D Town Sweat: New Dallas Blog For All Things Fitness

February 26, 2015 No Comments

Hello friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful week. As a lover of all things fitness and all things Dallas, I was super excited to stumble upon a new Dallas blog providing objective, thorough reviews of the city’s hottest fitness studios and classes! D Town Sweat launched only a month ago and has generated a huge following due to its honest studio reviews and thorough class assessments. After a few hours of Instagram stalking, I found the voice behind the blog, Kate Putney. This TCU grad is a management consultant by day and fitness blogger by night (AKA Girl BO$$) I met Kate last Saturday when she came to my studio and knocked out back-to-back workouts. Check out her reviews of our Flexin’ Flow and Body Sculpt classes. Afterwards Kate and I had coffee and I got to learn a little more about her fitness and blogging journey. Here’s the scoop…

What motivated you to start D Town Sweat?
With shared studio memberships hitting the Dallas market, I’ve had a lot of friends recently incorporate a consistent fitness routine into their daily lives, and I’ve been so proud of them for making that commitment to better themselves. I’ve been a life-long runner, but I too started exploring Dallas studios, and often wondered what to expect when heading to a new class, or what else was out there in terms of yoga, cycling, strength etc. I tried to find a single location to read honest and thorough studio/class reviews, and while there are a few other bloggers that do an awesome job of blogging about fitness, I couldn’t find anything that was just Dallas fitness, and really honest and straight-forward. After a few weeks of searching around, I figured, why don’t I do it? I have always enjoyed reading fitness blogs like Wisdoms of Health so I knew what made a good one. I want to help connect people in Dallas to fitness that’s right for them, and I hope that D Town Sweat will be that resource.

Describe your fitness journey.
My fitness journey started with my mom. From the time I was a baby, I ran with my mom – first in a jogger, then next to her on a bike, and finally with her, starting in middle school. She always took time out of her day to focus on her health, and by prioritizing fitness, she engrained in me the importance of taking care of my body, no matter how busy life or work gets. I ran my first 1/2 marathon in high school, and my first full marathon at 24. I recently ran the Dallas Marathon, and soon after decided that it would be beneficial for my body to try to mix up my fitness routine, which is where D Town Sweat comes in.

How do you define a “healthy lifestyle”?
A healthy lifestyle to me is a balance, and not just a balance of fitness and food. I think in order to truly be healthy, you also need family and friends, a community, faith, a work-life balance, adventure, and stability. Fitness and eating well are part of the overall picture, but if you workout and eat well, and live in isolation, or work yourself into the ground, you’re not living a healthy life.

What’s the most interesting/unique fitness class you’ve taken?
The fitness class that comes to mind as being one of the most unique is a Big Kahuna class I recently took at City Surf. A fitness class on a surfboard is most definitely unique, and surprisingly really hard! I would recommend it to anyone in Dallas who is looking to try something completely different! No prior-surfing skills required!

What do you love most about group fitness?
I love being able to turn my mind off completely, and let my body do all of the work. I spend lots of time in front of a computer, so letting my body have a chance to take over, and giving my brain a break is definitely one of my favorite things. The other thing that I love is that it’s an opportunity to spend time with friends. At least 50% of the classes that I attend are with friends, so it’s a fun way to spend time together and feel productive.

In your opinion, what 3 factors make the city of Dallas great?

It’s in Texas – After living elsewhere, and traveling far and wide, I feel strongly that there is no other state that has so much to offer.
The People are great – I went to TCU for undergrad, so lots of my close friends landed in Dallas after graduating. Besides the people who I already knew when I moved here, people are just nice here.
The Community – Between the cost of living and the job opportunities, I think that Dallas is one of the best places to be from a job perspective, which draws a lot of really great people into our city. As a result of the awesome people here, there are so many organizations doing really cool things to better North Texas, and the greater community. I’m proud to be in a place with so many good apples.

What does “grit” mean to you?
Grit means grinding through the tough stuff – working harder and smarter, even when it’s really rough, because you know the end result will be worth it.

