Spring weather at last! It just makes me want to get out there and run (but we’ll get to that later).

Short shorts season indeed. The ladies at Uplift know what’s up!

Before I forget, let’s recap what will hopefully be my last few cold-weather workouts for the year:
Monday, 3/25: Flybarre (6:45 pm with Todd, 60 min)
Tuesday, 3/26: Rip Ride (7:30 pm with Kira, 60 min) – This class started out kind of rough for me. I got stuck at work really late and didn’t get to Revolve until maybe 10 minutes before the class. I rushed to change and forgot to put my contacts in… fail. My glasses were slipping so badly that I had to take them off during the first spin segment and then run out during the first arms segment to put my contacts on in the lobby. I was a little shaken but fine after that and Kira rocked it as usual!
Wednesday, 3/27: Flybarre (6:45 pm with Amanda, 60 min)
Thursday, 3/28: Flybarre (5:45 pm with Todd, 60 min) – This was a really awesome Thrift Shop-themed class! Lots of Macklemore and Flywheel was collecting donations for Housing Works. I’d planned to follow this one up with Kira’s Rip Ride at 7:30, but got called in to a work event as I was leaving Flywheel. Blah.
Friday, 3/29: Fly 45 (9:30 am with Kari, 45 min) & Flybarre (10:30 am with Kara, 60 min) – I was super excited for my first spin class at Flywheel and my first Flybarre class with Fly’s master instructor Kara! No disappointments here, both classes were amazing and left me wanting more. Just, uhhh, not that day.
Saturday, 3/30: Uplift Cardio (10:30 am with Steph, 55 min) – My first time taking Steph’s class at Uplift! It was crazy hard and I was out of breath the whole time. I almost passed out like five times, which is the sign of a good class.
Sunday, 3/31: Body Ride (12:45 pm with Jason, 45 min) – I stayed out way too late the night before so I was a littttle hungover. Keep in mind that I don’t drink much anymore so hungover for me means a slight headache and being tired (which means not getting the full 7+ hours of sleep that I like to get). Still not the best combination with Revolve’s pulsing sound system… but I survived and felt good after!

Monday, 4/1: Rest
Tuesday, 4/2: Therapy & Rip Ride (7:30 pm with Christianne, 60 min) – This one is up there as one of the best classes I’ve ever been in. I felt so strong after my rest day, the room had great energy, and Christianne really pushed it. It was a really hard class (I was ready to be done after the first spin segment), but I loved every minute of it.
Wednesday, 4/3: Uplift Strength (6:30 pm with Chelsea, 55 min) – Fantastic class and evening spent with some serious inspiring ladies at Uplift! They were celebrating their first anniversary with champagne and treats. More on this one in a future Uplift review post.
Thursday, 4/4: Rest – I was not a happy camper. I’d planned to go to Chaise23 on my Classtivity passport but got stuck at work and totally missed it. Luckily, the folks at Classtivity and Chaise are absolute saints and let me try a class there again.
Friday, 4/5: Pure Barre (6:30 am with Jessica, 60 min) & Real Ride (5:30 pm with Steph, 45 min) – I tried Pure Barre on the Classtivity passport and thought I would love it since I love barre classes. I didn’t feel that challenged throughout the class though and really wanted a lot more after my impromptu rest day the day before. Luckily, Steph’s Body Ride still had some bikes left and I wasn’t too busy at work so I jetted out early to catch her Girl Power Happy Hour. Let’s just say that she had me when she started the class off with “No Scrubs” by TLC and then threw in my request, “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood midway through. I love music I can sing along to!
Saturday, 4/6: Abs & Arms (8:30 am with Amanda, 50 min) & Rip Ride (10:30 am with Kira, 60 min) – I’d planned to go to Kara’s Flybarre class at 8:15 on Saturday, but unfortunately, the PATH train was running late (what else is new). I got there at 8:15 sharp but they’d already given away my mat. Luckily, SLT Soho had a spot left so I didn’t have to waste an early weekend commute to the city! It was a special Abs & Arms class with the proceeds going to S.E.A.K. Foundation. I do not lie when I say I still had trouble sitting up in bed this morning, a full three days later. It hurts so good!
Sunday, 4/7:  Flybarre (10:45 am with Ted, 60 min) & Cardio Chair Express (12:30 pm with Seiji, 40 min) – My first class with Ted at Flybarre! He led a seriously hard class with a lot of new-to-me moves! I especially struggled through the abs portion after my torture session at SLT the day before. I was able to reschedule my Chaise23 class from Thursday for Sunday when a last minute spot opened up. Full review of that studio and the pilates chair to come, but let’s just say that I loved it and have already planned my next two workouts there!

