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FitYaf's 1 Year Blogiversary

6/20/2014

Tomorrow marks the first day of summer, which is also my 1-year Blogiversary (check out my first blog post ever)! Although my blogging has been a little sporadic lately, I thought I'd update you all on how things are going over here at FitYaf! I first started this blog after running a "100 days till summer" Challenge Group. There were so many great things that came out of the challenge - I wanted a place to share it beyond my group.

What has my fitness been like lately?

When 2014 rolled around, I set myself some fitness goals for the year. I was very happy with everything I achieved in 2013, and was looking forward to what 2014 had in store. I also had some personal (non fitness related goals), and if you follow be on Instagram or Twitter, you might already know that my husband and I are expecting our first child in October of this year! While I planned to be (and to this day still am) very active throughout my whole pregnancy, I quickly decided that maybe this year was not the year for these goals. After talking to my doctor, I got the go ahead to continue exercising (and teaching fitness classes), but as far as pushing myself beyond my current fitness level - I just didn't feel comfortable doing that. I did manage to hit one of those goals about a week before I got pregnant, so I can check off "run a 5k in under 25 minutes".

Once I found out I was pregnant, I was a little scared to keep up with my workouts, specifically running. My running workouts were typically completed in the early hours of the morning, and while I was very lucky in the "morning sickness" department, I still didn't feel great in the mornings. At first I did try to keep up with my "1000 miles in 2014" goal, running 91 miles in January, 84 miles in February and 74 miles in March, but tracking the miles was putting a lot of pressure on me, so I decided to save this goal for 2015. As it turns out, at around 14 weeks, I developed some pelvic pain that has pretty much stopped all running for the time being. I was able to run the Philly Love Run in March, and although I didn't train to hit my "under 1 hour and 50 minutes" goal, I finished the race (came in at about 2 hours and 10 minutes) and felt AMAZING!

Not running has given me more time to try out other workouts, or spend more time doing the workouts I was already doing. I'm spending more time with Insanity (about 2 times/week) and Melissa Bender workouts (about once/week). I've also been able to continue teaching 3 classes/week (boot camp, Bodypump and step aerobics). Sometimes it takes a little extra creativity to motivate the class when my own energy is dragging, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm also BEYOND excited to start Chalene Johnson's BRAND NEW AT HOME PiYo workout program. I just ordered mine yesterday, and I think it's going to be a great way to add some variety to my fitness. PiYo is an amazing workout that previously was only available in select gyms, but now you can order your own at a HUGE discount (while supplies last). This program is a mix between Pilates and Yoga and helps build lean muscle! Think - fast hot yoga but with the air conditioning on and awesome music playing!

So for now, I'm still working out about 6 times/week and loving this whole pregnancy journey. I'm taking it day by day without any expectations. I'm trying my best not to worry about every workout or every pound gained, and I look forward to revisiting my 2014 goals next year!

What have I been blogging about?

Over the past year, my blog posts have covered topics from recipes to healthy habits to workouts and more! Below are my top 5 blog posts:

My readers come from all over the world, but here are the top 5 cities where people love FitYaf:

Philadelphia
New York
Chicago
Minneapolis
Los Angeles

And finally, here are the top 5 blog posts that people find through searching on Google:

What is coming in the future?

In the immediate future, I have two Challenge Groups starting soon: a Shaun T boot camp and a PiYo boot camp. You can email me if you have any questions or if you're interested in joining on of these.

I do have some exciting product reviews, giveaways and recipes, coming your way this summer, and I'm going to be posting some more Fitness Friday Workouts. I'm not signed up for any races, and I don't plan to race again until next year. I look forward to the second half of my pregnancy and of course meeting my baby fitness guru in October!

What do you want to see more of on FitYaf.com? Have you had experience working out through a pregnancy?

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BondiBand Review and Giveaway

6/2/2014

12 Comments

If you've got long hair and/or you sweat a lot when you workout, you probably are constantly searching for the perfect headband to keep your face dry and hair-free during your workouts. If you're anything like me - you're convinced your going blind the moment your sweat drips into your eye.

I do have a couple brands of go-to headbands, but I'm always looking for something new. That's why I was so excited when BondiBands sent me some to try out. Not only are these headbands fun and functional with great wicking capabilities, the company also donates 10% of all profits to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.

There are headbands of all colors and sizes, and even ones with fun sayings on them. These are the ones I was sent to try out:

I tried these bands out for both a high intensity cardio workout and a weightlifting session. The bands staying in place and were able to wick-away all of the sweat from my forehead (which can be A LOT during those high intensity cardio sessions).