I highly encourage you to add D Town Sweat to your RSS feed. With new posts almost everyday, you don’t want to miss the latest trends in Dallas fitness! You can follow D Town Seat on Instagram @dtownsweat or on Twitter @dtownsweat

Have a happy, sweaty, super day! xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle, Total Body

Total Body Tabata Workout

February 24, 2015 No Comments

Hey guys! I hope you’re staying warm and dry! It seems like 80% of the US is covered in ice and snow – even us Texans! However, we are still bringing the heat at GRIT Fitness! Yesterday, we kicked off the week on a positive note by NOT canceling our scheduled classes despite the rain/ice storm. That turned out to be a great decision because several of our clients popped in the studio ready to sweat. We had an awesome time and definitely brought some heat to the his cold weather!

Our member, Kelli, showed her GRIT by rolling to Turbo Kick class during yesterday’s ice storm in her hubby’s big body truck!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so here’s a quick run down of what happened over the weekend…

On Friday, I taught my usual noon Turbo Kick class. Shout out to my friend from the Junior League of Dallas, Emily, who’s also a fierce member of our fit family at GRIT fitness (in the middle of the photo below). She took her first Turbo Kick class last Friday and loved it. In her own words, “This is what is must feel like at a rave…with music blasting and lights flashing”…she also suggested we start using glow sticks during Turbo Kick classes and turn the lights off. haha. I like it!

My Turbo Kick rock stars! From left to right: Lew, Jenny, Emily, Me, Kelli

On Friday night I enjoyed a fun yet healthy dinner with my girlfriends at Dodie’s Cajun restaurant in Dallas. I had a decision blacked salmon salad and several glasses of Pinot Grigio. Perfect way to wind down after a long week!

My yummy blackened salmon salad from Dodie’s on lower Greenville, Dallas, TX

On Saturday I taught my usual spin class at BEYOND Pedaling and PiYO (now “Flexin’Flow”) class at GRIT Fitness. My friend Jackie, fellow instructor from my days at 24 Hour Fitness, did the honors of guest teaching our Dance Cardio class – it was a hit! Here’s a link to a little video clip of the fun: Post by GRIT Fitness.

Midday I did a little dance of excitement because the new business cards I ordered finally arrived – yay! What do you think?

My new biz cards with my fitness photo on them! Not sure if photos on biz cards are tacky, but whatever, I like it!

Later I stopped by Dallas North Park Mall because THE Lorna Jane, founder of Lorna Jane Active, made a pit stop in Texas. It was great to chat with her and get a little photo op. I loving meeting fellow girl BO$$’s – very inspiring!

Me and THE Lorna Jane posing with my LJ Diary at Dallas North Park mall

I wrapped up my Saturday by doing absolutely nothing. Sometimes going on chill mode is a great thing, right? On Sunday I slept in, went to brunch with some friends and then get back to work making playlist, writing our weekly newsletter and preparing for the awesome week that I’m now enjoying.

Before I go, I want to share this new Tabata workout I created! At Fossil corporate HQ, I recently started teaching a Tabata bootcamp and I LOVE IT! Tabata is a form of High Intensity Internal Training (HIIT) created by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata. You can CLICK HERE to read more about the history of Tabata. 1 Tabata circuit lasts 4 minutes, but it’s super intense. The structure of the 4 minutes is as follows:

Workout hard for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
Complete eight rounds

I highly encourage you to give my Total Body Tabata workout a whirl. It consists of 5 Tabata rounds and can be completed in 30 minutes. Expect to burn up to 500 calories – woo hoo! Enjoy! xoxo, Brit

Just for Fun

THE Lorna Jane visits Dallas – Join the Party!

