WORK IT! Tracy Anderson Hates You and Your Arms

If you haven't heard of her, Tracy Anderson is the trainer to the stars. Most specifically the recently

crowned most beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. 

I started following Tracy on twitter and she just opened a gym out here in L.A., has a line of workout leggings, and soon a national food program. 

She's a busy lady.


Despite her busy schedule she still finds time to hate you. You've never met her, but she hates you AND your arms. I know because I felt it. 

I found this workout about a month ago and this little 7 minute-ish workout is no joke. Yeah, 7 minutes!

I watched it at first just to see the expectations. It seemed like just a bunch of silly arm moves that you would probably not want anyone else seeing you do. Truthfully. I felt like an idiot. The day after however, it was most definitely a burn I was feeling.


Survey says? 
I'm doing this workout at least once a day. It is relatively fast and just painful enough that I know it's working but I'm still able to do it. Also, I hate lifting weights. 


Give it a try and let me know what you think... hopefully the video works! 

The Start of SONG SWAP!

Here's a new kind of gymspiration and I'm really hoping this works because I need and love getting new music for my workouts. When I get some songs that work out well I'll share them here and hopefully you can share some in the comments! Maybe a little 3 songs for 3 songs deal? Let me know what songs you love and if these are in your rotation. 

SONG SWAP:  THE TRIED AND TRUE

These are three songs that I've used for a while that are always, ALWAYS in the rotation for my workouts.

1. Outkast - Bombs Over Baghdad
This is actually my pace when I run. Before I found other songs that were the right BPM I would listen to this on repeat during runs. If you don't like rap this isn't for you but it that beat does not let you let up!

2. Lee DeWyze - Sweet Serendipity

I know this might be cheesy but this song really motivates me and is perfect for a light jog preferably in beautiful weather. I heard this song the day before my wedding when I was running last minute errands and had to shazzam it. I've always thought it was such a good message and can help motivate you to work it out!

3. Kelly Rowland - Commander

I don't know why she doesn't get as much attention as she deserves but Kelly Rowland created this song for elliptical lovers like me. If I took aerobics I'd expect this on the playlist. It slows down and picks up just ride it out! 

Okay, so what are some songs that are always in your rotation?

Take a Hike! - All Trails App Review

One thing I really wanted to try when we moved was hiking. Louisiana has a few good hiking places, but the incline is pretty nonexistent so we never really went. Now that we are surrounded by hills and mountains it seemed like a good time to start and I really wanted to get to those amazing views!

Image from All Trails website

I downloaded an app called All Trails. I've used it for two different hiking experiences so this review is kind of a mixed bag because we had two very different encounters. First let me bust out the pros of All Trails so you can understand why and how we used it.

PROS:

• Trails are sortable by distance, popularity, and time it takes to complete
• You can specify what activities you are planning to do (walk, hike, bike, dog friendly, etc)
• Pictures! You can see if the views are worth the climb.
• Hiking burns the most absurd amount of calories. 

Happy Hikers!

Our first time using All Trails we went to Calabasas Peak on Labor Day. The picture of our little family that I've used a lot in this blog are actually from that hike. It was a pretty difficult climb for our first attempt. The description was that it would be a "good aerobic workout with a moderate but steady uphill trek for about 2 miles." Um, yeah whatever. It was pretty hard. 

There were parts where the incline was so steep we had to help each other along. I thought carrying a 10lb pack filled with water would be a good workout and it was. I did stop about every half a mile just to breathe because the elevation was totally new.

Overall it was an amazing hike and we got to see a beautiful view of Los Angeles. Julia also loved it up until we were about to get in the car and she stepped in some fire ants.

Labor Day hike was a success and we said we would try to go hiking on or around every holiday.

Now onto the cons.

CONS:

• Horrible, horrible, horrible trailhead location
• Trails are usually marked a level easier than they actually are

Husband being brave ...or crazy

Husband worked on Halloween so we didn't get to go on the actual date so we tried the next day.

We picked a relatively easy and dog friendly trail. The directions to the trailhead were ridiculous. It literally lead to an apartment building. All we saw were sidewalks around the country club which I would not consider a scenic view. We could see a canyon but no actual trails or signage. We eventually gave up circling the supposed trailhead and decided to pick another location.

Yet again the driving directions made absolutely no sense. We went up a very winding road and were then directed to turn into someone's creepy driveway. Total fail. We headed back down the scary road and it was at that point I realized the app's driving directions to the trailhead were several miles away from where one reviewer checked himself in. The directions were absolutely nowhere near each other. 

