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! 

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...

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

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

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