Category Archives: Spinning

Strong vs. Skinny

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So, Erica got all inspirational yesterday, and I’m about to get a little emotional/slight feminist (which is very unusual for me. Not the emotional part, but the feminist part. I’m sort of like a dude 24/7)

My whole life, I’ve been muscular. I came out of the womb with broad shoulders (my mom won’t let me forget that) and thunder thighs. I also apparently came out of the womb sucking my thumb, and immediately downed two bottles after being alive for about 3 minutes. So really, not much has changed. I’m still muscular, and I’m still hungry. All the time.

Homegirl, I can relate. via Nike

In high school, when I got really into working out, my goal was to always get “skinny”. I would purposely only use 5 lb weights so I wouldn’t bulk up, did at least an hour of cardio a day, cut calories, and kept a food diary. At my thinnest, I weighed 125 lbs, and was always so frustrated that I wasn’t losing any more weight (I’m 5’3, so 125 is still slightly above average than a “normal” weight for my height. I’ve definitely roid-raged out on doctors who have told me I should weigh less. Test my BMI, bitch, THEN tell me I need to lose weight). The point is- I would obsess over that number on the scale. I’d weigh myself every day and cut my food intake and up the cardio if I wasn’t satisfied.

 

It really wasn’t until the last year that I became comfortable with my body. I’m always going to be muscular, and I should embrace that. I’m always going to have to get my jeans altered so they fit my booty and my waist. I’m going to go Hulk status every now and then and rip my shirts with my huge stupid shoulders (this has happened more times than I’d like to admit. It usually ends in tears). When I’m on the spin bike, or at CrossFit, I feel so empowered (feminist alert!!) because I feel how strong I am and I see the things my body will do and I see others around me doing the same thing. It’s inspiring, motivating, and it’s expected.

via Body Confidential

But I can’t help but feel frustrated and let down sometimes. I hate myself for leaving the gym feeling all badass and sexy, and then I’ll pass a girl who’s 5’10 and weighs less than I do, and my self esteem drops. I notice how my thighs are rubbing together and how short and stumpy I feel. I immediately start comparing myself to her, and want her bod (not in that kinda way, but in the way that I’d like it if my thighs didn’t rub together and my shoulders were proportionate to my body and my ass didn’t require its own zip code). I know there must be tons of you out there who suffer the same thing- and it sucks. Lately, I’ve been catching myself do it, and have been able to snap myself out of it. In my world, I’ve noticed a HUGE shift towards “Strong is the new skinny” which I obviously love, but there’s still a huge part of society that pressures us into being rail thin (feminist alert part 2!!) and I think it will take awhile for all of us to collectively break that mold.

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures?
Hint: One is an Victoria’s Secret model. The other is not. I know,
it’s probably difficult to tell which one is which. 

But guess what? This whole situation is sort of a Catch 22. Through my Fitfluential family, countless blogs, and Instagram, I’ve come across dozens of girls who are actually trying to GAIN weight and bulk up because they’re too thin. And they are just as frustrated with not being able to gain weight as I get sometimes with not being able to lose it. So, embrace it ladies (feminist alert part 3, last one). Get off the scale. Stop counting calories. Stop comparing yourself to others (especially those in magazines- you wouldn’t BELIEVE the power of Photoshop). Be happy with your bod. Be confident. Be strong. The bottom line is to BE HEALTHY.

Was that too deep? Did I just become a feminist? Am I being crazy? Anyone else out there cope with body image issues here and there?

-Emily

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Playing Catch Up

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It’s Wednesday. Last time we posted was on Friday. NBD. No but seriously, it is a big deal.  WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS WEEK/THIS YEAR/THIS MONTH?! Let’s recap on the weekend, shall we?

Jams
I didnt post my playlists on Friday, mostly because I was too busy oogling our CrossFit Hottie of the Week, but also because I was so swamped that I didn’t have time for new music last week and re-used some playlists. I did make a sweet Maroon 5/Rihanna mashup playlist for my Thursday night Reboot Advanced class. Such a fun ride. I usually play longer songs, but having a bunch of quick ones made for a fast paced class and it flew by.

Food
Definitely splurged big time this weekend. It was my boyfriend’s birthday, and we did it up big! I surprised him with a dinner at Mooo… a steakhouse we’ve been dying to try (and how amazing is that name?) Totally splurged on sides (parmesan crusted onion rings? truffled french fries? yup), cocktails, wine, and a big ass filet.