Out of frustration and driving around for an hour trying to find two trails we had never been to in areas we weren't familiar we did all but give up.

We decided to go to a lake which is not a hill or mountain or even remotely considered hiking. It's basically a dirty duck poop covered sidewalk around a lake. 

Overall I have mixed feelings about All Trails. We did have an amazing day at Calabasas Peak but the Halloween hike that never was certainly made me less likely to trust this app in the future. I'm currently looking to see if there is another app out there that is more reliable with locations. Overall I guess this is a 3 out of 5 which is more generous than I was feeling last week. 

Cruisin' - The bike shopping experience

So I mentioned last week that we had purchased bikes and were riding around town immediately. If you're my facebook friend you may have noticed that I mentioned something about a pain in the butt....which is exactly what that bike seat was on our first ride.

Despite the face he is a happy bike rider.

Why Bikes?

One of my friends immediately remarked how funny it was that I wanted to get a bike considering how much I used to be against them. I was not a fan of bikes BUT after attempting Couch to 5K before and really hurting my knees I wanted something new. One of my cousins suggested bikes. She is a long time runner and recently switched to biking for the very same reason. Now that we live in a pretty bike friendly area it seemed like a great time to invest and get ourselves some wheels! 

Why Cruisers?

This was actually the hardest part. I didn't realize there were so many choices when it came to picking out a bike. We searched online for advice and got some great tips, but ultimately it was the advice of our friends who bike regularly that we used. Cruisers, as opposed to mountain bikes, fit what we wanted. It's still a decent workout but unlike mountain bikes, cruisers are a little more gentle on your spine and neck area. If you're looking for a more intense bike for trail riding, this might not be the best pick for you.

How we picked them...

I hate talking to sales people in stores, but this was one purchase we really needed the advice and expertise of people who know about this stuff. It's not a cheap purchase so you want to make it right. We went to a large bike store by our house and asked some questions. We found out that your height and gender narrow down a lot. I was immediately drawn to a teal bike with an old school look and Husband eventually found a green one that also had a vintage look. The store actually let us take the bikes into the parking lot and around the building for a test ride. I immediately knew that this was the right bike but Husband tried out three before he went back to his first choice. 

Paying for a big purchase...

Bikes are not cheap. Especially when you're as frugal as I am, this purchase almost seems excessive. We had just moved to California and were still trying to get all our finances in order. We decided to put the bikes on lay away. This is actually the first time I've ever put anything on lay away- partially because I just didn't understand it. This turned out to be a great alternative. Instead of charging $600 in bikes and equipment on a credit card we paid a little every paycheck over 3 months. The wait was worth it and I'm glad we had already made the commitment to purchase as opposed to saving up the money and buying it flat out later. I felt like the layaway guaranteed that I wouldn't change my mind and spend the money on clothes instead- a likely alternative.

For now we are just riding them casually, going a little bit longer each ride. I am pretty pleased with our decision to buy bikes. When you ride off into this view it's kind of hard to regret that choice...

5 Scary Workout Visuals

Halloween is ONE WEEK AWAY. It is one of my most favorite holidays. Why? Because dressing up is awesome y'all! Also, I met Husband on Halloween so it's like Valentines Day for us weirdos...

As previously discussed in another post, I have irrational fears when it comes to workout machinery.

I am, however, a big believer in workout visualizations. While I can be quite content to listen to music or watch tv while in the gym, what really gets me motivated is visualizing that I'm somewhere else. Visualizations for me are usually being a part of a competition or being chased. Plain and simple.

My all time favorite workout visualization is that I am competing in a Real World/Road Rules Battle/Duel/Do any of those people have jobs outside of these competitions?

So to help get you in the mood to run like the wind (even on a treadmill if you are so brave) are some of my favorite "Scary As Heck" visualizations to scare the elastic out of your norts:

Ohhh...I'm already freaked out!

1. Being chased by Zombies.

(via zombie junky)

I know there is "an app for that." I also know people are totally into the Walking Dead. But I'd like to put it to you that the scariest of all zombies are those featured in the movies 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. WHY THE HELL CAN THOSE ZOMBIES SPRINT!?!? Isn't it a rule that they move slowly and drag their legs like mummies? No? Can we make it a rule? Imagine "the infected" chasing you and I'm sure you're heart rate will get right where you need it.

