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!

One of these things is not like the others…
Sunday: Local Barre
Monday: Local Barre
Tuesday: Local Barre
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Local Barre
Saturday: Core Fusion Barre

See it?

I mentioned in my last post that I’m kind of obsessed with Local Barre in Hoboken lately. Well, yesterday I had plans to go and even though I woke up early enough to make their morning classes, I was being lazy and it just wasn’t going to happen. Instead I decided to try one of Exhale’s afternoon Core Fusion Barre classes.

It actually worked out perfectly because I’ve been curious about other studios’ interpretations of the Lotte Berk method compared to Local Barre’s anyway. There are about ten or so different studios in the city that offer barre classes and Exhale is one of the more popular ones.

I found Exhale’s class to be pretty similar to Local Barre’s, though not as challenging overall. I did get that signature barre burn a few times, but most of the sprints were shorter than I’m used to and didn’t feel that hard, especially the thigh section. Exhale’s glute section is a lot different from Local Barre’s in that we did most of it while sitting on the floor. The ab section was different too and I just didn’t get it. Maybe I wasn’t doing it right but it felt awkward and didn’t burn at all. I remember having some trouble with the movements at my first few Local Barre classes too, so it could just be that I need more time at Exhale to get the hang of their methods.

That being said, my arms are a little sore today, especially my triceps. Yay! No complaints at all here – in my opinion, there’s nothing like some muscle soreness to let you know you worked hard! I didn’t feel that the arms section was that hard but something the instructor was doing was clearly working. Their Core Fusion series also includes cardio, sports, and yoga classes, which I’d like to try even though it’s a bit of trek for me (especially compared to Local Barre).

Oh and another benefit of going to Exhale? I was in the city and passed about a million chopped salad places on my way back to the PATH. Mmmm. I really love these make-your-own-salad type places… I wish there was one closer to me. I had a magnificent mix of mesclun, avocado, cherry tomatoes, craisins, bleu cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette.

And going back to the theme of switching it up, you’ll notice my blog looks a lot different. It’s had a major facelift! Let me know what you think.

I feel sort of ready to get back to blogging more regularly… or at least slowly ease back into it. I miss being able to look back at old posts and see what I ate or did. I can’t even begin to count the number of food pictures on my phone that never see the bright light of the Internet, though I guess a good amount are still out there since I decided that my Instagram account should exist solely as a dumping ground for food photos.

But anyyyyway. My OCD self doesn’t quite feel right starting up my blog again without giving an update on my life – more for myself than anyone else.  So here we go!

Fitness: I started going to barre classes at Local Barre in Hoboken in October and I’m loving it! I really can’t say enough good things about it. I’m stronger, more toned, and more flexible than when I started. I go four or five times a week with a few rest days spaced out. Barre classes are mostly strength and toning though, so I want to start re-incorporating some cardio into my rest days soon.

Health: My cholesterol has been high for over five years now. In June, I had it tested and was disappointed to find that my total cholesterol was 251 (125-200 is normal) with 165 milligrams of LDL (the bad cholesterol, <130 is normal). I had it tested again in December with much better results! This time my total cholesterol was 224 with 133 milligrams of LDL. I’m not sure what changed, but hey, I’ll take it. I’m planning to keep up the same diet and exercise routine with a few tweaks here and there to hopefully get it to go down even more. Unfortunately, it’s most likely genetic so there’s no telling how much more I’ll be able to get it to go down. I still want to try though.

Food: I no longer count calories but I think I typically eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. My meals are mostly plant-based but I still enjoy fish, turkey, chicken, and some occasional lamb and pork. I rarely eat red meat and seafood since those have been shown to cause high cholesterol. I always try to drink red wine at happy hour too since it’s good for heart health. I still eat a lot of fruit and definitely get enough fiber every day; if anything, I would like to get better at learning how to incorporate proteins from plants into my meals. I’m sometimes not sure how to ensure I’m getting enough protein short of drinking protein shakes or eating Luna Bars (which are my favorite thing ever).

Body: I’ve been at a steady 126 pounds since September or so (I can’t be sure of exactly when since I don’t weigh myself regularly). I would like to lose a few more pounds, but it isn’t a priority for me. I like my body the way it is right now, and I feel comfortable most days. I do still have some abdominal bloating and discomfort every once in a while though.

Unfortunately, the hip popping I started experiencing in August hasn’t gone away even though I’ve been using an anti-inflammatory cream. It gets sore if I walk a lot, but other than that, it doesn’t affect my daily life except for the fact that it’s annoying to feel it catch and pop. I’m happy going to Local Barre and am now not as bothered by the fact that I can’t run as I was when it first started. I’m planning on going back to my orthopedist later this month so she can take a look and let me know if there’s anything else I can do.

Work: Work is work. I don’t love it every day and there are definitely days that I don’t like it, but I’m lucky to have a fun group of work friends that always find new and fun ways to make me laugh and the day pass. (That rhymed!) That’s been especially important lately since this year has gotten off to a slow start as I’m completing a transition into a new team and role. I’m hopeful that it’ll be picking up soon with some new projects though. Honestly, I can’t complain too much. I know I’m lucky to be employed at a reputable company and get paid a great salary with great benefits.

Personal Life: Of all these different aspects of my life, my personal life is probably the one that I think needs the most work. Unfortunately, the friends I first made when I first started working in the area like to go out clubbing and drinking a lot, which isn’t really my style. I’d always prefer a yoga date, low-key dinner, movie night, or happy hour with friends rather than crazy late nights out at clubs (though those are fun every once in a while), but I wish I had more friends that are interested in that kind of thing.

Dating-wise, I’ve only been a few dates in the past year or so and none very successful. As my mother loves to remind me, the clock is ticking… Of course, I don’t really believe that. I’m fully happy being single and focusing on me right now, though like everyone else, there are times (like the holidays) when I wish I had someone special in my life. I guess the plan for 2013 would probably be to put myself out there a little more and see what happens – for both platonic and romantic relationships. It can’t hurt.

And random, but I’ll say it here since I don’t know where else it can fit. I want to start reading and writing again. I’m pretty sure I haven’t read a book since my Hawaii vacation over the summer and I haven’t written anything besides this blog for at least double that long. Yikes. It’s time to get back on that proverbial horse.

This is a long enough post for now and it’s been fun writing this down – it makes me feel like I’ve really come a long way from where I was about a year ago! Be back soon with some more variety and food photos.

My little sis is officially a college student! I’ll miss this lil nugget:

Please excuse my super awkward smile.

Here are some photos from her last weekend at home!

My mom who is actually Superwoman makes a feast every night (this is seriously our dinner table almost every single night – no joke).

My dog gets a bandana after every haircut! Cute, right? I guess she’s ok too.

We went to our favorite sushi place, Koo, on Sunday night. My sister had the chicken pad thai with no veggies. Good, but no veg?! Are we related?

Koo Special roll for me. Yum! Loved this, especially the spicy fish.

My mom had the Thai beef with broccoli. Not really my thing, but it was tender and cooked well.

Last but not least, my dear dad had the sushi and sashimi combo. I love that the fish at Koo is always so fresh.

On Monday night, we packed up the car so we could set out bright and early in the morning for Vassar. After a few hours of room-arranging frustration and fervent unpacking, we said bye to Steph and left her at a picnic for new students.

On the way home, we stopped by Woodbury Commons, which is only about an hour or so from Vassar. But we were all starving, so food had to be had before the shopping could start.

I know a lot of people think Applebee’s is low rent and not that great, but it’s a convenient and lowkey favorite of my family. The food’s not the best, but it’s good enough. We’re not snobs or something.

We started with the buffalo chicken wings. I like them spicier but they were good anyway!

My dad ordered the garlic sirloin, which came with a portabello mushroom with spinach on top. I had high hopes for the portabello, but sadly, it was flavorless and limp. The steak itself was well-cooked though.

I actually have really liked Applebee’s salads in the past so I decided to try the fiesta chicken chopped salad. This one was awesome! I loved all the flavors and the dressing was delicious and not too heavy. Not a bad choice at all!

A weeee bit of shopping was done after that.

One more (half)day till the long weekend! Whoohoo! I’ve got plans to go to a wedding on Sunday, but not too much else yet.