Here are a few facts about BondiBand:

Their products are unisex.
They are 100% American made.
They can be worn on their own or under other hats, helmets, and visors.
They are made of stretchy, breathable material which allows them to fit virtually every head size and shape.
Their fashion lycra fabric is fun and perfect for every day.
In warm weather the "No Slip, No Drip" moisture wicking headbands are great to wick away sweat, keep hair back, and keep ear buds in ears.
In colder weather, they are great to keep your ears warm.
Bondi Band donates 10% of pretax profits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
In addition to the headbands they offer armbands, wristbands, wicking hats, wicking ponytail hats, wicking pigtail hats, wicking neck gators, wicking sweat towels, and even items for your children and dogs!!!
They offer customized products.

But don't take my word for it - try it out on your own. Enter below to win your own FREE BondiBand!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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What I love about group fitness

2/27/2014

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Recently, I was teaching a Bodypump class, and as I scan the room, checking people's form, I realized that a few people were flat out just not doing the workout the rest of the class was doing. Now sometimes in group fitness, a participant will come up to me in the beginning of class to let me know about an injury and ask for modifications, which I appreciate, but this wasn't the case in this particular class. At the end of the day, it's the participants' workout, but first and foremost is our participants' safety while engaging in group exercise, so I can't help but take it personally when participants come to my class, stand up front even, and then do their own thing. It makes me wonder why they are even coming to my class in the first place. There is so much I love about group fitness that I wouldn't get out of the experience if I was just chugging along doing my own thing. But everyone is different - and maybe you're taking a group fitness class for a completely different reason!

Which brings me to...

I feel like I'm a rockstar

Imagine you're running a race, and you all start and end at exactly the same time. Your feet hit the ground together with every foot strike. Pretty amazing, right? That's what every group fitness class is like for me. It's one thing to complete an awesome workout, but it's a completely different feeling when you're doing it with 30 other people.

It holds me accountable

Group fitness classes are at a specific time each day. Often times, you have your favorite classes and you create a schedule for yourself. The class isn't going to wait for you to finish watching that episode of House Hunters - it's going to happen whether you're there or not, which believe it or not makes it more likely you'll go. If you can do something at any hour of the day, you're more likely to procrastinate, but when you have one chance that day, you're going to be there!

It keeps variety in my workout routine

If left to do my own thing at the gym, I'm probably going to stick to the treadmill and some dumbbells - my comfort zone. Group fitness classes add so much more variety to my workout routine. I would never get on the stationary bike in the gym, but a spinning class? Absolutely!

The people I meet

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the people you meet in the group fitness setting are second to none. There is so much camaraderie and respect in one room, it's amazing the whole room doesn't explode.

What do you love (or not love) about group fitness?

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8 signs you're a gym rat

1/24/2014

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When people you know see you outside of the gym, they don't recognize you

You schedule your day (and possibly life) around your favorite group exercise class, which sometimes includes stay up until midnight to sign up online.

You know your "friends" by their workout routine and favorite brand of sneakers, but you may not know their names

After a long and tiring day at work, you still go to the gym because you're afraid people might notice if you're not there

You shower more times at the gym than in your own shower at home - you even have a favorite shower stall at the gym

You have at least on one occasion scheduled a date that involved working out

You wouldn't consider booking a vacation at a hotel that doesn't have a gym

You keep extra gym clothes at your desk or in your car just in case the opportunity arises

Are you a gym rat? How do you know?

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Learning to improvise (and laugh a little too)

11/22/2013

1 Comment

Do you get nightmares? As a group fitness instructor, my nightmares are usually along the lines of showing up late for a class, not having the right equipment or music, or showing up without knowing what I'm going to do for a workout. Well yesterday, one of those nightmares unfortunately came true! As I was climbing up the four flights of steps to get to the group fitness room for my step aerobics class, I realized I left my iPod charging on my desk at work. That desk is about a 15 minute walk from the gym, so going back and getting it was not an option.

Learning to improvise (and laugh a little too)

After about 5 seconds of panic, I thought there HAS to be some music with a constant beat somewhere in this building. I called down to the group fitness director and she said she'd send some music up. Great, crisis averted. Or, so I thought.

The first fifteen minutes of class is for first time steppers, where I just go over some basic moves before the class gets going. We don't use music for this, so everything is good. As everyone is arriving and setting up their benches, I couldn't get the CDs to play! It wasn't that long ago when I made the switch from CDs to iPod, but I couldn't figure it out. At this point, we're about two minutes into class, and everyone is just standing around. My last resort?

Me: "Does anyone have an iPod with music on it?"

Participant: "Can we play Pandora?"

Me: "Sure, fine, anything!"

