Umm...I met Cassey Ho from Blogilates...WHAT?!?!?

So yeah, that happened. Cassey from Blogilates had announced a few cities to launch her new book Hot Body Year Round and Dallas happened to be one of them. It was on a Friday and I was two hours away in college but obviously I had to go! So I got dressed up in my body pop leggings, blue Forever 21 backless 2-in-1 workout top and matching tennies and set out on the two hour journey.

I was so surprised at how many people were there. I got a spot in the back center area and set down my stuff. The book I ordered online hadn't come in yet but luckily they were selling copies there. So I bought a second book ( I may give the other one away to my cousin). I might do a book review on this soon.

The actual class itself was fun and hard at the same time. What's crazy is that I pushed myself and went harder then I usually do at home (maybe it's something about doing pilates in front of your fitness idol, I don't know). After the class I waited in the meet and greet line. There were lots of pictures being taken. I was even a part of a bodypop active group photo. And we all did cute poses.

When I finally met Cassey, I was so excited and nervous. I forgot everything I wanted to say to her about how I had been doing pop pilates for three years and how that class has now inspired me to want to become a group fitness instructor. Cassey, thank you so much for one of the most memorable moments of my life. Please come back to Texas.

P.S. In the rush of excitement, I forgot to pick up one of the cards on the table. It's a card or coupon. Sad. I was due to buy new workout gear.

(FREE!) Manduka Renew Mat Wash Review

Hey y'all! Long time no blogging! It's that time of the year again. I'm back in the throws of school again. But I wanted to make a review post of this yoga mat spray that I recently got. I haven't blogged much about it but I have been doing yoga a lot the past few months offered by my college. I bought my Blogilates mat a while back but it's a little too attention grabbing for me so at the moment I have been using my black Oakley mat which I won back in 2013 at an obstacle course 5K.  I don't know how many times I've used it, but I do know that I have never given it a proper wash or wipe down which is scary considering that I use both sides and the floor on which I'm laying my mat on is probably not clean either. Long story short, my yoga mat needed some good ol' TLC.

My yoga instructor told me about a mat spray that he got for free from a website using a promo code and that was when I found Manduka.  They have 2oz. travel size bottles for $5 which I got for free using the promo code "grateful". I don't know if the code still works but you can give it a shot. Choose free shipping and you basically get a bottle of mat cleaner for FREE. I used my 2 debit cards to get 2 bottles (shameless I know! But when they run out, I will probably buy the big refill bottle.).  They come in three scents: Energizing Gingergrass, Soothing Citrus & Tranquil Lavender. I got the latter two and they smell great. Not a scent you would want to spray on yourself but a very clean scent nevertheless.

The actually process of ordering it online was top notch. I ordered the spray on February 1. It shipped on February 2. And it landed on my doorstep February 5. They came in a box that was way bigger than the actual bottle and it was covered in bubble wrap. I can feel they took extra care to make sure it was sent safely. So if you guys are looking to try out a mat spray for FREE, go to the Manduka website.

WOW: Workout of the Weekend (sorta!)

I just wanted to share with you all my progress the past couple of days I worked out Thursday, Friday, took a rest on Saturday and went back on Sunday. I totaled over 24 miles in those three workouts. I cheated a little because a lot of it was cycling which I like so much better because it's low impact and now my calves are looking good. I also tried the stair master for the first time. It looked intimidating but I can definitely feel it working my thighs.

November 20, 2014
1.5 mi treadmill run 16 min
4.5 mi cycling 25 min
2 mi elliptical 27 min
Total: 8 mi 1 hr 8 min

November 21, 2014
2 mi treadmill run 20 min
0.5 mi treadmill walk 8 min
2 mi cycling 10 min
1.5 mi elliptical 18 min
Total: 6 mi 56 min

November 23, 2014
4 mi cycling 20 min
2 mi treadmill run 23 min
0.5 treadmill walk 9 min
55 floors stair-master 10 min
4 mi cycling 20 min
Total: 11 mi 1 hr 22 min

Weekend Total: 25 mi 3 hr 26 min

I don't know how to convert stair master into miles so I just rounded up my total. I am thinking of keeping track of calories burned too to be even more thorough. These aren't the most exciting posts I know. But if you get anything out of this, let it be that a month ago I never went to the gym. I ran outside for cross country in high school and would occasionally step on a treadmill or elliptical but now I am more serious about getting into shape. I stepped on a scale today and was excited to see that I had lost one pound since last week. Don't let anything hold you back. You may feel out of place at first. You may have trouble adjusting the seat on a stationary bike, hesitate on what buttons to push to start the machine, step on the boundary and a little trip on the treadmill (all happened to me) but I promise you, you will be a natural gym rat in no time silently judging those who put their machines on the lowest resistance level!
xx

How I had my first successful workout

November 6, 2014
Thursdays are my favorite days of the week.  Not only because it is the day Vampire Diaries comes on but because I only have one 75-minute class to attend and the rest of the day is free.  So today I took a huge leap forward and went to my university's gym to workout.  I had been there before to take yoga classes and run on the track but this was the first time I would be in the big part of the gym where they have all the treadmills, ellipticals, weights, the whole 9 yards.

I had recently bought the Body Pop Active Draw the Line Leggings and I had made a comment that they were tight on me and that I would use that motivation to get in better shape. Since then I have been drinking water, eating tons of green, doing squats and calf raises and now incorporating cardio to help burn fat.  The leggings cost $80 so I told myself that I wasn't allowed to wear my leggings until after I ran a total of 80 miles.

