I am home in Charlotte after spending the last week in Georgia. I think this was the longest I’ve been away from Charlotte in almost two years. While I appreciated every second of time being with my family, it was so wonderful to see my girls and get a big hug from my fiance after [...]
BodyPump
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7 Years Ago: One Small Step That Changed My Life
August 18, 2015 { 17 comments }I few months ago I downloaded the TimeHop app after seeing posts shared from it all over social media. You can connect it to your social media accounts and it gives you a daily feed of your day in history. It’s become part of my morning social/email/blog check-in routine to scroll through my TimeHop feed. [...]
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Vacation Week Workouts (Mini Golf Counts, Right?)
June 14, 2015 { 20 comments }Good morning! I sure do wish that every Sunday morning looked like this…coffee with a view! My beach routine goes a little like…sleep in, coffee and computer on the balcony, smoothie, more coffee and computer, workout, shower, beach. It’s pretty amazing. As most of you know if you’ve been reading any length of time, I [...]
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Why I Love the Y & Teaching Group Exercise
April 20, 2015 { 42 comments }I hope your Monday has been lovely and that your week is off to a nice start. I’m happy to see Monday arrive because my weekend kind of nuts. It was one of those perfect storms where everything hit at once…I had a book discussion to lead, an extra class on my schedule to sub, [...]
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Lovefest Playlist + Weekly Workouts (With Some BodyPump!)
February 15, 2015 { 29 comments }Ahh! I’ve spent the last few hours trying to make sense of the healthcare options available to get coverage before today’s open enrollment deadline (way to wait to the last minute…right?). One of the negatives to being self-employed is definitely having to navigate and cover all of this on your own. I feel like there [...]
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Workouts: HM Training Week 2 + Back to BodyPump
September 14, 2014 { 8 comments }It was such a great week of workouts! First, I wrapped up week 2 of half marathon training feeling super strong. I am following a training plan that is challenging me, especially when it comes to speed and tempo runs. I go into them wondering how I can possibly pull it off and then it [...]
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A Totally New Way to Workout: Les Mills Immersive Fitness
June 26, 2014 { 0 comments }I am a HUGE BELIEVER in Les Mills programs. I had my first experience with Les Mills when I tried BodyPump for the first time back in 2007. I always disliked group fitness classes (I can distinctly remember leaving in the middle of a step class at the Y to go run on the treadmill [...]
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Weekly Workouts: Back to Ashtanga + Last BodyPump Class
January 19, 2014 { 12 comments }Time for the weekly workout recap. This is a new weekly series that I’ve started in the last couple of months. I think it’s easier to give you a holistic view of the week and how I felt throughout than to sprinkle it throughout the week. I’m kind of trying to do the same thing [...]
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Updates All-Around: Career & The Usual Stuff
November 8, 2013 { 17 comments }It’s been a really good week. I recently stepped out of my role as general manager of the gym and into a position where I provide marketing, website, communications and social media support on a more part-time basis. This frees me up to spend more time teaching, training and writing while still allowing me to [...]
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My Favorite Treadmill Workout
October 11, 2013 { 24 comments }Happy, happy Friday! When I run outside I am happy to keep a comfortable pace while I listen to music or an audiobook, enjoy the scenery and zone out. On the other hand, when I run on the treadmill I need a lot more stimulation. One way that I entertain myself is by reviewing BodyPump [...]
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The Meal Formula That’s Working For Me Lately
October 5, 2013 { 18 comments }Good morning! It’s a beautiful day here in Charlotte. I got myself out of bed and onto my yoga mat for 7:30 a.m. super flow at Y2 Yoga this morning. I’m currently enjoying a soy latte with one pump of pumpkin spice outside of Starbucks before heading to Metro CrossFit for The Burpee 350. We’re [...]
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Finally Feeling Workout Motivation
September 19, 2013 { 8 comments }http://oascentral.blogher.org/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/SocialBoom/OID5175_GreenMountain_Q3-Q4_SocialBoom_073/@x13 http://ads.blogherads.com/75/7551/campaigns/13/1342/1342743/x93.js Today was such a good day! It started it with a yoga private followed by a streak of crazy productivity at work and then a management team meeting, practicing yoga, teaching BodyPump and a CrossFit coach’s meeting. I finished my day with a conference call with a group of women where I talked [...]
