The World is YOURS…
TURBO NYC has officially launched!
What a weekend. I just launched my latest venture, Turbo NYC – God is good! As some of you already know, I’ve been staffed on a long assignment in Washington, DC for several months now. It’s been hard to make it home to Dallas, TX every single weekend so I started spending lots of time in NYC. While NYC is great, I really really miss teaching my weekly Turbo Kick classes. Teaching brings me so much joy and positive energy that doing without is simply unacceptable.
When I’m in NYC I take super fierce Turbo Kick classes at my home club (shout out to @24hourfitness & super instructor @natalieuhling). However, I noticed that Turbo Kick overall isn’t as popular in NYC as it is on the West Coast and in the South. I think it may because there are SO many fantastic fitness options in NYC that many people simply aren’t aware of Turbo Kick’s awesomeness.
In any case, the entrepreneur/Turbo fanatic in me jumped on this situation and had an idea to start teaching independent “GRIT by Brit” Turbo Kick classes outside of formal fitness clubs – Turbo NYC! I LOVE Turbo Kick so much and have gotten amazing results from the class (lost 25 pounds in 1 year – woop woop). As an instructor, I feel it’s my duty to make Turbo Kick accessible and affordable to as many people as possible – thus my motivation to launch Turbo NYC! Now people can enjoy Turbo Kick without being a member of a club.
Like setting out on any new venture, I had lots of self-doubt and fear of failure. But with mental #GRIT and faith, the launch went off without a hitch! We had an amazing turn out! Our class was not messin’ around. My #GRIT guys had to open the windows because the class was bringin’ the HEAT! Along with my #GRIT guys, I must thank my dearest friends who spent tons of time and energy encouraging me and supporting me – you guys bless my life exceedingly and abundantly. I am so very grateful for you all (*tear).
“With faith in yourself and faith in God, ALL things are possible – the world is YOURS!” #GRIT
NYC readers, be sure to come check us out next Sunday and EVERY Sunday at 11:00 AM in Flatiron. All of the details are on our site, www.turbonyc.com
Have a wonderful week everyone – to health and happiness
Luv,
Brit 🙂
Turbo NYC videos coming soon…
STRONG to the finish: Candace’s Progress on the New Year Kick Start Plan
Candace’s Week 2 Update
“Week 2 of my GRIT by Brit New Year Kick Start Plan was a bit quiet, I was able to get in a couple of workouts early in the week and stick to my eating plan. My challenge plans were a bit derailed due to travel to DC later in the week. I did try doing sit-ups and push-ups while watching TV one evening. I was able to knock out 200 crunches and 100 push-ups during commercial breaks. It was a great way to burn calories while watching my shows. Unfortunately, I’m up 1 lb. from the end of week 1. I’m looking forward to getting back on track and going hard in week 3.” – Candace
(below – sit ups with a dumbbell during commercial breaks)
(below – Candace knockin’ out some push ups to tone the core and upper body)
Brit’s Tips for Candace
- Great job staying active despite not going to the gym every day. “Commercial Break” exercises are effective and efficient so keep it up! Next time take up the intensity and do some jumping jacks, burpees or squats during commercial breaks. These exercises burn more calories and engage more muscle groups.
- Be extra strict about sticking with your eating plan this final week, especially on days that you miss a workout. It’s important to keep the calorie intake down on these days since you won’t burn as many calories during the day.
- Have a little black coffee in the morning for an extra jolt. We know that coffee, in moderation, increases your energy and focus to help give you a push in this last week.
- Most importantly – STAY POSITIVE. This is the final push and you are well on your way to achieving your goal. You got this!
FLOTUS SWAG
Happy Inauguration Day & Happy MLK Day! Check out my new Michelle Obama Bangs…what do you guys think?
FLOTUS – First Lady of the United States
“Anyone can be great because everybody can serve” – MLK
#CARDIOPARTY with me in NYC!
Hey guys! I hope this post finds you joyous and well.
I’m starting to teach independent Turbo Kickboxing classes in NYC – Flat Iron next weekend. Going forward I’ll have class EVERY SINGLE Sunday, rain sleet or snow 🙂
Come join me and invite all of your friends! Obviously I put together the BEST playlist for us to jam to. It will be tons of fun and very, very sweaty 😉
For details and to purchase classes go to www.turbonyc.com
No More Knee Pain
Chronic knee pain is something that most of us experience and want to prevent at all cost. Running or regularly doing high impact exercises (i.e. jumping, burpees, polyometrics, etc.) puts us at even greater risk for knee injury or chronic knee pain.
During my junior year of college, I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in my right knee during basketball practice. Fortunately, I had an awesome orthopedic surgeon (shout out to Dr. Cooper – team doctor for the Dallas Cowboys) to perform my reconstructive surgery. Keyshawn Johnson and I had surgery the same day in same operating room, I felt pretty cool…yeah I’m name droppin’ so what 🙂 Anyway, with diligent physical therapy and lots of mental GRIT, I was able to return to playing my senior year and obviously I’m still able to live very active lifestyle.