I even put on a big girl outfit and heels! Things got CRAZY. And I hate to disappoint all my Paleo peeps, but the weekend of splurging didn’t stop on Friday. Sunday night, the actual night of his birthday, we had a mexican FEAST at his mother’s house. Enchiladas, cheese for days, and birthday cake.

Vanilla cake, chocolate icing, and Rolo’s and Heath bars stuffed in between. If this isn’t the definition of Paleo food, then I don’t know what is.

On a totally unrelated note (PSYCH) I got hit with a stomach bug on Monday afternoon and was out of commission until last night. Although there is a bug going around my office, I’m sure my weekend of stuffing my face didn’t help either. I literally was on my couch for all of Monday afternoon and most of the day Tuesday. It was great to get some rest and reset my system, but I ended up teaching last night and this morning. I needed to sweat it out, and I get SO antsy sitting around, and there are only so many episodes of “Teen Mom” a girl can watch (don’t tell me I should have been more productive with my time.. you know you do the same thing when you have a sick day…!) I’m back on track today with eating clean and am feeling almost 100%. And my birthday isn’t until December, so I have no reason to eat cake until then :)

I’m trying out a few new workouts this week that I’m very excited about. Will be sure to post some recaps and reviews. Also- I have a huge burn mark on my arm from doing faux muscle ups at CrossFit last week. The straps kept hitting my arm a certain angle every time I’d go up, and I didn’t realize it was just casually ripping away a layer of my skin. Everyone now thinks that it’s some sort of hair straightening accident or cooking accident, but I want to let everyone know that I’m way too badass to spend my time in the kitchen or making myself look pretty. This is a motherf*ckin’ battle wound, bitches! From doing muscle ups! (no one has to know they were the ones from the ground…. shhhh)

Happy Humpday!
-Emily

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Jams of the Week

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So, we’re not quite ready to reveal our awesome other Friday feature.. but in the meantime, we got jams for days.

Saturday 9/22: Reboot 9:30AM

Highlights: Ready to Go and Wild Wild West. Yeah, judge me. Will Smith kills it!

Monday 9/24: Reboot Climb 6:00PM

White Panda themed ride was SO much fun (minus Lobsterdust for weights). Seriously, they’re my favorite mashup artist. Check out all their jams here.

Tuesday, 9/25: Reboot 5:30PM

Highlights: No Sex for Ben and Claudia Lewis… that’s actually a pretty hilarious sentence. Apologies to anyone out there named Ben or Claudia. No sex for you!!

Wednesday 9/25: Reboot 8:15AM

This one’s a repeat! Old highlights are Breathe and Go Go Girl

Thursday 9/26: Reboot Advanced 5:30PM

Highlights: Battleflag, Orinoco Flow ( Props to Rate Your Burn for these!) and Dance With Me. New artist (to me at least!) alert- Le Youth. REALLY really great stuff. Incredible buildups, good stuff to bounce to. Head boppin’ for days.

Oh, I also told my class to “POUND IT OUT” last night on the bikes. So on that note…

Happy Friday! Holler with your favorite jams this week!

-Emily

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humpday Rants and Raves

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Haven’t done a good rants and raves for awhile. It’s not really even rants and raves, it’s more just me rambling about whatever is on my mind. Ready.. K, go!

1.) Eva is a bitch- I was introduced to the WOD Eva on Friday last week. Oh, you don’t know who Eva is?

via Reebok CrossFit One blog

Yeah. She was a mean old lady. I scaled this back (you all know that I have a janky knee, and running doesn’t really agree with me) I did the first 800M run and then realized that I wasn’t going to be able to do that 5 more times, so I stuck to 400M runs, 15-30 kettlebell swings (still working on those) and 15 pull ups each time with the band.

 

Could I be any more complicated?

Fellow warriors, and tourists. Kind of hard not to have fun with this group…
via CrossFit One Facebook

It’s horrible/fantastic that we’ve been doing so many pull ups. I’m still using the band, but am getting the form down and feeling myself getting better. Washing my hair after is still a challenge.

