SS Fit Files No. 4

Hello and happy Sunday… 😉 This week was okay, fitness wise. After some kind of brutal weekend workouts, I was pretty sore so I did a lot of yoga. My friend Alex and I booked a 4 day trip to Mexico at the end of the March. I could not be more excited {going back to Tulum} and this also serves as excellent workout/healthy motivation!

This week was all about working out with friends. On Sunday I took Chaise Cardio {my first time doing their cardio class – it was so hard!} with my friend Maren. We died. Together. Afterward we grabbed a healthy juice at Juice Generation — rather than the calorie-dense/booze-fueled brunch that I know {and still love.} I was so sore between that and Saturday’s Pilates that I canceled my Monday AM Core Fusion class and opted to go to yoga on Monday night with my friend Alex. The yoga class was held at a friend of a friend’s loft and it was amazing… although long. We practiced for 100 minutes! {Earlier this week, I posted the poem that our instructor read afterwards… it’s really beautiful.}

Other than that I took a 9pm yoga class on Wednesday and then tried out Tracy Anderson‘s class on Saturday because of Sweaty Saturday. Membership at Tracy’s class runs about $900 a month and all classes are usually member’s only. In honor of Sweaty Saturday, she opened up classes to the public – at $50 a pop. I would normally never, ever fork over $50 for a workout class – completely crazy – but was so curious to try out one of her classes, so I splurged. I was ultimately really let down. It was a good workout but the music was so loud and the one instructor did not actually instruct. She just did the workout – and the rest of us had to follow along. It was like watching a really beautiful dance performance and attempting to follow along. So disappointing. For $50, I would expect at least some actual instruction or verbal cues, maybe a second instructor, and adjustments when necessary. I was pretty bummed out. But now I at least know that I’m not missing anything, right? No desire to go back.*

But anyway. This week I wanted to tell you about my Jawbone Up Bracelet. I’ve had it for a couple weeks now {full disclosure: their PR team sent me one to try and share my experience here} and I’m completely obsessed with it. I initially wanted a Jawbone because I heard that it tracks sleep better than the other bracelets {I’ve battled with insomnia a lot this year, though I’m getting better} and because a few of my close friends have one… I wanted to join their “teams.”

The main reason I love it so much is the tracking. It keeps me accountable during the day {I set it to gently vibrate when I’ve been inactive for more than 60 minutes.} And I used the tracking to make better decisions. I find myself walking more because I want mto meet my steps goal. The other night after dinner, I walked home to Gramercy from the West Village. I 100% would not have done that if it were not for this bracelet. I’m also learning a lot about how my body works/operates best, which is interesting.  The biggest lesson I’ve learned from the bracelet is that when I sleep for more than eight hours, I actually feel more tired. So I’m trying to get just under eight hours… and when I am tempted to sleep in, I don’t. It also makes you painfully aware of your movement. On Tuesday I took the day off of work to go to Brooklyn for a blog project. The fancy car they sent to pick me up was a nice luxury, but I only logged 15% of my steps goal for the day. Bad! The bottom line is that it keeps me accountable and makes me aware of my bad habits. I’m full-on obsessed with it!

This week’s fitness resources:

• After reading about Felicia’s experience here, I am officially dying to try out Brooklyn Body Burn. It sounds crazy. In the best sense of the word.
• Yummy salad recipes from ABC Kitchen.
• I’ve been looking to add some healthier motivation to my instagram feed and literally followed every single one of these accounts. Healthy food porn.
• I am dying to make this Quinoa pizza crust. Think this may be next weekend’s project.
• I’ve been snacking on Macro Bars. They are so yummy – and filling. I keep them at the office for when I need a sweet treat. The almond butter + carob flavor is my favorite.

*I apologize for being negative – but I always want to keep things honest here. Sometimes things get hyped up when they might not necessarily deserve to be.  So far I’ve loved every exercise class I’ve tried… this was a first.

Photo by Lydia Hudgens