GRIT By Brit – Page 14 – A blog by Brit Rettig Wold, CEO of GRIT Fitness

Fitness Studio Review: The Barre Code Dallas, TX

November 19, 2014 No Comments

Image: From left to right, my friends Ashley, Julie (instructor), me and Andria after our Brawl workout. I was happy to rock my Fire Cracker capris from Lorna Jane!

Hey friends – happy workout Wednesday! I hope your week is going well. I’m working away at my new studio, Dallas Grit Fitness. We are in full swing decorating and getting ready to welcome our fierce, fabulous instructors for orientation in 2 weeks. I’m excited and honored to have the most energetic dancers, trainers and yoga instructors join my team!

In honor of workout Wednesday, I wanted to share some insights from my recent visit to The Barre Code Dallas, Design District. Turns out The Barre Code Dallas Master Trainer, Julie, was actually the Group X Manager of 24 Hour Fitness who auditioned me for my very first fitness instructor position! When I walked into the class and saw that she was teaching, I totally freaked out. Such a small world!

While The Barre Code offers several barre formats my friends and I decided to try out the “Brawl” class because it seemed the most intense. “Brawl, which has been recognized by SELF magazine as one of the best workouts in the country, is an intense class that combines cardio kickboxing sequences with strengthening work for the thighs and glutes.” As a Turbo Kick fanatic, of course this is right yup my alley!

Here’s a quick run down of my experience…

The Class – Brawl is a 50 minutes, high intensity cardio kickboxing class. We did the whole class in socks – no sneakers! Fortunately the floors are a soft rubber that you can bounce on. About half way through the class, we got down on the ground and did 10 minutes of core, thighs and booty toning exercises. Then we ended class with one final cardio push and a cool down.
The Instructor – So I may be biased because I know Julie and personally like her style, but she was awesome! I always appreciate fitness instructors who actually do the workout with the class and practice what they teach. Julie rocked it out!
Music – We kicked, punched and jumped around to a mash-up of Top 40 music. It was remixed into a continuous flow that synced well with the moves. The sound system was great – I could feel the beat!
Who was there – Barre Code is a women’s only gym. Most of the ladies in our class were in their 20’s and 30’s and all dressed in super cute activewear.
Loved – The high energy of the class. We never stopped moving!
Hated – I didn’t bring a towel and had to creatively wipe my sweat on my clothes.
Final Verdict – After class I was drenched in sweat, my thighs were on fire and I had a smile on my face – the 3 signs of an effective workout! I highly recommend.

My friend Ashley, invited us along for the day. She’s a regular at The Barre Code

Ladies checking in at the front desk for Brawl class!

The studio was perfectly accented with thematic fitness equipment – gotta love pink kettle bells 🙂

Afterwards we were sweaty and tired so we treated ourselves to a yummy dinner at Ascension

Dallas GRIT Fitness

Dallas Grit Fitness: Site renovation almost complete – we have a floor!

November 18, 2014 3 Comments

Image: I literally ran outside and jumped around in front of the truck delivering my studio floors!

Great news gang! We are less than 2 weeks away from fully renovating my very first fitness studio, Dallas Grit Fitness – YIPPEE! Last week marked the completion of a major renovation milestone as our floors were installed! I was so excited when the floors arrived, I couldn’t stop jumping around and cheering. You can see me in action on this Instagram Video clip. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, right?

Floor installation at Dallas Grit Fitness was no easy task since our space was formally a chiropractor office. We had to demolish all of the existing carpet and tile to create a smooth surface for the new studio flooring.

Now that the hard work is done, I’m excited to move on the to fun part – decorating! I got lots of cool wall art and lighting for the studio. We will also install a full wall of mirrors and the sound system this week. It’s really coming together. I can’t wait to share my energy, passion and grit with you in person. If you live in Dallas or ever come to visit, you must pop in to Dallas Grit Fitness for a sweat session! 🙂

Smoothing out the surface to ensure the floor is completely level

All smooth! Waiting for the surface to dry to until we start laying the floors

Floors are installed and the black base was molded to the wall – almost ready to dance!