I had to get these people MOVING! So, we put on the pop station, and I start the warm-up. Only the music is pretty slow. Rihanna, I love your beats, but they're just not for my step class. Good enough for the warm-up, but it wasn't going to cut it. "Okay, what else do we have?" A participant reluctantly volunteered her iPod with her running playlist. She was afraid to be judged by her music - isn't it funny how personal our running playlists can be? We got started, and the second song that came on was the perfect speed - Can't Hold Us, by Macklemore. We're flying through the workout, my heart rate is climbing and I'm starting to sweat. Step class has been saved! I was planning on just playing Can't Hold Us on repeat - I didn't want to risk a slower song coming on, but the next song was Pump It, by Black Eyes Peas - even faster! I'm now confident that the workout is going to be okay, and I started to relax. We used those two songs for the rest of class (sorry to my class if you guys are now going to dream about them), and we managed to still get through three combos! At the end of class, one of my regulars said, "I think that wound up being harder than a normal class!" Mission accomplished? I think so! The joint was fizzlin' & we put our hands up!

Would I plan for a class to go this way? Absolutely not! But sometimes, you just have to improvise and "roll with the punches". I'm so thankful that my participants were patient with me and were able to laugh with me about the mistake. I apologize for forgetting my music, but please don't forget - we're human too! Thank you steppers! I'll be thinking of you as we stuff our faces with turkey next Thursday! I'll see you in December.

Have you ever had a fitness nightmare come true?

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Confessions of a group exercise instructor

11/8/2013

9 Comments

It's hard to believe that it has been over seven years since I started teaching group exercise classes. According to my quick calculations, that means I've taught about 900 classes. While according to Malcom Gladwell, author of, "Outliers", I have a long way to go before I become an expert (approximately 9,100 classes), I have certainly learned a lot over these past seven years. It is often the highlight of my day, and a extra special class can maybe even be the highlight of my week. I've made such great connections with not only the participants in my class, but the other instructors as well. When you get a group of instructors together, you can't help but talk about your classes that week, and yes, sometimes we even talk about the participants (mostly good things, I promise). So, I put together a list of 10 group fitness instructor "confessions". ENJOY!

Confessions of a group exercise instructor

We like the music loud

And I mean LOUD! In a perfect world, the music would be so loud that you couldn't hear me, even with the mic - you would be able to read my mind to know what we're doing next. I may have the music taste of a 12 year old girl (cue the Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift), but I like my music loud. It gives me energy. Some people drink Red Bull, I listen to my music loudly!

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We have bad days too

We all have bad days, but as a group fitness instructor, you check your day and everything that went wrong at the door. You put on a happy face for your participants because they paid to get a great workout in a happy environment. The beauty of it? By the end of the class, we usually forget what was bugging us that day.

We are not impressed by all the weight you can lift or pushups you can do if you don't have good form

We put a lot of time into putting together a challenging workout for you. We aren't keeping track of your weight, so don't try to impress us. We will notice and correct you if you aren't using proper form though - we don't want you to get hurt! You want to put a ton of weight on your bar for the bicep track in Bodypump and then do bicep rows the whole track? Oh, that's nice, but we're curling over here. We're not impressed.

We love it when you smile

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Just like loud music, smiling and happy faces give us energy. We're not comedians, and I know most of the time our jokes aren't funny, but humor us and give us a chuckle. It lets us know you're paying attention!

We might not know you're name, but we know your capabilities, potential and preferred brand of sneaker

It sometimes is embarrassing to ask you your name for the third, fourth or even fifth time. It's even more embarrassing when we've had about ten conversations about your new sneakers, your upcoming wedding, your kids, but I don't even know your name. Personally, I'm terrible at remembering names, so I apologize. It doesn't mean I don't remember you. I remember that you did your first push-up on your toes last week, I remember you finally got that hamstring combo, but I most likely don't know your name.

We encourage feedback (good or bad)

Unless your feedback is that the music is too loud. Just kidding - it's your class and if you want the music lower, I will begrudgingly oblige. Some people wear earplugs to my class - just saying. But seriously, we want to make the class the best for you as the participant, so be sure to let your instructor know your thoughts!

We would rather you didn't bring your cell phone to class

I'm actually pretty lonely in the camp of "I don't care if you bring your phone into my class as long as you aren't disrupting the class", but most (if not all) of my instructor friends think you should leave your phone in your locker.

We take other instructors' classes

At least half of what I've learned about group exercise classes has been from taking other instructors' classes. It helps us develop as an instructor and also gives us an idea of what else is going on at the gym.