February 18, 2015 No Comments

Hey gang! Happy Wednesday. I hope your week is off to a great start! Things are good on my end. We are cracking away at GRIT Fitness leading classes and having a blast! I’m especially looking forward to this weekend because, THE Lorna Jane, founder and creator director of Lorna Jane Active is visiting Dallas! She is definitely a GIRLBO$$ I look up to. I got to connect with her last Summer at IDEA World Blogfest and she was SUPER nice and SO inspiring! So that’s one event I’m looking forward to. Additionally, I received the honor of leading a 2 group fitness classes in the Active Living Room of Lorna Jane West Village, Dallas – yay! I’ll be teaching PiYo next Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7pm and 7:30pm at Lorna Jane West Village 3700 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75204. Come out and “move, nourish, believe” with me!

And just for some added Lorna Jane fun, here’s a flashback to some of my all-time favorite LJ outfits…

BRIT’S FAVE LORNA JANE ACTIVE LOOKS

Happy HUMPDAY! xoxo, Brit

Legs

Love Your Legs – 20 minute muscle toning workout!

February 16, 2015 No Comments

Hey Gang! Happy Monday. I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s weekend! I enjoyed a fun V-Day at GRIT Fitness with my instructors and clients. We hosted a special “Sweat with your Sweetie” Valentine’s Day workout, so it was fun to have so many dudes in the house (see above)! We also enjoy healthy snacks and mimosas after class. Great times!

Last night, my girlfriends and I drank the Kool-Aid and saw 50 Shades of Grey! I loved it. (I also read all of the books – wink wink) Have you seen it yet? What are your thoughts?

I’m still overflowing with V-Day fever so I made this 20 minute “Love Your Legs” workout. I’ve incorporated these exercises into my PiYo classes and I’m receiving very positive feedback from my clients. That said, I figured I’d share. Give this workout a whirl and let me know how it goes. It’s a great option if you’re snowed in and can’t make it to the gym. xoxo, Brit

Photos from POPSUGAR and Women’s Health Magazine

Lifestyle

3 Healthy Ways to Start Your Day #morningwin

February 11, 2015 No Comments

Hello Friends! My mom always says that the first hour of your day sets the tone for the rest of it. I think she’s right. I’ve found that a simple #morningwin can do wonders for my overall productivity and well-being. Let’s face it. Some days I wake up with a case of the “Mondays.” However, if I incorporate these 3 simple actions into the first hour of my day, my outlook instantly brightens:

My morning glass of water – I sleep with it on my night stand

1. Drink a large glass of water – It’s a healthy practice to drink one large glass of water immediately upon waking up. Our bodies burn lots of calories overnight so we need to replenish our water supply. This is especially important if you participate in any resistance/weight training activity. I’ve started placing a large glass of water on my nightstand before I go to bed and I drink it immediately upon waking up. Don’t forget staying hydrated also has detoxifying benefits 🙂

Black coffee + beVita Bites = my go to breakfast combo

2. Eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking up. This one is HUGE. I actually find it difficult to consistently eat breakfast early in the morning; especially if I’m teaching 5:45am spin class (which I do). However, I recently discovered belVita Bites and I love them! Not only do they taste amazing but also they give me enough “spunk” to teach back-to-back classes. (They even come in mixed berry AND chocolate flavors – YASSSS). On most days my simple breakfast solution is 1 cup of black coffee and 1 bag of belVita Bites. It’s the perfect amount of caffeine and carbs to sustain high energy for 4 hours until I’m ready for a mid-morning snack or early lunch. Also, eating breakfast prevents me from binging at lunchtime as I’m not starving.

Trying my best to leave the phone and laptop off for the first portion of my day…

3. DON’T check your phone. I’m still trying to master this one. My first goal is stop sleeping with my phone in my bed (so bad I know). Personally, I find that checking my phone first thing in the morning sets a tone of panic and even dread. To manage stress, refrain from checking your phone the first 30 minutes of the day and THEN start cracking on the “to do” list.

This week, I encourage you to incorporate a #morningwin into your daily routine. Do you have any morning wins to add to my list?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by belVita through their partnership with POPSUGAR. While I was compensated by POPSUGAR to write a post about belVita, all opinions are my own.

