Get Fit, Chick! In the City! FCITC Winter Boot Camp

Looking for a kick butt, 50 minute workout that is located in the heart of New York City that is inside, warm, and reasonably priced?  Look no further than my blog buddy Jess' (the Fit Chick in the City herself) Winter Boot Camp!

I woke up this morning, not wanting to brave the cold and snow, but I like Jess and she is in good shape, so I figured it would be a wise way to start the day.  I headed to Pearl Studios, located between 35th and 36th streets on 8th ave, to join a band of warrior women who also wanted to start the New Year right.

Jess popped in her Ipod and had us start with jumping jacks, high knees, and plank work.  I started sweating right away (good sign), and then we used our yoga mats as weights which is an awesome idea!  Who knew your yoga mat could get so heavy?  My favorite part of the workout was when we broke out some dish towels, put them under our feet, and used them for lunges and plank v's.  IT WAS SO HARD!

Jess (in blue) tortures- I mean works out- the lady warriors.

It's hard work but it looks good!

We ended the class with a nice cool down and stretch.  I felt ready for the day, and it only took 50 minutes!

Interested in trying out Winter Boot Camp?  Here are the details from Jess' site.

Class Details:
Location: 500 8th Avenue (4th floor) between 35th and 36th Street
Time: 10:05 a.m. – 10:55
Class size limited to 10 participants.
Cancellation Policy: Reservations for individual classes must be cancelled 24 hours in advance. No refunds will be issued.
Class will not be cancelled due to inclement weather.

Fees:
First Class~ $10 (Cannot be applied towards class package)
Single Class ~ $25
Session Rates (all 4 classes in each session) ~ $88 ($22/class)

Class Reservations:
Make a payment via the paypal link.
Once your payment is received you will receive confirmation via email within 24 hours that you are signed up for class.
Space is limited and priority is given to those who sign-up for the entire 4-week session.

Feel like a Million Dollar Baby: Boxing Boot Camp with VFitness

This is Victor Rojas, amateur boxer and personal trainer, and he wants to beat your ass. Better yet, he wants to beat your fat butt into submission and get you into fantastic shape through his boxing and interval training and conditioning program at VFitness.





I am all about kickboxing, but have never donned a pair of real boxing gloves and tried real boxing. Mostly because I don't want to ruin my beautiful face, but also because most gyms I have visited don't have a real boxing option. After watching Jillian Michaels work over Biggest Loser contestants with her boxing pads, I have been dieing to try it out and jumped at the invitation that Victor extended!












VFitness meets in Central Park at the Bethesda Fountain (ever seen "Angels in America"?). Monday night was BEAUTIFUL, crisp and cool, and was perfect for all the work I was going to be undertaking. I ran from my apartment to the fountain because of all the gorgeousness, but also because I didn't know what the class was going to be like. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have walked because the class burned plenty of calories!






The fountain is undergoing some work- It looks like they have captured the angel to prevent her from escaping! (This is me being artsy fartsy.)





Victor lent me a pair of boxing gloves to use for class, and then introduced me to the basic boxing stance, jab, cross, hook, uppercut, pivoting, and ducking so I would be ready for the drills. The first time my gloves made contact with the pads I was sold. It is super satisfying to punch something as hard as you can! I also could feel my heart pumping and my arms and legs working immediately, so I knew I was in for something good.



The workout consists of shadow boxing, where Victor tells you what punches to throw on his go. Then it was sparring with a partner.

These two participants (Tyler and Berman Sr.) show the sparring portion of the workout. Each person takes turns hitting the other person's gloves. I got to work with Victor one on one, and he is a very patient and motivating teacher! He has a relaxed and easy going vibe that makes you feel comfortable, but he is also tough.

Example: After the sparring, it was time for interval drills. I was already feeling the burn, but add 5 burpees, running up the stairs, 10 push ups at the top of the stairs, and then running down the stairs times 8 and you would be a little red in the face and winded, too. No rest for the weary, Victor then made us do 4 sets of old school jumping jacks, push ups, planks, etc., and then run laps around the fountain. AND then abs.

The class runs at 90 minutes, and for a mere $20 you get more than your money's worth. The only necessary piece of equipment is boxing gloves, which can be purchased on the VFitness website for $19.99 or bought on your own. Victor will let you borrow gloves in the beginning, but your hands sweat SO much you will want your own pair to sweat into.

The boxing classes meet in Central Park, in Astoria, and in Prospect Park with sessions to be extended soon to the Bronx. VFitness also offers private training in Manhattan and in Queens. The classes in Central Park are held Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.

Think boxing may be too hard for you? I spoke with student Dana who has been training with Victor for 4 years. She is an inspiration: Not only is she recovering from surgery for fibroids, she has lost over 65 pounds, going from 200 pounds to 135 pounds and is now training to do fitness competitions. Dana said the classes are tough but worth the results. And after how my arms and back feel today, I can definitely agree.

VFitness is worth your time and money! Check out their website for further information. I will see you there!

Recovering Nicely- Week 2 Without the Insanity

Hello blogophiles! Happy to report that on my two week mark without my beloved Insanity I am doing leaps and bounds better!