The workout plan for this week!

Monday, 4/8: Rip Ride at Revolve
Tuesday, 4/9: Uplifting Strength
Wednesday, 4/10: Reinvention Chair at Chaise23
Thursday, 4/11: Flybarre
Friday, 4/12: Rest
Saturday, 4/13: Rest
Sunday, 4/14: Rip Ride at Revolve or Rest (depending on how I feel)

As you can see, I’ve planned for more rest this week than I ever usually do. It’s because I’m finally taking care of my hip popping this Thursday.

A little background: My left hip started popping in October last year. I saw an orthopedist for it and she told me to stop running and recommended getting a shot to reduce inflammation. I wanted to try physical therapy first though, so I’ve been going to PT for my hip for the past two months or so. It hasn’t helped at all, which has been disappointing. I’m going to see my doctor this Thursday and expect to get the cortisone shot in my hip to finally reduce the inflammation and stop the popping – hallelujah! I’m excited it’ll finally be gone but also a little nervous. Big needles are not my friend.

Anyway, the last time my doctor suggested the shot, she told me I’d have to rest my hip for about three days after getting it. Hence, REST (aka catch up on Arrested Development time). But I have some grand ole plans for when the rest is over… running! I’ll definitely have to ease back into it since it’s been over seven months (WHOA), but yay! I’m very excited nonetheless.

Also, since I will be on prescribed rest this weekend, I’ve decided to also do a two-day juice cleanse! I’ve been trying to do one for a while, but I normally never want to put exercising on hold for it. The timing is especially perfect because my stomach has been acting up lately and I also haven’t been eating as well. Plus I’ve been excessively snacking on the weekends just because I have free time. Time to do something good for my body and get back on track!

Since I decided last-minute to do this cleanse, my options were somewhat limited. I looked into all the “buzzy” cleanses like Blueprint, Organic Avenue, Cooler Cleanse, etc., but finally settled on Terri, a vegan restaurant in Chelsea. I love their smoothies, juices, and wraps (their buffalo “chicken” wrap is one of my favorite post-workout meals lately!), so I have a good feeling about it. I’ll be writing a full review afterwards!

Terri’s buffalo “chicken” wrap – that’s the stuff.

Yuuuum. I’m sure it’ll be hard to resist some of that Terri deliciousness when I go pick up my cleanse on Saturday morning. Bye for now!

I started writing up a post just now thinking that I had two weeks of workouts to catch up on again. Turns out it’s a month now because I saved my last post two weeks ago as a draft instead of publishing… oof. So here we go (yes I’m aware I should probably add a “skip to bottom” button here):

Monday, 2/25: SLT (6:30 pm, 50 min) & Core Fusion Sport (8 pm, 60 min) – These were both new-to-me teachers. I didn’t feel the burn as much with this SLT class, maybe because the transition times were faster than the first time I took the class. I took Core Fusion Sport because I wanted a little more after the Megaformer. It definitely got my heart pumping but I found it somewhat repetitive. And burpees, you remain my mortal enemy.
Tuesday, 2/26: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Wednesday, 2/27: Spin at Newport Swim & Fitness (7:30 pm, 45 min) – Dori was subbing in the gym right next door to my building! Their bikes don’t have RPM monitors but the instruction and cuing was clear and I felt I knew how hard I should be working the whole time. Loved taking Dori’s class – my only gripes would be that there was no instructor mic (ridiculous considering how much this gym charges) and my fellow classmates weren’t that into it so the energy was kind of low. Sadly, gyms in Jersey City don’t attract the kind of vocal screaming crazies that spin studios in the city do – I like being around crazies!
Thursday, 2/28: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Friday, 3/1: Flybarre (7 am, 60 min) – This was supposed to be my rest day, but I really didn’t feel like taking one for some reason. It was a fun class but I was sort of disappointed with myself that I skipped my rest day.
Saturday, 3/2: Rip Ride (10:30 am, 60 min) & Flybarre Power 45 (4:15 pm, 45 min) – This was only my second or third Power 45 class and it was HARD. Stellar class but I was panting like a dog and had to take more breaks than usual.
Sunday, 3/3: JumpDance (11:30 am, 60 min) & Flybarre (4 pm, 60 min) – I’d planned to take a charity JumpDance class at JumpLife a week or two ago with a friend. As you might have guessed, it’s a trampoline based class. It definitely got my heart rate up but isn’t something I’d go back to. It was really repetitive and I got bored after just a few minutes. Flybarre was great as usual with Todd, who is one of my favorites. I actually hadn’t planned on taking it for the third consecutive day though – I just forgot to cancel my reservation before going into Power 45 the day before.