2.) Stinky situations- I now do laundry every single day. I used to let my sweaty workout clothes fester in my hamper for a few days, but it just got so f-ing disgusting. Water bills be damned, I need to attempt to smell fresh to death. Current problem though: my protein shaker. When I take it on the go, I wash it out right after, and it still smells like dank protein. Solutions?! Oh, yes, I still drink out of it.

3.) Two a days- I now feel like there’s an empty void in my life if I don’t work out twice a day. Anyone else get this too?

4.) My snacking situation- I bought a bunch of food on Monday to last me through the week and all my snacks are already gone. I think I have a problem. And the only solution is… more snacks!

5.) Getting back on track- 3 days into my little “reset and stop eating cheat Paleo meals”, and I feel 100000x better. It’s INSANE  how quickly your body snaps back when you show it lots of love.

6.) Getting winded- No matter how many times a week I spin, I still get winded walking up stairs. WTF?! I don’t smoke. I have an excellent standing heart rate. I can beast a spin class. Come on lungs, get with the program.

7.) My legs- Are insanely sore this week. We did walking weighted lunges on Monday (5 rounds of 15, I did 35 lbs), and I’ve never quite experienced the sensation that I felt in my legs afterward. Like, legit wobbly legs. I felt like I was going to fall over. Little mini spasms all day. I was so looking forward to teaching spin that night and letting loose, until I remembered that I was teaching a hill climb class. Epic fail.

Pretending that I know what I’m doing. I’m glad you can’t see my face, because I definitely am wincing like a mofo. via CrossFit One Facebook

Also attempted to do some double unders on Monday, which was interesting. I’m a pretty good jump ropper, so I think I’ll be able to nail them down pretty quickly, but I definitely wacked myself in the legs and face a few times..

I was going to try to do 10 rants and raves, and I could probably go on for days, but I’ll leave it at 7. Good old 7. What’s up with you guys this week? What are you loving/hating? Can you help me de-stink my protein container?!

Happy Humpday,

Emily

FRIDAY JAMSSSS!

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I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately to post playlists from class (I feel like SUCH a celeb, let me tell you) so I’m going to be posting them on Fridays. With very excited titles. See above.

I really am pumped about my jams from this week. Some new, some old, some epic 90s, and some Gangnam Style. Yeah, what of it??

Got the week started Monday with some 90′s jams (and replayed it Wednesday morning… sorry I’m not sorry) There’s a story behind this: Saturday night, I was DD (per usual) and was practically falling asleep at the wheel driving home at 1AM (I always think about if I got pulled over.. “Officer, I don’t drink! I just work out too much and can’t stay up past 10PM! I swear!!). I needed some pump up jams to keep me awake, and Drunks McGee boyfriend put on “How Bizarre”. I immediately perked up and the rest of the ride commenced into a 90′s dance/singing party. And then I was wide awake because I was so excited about 90′s music and started planning my playlist while trying to fall asleep.

Highlights: I Want You- Savage Garden and The Bad Touch- Bloodhound Gang. “I Want You” has a sneaky fast beat- perfect for flat road/sprints/jumps out to 3. “The Bad Touch” has a friggin AWESOME beat. SOO good for arm pumps. Wildly inappropriate. I had to be really careful to avoid saying my normal things like “pump it deeper, pump it harder!”

Highlights: Lose 2Night- The White Panda and In My Head- David Guetta ft. NERVO. I’ve played “Lose 2Night” a few times before, and I forgot how much I love it. Great for booty tapping, hill, or a sprint, or all of the above. “In My Head” is new to me, and I love it. I chose it for a sprint. Amazing lyrics (I just pretend that it’s not about some dumb relationship drama and it’s about beasting your workouts)

Tell me I’m mad ‘cause in my head
We work you out
You don’t mess around
And the storms do come out
‘Cause in my head
Nothing’s too hard
We fight for us
And we never give up

Thursday night Reboot Advanced class. New class that was added to the schedule and I’m psyched about. Those extra 15 minutes are a killer. I’m formatting them to be more endurance driven rides- so lots of back to back action happening. Back to back jumps, hills, sprints, weights, you get the picture. Harder, better, faster, stronger baby.

Highlights: Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough (Gigamesh Remix)- Michael Jackson and SOS- Rihanna. “DSTYGE” was SUCH an awesome warmup. I love long warmups- was able to incorporate some speed, jumps, and a hill. I am such a spaz. I know. And “SOS” has a great beat for tappin’ those booties. I feel like Rihanna songs get so overplayed, but then you can wait like 2 years and re-introduce them again without people having a conniption.

