Hey Friends! I made this workout just for you and just in time for Fall! Below, I’ve put together five of my favorite HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercises and substituted a medicine ball with a pumpkin – so festive! To complete the HIIT circuit, do each exercise below for the time duration indicated. Once you finish, rest for 1 minute and then repeat all five exercises 2 more times. The total workout will take you 16-20 minutes and you can expect to burn 250 – 300 calories – woo hoo!
BONUS: I made an instructional video to guide you (scroll to the bottom to watch!)
Pumpkin Jack – Holding the pumpkin at your chest with both hands, press the pumpkin up as you jump your feet together and lower back down and you jump your feet apart. Do as many reps as possible to elevate your heart rate. (40 seconds)
Reverse Lunge with Pumpkin Chop – Holding the pumpkin straight out in-front of your chest with both arms straight, swing the pumpkin down by your right knee as you do a reverse lunge with your left leg. Twist your torso to the side and engage your core and your gluten with each rep. Repeat on the other side. (20 seconds right, 20 seconds left)
Side-to-Side Pumpkin Push – Hold the pumpkin at your chest with both hands then forcefully push the pumpkin away as your turn your body and lunge to the right, then to the left. Alternating lunging and pushing the pumpkin away side to side as many reps as possible. Feel the burn in your shoulders and in your legs. (40 seconds)
Straight Arm Pumpkin Hold With Side Leg Lift – Stand tall, holding the pumpkin straight out in-front of your chest with both arms straight. Balance on one leg and then raise the other leg out to the side to work the core and oblique. Try not to shift your weight side-to-side, but rather keep all of the weight in your stationary leg. Repeat on the other side. (20 seconds right, 20 seconds left)
Pumpkin Squat Jump With 180 Turn – Holding the pumpkin at your chest with both hands, do a deep squat and then jump and turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. Keep squat-jumping and turning 180 degrees back and forth for as many reps as possible. (40 seconds)
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.
Kate Putney, Founder of D Town Sweat
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
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
Brit’s Total Body Tabata Workout
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
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…
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 🙂
Hello friends! Happy Monday! I’m intrigued by SELF Magazine’s 21 Day Time Makeover Program, so I jumped on the bandwagon and I want to share my experience with you guys. The program requires you to take a short quiz to the find the right time makeover program for your personality type. As expected, one of the recommendations for my Type A personality is to “chill the eff out.” As a result, I decided to get more serious about my personal goal to allocate one day per week to just “chill.” Yep, that’s right, I’m making time to do absolutely nothing.
My recent transition from corporate America to opening my own fitness studio had been SO exciting a but a bit exhausting. Now I teach up to 13 classes per week and when I’m not teaching I’m doing marketing, training instructors, selling memberships, installing water fountains, cleaning toilets…the list goes on and on. Here’s a few pics from the studio that we took over the past few days…
Thursday night’s hip hop class was a huge hit! My little sister, Kortani AKA Tootie, is a fierce dance instructor!
Here’s a little video clip of the choreography our clients learned in their first hip hop class. Not bad huh?
I as so excited that my friend Anna recently moved to Dallas from Boston. We met while she was in high school in Ithaca, NY. I volunteered as a youth leader at Bethel Grove Bible Church while I was in college at Cornell and she was in our youth group. Now she’s all grown up, living in Dallas and engaged! Small world 🙂
My amazing friends have continued to send me pretty flowers and gifts – so blessed to have a strong support network!
While I had a crazy busy grand opening week at the studio, I did however, devote my entire Sunday to just chill (we don’t have Sunday classes at GRIT Fitness yet). Contrary to popular belief, it was actually a lot harder than I thought…
I started the day by making my coffee and watching a church service online. It took so much power to not turn on my laptop, but I succeeded. I then sat on my couch for a bit and folded some clothes until lunch time. My friend Dan and I enjoyed a fun Sunday brunch at Henderson Tap House and caught up over several mimosas – that was a great decision 🙂
When evening rolled around, I couldn’t help myself so I started analyzing the customer feedback surveys from our first week of classes and outlined enhancements we are going to make at GRIT Fitness this week. I only spent a couple of hours on this, so I’m still proud of myself as I spent the rest of the day just chillin’ (wink wink). I hope to do better next Sunday – will keep you posted! xoxo, Brit
Couldn’t help myself, finished the day doing just a little bit of work…I’ll do better next Sunday
If you had a Time Makeover, what would you make time for?
Image: My new biz headshot for GRIT Fitness Studio
OMG what a week. I hope you’re doing well. So I’m officially 2 days away from grand opening my own fitness studio, GRIT Fitness, in Dallas, TX – yay! If you happen to live in the area or travel here, I really hope you swing by, take a class and give me a hug! We are having FREE CLASSES all of next week to celebrate our grand opening. You can CLICK HERE to reserve your spot in Body Sculpt, Turbo Kick, Piyo, Hip Hop, Dance Cardio or Power Flow.
Our launch party is this Saturday (see flyer above) and I’m excited/nervous! This week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster ranging from extreme excitement to massive panic attacks. And on top of that, I’m so behind on blog posts – PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
I figured I’d give you a compete personal update via photos and captions (more workouts to come next week – I PROMISE!) Here it goes…
I spend most evenings at my studio in one-on-one sessions with my instructors practicing their class formats – it’s so fun and they are so fierce! Here’s me and Kayah after dance cardio
And here’s me and Melissa after practicing Power Flow
The instructors on my team have been kicking’ booty and I’m 100% confident that we’ll have a successful grand opening next week – spots in our free classes are filling up so quickly!
Meanwhile, I fed my entrepreneurial soul by attending a Harvard Business Women’s event during which the founder and CEO of Poo-Pouri shared the story of how she started her business. She now brings in over $30 million in revenue a year and started with only $25K investment – I was inspired..sigh
You should watch this YouTube commercial for Poo-Pouri #hysterical
During the day I spend most of my time preparing for the grand opening. This week I ordered these cute water bottles for our launch party on Saturday 😉
And got a banner to hang on our building…
I’ve continued to teach 5:45AM & 6:45AM spin classes everything Thursday, and today was no different. While getting up early can be a drag, it sets a positive tone for my day
I played “No Flex Zone” on my playlist today, so me and some of the fellow instructors HAD to take a flexin’ pic after my classes 🙂
Now I’m headed back to the studio (as usual) to stuff swag bags, help my dad set up tables and finishing the final touches in preparation for Saturday. Say a prayer for me and wish me luck. I’ll send positive vibes your way as well.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! xoxo, Brit
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!
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…
My favorite activewear outfits of 2014! #gritbybrit
Here’s links to details of my outfits above (from left to right):
Leather Jacket (Theory), Coral Long Sleeve Top (lucy), Black Capris (Under Armour), Black & Coral sneakers (Nike), Tote Bag (Burberry)
TGIF y’all! I’m jetting off to (another) wedding in Nashville, TN this weekend. My childhood friend and basketball teammate, Julie, is getting married and I’m so excited to watch her walk down the aisle. To keep with the “travel theme” I figured I’d share some of my fav travel gear on this edition of Fitness Fashion Friday. I made an attempt to mix my casual wear and my activewear. What do you think? Regardless, I was comfy 🙂 I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend. I’ll holla back at ya on Monday. xoxo, Brit
