Dallas GRIT Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle

Dallas GRIT Fitness: My 1st Studio – Progress on Site Renovations

November 4, 2014 5 Comments

Hey guys – happy Tuesday! So I’m back in Dallas and back to work renovating and preparing for the grand opening of my very 1st fitness studio! I can’t believe this is all happening. It’s SO MUCH more work than I anticipated but I’m loving every minute of it.

My studio, Dallas GRIT Fitness, is located in East Dallas at 3821 Ross Avenue. I’m SO excited to bring the very 1st one-stop-shop for a variety of the most energetic group fitness & yoga classes! No more having to drop in to 5 different studios to attend your favorite workouts.

Right now, I’m in the thick of of renovations and managing contractors. We started off by tearing down 6 walls in what use to be a chiropractor’s office. Talk about manual labor. I had a little bit of a hiccup last week when the City of Dallas officials stopped by and said I needed an additional permit for the demolition work that was done – YIKES! We had to stop working for a couple of days until we secured the permit – UGH! Fortunately, everything is squared away now and we are back in business!

My friend Turner, owner of Dallas Fit Body Bootcamp, did all of the demolition work by himself! Talk about GRIT

Turner knocked down 6 walls on 1 Day #BEASTMODE

During the demolition, the flooring guys came by to give me an estimate on wood floor installation

I almost fainted when I heard the price… maybe I can get wood floors installed barter for classes???

At the end of Day 3 all of the wall were gone and the debris was cleared out. Turner and his buddy Glen literally did magic!

Once we got all of the walls knocked down and cleaned out, we did a mini celebration – YAY! Then the painters came in and worked their magic. I decided to go with gray walls and white crown molding. What do you think? My biz partner, Tuner, will run Dallas Fit Body Bootcamp in the suite next door. We’re excited to offer cross-studio memberships and joint workouts 🙂

Painters doing the final touches on the crown molding

All done with painting yay! Now I need to get a “Dallas GRIT Fitness” sign made to go in the entry way behind the welcome desk

Now that painting is done, the flooring guys will install beautiful maple wood floors this week.

Last but not least, we will wrap up renovations with mirrors, wall art and sound/lighting installations. Then we are good to go! I’m having an orientation for all of my rockstar instructors in early December and “soft opening” in late December 2014. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the progress. In the meanwhile, check out the studio website: dallasgritfitnesss.com

So much is happening so fast!

Thanks for being a part of the journey.

Lots of luv, Brit

Lifestyle

Group Fitness, Athleta Shopping & Painting with a Twist

September 29, 2014 1 Comment

Happy Monday friends! Hope you had a relaxing weekend and are feeling energized for a wonderful week ahead. I had a weekend full of positive indulgences and I’m feeling super satisfied this morning. On Friday, I had the privilege of teaching PiYo at Fossil World Headquarters in Dallas. To my surprise, the entire Michael Kors jewelry team came to my class and boy did they rock it out. We had a fun, sweaty, lunch break indeed! There’s nothing I love more than meeting new people and connecting over our love for fitness and active living! Also, shout out to Fossil for being an amazing company that supports healthy living among its employees.

On Saturday, I did my usual 2 Hour Saturday Detox workout with my gym buddies at 24 Hour Fitness. I’ve been working out with these ladies for 3 years now and they are truly my best friends. They even starred in my workout DVD (you thought they looked familiar, huh?). We did our usually 1 hour Turbo Kick class followed by 1 hour Body Pump class. We’re also planning a hiking and wine trip in the coming weeks which I’m very much looking forward to!

After class, I enjoyed a nice long shower, rubbed my body down in Marc Jacobs Lola perfumed lotion and headed to Athleta for a little retail therapy. We just got Athleta in Dallas like 4 months ago. I already like this brand because some of the Athleta employees came to my PiYo class this Summer and passed out free headbands to the students in my class – how nice is that? I ended up buying 2 cute black workout tanks. Both are kinda sheer and have a cool open back (I’ll post pics soon on Fitness Fashion Friday). I wanted something that would go well with my neon sports bras and head bands. The tanks are exactly what I was looking for.

Checking out the Fall collection at Athleta

I have to admit, this was actually my first time ever shopping at Athleta. I was pleasantly surprised by the bright colors, chic styles and super friendly staff. I think I may become a regular customer. The ultimate determining factor will be how their yoga pants/leggings fit me – I haven’t tried any yet. Do any of you shop at Athleta?

Loving that bright colors are on trend for all seasons!

Later on Saturday night my college friend from Cornell, Nicole (pictured on the right) planned a lovely ladies night for our Dallas crew. We went to Painting with a Twist where you BYOB and take a paining lesson. I had a blast! Not only did I get to hang out with my friends, but the icing on the cake was that we painted a picture of the Eiffell Tower. I have a soft spot in my heart for Paris because my birthday is July 14th, Bastille Day. I’ve never been to Paris but I want to go SO badly – the City of Lights, sigh…

Nonetheless, I’m super grateful the good times I shared with my friends. Overall I had an amazing weekend and I’m looking forward to more goodness this week. I can’t believe it’s going to be October! Time flies when you enjoy good workouts, good shopping and good friends 🙂

Me and my friend Crystal showing off our masterpieces!