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Running Annie // Sweet Sullie // Signs
August 23, 2013 { 7 comments }Happy Friday everyone. A few things to share… How I’ve been working out. Remember how I blogged yesterday about my 5 year BodyPump anniversary and that I was going to teach last night? Well, it was amazing and I felt so happy up there but it was SO HARD. Taking almost a month off of [...]
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My Five Year BodyPump Anniversary + Wine Wednesday & Erin McDermott Fabulousness
August 22, 2013 { 15 comments }It was so interesting to read everyone’s take on introvert v. extrovert. Reader Laurie encouraged me to check out Susan Cain’s book, “Quiet” and also to listen to her TED talk about the power of introverts. I will definitely be using one of my Audible credits for Quiet and I’ll let you all know what [...]
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Front Squat Workout + Fueling The Workouts
May 23, 2013 { 16 comments }Hello and happy end of week…especially since it’s an end of week leading into a long weekend! I have lots of updates on the food and fitness front. Let’s start with fitness. I have really been digging the direction my workouts have been taking lately. I’ve been feeling less run and more CrossFit and yoga. [...]
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BodyPump 85 Review…Oh My Legs
April 18, 2013 { 46 comments }I’m a little fitness enigma. I run, I yoga, I CrossFit, I BodyPump, I strength train on my own…I love it all. I would say that most people give up things like BodyPump when they start CrossFitting but I enjoy teaching BodyPump so much and I still really like the workout. It’s just so fun! [...]
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Tips for Becoming a Group Exercise Instructor
February 8, 2013 { 25 comments }I have been teaching group exercise classes for almost five years. There was a time in my life when you couldn’t pay me to attend group classes. There were a few memorable occasions when I decided that it was a good idea to try step classes, most of which ended up with me about 8 [...]
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6.3 Percent
January 18, 2013 { 35 comments }Happy, happy, happy Friday. I am so very excited to see the arrival of the weekend although I still have a really tough CrossFit workout to complete and client to train before I can officially call it the weekend. I bundled up and braved the pouring down cold rain last night to teach BodyPump 84 [...]
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A Random One – BodyPump, CrossFit, Restaurant Review, Publix and MORE!
January 12, 2013 { 23 comments }Happy weekend! 1. I am glad y’all are on board with weekly fitness and yoga posts. I will kick it off on Monday! Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. I’m going to have quite an editorial calendar of topics. 2. If you are participating in the 26 Random Acts project, don’t forget that your random acts [...]
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Carb Loading…and Les Mills GRIT!
December 7, 2012 { 14 comments }I’m drowning my sorrows and preparing for tomorrow’s race with pizza. And red wine…and strawberry ice cream. Okay, I’m totally kidding when I say that I’m carb loading for a 5K. The truth is that I’ve just been craving pizza all week and something about Friday night pizza feels like complete perfection. Running nutrition lesson…despite [...]
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One Workout Away
October 23, 2012 { 30 comments }You know that saying, “You’re only one workout away from a good mood?” I experienced that in a major way last Thursday. I was scheduled to teach BodyPump at the Y but I came up with a list of reasons why I didn’t want to teach and even sent out a last minute sub request. [...]
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Crash And Burn
August 24, 2012 { 12 comments }It’s 9 p.m. on Friday night and I’m sitting on the couch under a blanket drinking chai tea and watching TLC. I ate a frozen meal for dinner. To give myself credit, it was from Trader Joe’s and actually tasted great. I tend to get in patterns where I go, go, go and then crash. [...]
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Humbled And Redeemed
May 3, 2012 { 16 comments }Fact: I suck at wall balls. And I don’t just mean that they’re hard and I don’t like doing them…I mean that I physically cannot perform them correctly. Rather than an effortless catch/squat/toss, I’m more slam into my chest with straight legs and hurl. It took some serious convincing to get me to do last [...]
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Hard Workouts, Good Food
April 27, 2012 { 19 comments }Happy, happy, happy Friday! Although I can’t believe it’s already Friday! When I travel on the weekends and then jump back into a busy week, time seems to fly. I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend in Charlotte so that I can catch up and get organized. Two things that I pretty much feel like [...]