Monday, 3/4: Rest
Tuesday, 3/5: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – I considered skipping this class since the usual instructor, Kira, was vacationing in Aruba, but decided to go anyway to try out the Rip Ride with another new-to-me instructor, Dyan. I was glad I did because the class was amazing! I love Dyan’s energy and the music was so much fun too. I have yet to find a Revolve instructor that I don’t completely adore.
Wednesday, 3/6: Body Ride (5:30 pm, 45 min) & Flybarre (6:45 pm, 60 min) – Revolve was having an Instructor Reveal ride with Steph Nieman – their newest instructor! I never got around to trying Steph’s class at Flywheel and had heard good things so I was really excited. She did not disappoint! So much energy and a challenging ride.
Thursday, 3/7: Flybarre (5:45 pm, 60 min) & Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – I took my first Rip Ride with Christianne, one of Revolve’s master instructors. It was an amazing workout as always, but the standout was the music.
Friday, 3/8: Rest
Saturday, 3/9: The Bar Method Shrewsbury (10 am, 60 min) – I was visiting my parents for the weekend and decided to give this class a try. It was a decent class but probably one of the least challenging barre classes that I’ve taken. I didn’t really find myself shaking much and I also simply couldn’t understand the purpose of certain exercises. The crowd was not what I’m used to in barre classes either – more of a soccer mom crowd than young hip Lulu-wearing workout warriors. I wouldn’t count it out for getting in a workout when I’m visiting my parents, but still. Eh.
Sunday, 3/10: Rest

The plan for this week (I realize it’s already half over):
Monday, 3/11: Flybarre (6:45 pm, 60 min) & Body Ride (8:30 pm, 45 min) – This Body Ride was a blogger ride set up by Dori and Melissa. It was fun to be around so many other fitness enthusiasts and the energy was great!
Tuesday, 3/12: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Wednesday, 3/13: Uplifting Strength (6:30 am, 55 min) & Rip Ride (8:30 pm, 60 min) – My first time venturing to Uplift! Such a beautiful studio and hard class with Michelle. It was an amazing start to my day! Unfortunately, the rest of the day didn’t go so well and by the end of my long workday, I felt like I really needed to relieve some stress so I went to Dyan’s Rip Ride at Revolve on a whim. Stress relief and a fantastic workout, it was!
Thursday, 3/14: Body Ride (5:30 pm, 45 min) & Flybarre (7 pm, 60 min) – I was having another bad day at work and left early to hit up Revolve again. It was totally worth it – another amazing class with Steph.
Friday, 3/15: Body Ride (7 am, 45 min) – Fun class! I almost didn’t go since I was a little tired and had insomnia the night before, but so glad I did because Dyan rocked it out. She ain’t lying when she says Friday 7 am is a party!
Saturday, 3/16: Rest
Sunday, 3/17: Refine Method (10:45 am, 60 min) & Foxy Pole (3 pm, 60 min) – This was my second Refine class and I loved it. Super challenging and this one hooked me a little more than my first class there for some reason. Not sure why but I was itching to go back! I hesitate to even include Foxy Pole on this post but they describe their classes as pole-dancing fitness classes so I guess I will. I went with a few friends since we’d all gotten a Groupon together. I learned a few steps of a pole dance sequence. It was fun but definitely not challenging or a workout at all. It’s a fun thing to do with some girlfriends though.

Monday, 3/18: Rip Ride (6:30 pm, 60 min) & Flybarre (8 pm, 60 min) – I was super excited for this Rip Ride because I tweeted Christianne before and she said she was playing one of my song requests (Nightcall by Kavinsky)! I loved how she used the song and it fit right in with the rest of her playlist. Only Christianne could play this kind of slower, intense song in her class and pull it off. I’m continually impressed by how well she uses music in her classes – her DJ experience shows!
Tuesday, 3/19: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – This was a fun one with a loud front row! You better believe I was part of that loudness.
Wednesday, 3/20: Body Ride (7 am, 45 min) – I almost couldn’t get myself out of bed for this one. The morning classes have been hard for me lately for some reason! I blame winter. This class was well worth it though – it’ll be one of the ones I try to remember for my next wake-up call.
Thursday, 3/21: Uplifting Strength (6:30 pm, 55 min) – I went to Chelsea’s class with my friend Christine. I love workout dates! And the best part? Uplift served us some post-workout snacks (almonds and craisins) and WINE! Let me tell ya, this studio knows the way to my heart and is winning me over fast. Full review coming after I try their Uplifting Cardio class next weekend!
Friday, 3/22: Rest
Saturday, 3/23: Refine Method (10:45 am, 60 min) & Flybarre (1:15 pm, 60 min) – I was so excited to go back to Refine! This class was really fun and we did a lot of things that I liked. Dori mentioned that she’s not the biggest fan of the sliding discs so I was really intimidated when I walked in and saw them out. I actually really liked what we ended up doing with them though. The post-Refine Flybarre class was hard, but I was excited to see Shay back since she’d been away for about a week. I’m learning that Refine is probably best left on its own for the day for me though.
Sunday, 3/24: Real Ride (9:30 am with Steph) – This one rocked. A smallish class, but Steph’s amazing energy is boundless even on a Sunday morning. I was tempted to stay for the double, but really needed to get some errands done.

