I Did 100 Push-Ups

After attempting the whole one hundred push-up challenge, I decided that I would take things into my own hands. Well, this isn't entirely true. My friend Jodi, who has recently become a fitness maven, told me that she did 5 sets of 20 push-ups and I started to feel a bit of push-up envy. Then envy buried itself inside my brain and turned into a competitive fire.

Over Thanksgiving in Vegas (with my dad and my new twin brothers), I made an amazing pumkin cheesecake for my family and after watching 4, 8 ounce cubes of cream cheese, 2 cups of sugar and all that other really "healthy" stuff, I started to think about the push-ups. I think the first thing that comes to mind when someone is overeating is cardio, but no, I was too distracted by the fact that Jodi could do the push-ups and I couldn't (or so I thought).

If you think you can't do 100 push-ups, you probably can; just start by doing sets of 10, until you can do 15-20 with ease. I finished my 100 by doing a set of 15, 20, 20, 20, 10 and 15. See. not so bad! :)

If you have five minutes of spare time, do some push-ups!

Upper Body by Matthew McConaughey

I’m back! It has been almost a month since my last post about fitness, which funny enough, was about motivation. For me, the summer is my season to relax and enjoy the weather (especially being in NYC) and thus, I don’t make it to the gym more than 2-3 times per week. I do ride my bike, run along the Hudson, and walk a lot from place to place, but I don’t do a lot of weight training and heavy workouts until the fall rolls around. Except for the most obvious reason of wanting to be outside, I haven’t put my finger on really why the summer isn’t my prime time, but c'est la vie. Realizing my slacker tendencies with the warm weather, I have kicked myself in the ass and out of my rut. Yay! I recently went to the gym with a guy friend of mine who wanted to do an arm workout. I quickly said, okay, but really, I don’t know a good arm workout for men?! I got on the computer to do some research on men’s fitness and came upon workouts by Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon and Jason Statham. I went with Matthew McConaughey for now, but I will try the other two one of these days. Apparently it was a good arm workout...my friend was sufficiently sore. Try it for yourself!

Complete each exercise below with 3 sets of 12-15 reps. The weight you choose should be difficult to lift toward your last rep.

Lat Pulldowns For: Back & biceps Tip: Make sure legs are secure under the padded bar

Bench press Works: Triceps, deltoids & pectorals Tip: Always use a spotter for traditional bench press

Biceps Curl Works: Biceps, elbow flexors Tip: Keep your elbows against your body in lift in a controlled motion with palms facing up

Incline Dumbbell Press Works: Pectoralis major & clavicular Tip: Press dumbbells up with elbows until arms are extended – you want to feel a slight stretch

Triceps Rope Pushdown Works: Triceps Tip: Keep arms bent 90 degrees at both start and finish of each rep

Dumbbell press Works: Pectorals, deltoids, triceps and biceps Tip: Keep palms facing your feet, don’t click the dumbbells and finish the exercise with dumbbells directly over your shoulders.

After you try this workout, let me know the results or one of your favorite workouts! Matthew has a few more workouts that I have to try, so stay tuned for more!

What is Your Motivation?

It’s sometimes hard to find the motivation to engage in physical fitness…I think this is a problem for most people I know at one time or another. I will go for weeks where I’m pumped up and excited about working out, but there are other times, however, where I just would rather do anything else. I like to associate my unmotivated times to that of a lumaca (slug in Italian…it sounds better to me).

My gym is a three-minute walk from my office and a six-minute walk from my apartment and sometimes, that is just too far. This is a prime example of being unmotivated and I sometimes wonder, what the heck is wrong with me?! To top it off, in my apartment, I have a yoga mat, workout videos, inline skates, a jump rope and a bike in my apartment. You would think that when I don’t’ want to hit the gym, I could entertain the thought of actually using my home gym, but when I’m unmotivated, no thanks, I’ll just hang out in Lumacaland.

When I’m unmotivated, my excuses and complaints run the gamut: bloated, tired, want to be home, want to grab a drink, want to do nothing, etc. Anything will work really, as long as I can abstain from exercise. Sometimes the best thing to do when I’m feeling like this is to NOT go to the gym because if I go, I won’t accomplish much. My other option is to take a class; at least someone would TELL me what to do.

Last night, I made the decision to go to the gym after all...my subconscious forced it on, I tell ya. On Tuesdays, my all-time favorite class is taught (intenSati, taught by world-renowned instructor, Patricia Moreno), but I really just was not in the mood...at all. At about 8am, I it had full intention in going, but at 6pm, it was a whole new ball game…I was tired and hungry and grumpy...the list goes on.

Once I changed my clothes, I made the decision to man-up and not be such a loser—I went to intenSati. I had indeed made the correct decision; her class is so good to me. I always leave the class with sweat seeping through my clothing, jello legs and a positive attitude. The latter is essential to working out; you always want to feel good about yourself after any type of exercise or what’s the point?

