athlete – Page 2 – GRIT By Brit

How bad do you want it?

April 20, 2012 7 Comments

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, THEN you’ll be successful.”

Happy Friday – the weekend is almost here! As you end one week and start another, I challenge you to think about what you “REALLY” want out of life. Everyone says they want to be fit, healthy, happy, successful…but think about the SPECIFIC things you want and HOW BAD you really want them.

As a fitness instructor, I hear people tell me over and over again, “I really want to lose weight” or “I really want to get in shape.” They want these things for several reasons:

Health benefits
Longer life
More energy
Wear cute clothes
Increase self-confidence
Better dating life
and the list goes on and on…

But the question isn’t, “How bad do you want these things?” The REAL question is, “What are you willing to SACRIFICE to get these things?”

A friend of mine sent me this video which pretty much sums up the essence of the 2nd question and the essence of GRIT. Watch, listen closely to the man speaking in the background (especially at the end) and think about how hard you are willing to work to get what you REALLY want. Because whatever you desire, YOU CAN HAVE IT!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ&w=560&h=315]

Just for Fun

Are you getting short changed in spin class?

April 15, 2012 No Comments

GRIT 001 — Me getting ready for ride #2 during cycle instructor training

Happy Sunday – I hope this posting finds you joyous and well! Today was a personal accomplishment because I officially became a certified indoor cycling instructor – woop woop! That said, I learned a lot of useful info about spin classes and calorie burn in general, so I just wanted to share some of these nuggets of wisdom with you guys. Hopefully, these facts will help you get the MOST out of your spin classes in the future 🙂

Turn up the resistance – speed DOES NOT equal calorie burn! In an effective cycle class, your legs should spin between 60-90 rotations per minute. If you are cycling way above this, turn your resistance up! When your legs are flying and your booty is bouncing around in the saddle, the bike is just propelling you and you are getting short changed on calorie burn…not a good look!
Don’t always trust the heart rate monitor. Several factors affect our heart rate including hydration, stress, diet, room temperature, etc. Therefore, just because your heart rate is in a certain zone, doesn’t necessarily mean you are working that hard. In many cases, heart rate monitors over count calories burned and you are deceived : (
Use a breath test. The bottom line is this, the harder you work, the more calories you burn. Therefore, use the breath test to quickly and effectively measure your exertion. Below are the 4 levels you should think about. If you are trying to burn as many calories as possible, strive to spend at least 20-30 minutes of your class in zones 3 and/or 4. You should never be back at Level 1 (breathing regularly) after the warm up.

L1 – Breathing regularly
L2 – Breathing fast, but comfortable
L3 – Breathing heavy, uncomfortable
L4 – Breathing very heavy, very uncomfortable – sucking air!

GRIT 002 — Whole class with our instructor after we got certified (that's me in the back with the shiny forehead, hehe)

Arms, Home Workouts, Workout Reviews & Ratings

Les Mills Body Pump Review: Pump ON = Fat OFF

April 12, 2012 2 Comments

Workout: Body Pump, Les Mills
Duration: 1 hour
Calories Burned: 350-550
Focus: Total body muscle strengthening and toning
What is Body Pump?: A total body weight lifting class using a bar with weighted plates on each side. There are about 8-10 music tracks and each one has a choreographed weight lifting routine to work a specific muscle group (i.e. legs, chest, back, biceps, triceps, etc.). You can also buy the DVDs and equipment to do the class at home.

GRIT — Brit gettin’ her “PUMP” on April 9, 2012

Commentary: I try to go to Body Pump at least once a week and when I do, I always feel tight and toned. The music is okay, def not amazing, but the workout is sick – it’ll get you right. I like this class because it’s an efficient TOTAL body strength workout. I appreciate that I don’t have go searching for a weight lifting routine for each body part, I can get it all at once – 1 hour and done. Also, you do a ton of reps for each muscle group so bulking up is not an issue. Instead, your muscles gain endurance and you even get a good sweat!

The Facts: Building lean muscle mass is not only great for your overall health and fitness, it’s also a great way to speed up your metabolism aka BURN FAT! Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the rate that your body burns calories while at rest. RMR is directly related to your ratio of lean body mass. This means, the more lean body mass you build, the more calories and fat you burn while at rest. So get your PUMP ON and get the FAT OFF 🙂

Resistance training has been perhaps the most under emphasized component of the comprehensive weight loss program. – Paula Besson MEd

Workout Reviews & Ratings

Every Damn Day…JUST DO IT!

April 7, 2012 No Comments

Name: Nike Training Club (NTC)
Duration: 1 hour (if done in a group fitness class)
Calories Burned: 400-600
Focus: Total body conditioning + intensity intervals + athletic drills
What is NTC?: A total body athletic circuit set to music. If you take NTC in a class, the instructors usually have pretty decent play lists going on in the background. OR you can download NTC to your SmartPhone and sync your customized workout to your own playlist – sweet! DOWNLOAD HERE NOW! The exercises and drills are very intense – Burpees, Mountain Climbers, Plank Rows, Split Jumps, Clap Pushups, Froggers, etc.
Commentary: I love this workout because it’s HARD and FUN. As you guys know by now, any workout that makes me feel like a “real athlete” is def “GRIT – worthy.” To be honest, some of the drills I’d never do on my own because, let’s face it, they BURN! But boy do they work! When I’m on the road for work, I the use NTC iPhone app for a sick workout right in my hotel room. It’s like having my own ePersonal Trainer. With NTC there are NO EXCUSES – you can get high quality, free, fun workouts anytime, any day. JUST DO IT!
The Facts: To truly change your body, you have to PUSH! NTC is great for this. Did you know that most young adults only begin receiving cardiovascular training and benefits after reaching 70% of our maximium heart rate? To find your max heart rate take 220 – age = Max Heart Rate. Now, multiply your max heart rate by 0.7 and that’s how many times your heart should beat in 1 minute during an effective workout!

Cardio, Home Workouts, Total Body

Track Workout: Shout out to my former athletes – still got it?

April 4, 2012 2 Comments

Name: Former Athlete Fix by Brit
Duration: 45 min – 1 hour
Calories Burned: 500-700
Focus: Cardiovascular endurance, athletic conditioning, speed, plyometrics
Commentary: It’s Spring! So you know what that means, let’s get outside and hit that track – what what! I’ve been hanging and chatting with a lot of my old college bball teammates this week in NYC, which inspired me to put a workout together for all of the former athletes out there. Sometimes, it’s fun to prove that we’ve “still got it.” Even if you’ve never played sports, this workout is a great way to SHOCK your body. So grab a buddy, head to the track and go get it in! Make sure to do the full warm up before you start – don’t want you pulling a hammy. Enjoy 🙂