The plan for this week right now:
Monday, 3/25: Flybarre (5:45 pm, 60 min)
Tuesday, 3/26: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Wednesday, 3/27: Rest or Flybarre
Thursday, 3/28: Flybarre (5:45 pm, 60 min) & Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Friday, 3/29: Flybarre (60 min)
Saturday, 3/30: Uplift Cardio (60 min) & Flybarre (60 min)
Sunday, 3/31: Refine Method (60 min)

It’s pretty obvious that I’ve been upping my workouts a lot lately. I don’t want to get into much detail, but let’s just say that my work life has been frustrating lately. I feel the need to relieve stress almost every single day after work and lately, I feel like the time I spend working out is the only time I can get my mind off work and feel truly happy. Yes, I’m complety aware just how depressing this sounds. I’m just going with it though.

That being said, I recognize that while exercise is a healthy addiction, it can also be damaging in excess like everything else. I’ve been trying to watch myself and make sure I don’t overdo it. I always feel good after a class and have seen my endurance improve a lot. I’m still actively trying to make sure I get in at least one rest day a week.

Anyway, switching gears now. When I first started this blog about a year(!) ago, I intended it to be a lifestyle blog. But lately, it feels like the only thing I want to write about is the NYC fitness scene – probably because I’ve completely switched from working out by myself in a gym to working out at boutique fitness studios in the city. So whatever, I’m not going to stress about the “direction” of Sleep and Repeat anymore and just let myself go with it.

Let’s be honest, it’s not that serious anyway.

I have two weeks worth of workouts to catch you up on today. Whoops.

Here’s how the last two weeks went:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Revolve Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Wednesday: Barre Fusion (7:45 pm, 60 min) – I really wanted to love this class, but there really wasn’t as much barre as I’d hoped for. I was expecting a pretty typical barre class, with slightly more time spent on stretching and maybe a sun salutation or two but instead it seemed more like a straight vinyasa yoga class to me.
Thursday: Bowchickawowow Flybarre (5:45 pm, 60 min) & Revolve Red Hot Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – I normally don’t double up on weekdays but I couldn’t resist this particular day! Two of my favorite classes were doing Valentine’s Day themes. Flybarre had a bowchickawowow class full of sexy music and Rip Ride had a ladies’ only class and playlist. Such a fun day!
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rip Ride (10:30 am, 60 min) & Flybarre (1:15 pm, 60 min)
Sunday: Flybarre (4 pm, 60 min)

Monday: Flybarre (9:30 am, 60 min) & Body Ride (12:30 pm, 45 min) – Can I have every Monday off, please? It’s too fun. The Flybarre class was a blast with Shay, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite Flybarre instructors. She’s so cheery but with a laidback cool vibe. And Christianne’s class after that was incredible too. I was really feeling that day’s music.
Tuesday: Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min)
Wednesday: Body Ride (7 am, 45 min) & Flybarre (6:45 pm, 60 min) – After a lot of back and forth on Jason’s Body Ride on Wednesday morning, I’d decided not to go the night before. But I just so happened to have insomnia that day and woke up at like 6 am so I went and rocked it out. It was an awesome way to finish out my unlimited month at Revolve. I would’ve skipped Flybarre after work but I was already past the free cancel period so I went anyway. I tried a new-to-me instructor this time, Amanda, and she was really upbeat and fun. No regrets.
Thursday: Rest – This is what the title refers to. I reluctantly took this planned rest day, even though I didn’t want to.
Friday: Revolve DJ Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – I really liked this ride. They had a live DJ and both Christianne and Kristin were teaching. Both are amazing and it was awesome!
Saturday: Rip Ride (10:30 am, 60 min) & Flybarre (12 pm, 60 min) – Rip Ride was amazing as always. I tried another new-to-me Flybarre instructor, Khori, and she was awesome! The triceps work was especially tough.
Sunday: Flybarre (4 pm, 60 min) – This class is quickly becoming my Sunday afternoon staple. Love it.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of trouble with rest days. As in, I don’t want to take them because my workouts are the perfect form of stress relief and too much fun. Though I really should take more for the sake of my bank account. Those expensive classes really add up.