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Good Thing She’s So Cute
March 29, 2012 { 42 comments }7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge, Day 4…annnnd another green smoothie breakfast. I might get crazy tomorrow and have oatmeal for breakfast and a smoothie for lunch or afternoon snack! ;) True to my word, this was another new combination compliments of my freshly stocked freezer. I picked up frozen pineapple, mango and peaches. Here’s what went [...]
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Kicking Off Seven Days Of Green
March 26, 2012 { 94 comments }Happy Monday and happy first day of the 7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge! I kicked off my Monday by teaching BodyPump and then coming home and making a green protein smoothie. I kept it basic for day one. Here’s what we’re working with… 1 cup almond milk 6 crushed ice cubes 2 cups spinach (loosely packed [...]
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Guest Instructing In Georgia + Comfort Food
February 19, 2012 { 22 comments }I mentioned this in last night’s post but the reason for my weekend trip to Georgia was to visit with friend and blog reader, Louly, who is the director of the Y in Covington. They were launching BodyPump 80 this weekend so it was perfect timing for me to visit and participate in the launch. [...]
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Thank You. And I Eat Good Food.
February 13, 2012 { 23 comments }I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate the congratulatory tweets, Facebook posts and blog comments about my new career move. I also can’t express how much it means to me to read your extremely kind comments about the evolution of my career path over the past year. If you had told [...]
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BodyPump 80 Review + Friday Update
February 3, 2012 { 24 comments }I don’t think I’ve been so happy to see the arrival of a weekend since I started fitness full-time. This may have been my busiest week yet and I definitely taught the most classes that I have ever taught in one week – 18 between Sunday and today! That is insane. I am determined that [...]
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So Much Yoga
February 2, 2012 { 15 comments }It’s been a yoga-rific week. Over the past three days I have taught ELEVEN classes/privates. While I love yoga with all my heart, I do not even want to say the words “inhale upward facing dog, exhale downward facing dog” right now. And I’ve only been able to personally practice one day this week and [...]
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Overnight Oats Make A Comeback
January 19, 2012 { 25 comments }How does it happen that the days I think I’m going to get so much done and have some free time always end up being the craziest? Today started out with an easy morning but once noon rolled around it was nonstop until I got home at 7:30. I slept in until 8 and then [...]
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Sometimes I Eat Croissants, Sometimes I Eat Salads
January 13, 2012 { 23 comments }HAPPY FRIDAY!!! It is a beautiful day here in Charlotte. Although it’s rather cold, the sun is shining and the sky is cloudless. My day is going to be pretty relaxed and low-key. I am only teaching one lunchtime yoga class and then computer work (must catch up on email), blog stuff, a Trader Joe’s [...]
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The First Friday
January 6, 2012 { 12 comments }Good morning and happy first Friday of 2012. I don’t know about you but I am relieved that it’s Friday and that the week is wrapping up. Sometimes I feel like there is so much pressure at the start of a new year to make these big statements about what kind of year it is [...]
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2011 In Review: The Top 10
December 30, 2011 { 19 comments }I am not even sure what to think about 2011. I have said this at least 100 times but it has been a year of complete transformation. When I look back at January 1, 2011 I was working full-time in advertising, teaching two BodyPump classes per week and had just made the decision to go through [...]
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Warm Me Up
December 12, 2011 { 30 comments }The week is off to a cold start here in Charlotte. I admit that I am a total baby when it comes to cold weather and I do everything I can to stay warm. I bundle up in jackets and hoodies even when I’m indoors, constantly have a scarf around my neck, camp out in [...]
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Since You Asked…
November 21, 2011 { 14 comments }I have received quite a few comments with questions recently about yoga and BodyPump. I thought it would be most beneficial if I answered them in a post in case others have similar questions. BodyPump I used to have definition from it [BodyPump] but since I’ve upped my weights it doesn’t seem to be giving [...]
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BodyPump Advanced Instructor Training
November 18, 2011 { 15 comments }Today I completed the BodyPump Advanced Instructor Module 1! I have been wanting to go through advanced instructor training for a long time now so I was thrilled to discover a course was being offered in Cary. I signed up a couple of months ago and today was the big day! I love BodyPump (read [...]