We sometimes prefer to workout on our own

We LOVE teaching group exercise classes. I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY love it! But, sometimes, we like to work out on our own too. It's a much different type of workout, and it gives us time to work on things that can't be addressed in a group setting (and time to come up with those crazy moves we're having you do during class).

You make our day!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - one of the best part about teaching group exercise classes is the connections we make with other people. We watch people struggle, reach goals, smile, grunt - really every emotion comes out during our classes, and we're there for it all. This hour is often the best part of our day, and YOU are the reason why!

Are you a group fitness instructor with a confession? Share below!

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What do you look for in a group fitness instructor and class?

7/23/2013

8 Comments

On my never-ending search for trying new things in the fitness world, I recently took a rowing class at Row Zone Rittenhouse on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The class was great and definitely had me dripping in sweat at the end of the 45 minutes, but when I looked over at the instructor at the end of class, I realize she wasn't sweating at all! Except for demonstrating a few exercises, she didn't do any of the workout, which got me thinking - is this what group fitness participants prefer?

I've taken quite a few trainings for different group fitness classes, and they each recommend a different approach. Specifically, when taking the Les Mills Bodypump Instructor Training, it is recommended (as an instructor) to do the entire workout with the class, maybe stopping a handful of times during specific exercises where everyone is laying on the bench, and it's difficult to see the class. However, when taking the Beachbody Insanity Instructor Training, it is repeated over and over that 'this is not your workout' as the instructor, and you should be walking around the room, helping everyone with their form and motivating everyone. I also know that while teaching heavily choreographed classes such as Step Aerobics, Hip Hop Hustle and TurboKick, if I were to stop doing the workout, the class would stop too, which is okay, because I don't think it should be expected that the participants memorize the choreography.

Furthermore, if the instructor IS doing the workout alongside the class, as a participant, would you rather see instructors pushing themselves to the max and struggling, and maybe not saying as much during the exercise? Or would you rather that instructors workout at a comfortable level so that they can give cues and focus more on helping you out as a participant? I think there are benefits to both approaches, and as an instructor, I try to fall somewhere in the middle. I know participants that like to see instructors work just as hard as they are - it serves as motivation and encouragement to continue to work hard. But I also know of participants that would rather the instructor focused on helping them as participants, correcting their form and giving them more personal attention. The extreme example of this is the instructor at Row Zone, where she wasn't doing the workout at all.

As a professional 'academic', I am fully aware that everyone learns differently, and there may not be an ideal way to teach group fitness class - everyone is going to have their own style of teaching and learning. In an ideal world, there would be a few instructors at every group fitness class - one to lead the workout, one to show some modifications or options and one to walk around the room, helping people with their form. However, this many instructors would only make group fitness classes more expensive and less accessible to the average gym-goer.

So, I'm asking YOU - what type of group fitness instructor do you prefer?

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I heard Step Aerobics is for Grandmas!

6/23/2013

4 Comments

Do you have a soulmate workout? I do! My soulmate workout is step aerobics. I love so many forms of exercise, but nothing really compares to step aerobics for me. What do you think of when you hear step aerobics? Perhaps you're thinking back to 80's/90's style aerobics classes (below, left), or even the video that recent viral video of a man doing step aerobics in a speedo - he's missing the step, but boy is he having fun (below, right).

My class has often been described as "dancy" or a "workout for your mind AND body" - not only is my class fast-paced, but the choreography is more complicated than the average step class. All of these things are exactly what I love about it! So imagine my surprise when a new member introduced herself before class and said, "I heard Step Aerobics is for Grandmas!" To set the record straight, I've had women who are grandmothers take my class, and they not only keep up with the younger people in my class, but they sometimes outshine them and have WAY more energy! Check out Leeni in the photo below - an amazing stepper AND a grandma! It just goes to show that age is just a number and if you 'keep up with your fitness', you'll never get 'old'. But, that doesn't take away the impression people have about step aerobics. Yes, step aerobics has been around for a LONG time, dating back to the Jazzercise and Richard Simmons years of fitness world (did you know Richard Simmons, at age 64, is STILL teaching group fitness in CA?), but it has evolved SO much!

In the beginning, a lot of my choreography came from a class that I took before I became an instructor, taught by my personal step aerobics guru, Deanna (in the picture to the right). She is who got me hooked on step from day 1 - her choreography is FABULOUS (you can take her class at Club One in Pittsburgh)! I was determined to be as amazing as she is! I find choreography inspiration everywhere, but one of my favorite places is YouTube. My favorite step aerobic YouTube-er is Tony Cicala, or "sunshine Tony" in Italy. His choreography is so inspiring and I "borrow" his moves ALL the time! Check him out: