GRIT Fitness Featured in Dallas Morning News

June 8, 2015 No Comments

Image: Maria, Annabel and Me after Maria’s Friday morning Flexin’ Flow class

Hey Hey Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was full of b-day celebrations – 4 of my closest friends have birthdays this week which means my calendar was full of pool time and partying – yippee! (Shout out to Jen Kelm, Melissa Bass, Cerise Manns and Leslie Jerome – I LOVE YOU ALL) As icing on the cake my fitness studio, GRIT Fitness, was featured in the Dallas Morning News. We are moving on up! Here’s a quick run down of my weekend shenanigans…

On Friday morning, I woke up bright and early to take Maria’s Flexin’ Flow class. I always encourage the instructors at my studio to take each others’ classes as it helps us grow as teachers and makes our team feel cohesive and supported. Me and Annabel (who teaches Dance Club Cardio and Turbo Kick) thoroughly enjoyed Maria’s Friday morning class and all 3 of us posed for a little post workout photo 🙂

On Friday night, I celebrated the b-day of my childhood best friend, Leslie. She lives in Memphis right now with her husband BUT they are moving back to Texas next month. I’m so excited! If you recall, I was a bridesmaid in Leslie’s beautiful Southern Charm wedding a few months ago. She and I had a blast at dinner and drinks on Friday night.

Me and Leslie at HG Supply in Lower Greenville, Dallas, TX

On Saturday morning I taught my usual Flexin’ Flow class at the W Dallas Hotel on the 16th floor wet deck. It was super hot and sweaty but tons of fun. We had a huge crowd on Saturday, over 90 people. Afterwards of a few of my friends from the Junior League stayed on the wet deck and we enjoyed post-workout mimosas at the pool bar. Check out this awesome review from D Town Sweat from Saturday’s class.

Miranda, Maria, Coral and Me about to enjoy post-workout mimosas

Sunday morning started with a chill trip to Starbucks where I grabbed the Sunday paper to check out our feature. I was so pumped to see that our article made the front page of the Health section! CLICK HERE to read the full article by Special Contributor Kimber Westphall (Twitter @fit_trip_Kimber). I’m so grateful that Kimber chose to reach out to me and put the spotlight on my new little business. She and I also made a cool video together which you can view below…

The b-day festivities continued on Sunday afternoon with Melissa’s birthday pool party. Melissa and I met last summer when she attended my Flexin Flow class at the W hotel. Overtime we became friends and now she teaches Flexin’ Flow at GRIT fitness. It’s great to see her grow into an amazing yoga and fitness instructor. We spent the whole day chillin’ outside, jammin’ to good music and drinking delicious cocktails. It felt good to truly refrain from working all day and just enjoy some fun in the sun!

Melissa posing with her birthday cake! Happy 28th

Coral, Melissa, Maria and Me enjoying the party…hanging out in something other than workout clothes for once!

Today I’m back to the grind. I’m writing this blog post from my favorite coffee shop, MudSmith, as I enjoy an egg/avocado sandwich and prepare for my classes this week. This weekend was awesome and I’m looking forward to an even more amazing week ahead. I wish you the same. xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle

5 Healthy Ways to Take a Midday Break

June 1, 2015 No Comments

If you’re like me, you often associate taking a break with “taking an opportunity to throw your healthy habits out of the window.” I’ll be honest, in the midst of a demanding day, my afternoon pick-me-up sometimes comes in the form of a sugar cookie. However, I’m trying to proactively plan for my midday lull and have healthy options on hand to help power through my day. Here are 5 healthy ways to take a midday break and rejuvenate:

1. Write Down A Positive Affirmation – You guys know I’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking. When I’m bored or distracted in the afternoon, sometimes I’ll search for a positive quote, write it down and then say it out load. It makes me feel empowered and ready to take on the rest of the day.

2. Enjoy A Healthy Snack – I recently discovered Chobani Flip Greek Yogurt and I’m obsessed. I love that I can enjoy tasty flavors like Almond Coco Loco and Salted Caramel Crunch without compromising nutrition. Chobani Flip Greek Yogurt is a much better afternoon snack than my sugar cookie.

3. Get Active – Go for a 10-minute walk or knock out my super efficient 10-minute Cardio Abs Workout. Physical activity gets endorphins flowing and will instantly boost your mood and energy.

4. Escape With A Novel – Instead of sitting still for hours to enjoy a new book, I keep one in my bag and read it in 10-minute increments. It’s the perfect way to escape from my daily grind and give myself an enjoyable mental break.