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Monday Love
November 14, 2011 { 20 comments }I hope everyone had a nice Monday. I’ve said this before but it’s one of my very favorite days of the week. I love that everyone has a “fresh start” attitude. I always say that the energy in my Monday evening yoga class is the best of the whole week. I also love starting my [...]
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Leftovers For The Win
November 8, 2011 { 21 comments }I would like to start with a huge thank you for all of your organization/living clutter free tips. I am having an issue where my comment replies aren’t showing up right now but I appreciate every single suggestion and I’m definitely going to heed the advice to take it one piece at a time. I [...]
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(De)Clutter
November 7, 2011 { 24 comments }I am the first to admit that a big fault of mine is allowing myself to get all wrapped up in the day-to-day while pushing less interesting tasks to the side. I am terrible about staying on top of things that just don’t interest me. I will put them off and procrastinate like a champion. [...]
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Recovery Mode
November 1, 2011 { 14 comments }I’m in total couch recovery mode right now. Tuesdays do me in every time. Today I taught four yoga classes, two yoga privates and BodyPump…and managed to squeeze in my own 90 minute practice. The day started with a 5:45 a.m. wake up call for a 7 a.m. class at Charlotte Athletic Club. I made [...]
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A Day In The Life
October 18, 2011 { 31 comments }Whoa Tuesday. The busiest day of the week. Snapshot. 4:45 a.m. – alarm goes off, shower #1, make coffee, get dressed 5:30 a.m. – leave house for gym 6 a.m. – private yoga session 7 a.m. – teach a vinyasa flow class 8:30 a.m. – breakfast…smoothie (blueberries, banana, spinach, milk, ice, ground flax) and pumpkin [...]
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Meat and Taters
October 11, 2011 { 10 comments }There’s a chance that I may not be able to lift my arms above my head tomorrow. No, really. I got my booty handed to me this morning. One minute I was shadowing another personal trainer at the gym and the next thing I knew I was doing the workout with the client. When he [...]
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It’s All Good
October 3, 2011 { 27 comments }Hi and hope that Monday was kind to you! I know I sound like a broken record but my Monday was so good. With each day that passes I feel more and more confident that I made the right decision to take the leap of faith and change careers. The big news of today is [...]
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About That Downtime…
September 27, 2011 { 12 comments }I take back everything I said about having too much downtime this week. Today was busy, busy but I loved every minute of it! I taught four classes (three yoga and one BodyPump) and also shadowed a few personal trainers. It was really fun to hang out with different trainers and see each person’s training [...]
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Fall Flavors
September 26, 2011 { 23 comments }Hi guys. How was your Monday? Mine was strange…it felt more like a long weekend than the start of a new career. The next couple of weeks are going to be a bit of a challenge for me because I am going to have a lot of downtime. I’m teaching a ton (check out my [...]
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Happy Friday Updates
September 15, 2011 { 20 comments }Hello, hello! Long time, no update (well…2 days feels like a long time these days!). I wasn’t able to post last night so I planned on getting something up at lunch but the day got busy. Here it is 10 p.m. and I’m just sitting down to blog. I had a great morning. I set [...]
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I Caved for Mmm…
August 26, 2011 { 16 comments }Those of you who follow multiple healthy living blogs have probably noticed that trends circulate through the blog world. If it weren’t for these trends I may have never discovered my love for green smoothies, quinoa, chia seeds and overnight oats. It’s funny…I usually ignore the trends for as long as possible, refusing to jump [...]
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A Much Better Day
August 11, 2011 { 19 comments }Today was a much better day. Eight hours of sleep was just what I needed to get my day started right. Sometimes it’s nice to give myself a break from the 5 a.m. wake up calls and sleep in a bit.I finally rolled out of bed and got ready for work at 7:45 this morning. [...]
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Thanks, This and That
August 9, 2011 { 24 comments }To say that I am overwhelmed by the comments on my “Born to Run” post would be an understatement. Seriously. I read each and every one of the comments and will be responding to many of them! I appreciate your advice, suggestions and honesty. One immediate takeaway is that I will be looking into minimalist [...]