Dallas Grit Fitness Grand Opening January 17, 2015

December 29, 2014April 7, 2020

Dallas Grit Fitness Studio Photos & Grand Opening Festivities! January 17-24

Image: Me and Turner (Owner of Dallas Fit Body Boot Camp – our neighbor gym)

Happy Monday Y’all! I hope you enjoyed a nice long post-Christmas weekend. I totally feel the vibes of everyone getting ready for 2015. This morning I subbed a 5:45 spin class at BEYOND Pedaling and the energy was through the roof. I love it when my class comes the the studio ready to work!

I’m spending the rest of the my day at my own fitness studio, GRIT Fitness. It’s so surreal to actually have my “own fitness studio.” A dream come true! Now we are really in the home stretch – only 3 weeks until our grand opening. Yay!

I auditioned and hired 1 more Power Flow instructor this morning which means GRIT Fitness will open with a fun, fierce team of 11 fabulous instructors (including me)!

Here’s a quick run down of the recent progress that me and my family made over the Christmas break…

Hung the door sign and hot pink vinyl lettering the windows

Finished decorating the lobby and hanging signs. Also, got a cool chalk board to keep clients up to date on what’s happenin’

Created a press/media wall to show off all of the cool features we’ve received to date

Stocked the studio with equipment – weights, yoga mats, etc.

Last but not least, I’m spending most of my time this week preparing for our Launch Party and grand opening festivities. If you live in Dallas, I really hope you can join us. The party is on Saturday, Jan. 17th from 1-4pm. Our friends from Lorna Jane will be in the house with some goodies! I’ll be sure to do my part and provide the mimosas and a jammin’ playlist 🙂 After the party, we are offering a free week of classes to the Dallas Community. This is your chance to to check out our rockstar team of instructors, break a sweat a bust a move. Visit our Mind Body site to reserve your spot in a class!

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll bring you some “detox” ideas later this week to get your New Year started off right. Have a wonderful week. xoxo, Brit

December 27, 2014April 7, 2020

New Year Fitness Fun with BELK #FitFest

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Hello friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! My Saturday got off to a sweaty start as I taught my usual 8am indoor cycling class at BEYOND Pedaling. My siblings are still in town for the Chirstmas holiday so they joined me for the ride. Well my sister did, my brother didn’t make it (he stayed out a bit too late last night).

I’m counting down the days until 2015 and starting think of of fun new ways to stay active and healthy. I’m always looking for new workouts, recipes and gadgets to help me maintain a healthy lifestyle so when I heard about this Fit Fest event coming up at BELK, I got really excited! This is actually a nationwide event so I’m encouraging my friends in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC and Charlotte, NC to attend Fit Fest at their local BELK store.

I’m going to attend Fit Fest at BELK Galleria Dallas on January 3rd. Dallas crew, come join me! It will be lots of fun and we get to enjoy free mini fitness classes. No matter what type of fitness you prefer, they have a little bit of everything: 15 minute fitness boot camp in the parking lot, a 10 minute yoga stretching class by the fitness apparel, or a 5 minute dance session designed to get you moving. We can also get beautified with cosmetics sampling from various popular skin and body care products. I’m especially looking forward to all of the free snacks, juices and health conscious foods. YUM 🙂 Select locations will even have a Cuisinart demo!

I’m also looking forward to feeding my activewear and sneaker obsession during the event. There will be shoe fittings to the find the perfect sneaker for your workouts. Also, Under Armour and KIND snacks will be in the house showing off their goodies! Let me know if you plan to join the fun. We can hang out and takes pics – yay!

December 26, 2014April 7, 2020

Fitness Fashion Friday #14: Happy New Year & 2014 Favorites

Wow, I can hardly believe that 2014 is coming to an end. I hope you celebrated a relaxing, fun-filled Christmas with those you love. I did! Here’s a fun photo of me and my immediately family after dinner on Christmas Eve (eve).

From left to right: Kortani (sis), Austin (bro), Me, Duane (dad), Kay (mom)

My family and I are actually celebrating Christmas over 4 days. Our festivities began with family dinner on the day before Christmas Eve and then carried on to the next day during which my parents hosted their annual Christmas Eve party. We had over 60 friends and family at our house for food, drinks, dancing and singing carols. It was really fun (and really loud). Nonetheless, there’s nothing like being with family for the holidays.