Get ready for the most FIERCE, FUN, FABULOUS fitness studio in Dallas! xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle

NYC Wedding Bells

November 17, 2014 1 Comment

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

Enjoying the gorgeous NYC view during cocktail hour before the reception (Rainbow Room @Rockafeller Center

The lovely bride and groom dancing away on the rotating floor – stunning!

Me and my crew at cocktail hour – Harvard Business School Section B Class of 2010 – we roll deep (wink wink)

My first time witnessing the traditional Jewish chair dance – so fun!

What better way to end the weekend than an all you can eat BBQ brunch at Dino’s in Harlem! From Left to right, my classmates Jenn, Matt (groom), Chris, Eric & Lakshmi

Fitness Fashion

Fitness Friday Friday #11: Leopard + lucy

November 14, 2014 1 Comment

Image: Coral off the shoulder top (lucy), Grey sports bra (C9 at Target), Black animal print leggings (Onzie), Nike Free Sneakers

Happy Fitness Fashion Friday! So technically, these are “cheetah” print on my leggings, but “Cheetah + lucy” doesn’t have the same ring as “Leopard + lucy” so we’re gonna go with the latter. I’ve officially busted out my long sleeve activewear now that the cold weather is upon us (tear).

I’m headed to NYC this weekend. Two of my close friends from business school, Matt & Lily-Hayes, are getting married! I plan to pack this outfit as my “travel wear” for my flight back to Dallas next Monday.

While in NYC, I’m checking out a couple of new fitness studios that have sparked my interest: AKT In Motion (a new dance cardio club that seems really cool) and 305 Fitness (founded by my friend Sadie & just opened a new flagship studio in the West Village). I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures and write a full review to share here on the blog. Welp, I guess that’s all for now. Happy Friday friends!

Loving the detailed animal print & shimmry finish on these leggings

Oh hey off-the-shoulder swag! Holla back at ya Monday morning!

Have a great weekend! Luv, Brit

Recipes

Butternut Squash Recipes I Love

November 13, 2014 4 Comments

Happy Thursday my friends. I hope your week is going well. It’s freezing cold in Dallas today – WTF! I’m so not ready for cold weather, boo! I just finished teaching my usual, back to back cycling classes at BEYOND Pedaling and when I left the studio I felt like my sweat immediately transformed into icicles.

Fortunately, I have no plans this evening so I’m going to curl up at my bachelorette pad and cook a yummy dinner. I recently had a delicious butternut squash pizza at True Food Kitchen (love that place) which got me in full-on “butternut squash recipe mode.”

Thoroughly enjoyed my butternut squash pizza from True Food Kitchen last weekend!

I bought myself a butternut squash earlier this week and just just chopped it up and roasted it. The squash I bought is huge, so I can make lots of different dishes. I did some web research and discovered 5 butternut squash recipes that I’m determined to try before the end of the month. They all look amazing!

Getting ready to scoop this sucker out and chop it up!

My butternut squash, roasting away. Can’t wait to try these tasty recipes!

Nutrition Tip: Not only is this butternut squash delicious, it’s loaded with anti-oxidants, fiber and Vitamin A (more Vitamin A than pumpkins). It’s also low in calories (only about 45 per serving) and has no saturated fats or cholesterol.

Have you made any of the dishes below? Let me know!

5 Butternut Squash Recipes I Love

Baked Cottage Cheese & Almond Butternut Squash from Ripped Recipes
Butternut Squash, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pizza from SELF.com
Butternut Squash Quinoa with Kale, Cranberries, Walnuts and Goat Cheese from Stuck on Sweet
Mashed Cinnamon Squash with Almond Butter from The Scrumptious Pumpkin
Butternut Squash, Carrot & Ginger Soup from with Syle & Grace

Abs

Washboard Abs Workout

November 12, 2014 1 Comment

Image: Showing off my “washboard abs” during a styling session at Lorna Jane (love this outfit BTW – I wear it to teach cycling all the time)

Hey hey – happy Workout Wednesday! As promised, here is your workout of the week – Washboard Abs. I’m getting floors installed at my studio, Dallas Grit Fitness, today . Yay! This is the last major renovation milestone before I can start decorating and, ultimately, teaching classes. I’ll be hanging out at the studio all day, so I plan to knock out this ab workout while “overseeing” contractors. Should be good fun.