2. Saw Challenges

(via tvtropes)

These movies are dumb. We all know it. They are kind of like the "Crocs" of the horror genre. No one really understands why they are so successful yet you know like 20 people who have seen them all. What are we on like Saw 37? Anyway, pick a move you hate (go ahead and say planks cause only the crazies love those). Imagine that weird like clown is going to saw you in half if you don't hold those planks longer! You'll hold it. Why? Cause clowns are scary as heck. Fact.

3. Swimming for your LIFE!

(via fanpop)

I do have a fear of water I can't see the bottom of, so the odds of me swimming in any ocean are very low. Pools are where I like to pretend I can swim. Pools are also where I like to pretend that killer sharks are out to get me. Jaws is the go to, but what about Deep Blue Sea y'all? Spoiler alert: the shark ate Samuel L. Jackson. Sharks clearly have zero respect and thus should be feared...

4. Scary Spins

(via google images)

Y'all know there is only one truly terrifying bike moment in cinema: The Shining. Hop on that stationary bike and pedal yourself away from those two scary little girls. Need I say more?

5. Halloween Hiding Spots

(via cinema strikes back)

My favorite scary movie collection has to be Halloween. I even like Halloween H20 (maybe I shouldn't admit that). Michael Myers is the best villain. He doesn't say anything. You don't REALLY know what he looks like and he doesn't care who you are...ya dead! I like to imagine that I'm poor Jamie Lee Curtis (in her young and fabulously 70s days) hiding out in the closet. Hold those wall sits as long as you can without screaming bloody murder.



Hopefully this inspires you in your workouts. I love a good workout visualization and if you have a good one I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear it! That and I'd love to know what you're going to be for Halloween... TELL ME!

XO,
Andrea

Workout Reboot: Ease into 5K

Last week and the subsequent weekend was amazing. One night in Vegas was just enough time to see my sister, bro-in-law, and friends. It was wonderful, exciting and glittery. We will definitely be going back.

Yet, as I return back to my efforts at a lifestyle change I can't help but feel...uninspired. And here comes a little dose of too much talk:

I need a workout REBOOT!

I don't know what will work. What I do know is that I'm not going to sit on this blog all day every day and pretend to the four of you that read this (hi mom!) that it's all sunshine and roses. I feel bored, like a little hamster on a treadmill. 

App Screen Shot (via Ease into 5k)

In the interest of honesty I think it's important to note that being surrounded in a city of health nuts doesn't a health nut make. 

SO...This morning I am restarting Ease into 5K, a workout I've attempted a few times and completed at least once. 

I wish I loved working out.

I wish I enjoyed changing my clothes into workout clothes.

I wish I enjoyed sweating.

I wish I personally understood what the hell Elle Woods was talking about in "Legally Blonde" about the euphoria of endorphins. 

But I don't. And maybe you don't either.

Just because you don't LOVE to workout doesn't mean you can't ever meet your personal fitness goals OR that you won't ever love working out. 

I stopped running because my 27 year old knees started to sound like they belonged to an old lady. 

But I can JOG into a 5K, can't I?

Of course. Who cares how fast I'm moving. All I care about is MOVING!

Easy Peasy Ease into 5K

I believe in Ease into 5K (the artist formerly known as Couch to 5K). I watched it turn many a friend into a LEGIT runner. Like signing up for 5Ks legit. 

If you don't know how it works then you've missed a big memo on interval training.

Ease into 5K is a program/app/way of life that takes people who have never run before and "eases" them into it with an 8 week program. You run 3x a week with a plan of run-walk-run-walk where each week the running time gets a little bit longer. 

It works. 

It doesn't matter what you think. 

If you are huffing and puffing one week while running for only 90 seconds you will still be able to make it a whole 8 minutes and then eventually 30.

So today I take the first step, again, out the door and down the road. Blasting Kanye, who I know writes all his songs in the gym, and hopefully beating the midday socal heat. Wish me luck. Reboot and restart is always, ALWAYS better than REGRETS.

Happy Monday!

Andrea

A Tale of Two Treadmills

This story could happen in any town. In fact, if you're a gym novice you've probably encountered this. I'm not going to label this as a horror story but my internal monologue was just that dramatic when it happened.

It all happened a couple days ago in our building's gym.

Husband and I showed up and after a little go on the elliptical machine I decided to hop on the treadmill. Here's something you need to know:

I am terrified of running on the treadmill.

I can get it up to 3.5 mph before I feel like I'm going to miss a step and fly into the stationary bikes behind me. My goal is to learn how to run on a treadmill which is apparently the easiest thing to do because everyone in our gym seems to be able to do it. 

Joyful treadmill runners. WTH? (allposters.com)

Treadmill running happens on the regular so it wasn't a big surprise. What DID happen was this...