Let your light shine! Luv, Brit

Inspiration & Motivation, Just for Fun, Lifestyle

Why I Love Group Fitness…and you should too

June 4, 2014 No Comments

Circa 1990 I had my first group fitness experience which entailed me attending a Jazzercise class with my mom at our local recreation center. All I remember is the instructor yelling at my mom because I was too young to take the class. So, I sat on the sideline and moped for an hour every week. Never did I think that I’d eventually become a group fitness instructor.

3 years ago, today, I completed my first instructor certification. It was for TurboKick which remains my favorite group fitness format of all time. As you guys know, I’ve always been an athlete and active on sports teams ranging from intramural to NCAA Division 1. If you prefer to work with a personal trainer there are plenty available, for example if you’re looking for personal trainer in Melbourne, you could check out getgoingpt.com. But group fitness has allowed me to experience a different kind of passion, motivation and fun that I never experienced in team sports. So, today I wanted to do a special tribute to Group Fitness. No matter the format (e.g. Zumba, Spinning, Yoga, Pilates, Kickboxing, CrossFit, etc.) , group fitness is all good…If you’re thinking of starting up a fitness business, take a look at the revenue management system offered by TSG so that you can keep a close eye on your finances.

It feels so good to hear everyone’s experiences with fitness. One of my fitness friends told me how she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to exercise after having children but she found out about au pairs (visit Cultural Care Au Pair to find out more or to become one) and because she had room in her house she decided to host one so she was able to keep up her fitness.

Pics from some of my favorite group fitness classes across the country: Vixen Workout (Miami), TurboKick (NYC & Dallas), PiYo (Dallas W Hotel) , Les Mills Body Pump (NYC & Dallas

Here are the reasons why I love group fitness and you should too!

FUN – I wholeheartedly believe that the only way to commit to a regular fitness regimen is to a find a workout that’s fun for you! Group fitness has a fun factor that I can’t experience while working out alone. My advice: Find a group fitness class that you enjoy and you’ll always be fit. Fitness should be enjoyed as a hobby rather than dreaded as a chore.
Passion – Once you find a class that you enjoy, you’ll naturally want to get better and learn more about it. It becomes a passion. Now, I actually look forward to my workouts and want to continuously improve in them.
Fit Friends – I’ve met some of my best friends in group fitness classes. Knowing my”fit friends” religiously attend class helps keep me accountable for showing up.
Effective – Most classes are designed to deliver a comprehensive workout meaning that you’ll work all major muscles groups during a strength-focused class and/or adequately elevate your heart rate during a cardio-focused class .
Positive Vibes – Group fitness instructors are trained to motivate their classes. While some are better than others, it’s nice to have someone leading you through a workout and encouraging you along the way. Also, unlike sports, there’s less competition so you can focus on your workout and enjoy the process.
Music – Most classes are choreographed or motivated by music. Music is a natural energy booster and encourages us to work harder without realizing it. (P.S. Have you checked out my latest playlist?)
Save Money – While I’m a big fan of personal training, I simply can’t afford it on an ongoing basis. I’ve found that small group fitness classes such as Nike Training Club or other boot camps provide similar results at much lower price.
Power in Numbers – Nobody wants to be the weakest link. Being surrounded by other people who are working hard provides instant motivation to do 15 push ups when we only want to do 10.
Variety – Workout routines are continuously changing which is great for muscle confusion to prevent fitness complacency. When working out alone, we often stick to our usual program (30 minutes on the elliptical + some abs) which is not effective for increasing our fitness level or losing weight.

Hopefully this post inspires you to check out a group fitness class this week. If so, let me know how it goes! xoxo, Brit

Cardio, Home Workouts, Just for Fun

Better Sore Than Sorry: Activity alternatives to avoid skipping workouts

December 8, 2013 No Comments

We had some crazy cold weather in Dallas this weekend – an ice storm to be exact. Consequently, many of my favorite group fitness classes were cancelled, which kind of put me in a funk. A big part of me wanted to just skip my workouts all together and curl up on my couch. Fortunately, while doing some internet browsing I came across this article, 10 Questions to Ask Yourself before You Skip Your Workout, and it became very clear to me that I needed to get my butt off of the couch and into my workout clothes. While there’s nothing wrong with resting (our bodies do need adequate recovery), I’m really glad I went ahead and got some alternative activity in. My workout schedule this weekend went like this:

Thursday = Run up and down the stairs in my house for 10 min + 50 push ups + my 10 Min Abs vol. 1
Friday = TaeBo 60 min fat blaster DVD + dancing around in my living room with ankle weights on to some of my favorite jamz
Saturday = Turbo Kick + Body Pump (my gym opened for a few hours – yay!)
Sunday = Hot Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Now that I’m getting ready to embark on my work week, I’m feeling energized and happy that I didn’t skip my sweat sessions. In fact, I think changing up my routine actually benefited my body – I’m pretty sore in areas that I don’t typically focus on.

For the Dallas readers who are still going to be stuck at home tomorrow, here’s a 15 minute workout video created by yours truly that will get you sweating 🙂 You can knock this bad boy out in your home with no equipment. The routine is designed to get your heart rate up, work all of the major muscle groups and burn 150-200 calories.

Enjoy the workout, be encouraged and have a wonderful week! xoxo, Brit

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD-j-uHj5V4&w=420&h=315]