Oh, and I also played this. I think next class, I’m just going to have everyone get off the bike and actually do the dance.

So there you have it. My spastic taste in music for the week. What’s everyone else listening to??

We also are going to have a new Friday feature coming up.. Stay tuned :)

-Emily

 

 

 

Friday Jams

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Oh yeah, that’s right. TWO POSTS in one day. NBD. I haven’t posted playlists in awhile, and I’ve had some pretty good ones recently (yep, tooting my own horn). Got some new jams, combined with some old school ones. Here are my most recent playlists from the past couple of weeks, with my faves called out:

So f-ing obsessed with this song, and love this remix. I did a fast flat road with sprint intervals. Goal was to keep the same fast pace in between sprints, no recoveries. Pretty sure I lied to my class and only said it was 5 minutes, didn’t realize it was almost 6. Sorry, not sorry. Get that extra burn, baby!

Got this one from my girl Amanda over at Spinmuse. Love the heavy beat. I used it for weights, but definitely could use it for a hill too.

 

Clearly I was feeling EXPLICIT this night… Worked in some hip hop, which normally isn’t my style, but it was so fun.

Yeah, go ahead and pretend that this song doesn’t make you feel wicked badass.

 

I can’t remember if I’ve posted this one before. I don’t think I have, but if I did, you should be reminded of it again. SUCH a jam! Use this one frequently for warmups/general booty tapping. And now I’m head bobbing at my desk.

This is embarrassing because I was going to call out “Everybody Dance Now” then realized that I already did that 2 weeks ago. So calling out Ms. Beyonce. Christina introduced me to this song (aka she played it in her class and I NEEDED it in my life immediately). How badly do I want to be Beyonce in this video? SO RIDIC. This song is great for sprints, out in second or third, get that pump goin’. Uh huh huh huh.

What are your current favorite jams? What’s your favorite stuff to work out to?

Happy booty tapping!

-Emily

 

 

Week Recap

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So. Looking back on this week, it was a little intense. I had 4 spin classes (taught 3, took one) and 2 WODS in 4 days. Say what?? I was a little nervous about doing spin and CrossFit, but I think that the two go perfectly together. I need to let out all that lactic acid that builds up in my thunder thighs. It’s funny- my whole life, up until this past year, I’ve hated my thighs. They’ve always been large and in charge since I was a toddler and started playing soccer at the age of 3.

Chunk citaaayyy!

But now I have grown to appreciate them. They’re strong, and toned, and even though they still jiggle and I have to do a wiggle dance every time I put on jeans, I appreciate all that they do for me.

Can you tell that this is going to be a ramble of a post? Good, just wanted to prepare you.

My second WOD was fun and challenging. It was all about Olympic lifts and nailing down your form, which was a perfect WOD for this newbie. The trainer, Jared, was really helpful and kept coming over and checking in on me. It kinda reminded me of learning how to play golf- it looks so easy when you see other people doing it, but when you go to actually do the movement, there’s a million things to think about. While doing snatches, if I was concentrating on keeping the bar close to my body, then my arms would bend. If I concentrated on keeping my arms straight, then my jump would be off timing wise. It’s definitely a challenge, and I can see why people are so obsessed with CrossFit. You really want to be in there, pushing yourself harder and making yourself better. I kept thinking to myself “I KNOW I can do this, I WANT to do this, I WILL do this”… eventually!

So, Junk Yard Dog was a GREAT way for me to meet a new friend Katie, since you know, I was jumping over her and crawling underneath her. But it was a fun little warmup. Since I’m not sure of my max weight yet, Jared suggested that I start off with 45 lbs for my snatch (we were doing 3 snatches every minute for 10 minutes) and to add 10 lbs to my power cleans (same drill). I felt like I could have gone heavier, but was set on making sure I’m doing the movements correctly before I try to go all Arnold Schwarzenegger on everyone. And I’m really sore today.. so maybe I did have enough weight! Definitely want to get heavier though. Oh, and then “Everybody Dance Now” came on and I was like OH YES. THIS IS GOING DOWNNNN.