It was very hard mentally to be without the intensity of Insanity. I really thought I was going to reverse all the progress that I had made over the past two months in just these couple weeks in traction. Easy yoga just doesn't have the same calorie burn, you know? I have really watched my food and I have managed to maintain my weight without any gain (woo!). I am so thankful that I did listen to my body and took the time to really stretch and take care of myself. Because of the preventative measures I took that first week, this week I have been able to incorporate lighter aerobic activities into the rotation with no further injury aggravation.

I did level 1 of Jillian Michael's Shred, intenSati Great Body Great Life with Patricia Moreno (awesome new DVD I picked up during the intenSati Warrior Challenge), and today I did 10 Minute Solution Kick Box Boot Camp with Keli Roberts. Every morning I wake up and check my hip and how it is feeling, and the only move that seems to give me any problems is laying supine and tilting my pelvis with my legs to do a lower body crunch. That gives some discomfort, so of course, I don't push my luck.

So here's the plan, Stan. After the weekend I plan on doing Insanity Core Cardio and Balance for one week (like the Insanity recovery week) and then completing the very last week of Insanity like I originally planned before I jacked myself up. Then I can take my final results picture and get the Insanity t-shirt for finishing!!!! And I can tell everyone to suck it while pointing at the shirt. :)

Here's to a healthy weekend and some healthy Insanity!

California Adventure- Day 5- The Peanut Gallery

Hello all! Still loving life and enjoying things here in California.

Something I am noticing is how utterly and completely exhausted I get at the end of the day. My normal schedule has me working fairly late, and then I stay up a couple of hours later when I get home, and then I sleep for maybe 6 to 7 hours. Here I have been zonked by 9, and I am getting a solid 8 hours or so.

Rest is such an important part of the routine. In an ideal world, it would be great to get this much rest daily. Hopefully, once I get out of my restaurant gig I'll have a more "normal" schedule. Until I start training people at 6 in the morning. :)

Day 5 was an exciting day! I started with a little Shape Body Boot Camp Cardio Intervals, and then the boyfriend and I headed off to Knotts Berry Farm. It was the perfect day: The weather was cool, the lines were amazingly short, and I got to see Snoopy on ice.

One thing that I couldn't help but notice was the food everywhere! Funnel cakes, popcorn, cotton candy, soda: Anything you could imagine that's not good for you. And I saw it in a few waistlines, too.

A good tip when you are traveling to one of these fast food meccas is to plan ahead. Christopher and I ate a good breakfast ahead of time, so that we didn't need to eat a lot at the park. It would also be a good idea to have snacks in your purse or bag.

My one indulgence was a hot dog with mustard. I LOVE mustard. At about 315 calories and 18 grams of fat, the hot dog seemed liked the wisest choice.

Excited about Christmas here with the family, and excited to be sharing it with you all. I'm staying on track and staying accountable- how are you all doing?

Foster Fitness Feature: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

In Jillian Michaels' world, there are no excuses. There are no reasons why you cannot be fit, you cannot workout, you cannot break through your mental barriers to find a stronger you. Alas, most of us will never get to be on The Biggest Loser ranch. There is a solution, however, for the need to have Jillian yell at you and inspire you to your fullest potential: The 30 Day Shred DVD.

The 30 Day Shred (Collage Video, $14.95) is a collection of three 20-minute workouts that range from "easy" to "hard", although none of the workouts are truly novice. If you are familiar with Jillian and her boot camp style, you know that she expects great things from those she trains, and you at home are no exception. She is followed by two women who do the easier and more difficult modifications, so there is always someone doing the level you are working on.

The workout itself is 20 minutes, but there is a brief warm up and cool down attached, making the workout really about 25-30 minutes in length. Each level follows Jillian's "3-2-1 Interval System": 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. Lather, rinse, and repeat. The plan is to do 10 days of each level, but of course, you can customize to your own preferences. All you need for equipment is light hand weights and a mat.

Level 1 introduces you to the way Jillian teaches, and the moves are fairly basic but not unchallenging. She jumps right into the strength session with push ups on the toes, and some of the shoulder concentrated strength work is very tough. The cardio is also a challenge, mixing in jumping jacks, butt kicks, and jump rope to get your heart rate up.

Level 2 ads on to Level 1, but ups the intensity with more plank work and more complicated ab work. The plyometric factor also goes up in the cardio bursts.

Level 3 (my personal favorite) takes everything you have learned from Levels 1 and 2 and adds weights to the cardio activities, side planks for ab work, and lots of plank work and Super Mans in the strength sessions.

The workouts are really great stand alone, but you can also layer the workouts on top of each other for super calorie blasting. With such a customizable program with such great results (read my blogs of my own 30 Day journey in my 30 Day Shred Challenge posts), there is no reason not to put this DVD into your workout rotation.

30 Day Shred Challenge: Day 16

I have seen the future, and it is Level 3.

Holy cow, folks. Hope you like jump training! Rock star jumps in the final cardio section are a literal butt kicker. We also upgrade our jumping jacks and butt kickers to weighted jumping jacks and weighted butt kickers.

It is a strong workout, and certainly doable after completing Level 1 and 2.

I also did Shape Bikini Body Bootcamp, a fun cardio sculpt DVD that has multiple workouts and DVD extras. It uses light weights and a resistance band, and has lots of cardio. It is almost the reverse of the Shred, and a nice compliment to the workout.

Leaping Lizards, onto Day 17! Shred it, folks!