Anyway, last week, I’d planned to take a rest day on Thursday but I wasn’t too excited about it. What made it even harder to stick to taking my planned rest day was my schedule for that day. My boss and I spent the day recruiting for interns, which meant the day started early and ended early. Usually I’m busy with work so I jump at any chance I get to get to classes during work hours and beat the after-work or before-work crowd. I got home around 3:30, so of course, I was so, so tempted to squeeze in a late afternoon Flybarre class, but ultimately, I decided it would be better to stick to my rest day.

I felt like I was wasting my free time, which annoyed me at the time, but in retrospect, it was a really smart decision. It gave my body time to recover from from my workouts earlier in the week and I felt strong at Revolve’s DJ Ride on Friday night.

My lesson learned for the week: rest days are your friend!

And just to include some color in this post, last night I went to Plataforma in the city for a work dinner and their salad bar is just as unbelievable as people say. For those who haven’t heard of it, it’s a rodizio (Brazilian BBQ) place, but their salad bar is supposedly so great that it even draws vegetarians. Truth!

I wrote about being miserably sick and busy at work two weeks ago. After a day off on Friday and a restful weekend, I was totally back to normal though – and thankfully, so was my workload at work!

The past week or so has been full of some good workouts:
Sunday: Local Barre (5:30 pm, 60 min) – Dragged myself out of bed (which I had not left for a good two days) for this and it was worth it!
Monday: Local Barre (5:45 pm, 60 min) – One of my less memorable workouts this week, though I remember struggling a bit since I’d taken most of the week before off.
Tuesday: Revolve Rip Ride (7:30 pm, 60 min) – My first time taking this class and I loved it! Great upper body workout too, which I don’t usually expect in a spin class.
Wednesday: SLT Megaformer (5:30 pm, 50 min) – Another first-time workout for me. It was really hard but a lot of fun! My abs and obliques were feeling the burn the next day.
Thursday: Flybarre (5:45 pm, 60 min) – Not my first barre class, but my first at Flywheel. They switch things up and hm the class overall was harder than what I’m used to. A lot of fun and I really loved the instructor!
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Flybarre (1:15 pm, 60 min) – I wanted to double up on classes on Saturday, but I had to cancel my planned classes since I didn’t know what conditions would be like after Nemo. I ended up going to Flybarre for an afternoon class and tried a different instructor this time. She was more laidback than the first but the class was still killer. I especially love Flybarre’s arm series.
Sunday: Refine Method (12 pm, 60 min) & Flybarre (5:15 pm, 60 min) – Finally got around to trying Refine for the first time with Dori! I expected it to be more similar to my barre classes, but it’s really different with a lot more cardio and strength. No complaints here because it was a fun mix with a great instructor! And I went back to Flybarre for another class, which my inner thighs and glutes are seriously feeling today. I wore my new heart rate monitor for the first time at both classes and was happy to see that I burned over 900 calories between the two. Love my double-up days!

As you can see, I tried a lot of new things this week! I’ve been wanting to get out of my Local Barre comfort zone for a while and I’m so glad I did because I loved everything new that I tried and it made me feel challenged in a whole new way. I’m especially loving Flybarre since it’s something new but still in my barre comfort zone. I’m also really excited about Refine and getting back into spinning at Revolve – both are really fun and great ways for me to get in some cardio without running. This week, I’m planning to get in a good mix of Revolve, Flybarre, and Refine.

Speaking of running, I went back to my orthopedist about my snapping hip last Wednesday. She agreed that it doesn’t seem like the topical cream is working and wanted to give me a shot. I’m not big on shots or the idea of putting chemicals into my body though, so in the end, we settled on doing an ultrasound on the hip and starting physical therapy. I’m getting the ultrasound done this Thursday and starting physical therapy next Tuesday. In the meantime, I’m fine to continue my usual fitness regimen as long as it doesn’t cause pain in my hip – which it hasn’t up so far. So good news overall!

Oh and for my fellow Asians out there – happy Chinese New Year! I didn’t do much to celebrate since I couldn’t make it home for the weekend, but I did celebrate in another way! According to superstition, since this is the year of the snake and my Chinese zodiac symbol is the snake, I should wear red for the entire year to ward off bad luck. So I bought myself a cute little ring with a lab-grown ruby. Another something new! It’s good luck, right?