On Christmas Day we drove to Tyler, TX to visit my dad’s side of the family and ate another huge Christmas Dinner. I still have a food baby from all of the pies, ham and sweet potato casserole I’ve inhaled over the past 3 days. Finally, today we are ending our 4 days of Christmas celebrations with a “family bonding” day at my new fitness studio, GRIT Fitness. I’ve persuaded my mom, dad, brother and sister to give me 1 day of free labor to help touch-up paint, clean and get the changing room set up. #winning

OMG – I’m SO ready for the grand opening party on Saturday, Jan. 17th. If you live in Dallas, you MUST come. Here’s a link to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/900120126707617/

Okay so let me get back on topic: Fitness Fashion Friday! Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this new weekly ritual I started this year. I plan to carry it forward into 2015. But before I bust out my cool new Winter activewear in the 2015 editions of Fitness Fashion Friday, I want to share a quick recap of my 4 favorites outfits from 2014…

Here’s links to details of my outfits above (from left to right):

Have you discovered any new brands of workouts clothes? If so, please share!

Happy Friday! I’ll catch up with you next week! xoxo, Brit

December 16, 2014April 7, 2020

Nashvegas & New Beginnings

Hola friends! I hope your week is off to a good start. I just made it back from Julie’s wedding in Nashville, TN. This is my 5th and final wedding of 2014! I’ve had a blast seeing so many of my friends tie the knot this year. Better yet, each trip had a been a nice little get away to relax from the grind of opening GRIT Fitness, my 1st studio.

I hardly ever have time these days to sit down and enjoy a magazine, so I very much appreciated the hour and a half flight during which I put in my headphones (blasting Ariana Grande) and plowed through my December editions of O and SELF magazine. (Shameless plug: Be sure to check out self.com for some of special blog posts).

In flight pleasure reading – O Mag & SELF are my “go to” magazines

Upon arrival in Nashville, I treated myself to an adult beverage. I love Lychee Martini’s – everything’s good in moderation, right???

This was 2nd time visiting Nashville this Fall as my other childhood friend, Leslie, also got married there in November. Since this wasn’t my first rodeo, my friends and I immeidately had a cocktail and hit up the Honky Tonks for a fun filled evening.

Strolling by the Honky Tonk’s on our way to the ceremony and reception at the Aerial on Broadway

Julie’s wedding ceremony was right smack in the center of all of the action on a beautiful rooftop. At the reception, we enjoyed yummy brisket sliders, mac and cheese, pork loin and wedding cake. But not to worry, we danced enough to burn off the calories 🙂

As you can see, Julie was was a beautiful bride! You can click here to see her all of her bridal photos. It’s crazy that I’m now at an age where I can say I’ve been close friends with someone for over 20 years – cray cray. Julie, Jamie and I became friends in 6th grade because we went to the same elementary school and played on the same basketball team. My dad was our coach and my mom made us matching hair bows. Despite now living in different cities and hardly seeing each other, we still have a special sisterly bond and can talk to each other about anything. I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to support each other through several life experiences like having a baby, losing a parent, break ups, starting a new job and sports injuries. Together we’ve experienced several “new beginnings” and our friendship lasts and strengthens with each one.

Now that I’m back in Dallas and back in the swings of work and working out, I’m planning to hit the gym this evening and knock out my Calorie Crusher Pyramid workout. What are your workout plans for the week?

I’ll back back tomorrow with more news on my fitness studio and a special “Workout Wednesday” blog post. Have a wonderful day! xoxo, Brit

December 9, 2014April 8, 2020

Class Pass Review – Living the #SweatyLife

Hola friends! Hope your day is going well! I just finished some killer morning workouts thanks to my new ClassPass membership. I wanted to go hard on my workouts this week because last weekend, my friend Margo threw a wonderful b-day dinner at the Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant and I enjoyed more than my fair share of the chocolate fondue (see below) – no shame in my game. Work Hard Play Hard – right?

Margo’s b-day dinner at the Melting Pot. The rice krispy treats were off the chain – I’m such a sucker for sweets!

This week I’ll sweat it off at 5 different boutique fitness studio because ClassPass just launched in Dallas! Luckily ClassPass offered me a free month to try their all-access membership to boutique fitness studios. So far so good! Here’s how it works…

ClassPass allows you to purchase 1 single monthly membership to take classes at the best studios in DFW and attend each studio 3 times a month. You can also enjoy these perks:

Hundreds of classes to choose from, with new studios added weekly.
Covers the cost of your classes at the best fitness studios every month.
No commitments, cancel anytime. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

So far, I’ve taken classes at 3 boutique studios – BEYOND 500, Core Power Yoga and We Yogis. I’ve actually been really impressed with the simplicity of the scheduling and booking process. It’s really nice to be able to see a holistic schedule of a variety of classes on one single screen (see below). Also, I had no issues at all once I arrived to the studios to take the class. They already had all of my info in their systems, so I could just walk in a get to sweat in’! WARNING – you get charged a hefty fee ($20) if you register for a class and don’t go. So make sure you can attend all of the classes that you reserve.

The user interface is very intuitive and booking classes is a piece of cake

As icing on the cake, I got to rock this cute ClassPass tank top and tote bag to my sweat session. I don’t mind showing some love to ClassPass because it’s an amazing service for fitness enthusiasts, like me! I’m going to hop around to boutique studios regardless, so I’m grateful that ClassPass is now available to help me organize my workout schedule and save me a little money 😉

If you live in Dallas, I encourage you to hop on the Class Pass band wagon!

Thanks ClassPass crew for hooking me up with this cute tank and tote bag!

Enjoy living the #sweatylife ! xoxo, Brit

December 2, 2014April 8, 2020

Ratchet Running Playlist

Hello Friends! I’m finally home in (freezing cold) Dallas and trying to get back into my regular routine of teaching, blogging and preparing for the grand opening of my new studio, GRIT Fitness!

As I sit at my desk, planning workouts and playlists, I can’t help but think back on the past weekend and let out a sigh of gratitude. I had a such a wonderful time with my family that I just have to share some reflections (and my rachet running playlist)….

After me, my mom and my dad finally arrived in Tampa we picked up my bro in our rental car and headed to Thanksgiving dinner at coaches house.

In case you missed a few posts, I traveled to Tampa, FL on Thanksgiving Day to spend the holiday with my little brother, Austin, who’s on the Varsity Basketball team at the University of Tampa. Since Austin had a Thanksgiving holiday tournament and wasn’t able to travel home, my fam decided to make the trip to him! Sadly my younger sister, Kortani, couldn’t join us because she dances for the Dallas Cowboys and had to perform on Thanksgiving Day. We missed her a lot, but still had a really great time.

Coaches wife, Mary Jo, can throw down! Simply put…I ate well on Thanksgiving Day

Upon our Thursday arrival, we immediately we ate a huge feast with my brother’s basketball team at their coach’s house. Then on Friday we did some site seeing in Ybor City and St. Petersburg. I ate a yummy Cuban sandwich and enjoyed a warm stroll through the historic streets.

Having a cocktail in St. Petersburg with mom & dad before Austin’s game. Aren’t they the cutest?!

Enjoying the fire in the perfectly crisp Florida weather!

Later that night we attended Austin’s game in which he had 3 dunks and 4 three pointers – woo hoo! Talk about a proud big sis. Afterwards, we went out a for a big dinner to celebrate.

The next morning I woke up early and went for a run to help burn off the giant meal I inhaled the night prior. I was really feeling my playlist – hey girl hey. I think being at all those basketball games, listening to hip hop, got me in a “rachet” mood. I was so hyped up during my run! Here’s my playlist…

Will chilled and shopped for the remainder of the weekend and to wrap up our trip, Austin took us for campus stroll before we caught our flight back to Dallas. I love college campuses in the Fall. They’re the best.

Me and my broskie spending some quality time before I headed home

Austin’s dorm, right next to the Tampa Spartans outdoor stadium

Love the historic class room buildings on campus – University of Tampa

Saying cheese on campus, one last time before heading home!

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Did you do anything fun with your family?

HAPPY TUESDAY! xoxo, Brit

December 1, 2014April 8, 2020

How To Stay Active In Cold Weather

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I’m headed back to Dallas today after spending a fun-filled weekend in Tampa, FL with my family. The weather was amazing and we spent lots of time by the bay (I’ll post pics later). Now that Thanksgiving is over, I’m in full-on Winter planning mode. That means stocking up on winter workout gear and planning my cold weather workouts. Here are 5 tips that help me stay active and fit despite the cold:

1. Out with the old and in with the new – I tend to save my hardcore house cleaning for springtime, but lately I appreciate late Fall/early Winter cleaning. It’s like I’m clearing out my old stuff to start the New Year fresh! It also keeps me active and prevents me from sitting on my couch wishing for warmer weather.

2. Bundle up and head outside – Quite naturally I prefer to stay indoors during the Winter, but a three mile outdoor run can do the body lots of good. Not to mention, it’s a great opportunity soak up some Vitamin D. Target® C9 has fantastic cold gear to keep you warm during a Winter run. I’m a big fan of their neon beanies! Quick Tip: Avoid wearing cotton as it releases body heat. Go for dri-fit or wool materials instead.

3. Fire up your vinyasa flow – I LOVE hot yoga in the Winter. Flowing through a sun salutation in a warm studio is the perfect way to stay active and escape the cold. It’s also great for joint flexibility and mental clarity.

4. Get creative in the kitchen – Instead of going out to eat, research some cool recipes and cook up a creative dish! We burn at least 3 times as many calories preparing a home-cooked meal versus going out to eat.

5. Tune in to YouTube – YouTube is a fantastic source of fun, free fierce workout videos. I have several on my channel, as do many of my fitness blogger friends. If you’re not willing to brave the cold, stay active indoors by knocking out a quick YouTube workout.

How do you stay active in cold weather?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Target® C9 through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Target® C9 all opinions are my own.

November 26, 2014April 8, 2020

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hey guys! HAPPY TURKEY DAY. I hope you take some time to unwind, eat delicious food and watch exciting football (GO COWBOYS!).

My family and I are traveling to Tampa, FL to spend Thanksgiving with my baby brother who’s a sophomore basketball player at the University of Tampa. We’ll attend his b-ball tourney this weekend and eat Thanksgiving dinner with his basketball team. It should be entertaining to share a Thanksgiving feast with 15 college boys. I’ll be sure to give you a recap, haha.

Yesterday I posted about acts of gratitude. One of the recommended actions is to write down things for which you are grateful, including your personal accomplishments. It’s okay to give yourself a little pat on the back every once in a while. This year has brought a tremendous amount of change in my life, but I’m so grateful for where I stand right now. From turning the big 3-0 to starting a new business and developing new personal relationships, I have so much to be grateful for. I’m also grateful for my blog victories like being published with SELF Magazine and POPSGUAR Select +. Hard work certainly pays off. It may not seem like it the midst of late night editing and killer works, but the truth is that we ALWAYS reap what we sow!

As I check out of for the holiday, I want to share two of my past blog posts that can help you have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving:

I’ll be back in blogging action next Monday. Holler atcha then! Lots of luv,

Brit

November 25, 2014April 8, 2020

5 Acts of Gratitude to Boost Your Mood

As you know, this month is all about gratitude = the quality of being thankful. I’m so grateful to wake up everyday and do something that I love: share fitness & healthy living with people I care about = YOU! I’m also grateful for the opportunity to share my fitness business start up story with SELF Magazine. Woo ho0 – check out my article on self.com!

I’ve found that practicing acts of gratitude makes me a happier person. In fact, studies from University of California Berkeley show that grateful people are less resentful, more optimistic and healthier than their ungrateful counterparts. Also, physically expressing gratitude generates a greater happiness return than simply feeling appreciation. So just in time for Thanksgiving, here are five acts of gratitude to ensure you have the happiest holiday!

Savor the Small Stuff – Whether it’s your morning cup of coffee or hot shower after a long day, take a moment to be present and acknowledge your little luxury.
Say Thank You – Actually pick up phone, call someone and tell him or her how much they mean to you. Not only with they feel wonderful, but you will too.
Love Your Body – Go for a sweat session at your favorite fitness studio. Afterwards thank your body for its physical fitness.
Be One With Nature – Step outside and look around. Appreciating nature’s beauty can quickly lift your spirits.
Acknowledge Your Accomplishments – Make a list of three personal accomplishments and thank yourself for your dedication and commitment. We often express gratitude to others, but it’s equally important to appreciate ourselves.

This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to not only feel thankful but to also express your gratitude!

Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo, Brit

November 17, 2014April 8, 2020

NYC Wedding Bells

Image: Sippin an Old Fashioned with my classmates/boy buds Eric & Chris. I’m really not a whiskey girl, but I got peer pressured

Hello Friends! Happy Monday. This morning I’m blogging from NYC. I traveled here for a beautiful Manhattan wedding of my business school friends, Matt & Lily-Hayes. The ceremony and reception were held at Rockafeller Plaza in the Rainbow Room overlooking the city. The food was amazing, the scenery was stunning and most importantly I got to reconnect with my amazing friends. Sigh…still on a high.

So get this, for 4 weekends straight I’m either attending a black tie wedding or a formal gala. Today marks 3 down and 1 to go. These fancy festivities started with my friend Leslie’s wedding followed by the Dallas Autumn Ball last weekend. (I actually wore my bridesmaid dress from Leslie’s wedding to Matt & Lily-Hayes wedding. Getting some use out of that bad boy). Next weekend is my last formal event of the year, the Dallas Margarita Ball. I’m excited!

I decided to extend my NYC trip to do some “market research” on new dance cardio studios here in the city. So excited to take 3 classes today and catch up with several of my fitness sistas! I’ve gotta run to another sweat session, but be on the lookout for NYC class reviews coming soon. NYC is a great place and I use Moovit train line maps to help me get around.

Here’s a few photos from Matt & Lily Hayes’ wedding – hope you like. Have a wonderfully active and happy week!

Lots of luv, Brit