My obsession with intenSati started when I joined Equinox five years ago, and it's still my favorite class. For over a year, I religiously attended every Tuesday night for 30 minutes of abdominals followed by an hour of intense cardio, yoga and lower body work. I’ve always had a difficult time explaining her class to people, but it’s sort like old school aerobics on crack, mixed with some intense lower body work at the end of each class. If you want to try her class out, ask me for a guest pass!

With a background in fitness, life coaching and yoga, Patricia incorporates inspirational and spiritual ideas into her classes. At the beginning of each class, she uses real-life examples and ideas to encourage and motivate the students to make positive changes in their lives. I’m usually not one for life couching or spirituality during my workout, but last night (and on many other occasions), her thoughts really rang true with me and my sluggish attitude. Patricia reminded me that it’s only me who can make positive changes in my life. And sometimes you just need to push yourself to engage in physical activity…I promise it will pay off more than you know.

A quote from class: There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way!

Ending the Cleanse

Well, folks, I only made it to day 3 (*sigh*). I broke the cleanse at 8:30pm on day 4. I woke up that day feeling very, well, off and I was constantly thinking of food and what I could eat that wouldn't be detrimental to my cleansing...or what could be. After work, while sipping on my last juice (water, lemon, cayenne and agave), I decided to bite the bullet and eat something. Now, I made the smart choice by choosing a salad with kale, celery, avocado, tomato and cauliflower topped with some amino acids accompanied by mashed avocado with sea salt and lemon. I was proud of myself. Day 4 was a Thursday, and it just happened to be my friend's birthday party at Chinatown Brasserie...oh the torture of being at one of the yummiest Chinese (Americanized) restaurants in NYC, albeit the party was downstairs away from the food. All was fine and dandy at first, but there weren't very many people at the party yet, so my roommate (also doing the cleanse), a friend of mine, and I made the rash decision to go and eat. My roommate was instrumental in this decision, but she didn't have to twist my arm too hard. Note: Do not end a cleanse with heavy or fried food, meat or dairy or your innards will be mad. I followed one of these rules: no dairy.

Break the Cleanse Meal: Turnip Cake Soup Dumplings with Pork & Crab Chanterelle and Red Bean Dumplings Red Steamed Tofu with Mushrooms

After the meal, my tummy had mixed feelings; it was full, yet grumpy due to overload. I went home with a headache and bloated stomach, so that I could "sleep it off." In the morning, I had two of the juices before lunch, but continued eating normal and healthy items for the remainder of my meals; that day, and all days following.

While doing this 5-day version (I mean, 4), I pondered why it was that I was doing this cleanse. The initial decision was based on the premise behind any cleanse: giving your body a rest. I did feel better and lost 3 pounds, but eating in moderation from this point forth will do me just fine. The bottom line is that I really, really, really, really love food. Food is what gives me brain power to function and the energy to workout.

My advce: If you are ever in a situation that makes you question the decision to be in that situation, get out. For me, that was eating a yummerific meal. Happy eating!

5-Day Renovation Cleanse - Day 3

A few months ago I did Blueprint's 3-day cleanse, but after talking to my friend, Nathalie, I decided that I needed to step up to the plate and do the 5-day Renovation Cleanse! I am now on day 3.

Renovation Menu: 1. Romaine, celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, green apple, spinach & lemon 2. Pineapple, apple & mint 3. Romaine, celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, green apple, spinach & lemon 4. Water, lemon, cayenne & agave 5. Carrot, apple, beet, ginger & lemon 6. Water, lemon, cayenne & agave

My favorite drink by far is number 2, but I wish there were more than one. Normally on this cleanse, drink number 6 is different (cashews, water, agave, vanilla bean & cinnamon), but I have a slight allergy to cashews, so I'm stuck with the lemon water for 5 days straight, twice a day. :(

If I feel like cheating and actually eating food, I'm allowed to eat the following: 2 slices of cucumber, a quarter piece of avocado, a celery stalk or some low-sodium veggie broth. Now, doesn't that sound delicious?! I ended up cheating yesterday and today by having half of a small avocado, but I don't actually think it helped my hunger pangs and I will stear clear of it tomorrow and Friday.

A new addition to my cleansing regime is working out; even though I'm lacking the protein intake, I feel good and decided to do low-impact exercise. Yesterday I went for an hour bike ride up the Hudson and this morning I did Pilates. The bike ride was nice, but I definitely wanted a huge meal after...sigh.

Wish me luck and if you have any tips or stories from your personal experiences, let me know!