It’s been a while since I posted an ab workout, so today I’m bringing you my most comprehensive, complete, core exercise routine. During this workout you will engage your abdominals in 3 different positions: 1) Standing Up 2) On you hands and toes in the plank position 3) In the traditional position, on your back. This helps ensure we work the complete core for washboard abs!

Warning: This workout takes about 25 minutes to complete. You can’t rush through it. BUT, I promise you will feel the burn. For best results, do this workout 2-3 times per week for 4 weeks along with rigorous cardio workouts.

Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes. If you have any questions about the exercises below, just post a comment and I can explain. Have a wonderful Wednesday! Love, Brit

Dallas GRIT Fitness, Just for Fun

Dallas Grit Fitness representing at lucy!

November 11, 2014 No Comments

Image: Me and my friend Andria shown’ our grit – GRRRRR!

Hey Friends! Happy Tuesday. I hope your week is off to a good start. Just wanted to share a few photos from my event at lucy Dallas last weekend. I was there promoting my new fitness studio, Dallas Grit Fitness. We enjoyed a fun day of photos, goodies and 30% off all merchandise! lucy Dallas will be one of the proud retail partners of Dallas Grit Fitness. Stay tuned for more fun events and discounts from lucy in partnership with Dallas Grit Fitness!

I’ll be back tomorrow with your workout of the week – Oh Hey Workout Wednesday 🙂 Luv, Brit

Me and the lucy Dallas store manager – excited about Dallas Grit Fitness grand opening!

More fun representing Dallas Grit Fitness!

Giving away GRIT DVD’s, flyers and KIND bars to lucy shoppers!

And of course we got our shopping on – a girl can never have too much activewear!

Had a blast – can’t wait to see you in your lucy gear at Dallas Grit Fitness!

Fitness Fashion, Lifestyle

Black Friday Fitness Gift Ideas – 2014 Holiday Gift Guide

November 10, 2014 4 Comments

Happy Monday gang! The holidays are just around the corner – can you believe it? That means it’s time for my annual Holiday Gift Guide blog post! I’m super excited about the products that made my list this year. If you need even more gift ideas, check out last year’s Holiday Gift Picks list and my 2012 list. I hope you love everything as much as I do – happy shopping!

