Channeling my Inner Olivia Pope

This week is the first week in a very long time in which I don’t have anything scheduled after work except getting some kind of fitness in, cooking and hanging out with Bailey and B.  I’m pretty damn excited about it, too.  Remember the days when your weekends didn’t consist of engagement parties, bachelorette parties, weddings, baby showers?  Yah, me either.

While I love attending all of these events, the busy adult syndrome I have blogged about before has definitely creeped into my life.  This is why I enjoy the little things during the week, like being able to come home veg out on the couch and watch reruns of Gilmore Girls or pouring myself a glass of red wine, popping some popcorn, slipping into some comfy clothes and reading the latest Bon Appetit magazine.

(image source)

Olivia Pope anyone?

This way when the busy weekend rolls around, I feel energized and excited!

A low key week also means a good week for planning out meals and fitness:

Monday – Soccer; Flank Steak with Asparagus

Tuesday – Group Training at DHF; Smoked Sausage, Kale and Cider Quinoa Skillet by Iowa Girl Eats (so excited to make this!!!!)

Wednesday – Run after work; homemade Turkey and Rice Soup

Thursday – Gym in the a.m.; leftover soup and salad

Friday – Rest; Mushroom and Cheddar Quiche

Saturday – I will be at a bachelorette party all day – Brian will be at a bachelor party all day (coincidentally for the other Lindsay and Brian in our lives) 🙂

Sunday – Spin class in the a.m.; Shrimp Fajitas

Last night, I had a soccer game right after work and the craziest thing happened.  It went from 80 degrees to 50 degrees in, I kid you not, and hour.  WE WON! Which was awesome, but when we left the field the wind was going crazy the weather was a changin’ and then these two ladies and their catchy song popped into my head:

Of course, nothing bad happened except the Chiefs killed New England in Monday Night Football and SPOILER ALERT: Castle was kidnapped and doesn’t remember what happened?!  Crazy.

In other totally random news, a couple weeks ago, my coworker who is training for the New York City Marathon told me about all of these runners who have been embracing barefoot running around the city because they believe running in shoes is not good for them.  Last night I saw MY FIRST barefoot runner in Chicago.  I tried to snag a picture but he we too fast and it was too dark.  Damn.

Try it out Tuesday – DHF Lakeview

I love trying out new gyms/fitness trends as much as the next person, but as I mentioned last week it is really important for me to be consistent in my fitness routine in order to see results.  Since signing up for the Spartan Race, which is on November 1st, I’ve been looking to find a gym that would really help me develop skills I’ll need for the race.  For a long time I considered joining a local CrossFit box, but wasn’t sure which box to choose and I couldn’t get into the beginners course.

Last week, I attended a new-to-me gym called DHF Lakeview through my ClassPass subscription.  The owner, Dan Hicks, believes in a training philosophy that incorporates 5 building blocks of success in each workout:

1. Functional Movement
2. Strength
3. High Intensity
4. Total Body
5. Always Changing

All of those sounded good to me, so I decided to check it out.

DHF Lakeview is in East Lakeview which is super convenient for me to get to and from (a must for me to continuously go to any gym).  It’s a small studio, I’m talking 900 square feet, but Dan really incorporates every area of the gym into each circuit he creates.

I signed up for a ‘Group Session’ which usually contains about 6 people, but that day we only had 3 – which was awesome – more individual attention.  Dan quickly introduced himself and so did the other two men in my group before we got started.  Our workout started with warming up on the TRX bands – fitness tools I rarely use but truly love.  Most of his warm-up just involved body weight, but when we got into the high intensity circuit, he started to incorporate a lot more weights, kettlebells and a weird looking machine in the corner.

So what was is this machine I’m talking about?

from Ironcompany.com

It’s called Surge Performance Training.  There are so many different exercises you can do with this thing, that I really can’t even explain it in words.  Visit their website to see what I’m talking about – the machine is intense and you literally use your entire body in the different movements.  Loved it.

The circuit moved quickly and we performed all different kinds of movements from rowing, box jumps, squats, lunges, push-ups, the ab workout where your feet are on those moving discs… lots of fun stuff.

Overall, I loved it.  I left a complete sweaty mess, but felt great.  I plan on going to DHF at least 2-3x per week alternating between my running workouts and a yoga class here and there.  Hopefully all of these movements help increase my mobility (my squats suck) and prepare me for the big Spartan Race in November!

What studios or gyms do you incorporate into your fitness routine?

Oh, and p.s. – GO BEARS!

ClassPass – Fitness at your fingertips

Last week, when I returned from my wild and wonderful vacation, I was offered the opportunity to attend the ClassPass launch party at Flywheel spin studio in the Gold Coast.  ClassPass is a fitness start up that helps people find fitness classes that they love. For $99 a month, you get 10 classes you can use to visit any studio that you want. Some of these studios include:

• Pure Barre
• 105F Bikram
• Atlas Performance
• Bar Method
• Chicago Kettlebell Club
• DHF Lakeview
• Exhale Chicago
• Go Cycle Studio
• South Loop Crossfit
• Core Chicago Pilates
• … and so much more!

Most studios have two or three locations around Chicago, so you can find a class that is close to where you live or where you work.  Currently, ClassPass is available in Chicago, Boston, New York, L.A. and San Francisco.

When I arrived at the launch party, I was informed that the spin class I was supposed to attend was already full!  I’m not going to lie, I was really bummed and a little annoyed until they handed me a sweet swag bag and offered me a free ClassPass monthly trial.

Ummm, okay!  (p.s. not the biggest fan of the hashtag, but the tank top and water bottle are super cute)

Last night, I attended my first class of the month – Pure Barre in Lakeview.

I’ve heard a lot about barre classes and have actually attended one a while back, but knew there was a lot of hype surrounding this specific studio.  I was excited to try something new and nervous at the same time because I knew a lot of the moves require flexibility, and that is just an area I do not excel in 🙂

When I got to the studio, I was immediately greeted by one of the instructors.  The first thing she asked me was, “Is this your first time at Pure Barre?”  A little embarrassed to admit it I replied “yes” and was immediately glad to hear I was not the only one.  The instructor took me around the studio and introduced me to the instructor who would be leading the class.  They showed me what types of equipment I would need and a little bit of what to expect throughout the class.  I was very impressed with how nice and helpful everyone was.

Since the instructors did a good job of engaging me, I decided to go ahead and buy a pair of their signature socks (yes, I’m a sucker for new fitness stuff).

I loved all the fun colors I got to choose from and have to admit that they class would have been a lot harder without them.  The grips on the bottom help you grip to the carpet so you aren’t sliding around during the workout.

Once the class started, I noticed that I guessed the correct attire to wear to class.  Lies – I Google imaged ‘Pure Barre” and saw that everyone in class was wearing some sort of tights and a tank.  I’m a nerd.

Now to the fun part – the class itself.  It was definitely challenging in a way that will probably have an awesome effect on my abs and thighs, but it’s not one of those classes that you leave completely drenched in sweat… unless I was doing everything wrong.

Everything is done in little movements and high repetitions.  After 2 minutes of making the same small, controlled motion you definitely start to feel it… and may even start to shake!  “Shaking is changing”, or so they say!

The class moved at a very fast pace so that I never really got bored or lost focus.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and will definitely go again.  I may, however, pair the class with a run outside or some other type of cardio because I felt like I needed something else to round out the workout.

I’ve already mapped out the other classes I want to try through ClassPass at other studios that are close to me.  I’m really excited to try new things and find out if there is something else out there I could add to my regular routine.

I’ll be sure to let you all know how the rest of my ClassPass experience goes… stay tuned!