I hop on the treadmill and see the machine next to me is covered in stuff. So much stuff that one might think the person using the machine is living there. This person had arm and leg weights, a water bottle, an iPod with headphones, towels, and etc small items I couldn't see. This individual was nowhere to be found.

I start going my usual 3.5 mph on a slight incline and I'm watching tv when all of the sudden, GYM BRUNETTE BARBIE comes strolling out of the sauna and gets on the machine next to me.

WHAT. THE. HECK. 

Not only did her outfit look perfect like she was dressed by the editors of Shape Magazine there was not a hair out of place. She just got out of the sauna barely sweating with perfect makeup. She looked like she was in her mid-to-late 40s but had definitely had work done on her face and maracas. I can't fault her for that because who in this town hasn't had work done? That's like pointing out she had arms. But more importantly, WHO IS THIS ALIEN?

I looked down at my ensemble.

I was wearing one of four pairs of yoga pants I own and one of Husband's oversized shirts. My hair had the just electrocuted and thrown in a rubber band look and no, I was not wearing any makeup and I was not "glistening."

To make matters worse, this older lady dressed to perfection puts on the arm and leg weights and starts RUNNING on the treadmill at a ridiculous incline.

If someone had taken a picture of that moment it would have been the most amazingly hilarious compare and contrast picture of all times.

The point of this whole post is that somewhere between the feelings I had of utter confusion and total embarrassment I realized something: 

This lady works hard.

Maybe she could run on the treadmill the day she started at the gym. Maybe she wears a wig and that's why her hair is so perfect. Maybe she is just naturally athletic and this is second nature to her. But she is working at it. I don't think I could ever be where that woman is, but I got up and walked down the hall to the gym after going through the effort of picking the perfect oversized t-shirt out of Husband's drawer. Truth be told, when she started sprinting uphill next to me I felt a little braver and I pushed the button and went up to 3.6 mph.

Maybe one day I will run on the treadmill. I mean I guess it should be on a goal list somewhere. 

That and "never sweating."  How did she do that?!!?!

My Real Housewives Fridays

Double posting today to get back in the swing of things!

One of the hardest parts of living here in Los Angeles is living so far away from one of my best friends, Lindsay. She's lived in D.C. for quite some time and even made a very good argument on why we should have moved there instead of California.

Delish!

We've started little weekend nights (seems to be Fridays since we are so exciting) where we have a glass of adult beverages and chit chat. 

My beverages of choice are usually a glass of wine OR a Bethenny Frankel Skinny Girl. I'm a huge fan of coconut so I of course love, love the pina colada. It's in no way as sweet or satisfying as a REAL pina colada, but in a glass of crushed ice I really could care less. 

I know people have strong feelings about housewives so let me just say, I don't care about any of those feelings. I barely watched RHONY when BF was on and I only know what happens on RHONJ because their fans hold the internet hostage and I only watch RHOBH and OC because I want to know where the cool kids are hanging out. I'm here for the beverage people. Plain and simple.


BUT this post really isn't about BF's low calorie, guilt free alcohols. This post is about BUTTS.

Seriously. You read that absolutely right. 

A few weeks ago I was trolling through iTunes for free workout videos. (As I previously mentioned when I reviewed Daily Workouts FREE, I don't like to pay for anything online. Truth be told, I'm too lazy to update my credit card information with Apple.) But I digress...

I found Body by Bethenny and saw that I had two options:
 1) $9.99 for her Yoga video
OR
 2) a FREE 5 minute-ish video about butts called "Booty Bonus"

Since I have neither the patience for yoga nor the credit card info logged, I went with the Booty Bonus.

Here's BF and her pal squatting away!

It's basically squats and leg raises. No big surprises.

What DID surprise me is that I needed a reminder that I can do those things pretty fast, any time and any place...well any place that I don't mind looking slightly unhinged.

I've been doing it before and after workouts. Right before I hop in the shower. When I'm bored on the phone... it's pretty easy. I even downloaded it to my phone, but haven't really needed to play it after the first time. Did I mention it was FREE?!?!?!

So here's to you Bethenny Frankel. You reminded me how to squat and provided me with delicious adult beverages. CHEERS! AND I only had to pay for one of them. DOUBLE CHEERS!



XO, Andrea

Dogs Pounds

I read a lot of health magazines, blogs, news articles, scribbles on bathroom walls, etc.


I read somewhere once before that you can tell if you're out of shape easily if you have a pet. I doubt a hamster will do, but if you have a dog hypothetically you should be able to see if you're packing a little extra poundage if your dog has also gained weight. I guess the idea is that if your dog isn't working out you probably aren't either.

I don't know where I read this or what kind of science is behind it but of course I had to test it out.

This is my dog Julia Sugarbaker (aliases include Julie, Julie Girl, Juju, Lulu, Louis, Louie, Little Girl and "are you kidding me?!")

I talk about my dog a lot. Since I don't know many people here in California she is now my best friend as well as child. When we adopted her last January she weighed about 35 lbs and was just 9 months old.

We don't know really what she is but everyone has an opinion about it. This makes it hard to know what an ideal weight should be.

Here she is in her physical prime:

What an angel and admittedly she does photograph slim. 


Well I decided to see how much she's weighing these days. I weighed myself and then lifted her up and weighed us together. I should have known when I picked her up that she is not as light as she used to be!

At a little over a year and a half Julia weighs SIXTY ONE pounds.

Immediately my brain started spinning. WE ARE UNHEALTHY AND THE DOG KNOWS IT!


Not to mention yesterday we reordered some medicine for her and got judged for her being over 60 lbs. Hellllloooo! Muscle weighs more than fat! She might be big boned! She's retaining water!


My brain jumped to the first logical connection: Those massive overweight toddlers on Jenny Jones (tell me you remember her show. I hope she won an emmy or something for that because it was art!). 

Basically in my mind dog = child. Child = chunk-a-monk. Chunk-a-monk = Jenny Jones massive toddler mother. 


Is there a greater guilt? And don't worry about me fat shaming my dog on the internet. We talked about it. She's cool.


Needless to say, Julia is having longer walks these days. She's so lazy she immediately sits next to her water to drink it. You know, standing is hard y'all!

I would say this is a wake-up call but we already knew that we needed to change our habits. Now we know we really are in this together. Dog and all! I guess I'll start keeping track of her weight progress too. Sigh. 

If you do decide to go home and weigh your dog let me know how it goes. 

XO Andrea

Work It! - Review of Daily Workouts FREE

Thursday nights are always an interesting night for me. I know that I'm going to be weighing in Friday morning and for this reason I'm always looking for a little bit extra of a workout on Thursday nights.

You can never have too many fitness apps!

I live about 100 yards from my gym (one of the few beauties of apartment living) but sometimes those 100 yards can seem like 100 miles. Thinking about being a human mouse on the treadmill doesn't always appeal to me and I certainly don't want to do it next to a woman in matching workout top and pants wearing more makeup than I wear in a week. Seriously, how does she not have skin problems? 

This is why I'm always looking for something I can do by myself in my apartment. Workout videos can be great but I have workout A.D.D. and if I've done it several times I already know the little quips the leader says to the followers in the background. 

Tonight I'm going to review an iPhone app. Boom!

The name of the app is Daily Workouts FREE. There are a lot of workouts that you can find for free in the app store. Actually, the developer of this workout even has apps for specific parts of the body. I downloaded their Yoga Free app prior to this and quickly realized I have no patience for finding my inner peace. Their apps are all free and for a small fee you can upgrade for more features. The one I'm reviewing has all the things you need without the upgrades. Also, I'm the kind of person who doesn't pay for 99 cent apps so let's talk about the FREE because I am still in Los Angeles and I still believe it is Spanish for "expensive." 

Once in the app you can select what kind of workout from abs, arm, butt, cardio, leg and full body. I always do the full body. Once you select an area you get to select time. This is the whole reason I'm reviewing this app. You can pick 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minute long workouts. Who doesn't have 10 minutes? And the workout you get may repeat moves you've seen before, but it's not the same order and usually you get a new move every now and then. 

Screen shot the app

You get a little countdown and a video of a woman showing you how to do the pose. Not a stick figure or drawing...A REAL PERSON. Moving. So helpful. The workouts move quickly like circuit training so it keeps you on your toes and keeps you moving. I have never done this and NOT finished with sweat even when just doing 10 minutes. 

My complaints: The circuit time can feel like an eternity when doing some of the workouts that are less than pleasant. Who wants to plank? Not this girl. Who wants to do a froggy glute lift? I can't even do it. But this one complaint isn't enough to take away the freedom that comes with this free app. 

Additionally you really need a mat or a carpet in order to do this workout comfortably. It also helps to have hand weights since occasionally you get a move that requires weights. If you don't have any you can improvise.

Overall I'd say the Daily Workouts FREE app is worth the time it takes to download. You can't beat free!

XO, Andrea