Long story short, I walk in and head to the treadmills. I start running at a pace of 5mph. I went for a total of ~40 minutes 3.15 miles ran 0.65 mi walked. I don't have a lot of gym experience but I do have some tips if you are like me.

1) Listen to music while you workout. Seems a little obvious.  Music helps you forget the heart feels like it will explode.  The more upbeat, the better. Sidenote: I might make a workout playlist.
2) Don't come it with a specific goal.  If you come in thinking "I will run two miles and that's it." I had a number in mind but I had a "go with the flow" mentality.  I was running thinking I would run two miles and when I looked on the distance and it said 1.5 mi I thought to myself "I could do more." So I thought 3 miles, and then I thought 3.1 miles (5Ks anyone). Ultimately I went 3.15 miles.
3) Mix it up. Do more than one machine. Today I did my treadmill work and then I thought "Why not? Let me do the elliptical"
4) Do not compare yourself to others. It is your workout. It's not the workout of the girl who looks like a track star running 2x as fast as you. You can use it to motivate you but don't let people who look like they are working harder discourage you.

Photo summary
Post Workout Pic:

How you know you had a good workout:

Don't ruin all your hard work with a high calorie meal! Here I had wheat penne pasta with chicken and kale (that I was so eager to eat I did it before I realized I had to take a pic). And a salad with spinach, chicken, boiled egg, beans, croutons, cheese (and most importantly, no dressing). My healthy dessert is honeydew with strawberry yogurt topped with raisins and granola. Crushed It!

Blogilates Fit Journal: Week 1

"Train like a beast, look like a beauty." -Cassey Ho

(photo: property of ogorgeous.com)

Fitness is an important part of my life. I ran cross country for three years and for about 2 and a half years I swore off soda. Cassey Ho is a pilates instructor who has a YouTube channel called Blogilates. I discovered Blogilates about two years ago (around the time her Call Me Maybe workout came out) and I haven't looked back. Although I am not an avid POPster who does all her videos, I still stuck around because she is so positive and enthusiastic about living a clean, healthy lifestyle and that is the kind of motivation that I need in my life. People probably don't think I need to lose a lot of weight (I'm 5'6" and weigh around 110-115) but I have a pretty unhealthy diet and I don't really exercise that often. I want to be able to run long distance and do an entire pilates workout without stopping.  I want to say that I ate clean for a whole week. And I want to have fun doing it.

Enter, the Blogilates Fit Journal

I bought this at Cassey's online shop for $30 (http://www.ogorgeous.com/product/blogilates-fit-journal-1). It's is a 12 week journal that you use to record EVERYTHING about your diet and fitness routine. I started this on February 10th so I have finished my first week. 

I love everything about this fit journal. The color, design, art, layout, EVERYTHING!!! As you can see in the picture above (yes, it's my journal) I listed some weekly goals, none of which I had accomplished...but I have 11 more weeks to redeem myself. It lists all the days of the week to which I wrote the actual day and any holidays. I wasn't sure what else I could put in the space but I really want to utilize all the blank space (any ideas??). It has a place where you write your weight and cute smiley faces that you color in when you ate a healthy meal/worked out. 

Each week starts out with an introduction, the photos vary week by week but the overall layout is consistent. The colored pages are made of a cardstock-like material and these white pages are like computer paper. As you can tell, I am definitely the kind of person who uses and abuses colored pens. Be thankful they only came in 4 colors. But they came in a pack of 10 and so far none of them have run out. The last time I bought colored pens they lasted me all through high school and there were only four of them. Aside from that little story, this is what the inside of the journal looks like. As I said before, I absolutely love the layout. Cassey definitely thought of everything. I didn't even think about things like water consumption and sleep. She has outlined everything so well that I'm forced to write weird things in the notes sections like what the weather was like outside or maybe my moods and feelings (Internet-High-Five for cat calls, gotta love college life). Meals are a priority and writing out what I eat and when I eat it has definitely made me more aware of what I'm putting in my body. You can also tell when you overeat when you can't fit everything in the lines provided. I also love the workout section. There are different ways to get your daily fix. It's actually kind of perfect because I have 3 ways to workout: running, which is my cardio, yoga, helps my flexibility, and pilates, which gives me a strength workout. You can see that on Valentine's Day I did some strength workouts by doing some of her pilates videos and on February 15 I did a 30 minute run.

At the end of each week there is an evaluation page which I think is really important (another reason Cassey is a genius). It is almost like a school worksheet. I basically looked at my daily pages and decided what grade I should give myself based on my performance.  I think that is crucial. And after evaluating my week, I then list some pros and cons.  Week 1 acted as a baseline to see where I currently was and now that I have looked back and analyzed my habits, I can work on improving myself. Thanks Cassey! You have taken away the chore of healthy eating and exercise (well...some of it). You are so amazing. I don't know if you will ever see this post but on the off chance that you happen to stumble onto this blog, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I never thought I would have so much fun with this. I get to be a 13 year old and play with my colored pens and relish in the accomplishments of writing down my workouts. 

After I have gone though all 12 weeks, it won't stop there. I want to buy another fit journal and do it all over again. I can imagine it takes a lot of work to put these together and to get the art made, but if you could release another edition of the fit journal with new designs and colors that would be the cherry on top. Maybe a year or two from now I would have a collection of fit journals, like diaries. I probably wouldn't go back and see what I ate on my birthday, but I think I would use it as a symbol of the hard work I had done all those weeks. But I understand you are a busy busy person so I guess this one will do for now. 

Eleven more weeks to go.