Legs

50 Shades of Glutes! Dope Derrière Exercises Just in Time for Valentine’s Day

February 10, 2015 No Comments

Image: CLICK HERE to get your booty work on! 10 booty sculpting medicine ball exercise from SELF Magazine!

Hey hey! Who’s excited for Valentine’s Day? I am! We are throwing a HUGE V-Day party at GRIT Fitness. It’s our official, “Sweat with your Sweetie” bash and I’m really excited. Also some girlfriends and I have planned an outing to drink wine and see 50 Shades of Grey! What do you have planned?

In honor of the upcoming day of love, I wanted to publish a post to help us get extra sexy for the weekend. My friends at SELF Magazine are hosting a special “50 Shades of Glutes” campaign. How cute is that? They have some awesome medicine ball sculpting moves that you can throw into your workout routine this week. CLICK HERE to check them out! Also, here’s my Booty Builder workout from the GRIT by Brit archives that you may enjoy. Now you have plenty of tools to get that A$$ in gear for Valentine’s Day. ENJOY! xoxo, Brit

Donkey Kicks – an oldie but a goodie that will always get your booty right (wink wink)

Inspiration & Motivation

LOVE YOUR BODY

February 9, 2015 No Comments

Hi friends! I’m keeping today’s blog post short and sweet. Obviously I’m a “hard work” enthusiast. No grit no pearl. However, I want to clarify that I believe hard work is necessary to be my best self and to live my life to the fullest. It’s never a good idea to work myself into the ground out of self-hate. For instance sprinting my butt off on the treadmill while calling myself a “fat cow,” is not productive. In fact, when we are mean to ourselves, we are more likely to sabotage our healthy lifestyle efforts by binge eating and convincing ourselves that we aren’t worthy of success. Don’t fall victim to the negative self talk.

It took me a long time to really love and accept my body. I have an apple shape, short torso, long legs and a flat butt. But you know what, I’m super fit! I can do 14 pull-ups, I’ve run 2 half marathons, teach 13 fitness classes per week and my body fat percentage is ideal for my height. I’m no J-Lo, but I love my body and I’m proud of myself for keeping it healthy and fit so that it can serve me.

Remember taking up a consistent exercise regimen, eating healthy foods and thinking positive thoughts are all ways that we show love to our body. Work hard because you LOVE your body, not because you hate it.

xoxo, Brit

Just for Fun, Lifestyle

February Fitness Favorites

February 6, 2015 No Comments

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! This is a been a WONDERFUL week for me – I couldn’t have started the month on February on a happier note. That said, I want to share a few highlights that have kept me smiling and that I hope make you smile too 🙂

I started the week by enjoying a yummy Sunday brunch with my girlfriends. Not only are each of these ladies super smart and fun, but they’ve each supported my new business tremendously by taking classes or teaching classes at GRIT Fitness. Having supportive (and fun) friends is such a blessing.

This week I did a better job of staying true to my “No work on Sundays” rule, which means I could enjoy and extra glass (or 2) of champagne at brunch. Later that day I got great news that my long-time client and friend, Nena, won our “Commit to 30” challenge at BEYOND Pedaling, the cycling studio I teach at. Nena completed 33 cycling classes in 31 days and celebrated her 31st birthday last Sunday. How cool is that?! I always love to see my clients set a goal and crush it! Nena showed some serious GRIT so her commitment was rewarded with a free year of spin classes at BEYOND – yay!

Me and Nena smiling for the camera after she completed my 8am class last Saturday – her 31st ride!

On Monday it was time to RISE and GRIND! For me this means getting to the studio at 5am to dust mop the floors and get ready for our 6am classes. Honestly, nobody tells you about the “real work” of owning your own business. Let’s just say my cleaning and building maintenance skills have increased substantially. I have never worked so hard in my entire life, but the cool thing is is that I LOVE going work every day. I’ve also never been happier in my entire life, so the trade off is worth it.