Living One Love Headbands ($16) – I discovered these headbands at IDEA World fitness convention in August. I met the owner of the company who personally designs them and she was super sweet. I like these headbands because they are wide (to cover my giant forehead) and come in TONS of different prints and colors. I wear one to every single class I teach – highly recommend
1-yr Membership to Dallas Grit Fitness & Dallas Fit Body Boot Camp ($TBD) – In the spirit of self-promotion, I must include a shameless plug for my new fitness studio opening January 2015! Over the past 3 years, I’ve visited over 100 different fitness studios and reviewed so many classes. Now, I’m able to offer all of my fav fitness formats and at a single studio – so excited. We are having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday pre-sale for 1 year memberships. Stay tuned for details! (dallasgritfitness.com)
Lorna Jane Inspirational Sports Bra ($63) – Lorna Jane is another brand that I’ve become a fan of just recently. Now that I’m 30 and more confident about my body, I rock sports bras and leggings to teach my classes (no shame showing midriff). Lorna Jane is my go to for sports bras that provide enough overage, support and style to be worn solo as a top.
Nike Free Train Sneakers ($150) – Nike Free sneakers have made my list 3 years in a row – I’m officially an addict. The reason is that these provide the best support for group fitness classes. Notice I’m not recommending the Nike Free ‘Run’ sneakers, but rather the training version. They come in so many super bright colors and styles – perfection.
You are a Badass ($10) – We read this book in my book club last Fall. It changed my life. Ladies, if you are trying to make it to the next level in your career, relationship or simply boost your self-confidence, this book will provide the encouragement you need all while making you laugh out loud. It’s a wonderful affordable gift for your girlfriends.
Lululemon Vinyasa Scarf ($51) – This scarf is everything. It compliments any outfit and can be worn a variety of ways. I wore my black vinyasa scarf in a recent Fitness Fashion Friday post, and you seemed to love it as much as I do. I’ve been searching for the berry/heathered bordeaux (red) color and can’t find it anywhere 🙁 Let me know if you find it. And if you do, buy it!
Vitamix ($300-$500) – I’ve been wanting a Vitamix for the longest. I became a fan back when I was doing the Dr. Oz cleanse which required preparing 3 smoothies every day. I tried to depend on my basic blender, but it took too much time and my smoothies weren’t as smooth as I liked. I think it’s time to bite the bullet and buy a Vitamix.
Peleton Bike ($1,995) – I’ve always been into cycling, but now that I teach BEYOND Pedaling, I’m really into it. I just heard about this start-up company in NYC, Peleton, who created this narley home bike that has a live screen to stream classes from your favorite instructors. How cool is that? It’s not cheap, so I’ll have to depend on Santa to get this one to me.
Sociologie Wine Pack ($20-40) – First off, how cute is this wine bottle? The bottle alone is enough to make me want a Sociologie Wine Pack. Better yet, it comes in 3 refreshing Sangria flavors. I just tried Socioliogie wine last year and immediately became a fan. You can buy Sociology at most liquor or wine stores in Texas. Sorry if you’re out-of-state, Socilologie should be expanding your way soon!
Onzie Two Tone Leggings ($65) – I just got these leggings as sample from the Onzie Winter collection – I’m obsessed. I’ll show them off on an upcoming Fitness Fashion Friday. Meanwhile, go get you some. They are affordable, fit well and look amazing!

What’s on your 2014 holidays wish list?

Just for Fun, Lifestyle

Dallas Autumn Ball – So Fancy this Fall

November 9, 2014 1 Comment

Image: Getting ready! Dress & necklace from BCBG

Hey Friends! Happy Sunday. I usually don’t post on Sundays, but I had so much fun this weekend I wanted to share a few photos. My friends and I attended the Dallas Autumn Ball which is a charity gala for young adults. Long story short, we had a blast. We started off the night with a group dinner at Dragonfly in Hotel Zaza. I’m usually really skeptical of hotel restaurants, but surprising our dinner was super yummy AND we got a complimentary bottle of sparking Rose’ – oh hey!

After poppin’ our bubbly – cheers to the night!

Me and my classmate from Harvard Business School, Ade, gettin’ rachet and ready to party!

After dinner, we made our way to the grand ball room of the party! There was a lovely step & repeat to pose in front – of course I seized the opportunity.

Posing on the red carpet as we made our entrance – oh so glamorous!

When we got inside, we immediately started bustin’ a move because the Emerald City Band was playing live music all night long. The open bar was icing on the cake, but I didn’t party too hard. I had to teach spin at 8am the next morning – priorities!

Wouldn’t be a legit night of fun without a duck lips photo

Altogether we had an wonderful night. Great food, friends and fun all in formal wear – what more can a girl ask for? Hope you have a wonderful week ahead. I’ll catch you in the morning! xoxo, Brit

Loved my dress and necklace from BCBG. Yay for a for a fun-filled, fancy, fall evening!

Fitness Fashion

Fitness Fashion Friday #10: Elegant Athleta Energy

November 7, 2014 4 Comments

Image: Kelly Green Infinity Scarf (Nordstrom), Black cross back tank (Athleta), Black leggings (TJ Maxx)

Happy Fitness Fashion Friday. Coming to you today in a simple black ensemble. I added my kelly green scarf and fuchsia Nars lipstick for little pops of color. I like this outfit so much I don’t wanna get sweaty in it, hehe. Maybe I’ll wear it to dinner instead of to the gym. What do you think?