off?

you’ll be sure to feel the burn with these mountain climbers

[source]

As you know, I’m a huge fan of trying new things. As long as it won’t kill me, I’m usually willing to try something new. This morning, I decided to take advantage of my membership at Exhale Spa and give Core Fusion Cardio a go. So far, I’ve tried Core Fusion Open, the Body Sculpt DVD, Thighs & Glutes, and Bootcamp but I had never dabbled with Cardio.

Let’s just say, it was definitely worth my while. I highly recommend this upbeat, sweat-inducing class to anyone who’s looking to challenge their body with a little extra spice! With everything from kickboxing movements to weighted lunges to hundreds of mountain climbers, your legs, thighs and arms will surely feel the burn.

I’m now going to dedicate every Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. to this heart-pumping cardio class. You can hold me to it.

I dare you to try something new today. What’s one new thing you’re looking to give a shot?

XoXo,

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of Core Fusion DVDs. Once I became hooked on Core Fusion Body Sculpt (and made my obsession loud and clear), creator and mastermind behind Core Fusion Fred DeVito was nice enough to send me both Thighs & Glutes and Bootcamp as well. Just as expected, I fell in love with each and every workout I tried. I loved the variety, the intense toning benefits, and all the other physical changes I could see in my body.

So when Exhale Spa in Boston’s Back Bay invited me to take a live Core Fusion class, I jumped at the offer. A real, live Core Fusion class, for me? How could I possibly decline?

The minute I walked into Exhale, I felt like I was in another world…on some kind of serene spa getaway. “Wow, now I can see why people rave about this place,” I thought to myself. As I waited for the Director of Guest Experience to give me a personal tour, I was immediately offered a cup of hot tea and water to sip on. If that’s not customer service at its best, I don’t know what is.

As I toured the building, I “oohed” and “ahhed” my way through each step I took. Everything was just so…beautiful and I was loving every minute of it. The staff members were friendly, the studio space was bright and clean, and even the bathrooms were impressive. They were fully equipped with lockers, a Eucalyptus steam room, robes and slippers for guest comfort, showers, changing rooms, and pretty much any beauty essential you could think of. Yes, they even had shower caps, spray-on deodorant, RAZORS, and delectable lotions all for me (and you).

Then came the workout: a real live Core Fusion class. Let me tell you, it was not for the faint of heart. It was tough, and  it was challenging, and my thighs were shaking 90% of the time, but I loved every minute of it because I pushed myself. At first I was intimidated by all the other perfectly-sculpted women in the room, but the instructor, Denise, made the class comfortable and fun. She energetically led the group through a series of arm, thigh, gluteus and abs workouts, all while correcting our form and pushing us to hold the poses a little longer, try a little harder. And that I did.

I must say, a live Core Fusion class was much more challenging than the DVDs, mostly because you get the benefits of having an instructor face-to-face to push you and correct your form. I was proud of myself for completing a full hour-long Core Fusion session, even though at times I wanted to give up. There’s no doubt about it that you get a full body workout, and that to me is worth the money.

After my sweat session, I robed up like a queen and hit the Eucalyptus steam room, followed by a nice, long shower. I then used every single beauty product I could get my hands on, and finished my spa experience with a cup of hot tea. I was in heaven.

I highly recommend taking a class at Exhale Spa to anyone who wants to challenge themselves, all while reaping the benefits of a blissful spa experience. I most definitely will be back, but in the meantime will continue to practice the Core Fusion DVDs at home. But I must admit: If it were up to me, I think I’d live at Exhale Spa. Any place that provides a full-body workout followed by pampering at the spa is golden to me.

Interested in trying Core Fusion yourself? Snag the Exhale: Core Fusion Collection for only $20.49 on Amazon. This includes the Body Sculpt (my favorite), Thighs & Glutes and Pilates Plus workouts.

Have you ever taken a class at Exhale Spa? What was your experience like? Have you tried any of the Core Fusion DVDs yet?

XoXo,