We finished off with tabata rowing, which I actually really enjoyed. I love rowing and don’t get to do it enough. And anything tabata is a killer.. 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. Wooooo-eeeeee. It was also nice to finish with a cardio blast (even though I ended up spinning later that night…)

Putting your name and time up on the board is really humbling and inspiring. I love seeing people that absolutely killed it, and aspire to be one of those people some day in the near future.

 Sidenote- I have a new obsession to add to my list of summer obsessions! I am IN LOVE with the Reebok RealFlex sneaks.

Reebok goodies!* 

Seriously, they’re my favorite pair of sneakers I’ve had so far. Erica posted last year about how much she loved them, and since I’m copying her with her workouts, I decided to also copy her with her shoes. I had Zigs before, which I also love, but these RealFlex ones are going to be killer for CrossFit. They’re so lightweight and mobile, yet have enough support that I didn’t feel like I was going to tip over when I was doing snatches. Definitely are the most ideal shoe for cross training that I’ve come across (and I have quite a collection of  old kicks…)

Ok, so that was CrossFit. I also had a great week at the spin studio. There have been a lot of new people coming to class, and it’s always fun to introduce people to our style of teaching over at Recycle. It also makes me work harder as an instructor because I want these newbies to keep coming back for more! I want everyone to have the same epiphany that I had after my first ride at Recycle, which was “wow.. this is the best spin class I’ve ever taken”. Clearly am aiming high here.

Last night’s ride was a little sentimental as my friend and kick-ass artist Jenna had her last ride with me. She’s leaving to go to grad school at Yale next week (total badass for being accepted into their Master of Fine Arts program.. they accept 20 students a year.. no big…) so she won’t be in my class for awhile. I love having Jenna in class because she is always so focused and in the zone and is ALWAYS on beat. It’s also nice having a fellow head bobber in class, so I’m not the only one.

Sweaty beasts. Skinny arm fake out FTW

Anyways, I did a little Jenna tribute ride with some of her favorites and it was awesome. Going to miss seeing her every day but know she is going to kill it at Yale and will come back with some gorgeous paintings to deck the walls at Recycle :)

What’s everyone got planned for the weekend? Working out? Resting? I had a rest day tonight, and my body is so thankful. It’s Healthy Living Summit this weekend! Starting tonight, I will be meeting all of my FitFluential crushes. Tomorrow, we have a day full of workshops, a WOD sponsored by Reebok, and a bootcamp. So excited!! Who is gonna be there?

-Emily

* This campaign is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Reebok. I received these workout clothes and CrossFit classes for review purposes (which I am so grateful for!!). All opinions are my own. 

New Jams & Gearing it UP

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This week is just ridiculous. It’s just been go, go, go! Not complaining though. Well, I guess I’m kinda complaining because up until about 2 hours ago, I thought it was Friday. Fail.

Last night, I subbed the Rerock Power Hour for Katie at Recycle. I love teaching this class because it’s a blast to pick the playlist and the extra 15 minutes on the bike always kick my ass. I did a little funkified playlist last night with some old school gems and some new jams:

I am SO obsessed with Lucky Strike by Maroon 5 right now. Literally just makes me want to fly off the bike, it gets me so pumped up. Speaking of flying off the bike- I’ve been trying out some new stuff in class lately. If you’ve been in my classes before, you know I love speed. Love it. My goal is to look down at my legs and imagine that they’re not attached to my body (weird.. I know.. but that’s what goes through my heads during sprints). Anyways, lately I’ve been really conscious about incorporating more gear throughout the entire workout- whether its a hill, jumps, pumps or even sprints. Usually during my warmup, I stick to a flat road with speed intervals, but my past few rides I’ve been doing heavier warmups, and holy balls, it’s amazing how much more that sweat will pour when you turn that wheel a few notches to the right. And, after consistently spinning for 8 months, I (and all the badass Recyclists!) have built up a lot more strength, and we can tackle that gear. It’s also way more fun to ride and bounce out in 3rd when you’re actually pushing hard to stay with the beat. And- it’s 45 minutes. Why not make the most of it and take it to the next level?

How do you push yourself in your workouts? Heavier weight, more sprints, uphills, more repetitions? What drives you to deliver that extra kick in your behind?

Leaving y’all with some of my other favorite jams from the past few weeks… and by favorite, I mean they’re constantly on repeat on my iPod. Seriously, stop what you’re doing right now and listen to these. And don’t hate me if you hear them in every single one of my classes for the next week…..psych!

-Emily