5. Enjoy A Glass Of Lemon Water – Lemons are loaded with nutrients and lemon water helps aid in digestion. Also, I find lemon water tastier and more refreshing than regular tap water. Here’s an interesting article sharing 10 benefits of lemon water.

I hope these midday rejuvenation ideas are helpful. Here’s to enjoying healthier options to refresh for an awesome day and an amazing life! “To love this life is to live it naturally.” – Chobani

xoxo, Brit

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Chobani through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Chobani Flip Greek Yogurt, all opinions are my own.

Lifestyle

Happy Healthy Spring! Sponsored by #AirborneHealth

April 26, 2015 No Comments

Ah springtime…out with the old and in with the new. I love spring because it feels like a fresh start! I usually try to rev up my workout regimen, get super strict about taking my daily multivitamin and drink 2 liters of water per day. I recently discovered Airborne® Everyday, which is a dietary supplement that has similar immunity boosting benefits as the traditional Airborne effervescent tablets PLUS a multivitamin.

I’ve always been a fan of Airborne® effervescent tablets. I started taking them back in college to boost my immune system through the extreme winters in Ithaca, NY. Every morning before practice, I’d drop one of those bad boys in a cup of water, watch it fizz and gulped it down. A good sweat session, lots of water and my daily Airborne® was my go to solution for staying fit, happy and healthy.

Ready to start the day with gummies in hand!

I tried Airborne® Everyday the past week and I really like it. Each morning I chewed up 2 gummies in place of my daily multivitamin – much more enjoyable than swallowing a giant horse pill. Also, I didn’t feel nauseous as I often do after taking my multivitamin. The amount of vitamins and minerals are pretty similar to those in my multivitamin so I wasn’t missing out on any nutrients. Plus, I received the Airborne’s® crafted immune support. On the down side, there are 6 grams of sugar per serving. (I figured I’d make up for it by adding some extra burpees to my classes at GRIT Fitness – wink wink). Overall, I think I’m going to make Airborne® Everyday a part of daily routine this spring.

What’s your daily immune support solution? Post a comment with your answer and you can win a 3-pack supply of Airborne® Everyday! Here’s to a happy, healthy spring! xoxo, Brit

Disclosure: I have been compensated with free product but the opinions are mine.

Just for Fun

GRIT by Brit 3 Year Blogiversary: Life Lessons and Favorite Posts

March 11, 2015 No Comments

Hello friends! Well it’s true, time does indeed fly when you’re having fun. 3 years wow! Today I went back and read my very first blog post. It was hotel gym workout that I made up while working in NYC. I made the graphic in PowerPoint (Canva and Pic Monkey didn’t exist then – haha). Today I’m taking some to time to reflect on how far I’m come as a blogger and a person in the past three years. So in addition to sharing my fav blog post I also want to share the biggest life lesson I’ve learned from my blogging experience which is to Be Unapologetically Yourself. As many young women, I often apologized from my preferences, quirks, body “flaws” etc. But the only thing worth apologizing for is failing to be true to yourself. Blogging has taught me the value of being vulnerable and given me the confidence to speak my mind. If you’re on the fence about starting a blog, I highly encourage you to go for it! Nobody can be YOU like YOU can be you. So whatever you have to share is a unique gift to the world, as long as it’s a true reflection of you.

That said, as promised, here are my fav blog post from year three. I hope you enjoyed these posts as much I did. Also for your reading pleasure, CLICK HERE to read my 2 year Blogiversary post and my fav posts from my second year of blogging!

Here’s to hundreds of new blog posts to come! xoxo, Brit

Just for Fun

THE Lorna Jane visits Dallas – Join the Party!

February 18, 2015 No Comments

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…

BRIT’S FAVE LORNA JANE ACTIVE LOOKS

Happy HUMPDAY! xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle

Life as an Entrepreneur + Sexy Arms Workout

January 29, 2015 No Comments

Hey gang! I hope your week is going well. This is week has been MUCH more mellow than last, as my new studio is up and running without the craziness of grand opening week. My team and I are having a blast getting to know our clients and teaching classes. The energy at GRIT Fitness is through the roof! After this week, we’ll operate in a more “business as usual” mode with less on-the-fly to changes to our schedule, policies, memberships, etc. For instance, today marks the end of our grand opening membership offer to enjoy a year of unlimited classes for only $75 per month! If you live in Dallas, you’d best get up on this (wink wink) – CLICK HERE to purchase!