This week 14 new members joined our studio – yay! I wanna give a special shout out to the these 3 girl BO$$’s from Baylor hospital (across the street) who are the newest members of our fit family. They WERK IT OUT in our hip hop class after working long days as nurses and OBGYN physicians. Smart, fit and fabulous – what more can we ask for? We also discovered that we’re all members of the Junior League of Dallas, so we are planning some “no shower happy hours” to mix and mingle after our workouts. I love creating a strong fitness community, it makes working out so fun…like “adult recess”

Latoya, Tiffany & Lauren – our baddies from Baylor Hospital

So with the transition to February, I started a new “Love Your Body” challenge for the GRIT Fitness members. Whoever completes 16 workouts by the end of the month, receives a very special gift from me!

So far, over 20 of members have signed up for the challenge and they are NOT messin’ around about getting those workouts in. Check out our leader board…some folks have already completed 7 workouts in only 5 days! #FIERCE

Clients are SO excited about the February challenge – who doesn’t love a gold star?

As you can imagine, our classes have been super packed and energetic. Our awesome instructors do an amazing job of leading the crew. Here’s a quick pic from Kemi‘s Body Sculpt class last night…

And a post-workout pic of me, Jenny and Annabel after Annabel‘s SUPER FUN Turbo Kick class…

Next weekend were are hosting a special Valentine’s Day workout! All members can invite their special someone to workout with them for free. We already have lots of dudes registered for Dance Dardio – should be entertaining! Maybe I’ll make all the guys freestyle dance in-between burpees 🙂

The lobby at GRIT Fitness – excited for Valentine’s Day!

Well gang that’s all for now. I hope your February is off to a LOVELY start! Any fun plans for the weekend? Post a comment and let me know. I’ll back on Monday with a new workout, breakfast ideas and fitness fashion favorites. Lots of luv to you! xoxo, Brit

Fitness Fashion, Lifestyle

Best Headbands for Sweaty Workouts

February 3, 2015 1 Comment

Hola friends – Happy February! I can’t believe how fast time flies – OMG. We just started a new February “Love Your Body” challenge at GRIT Fitness studio. Every member who takes 16 classes within the month earns a very special surprise gift. The challenge started yesterday and we already have 15 members signed up, 3 of whom have already completed 3 classes! Do you think you can completed 16, one-hour fitness classes before the end of the month? I challenge you to give it a go. Not only is it a great personal challenge but it’s an effective way to quickly shape up for Spring Break – March will be here before you know it!

So this may be the most random blog post I’ve ever written BUT I thought it’d be appropriate to dedicate a post to my love for headbands. Nothing motivates me to move more than a jammin’ playlist and a killer headband! The difficult part about headband selection is that I sweat A LOT so I need headbands that a) adequately absorb moisture b) look super cute c) stay in place. After years of being a fitness junkie and a headband addict, I’ve finally nailed down the top 4 headbands that are best for sweaty workouts. Here’s my list…

Brit’s Favorite BANDZ

Living One Love (Living One Love) – These are the BEST for funky prints! They also come in solids. The band is made of dri-fit fabric and fits wide across your forehead to absorb sweat immediately. The solid hot pink headband in the top center photo is from Living One Love.
Sweaty Bands (Sweaty Bands) – I love these because you can customize the design – how fun! They have a velvet lining that keeps the band from slipping. Also, they come in either narrow or thick widths so you can pick whatever you prefer. (I have some of each). The blue diamond shape headband above is a Sweaty Band.
Lululemon Bang Buster Mesh (Lululemon) – I like these because of the thickness. They are great for hot yoga. The patterns are more chill/classic but they fit really well and don’t move at all during your workout. The wide yellow headband I’m wearing in the bottom center photo above is a Lulu Bang Buster.
Under Armour Thick Braided Headband (not pictured) (Under Armour) – These are really unique-looking because of the braided pattern and bright colors. The woven fabric keeps the band from slipping and they have a bit of an 80’s aerobics look which I like 🙂

What’s your favorite workout headband?