(below – pic of me and my battle scar)
However, post my “college athlete” life , I don’t have access to the resources and trainers that I once did, so I have to be really cautious about protecting my knees and preventing any future injuries. Fortunately my therapists and surgeons taught me lots of tips to prevent knee pain and knee injuries so I wanted to share my top 3 tips with you. I hope you find these helpful 🙂
Brit’s Top 3 Tips to Avoid Knee Pain
- Build some leg muscle – This is the single most important tip. Having strong leg muscles provides your knee with the support it needs and takes stress off of the knee-joint. Strong, glutes, hams, quads and calves are critical to preventing knee pain and avoiding injury. Straight leg raises and squats with good form are good exercises. I don’t recommend seated leg extensions because they put a lot of stress on your patellar tendon.
- Never hyper-extend – When I tore my ACL my leg was hyper-extended and then hit by an outside force. When you exercise or play any sports, it’s critical to always keep a soft bend in your knee so that your ligaments have some slack. When your ligaments are fully stretched out, they can tear. And trust me, you don’t want to do that.
- Take a load off – Don’t jump or run EVERY single day. Throw in some spin classes, rowing or hop on an elliptical machine. Low impact exercises will take some pressure off of your knees but still allow you to get high intensity cardio work. The fact of the matter is that continuous pounding is hard on your joints. If you do it long enough, you are prone to chronic knee pain like IT band tendonitis.
Total Body Trifecta – 3 days, 3 killer custom workouts!
In January I love to revamp my workouts by pouring over fitness magazines and checking out all kinds of new exercises. This past weekend I spent a lazy rainy Saturday afternoon putting together a hodgepodge of my personal favorite exercises to create a Total Body Trifecta (3 complete 50 minute workouts). I plan to do 1 work out each day for the next 3 days. I love these workouts because…
- They each burn 500-600 calories
- I can finish them in under 1 hour
- They engage all of my major muscle groups
- Each one has lots of core work to tone my tummy!
Try my ‘fitness trifecta’ and let me know how it goes. You will see and feel results! Enjoy 🙂
Already 3 Pounds DOWN!
Candace’s Week 1 Update
“Week 1 of my New Year Kick Start Plan was better than I expected, I’m down 3 lbs.! I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app, which has really helped me keep track of my calories. Packing my lunch and snacks each day was a great plan, as I can easily control what I’m consuming. Getting in 6 days of cardio workouts was tough, I only did 5 days. My goal is to definitely hit 6 days this week. Looking forward to week 2 and keeping up the progress.” – Candace
(below – Candace preparing her lunches for week 2)
Brit’s Tips for Week 2
- Keep up the good work – While you should be thrilled about your quick results, don’t get complacent. Keep pushing yourself to be disciplined in your healthy eating and in maintaining your challenging workout schedule.
- Stay hydrated – Completing intense cardio workouts 6 days per week means you are sweating more than usual. Dehydration will slow down your metabolism and hinder weight loss, so be sure to drink 2 liters of water per day.
- Get your beauty rest – As a busy corporate woman I’m sure your days are packed full with work and working out. Be sure you are getting enough sleep at night (shoot for 8 hours) so that your body has an opportunity to recover. Sleep deprivation hinders weight loss as well.
20 Minute Calorie Blast
Happy Hump Day ladies and gents. I’m back to work this week after a lovely, restful holiday break. As I’m sure you can empathize, I’ve been working late every evening getting caught up on old stuff and planning for 2013. HOWEVER, I’m not going to let my job take over my health. This means I’m finding a way to get some exercise in this week. Tomorrow I don’t have a much time to workout because I travel home (I’m a traveling consultant, on the road every Mon-Thur). So I put together this “20 Minute Calorie Blast” workout.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to workout for LONG periods of time in order to get an effective workout. My buddies over at Greatist.com have shared that 2 Minute Sprints Burn Fat Like 30 Minute Workouts! With that in mind, I’ve included 4 – 2 minute sprints into this workout 😉 I’m going to do it in the morning. Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes – enjoy 🙂
10 Minute Abs and Thighs Workout Video
My #fitfriend Alex (@alexandriawill), co-founder of Sporty Afros has been pushing me to start make posting free workouts on YouTube for my blog followers. So, last week after one of my Turbo Kickboxing classes (which is why my hair is drenched in sweat in the video) she stayed after and recorded my abs, legs and glutes circuit .
I usually do a series of body-weight exercises at the end of each my classes because my students love to feel nice and tight around their core and in their legs. Body weight exercises are generally high in repetitions and lower in weight which help give you long, lean muscle tone. They’re great to add to your fitness regimen because they require NO equipment and can be done at any time and any place.
Try the workout for yourself and let me know what you think. For best results, complete this workout 3 times per week along with 45 minutes of moderate-high intensity cardio (running, biking, elliptical, etc.).
If you like, I’ll record some more 10 minute circuits to help keep you on track in 2013. Enjoy 🙂
Lots of luv, Brit