There are SO many moving parts to manage when running your own business. Everyday I wake up with a long “to do” list and every night it’s never finished…sigh. I thought I’d be able to manage everything on my own, but I’ve quickly learned that I need help! In order to grow and execute things with the highest level of quality I HAVE to depend on others. This has been really tough for me because I pride myself in “doing it all.” Fortunately, I have some amazing friends who’ve volunteered to work the front desk and help with social media marketing barter for classes. Not bad huh? I’m a lucky girl.

Right now I’m focusing on outlining the marketing strategy that we’ll execute over the next few months. I’m also prioritizing my team’s development, so I spend lots of time in one-on-one practice sessions to grow the skills of my instructors. I have NOT figured out how to keep my car clean, plan my meals or how to effectively structure my days, so if any fellow entrepreneurs have advice, PLEASE SHARE!

Alright, that’s enough about my life. Now moving on to some valuable info for you! In honor of Throwback Thursday, here’s one of my all time favorite, Sexy Arms Workout from the GRIT by Brit archives. Give this bad boy a whirl this weekend and let me know how it goes! You can CLICK HERE for details and to watch an instructional video. ENJOY! xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle

The countdown is on…major life change coming up

January 15, 2015 No Comments

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

End of Year Top 10

2014 Year End Top 10

January 1, 2015 2 Comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS! I want to take a moment and send you all of my love and good vibes. I expect great things for you in 2015, but you must BELIEVE that good things are in store. It’s a matter of our mind-set 😉

Instead of focusing on “resolutions” for the New Year, I want to simply bask in gratitude for all of the amazing things that happened in 2014. I figure if I just focus on the positive, the good vibes will carry over into 2015. So here it goes, my Top 10 Most Amazing Moments of 2014…

1. Making Greatist Top Blogs of 2014 – Just before celebrating my 2 year blogiversary, I was so honored to make the Greatist list of best fitness and happiness blogs.

Greatist.com 2014 Best Fitness & Wellness Blogs

2. Undergoing a Successful Surgery & Maintaining a Healthy Body – After finding out that I had 13 uterine fibroids, I decided to have a laparoscoic myomectomy to have them all removed. The surgery was a successful and I feel amazing. God is good!

3. Watching my lil sis graduate from Texas Tech University & visiting my lil brother at University of Tampa – I had so many proud big sis moments this year. I’m so grateful that my siblings are doing well and enjoying life.

My dad, lil sis, and mom at Kortani’s graduation (I took the photo)

4. Awesome weekly turnouts at Piyo on the Wetdeck at W Dallas Hotel – OMG week after week we had over 75 members of the Dallas Community come out to my PiYo classes at the W Dallas Hotel. D Magazine wrote us a raving review which was also super cool!

5. Celebrating my 30th Birthday – My dirty 30 was amazing! In addition to throwing the party of my life, my best friends flew into Dallas from all over the country to the celebrate the weekend with me. It was a magical!

6. Traveling to California for IDEA World Fitness Convention & Blog Fest – This was a huge turning point in my blogging journey. I learned so many helpful tips and met so many members of the fitness blogging community. I’ve already paid my deposit to attend again next summer – hope to see you there!

Just arriving to Anaheim,CA and soaking up the sun and cool California vibes!

7. Getting invited to join POPSUGAR Select + and SELF Magazine #SELFMade Collective – I feel so legit now! Be sure to check out some of my special features on popsugar.com and self.com

8. Teaching at BEYOND Pedaling – I finally made time to start teaching at my favorite cycling studio in Dallas. After putting it off for a year, the stars finally aligned and now I lead classes 2 days each week.

Posing after class with this fabulous crew! I love their energy!

9. Transitioning from a corporate career to an entrepreneurial path – After 2 long years of prayer and indecision, I finally took the leap of faith out of corporate America and into the world of entrepreneurship. You can click here to read my special feature about this decision on SELF.com.

My employee/contractor badges from the last 4 years…I’ve seen some things

10. Opening my first fitness studio – DREAMS COMING TRUE – I’m SO excited to start 2015 by opening Dallas Grit Fitness. This will be the first of several fitness studios I open year (stay tuned!)

So here’s to 2014, an amazing year. But as I truly believe, THE BEST IS YET TO COME! xoxo, Brit

Just for Fun, Lifestyle

Nashvegas & New Beginnings

December 16, 2014 2 Comments

Hola friends! I hope your week is off to a good start. I just made it back from Julie’s wedding in Nashville, TN. This is my 5th and final wedding of 2014! I’ve had a blast seeing so many of my friends tie the knot this year. Better yet, each trip had a been a nice little get away to relax from the grind of opening GRIT Fitness, my 1st studio.

I hardly ever have time these days to sit down and enjoy a magazine, so I very much appreciated the hour and a half flight during which I put in my headphones (blasting Ariana Grande) and plowed through my December editions of O and SELF magazine. (Shameless plug: Be sure to check out self.com for some of special blog posts).

In flight pleasure reading – O Mag & SELF are my “go to” magazines

Upon arrival in Nashville, I treated myself to an adult beverage. I love Lychee Martini’s – everything’s good in moderation, right???

This was 2nd time visiting Nashville this Fall as my other childhood friend, Leslie, also got married there in November. Since this wasn’t my first rodeo, my friends and I immeidately had a cocktail and hit up the Honky Tonks for a fun filled evening.

Strolling by the Honky Tonk’s on our way to the ceremony and reception at the Aerial on Broadway

Julie’s wedding ceremony was right smack in the center of all of the action on a beautiful rooftop. At the reception, we enjoyed yummy brisket sliders, mac and cheese, pork loin and wedding cake. But not to worry, we danced enough to burn off the calories 🙂

As you can see, Julie was was a beautiful bride! You can click here to see her all of her bridal photos. It’s crazy that I’m now at an age where I can say I’ve been close friends with someone for over 20 years – cray cray. Julie, Jamie and I became friends in 6th grade because we went to the same elementary school and played on the same basketball team. My dad was our coach and my mom made us matching hair bows. Despite now living in different cities and hardly seeing each other, we still have a special sisterly bond and can talk to each other about anything. I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to support each other through several life experiences like having a baby, losing a parent, break ups, starting a new job and sports injuries. Together we’ve experienced several “new beginnings” and our friendship lasts and strengthens with each one.

Now that I’m back in Dallas and back in the swings of work and working out, I’m planning to hit the gym this evening and knock out my Calorie Crusher Pyramid workout. What are your workout plans for the week?

I’ll back back tomorrow with more news on my fitness studio and a special “Workout Wednesday” blog post. Have a wonderful day! xoxo, Brit

Lifestyle

Ratchet Running Playlist

December 2, 2014 No Comments

Hello Friends! I’m finally home in (freezing cold) Dallas and trying to get back into my regular routine of teaching, blogging and preparing for the grand opening of my new studio, GRIT Fitness!

As I sit at my desk, planning workouts and playlists, I can’t help but think back on the past weekend and let out a sigh of gratitude. I had a such a wonderful time with my family that I just have to share some reflections (and my rachet running playlist)….

After me, my mom and my dad finally arrived in Tampa we picked up my bro in our rental car and headed to Thanksgiving dinner at coaches house.

In case you missed a few posts, I traveled to Tampa, FL on Thanksgiving Day to spend the holiday with my little brother, Austin, who’s on the Varsity Basketball team at the University of Tampa. Since Austin had a Thanksgiving holiday tournament and wasn’t able to travel home, my fam decided to make the trip to him! Sadly my younger sister, Kortani, couldn’t join us because she dances for the Dallas Cowboys and had to perform on Thanksgiving Day. We missed her a lot, but still had a really great time.

Coaches wife, Mary Jo, can throw down! Simply put…I ate well on Thanksgiving Day

Upon our Thursday arrival, we immediately we ate a huge feast with my brother’s basketball team at their coach’s house. Then on Friday we did some site seeing in Ybor City and St. Petersburg. I ate a yummy Cuban sandwich and enjoyed a warm stroll through the historic streets.

Having a cocktail in St. Petersburg with mom & dad before Austin’s game. Aren’t they the cutest?!

Enjoying the fire in the perfectly crisp Florida weather!

Later that night we attended Austin’s game in which he had 3 dunks and 4 three pointers – woo hoo! Talk about a proud big sis. Afterwards, we went out a for a big dinner to celebrate.

The next morning I woke up early and went for a run to help burn off the giant meal I inhaled the night prior. I was really feeling my playlist – hey girl hey. I think being at all those basketball games, listening to hip hop, got me in a “rachet” mood. I was so hyped up during my run! Here’s my playlist…

Will chilled and shopped for the remainder of the weekend and to wrap up our trip, Austin took us for campus stroll before we caught our flight back to Dallas. I love college campuses in the Fall. They’re the best.

Me and my broskie spending some quality time before I headed home

Austin’s dorm, right next to the Tampa Spartans outdoor stadium

Love the historic class room buildings on campus – University of Tampa

Saying cheese on campus, one last time before heading home!

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Did you do anything fun with your family?

HAPPY TUESDAY! xoxo, Brit