Sports Club / LA, Rockefeller Center

When I walked into the lobby of Sports Club / LA in Rockefeller Center, I was amazed by the grand entrance, reminding me somewhat of a fancy hotel lobby with a long front desk, which made the one person there look minuscule. After meeting with my member representative, Renee, a fellow Californian, I was given a tour of the gym and to my surprise, even though it is really nice, it just felt a bit dated.

Encompassing one floor, there are two sides, which are basically two really, really, REALLY long, humongous rooms. One side has mostly cardio equipment and weight machines, and an enormous studio for classes with every piece of free weight equipment for a class that you can imagine. The other side of the gym has free weights, more cardio equipment, a Pilates studio and a temperature-controlled workout room for hot yoga. I may be missing a room, but you get the idea—it’s gigantic!

The locker rooms are my favorite part; you are provided with daily workout attire (for in-gym use only)! I am guessing the clothes are made available because of the many commuters here, due to its location in Rockefeller Center. I didn’t know this before coming to the gym, so I brought my own, but 90 percent of the people working out around me had on the “free” gym clothes…branded with Sports Club / LA, of course.

There are two separate locker rooms: one regular and one VIP. The VIP locker room is only available through the Executive Membership, costing a grand total of $300 per month ($1500 initiation), but you are provided with a personal locker, 24-hour laundry service, fancy water, snacks and access to a TV. Not really worth it for me; at CLAY, this service is offered to all members, and the monthly dues are less expensive. For a regular “Health” membership to this club, the dues are $170 per month ($650 initiation). You can also do BiCoastal for $235 per month or an Access East Membership for $235 per month (both with a $1200 initiation fee). (All memberships are based on a month-to-month commitment.)

Although the price tag is pretty high, there are lots of fun classes to try including Capoeira, Kickboxing, Boot Camp Xpress, and more! If it weren’t for my poor directional skills in the Rockefeller Center area, I would enjoy frequenting this gym.

Thou Shalt Eat

I feel that breakfast is one of the most difficult meals of the day to accomplish. Maybe it’s due to lack of time to shop for breakfast foods; you’re in a  hurry or maybe you ate too much yesterday, but for me, if I don’t eat breakfast, come noon and I’m starved and ready to eat anything in sight. This is no good, my friends. Research shows that eating breakfast will help you to lose weight and will stimulate your metabolism – if you starve yourself, your body will then reserve that energy (slowing the metabolism), which can lead to weight gain.

Metabolism is a collection of chemical reactions that take place in the body’s cells. Basically, your metabolism converts the food you eat into the energy needed to carry out day-to-day activities, from moving to thinking to growing. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy having high energy and a clear mind for my workouts! :-)

A healthy breakfast helps to boost your metabolism, reduces cravings, while providing your body with energy – more energy means burning more calories. If you have no energy, let’s face it, your daily activities will move slower and you will burn fewer calories. Even if you ate the largest feast of your life last night, you still need to power up in am hours.

Some of my breakfast choices have come from trial and error. I understand that every person is different and you may disagree with picks, so just let your body tell you what feels good. If you are ravenous an hour after breakfast, this is one sign that you may need to rethink the meal or add more protein, which will keep you feeling fuller longer. I have listed 4 of my go-to choices – try them out and let me know how they work for you! Also, if you have some ideas for me to try, I’m all ears. Eat up!

Tip: If you’re in a hurry, stop by your local bodega (or grocery store) and grab a Fage Total Greek yogurt (120 calories, 9 grams of carbs) or if available, oatmeal (make sure it’s unsweetened) with fresh fruits.

1. Kashi Cereal: Heart to Heart or GOLEAN 1 cup of cereal with your choice of milk (I like Silk Soy Milk, plain) Sometimes I include half a banana (I usually bring a box of cereal and carton of milk to work on Monday and I am all set for 5 days of breakfast.)

2. Egg whites with cheese on whole wheat 2-3 egg whites 1 T feta or goat cheese Handful of fresh spinach leaves 1 piece whole wheat toast or a mini whole wheat pita

Scramble 2-3 egg whites in a bowl with some pepper or other spices to taste; spray pan lightly with olive oil cooking spray, sauté the spinach for 1-2 min or until almost wilted; pour in eggs and cook on medium heat until the eggs are almost cooked (2-3 min.); sprinkle the cheese on top and cook for about 1 more minute; then stick inside the pita or on the toast. (This may sound like a lot of time and effort for the morning, but you can even put the meal into some aluminum foil and take it to go…I promise, it’s worth it.)

3. Green Smoothie Either use my at-home recipe or go to your local juice place and try a new variety – one of my favorite combos is apple, carrot, beet and ginger.

4. Kamut* Flakes with Blueberries 1/2 cup Kamut flakes 1 cup water Agave (drizzle to taste) Cinnamon (sprinkle on top) 1/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) Optional: Almonds (try adding some of these for added protein)

Bring water to a boil and add the Kamut; boil for 3 minutes until all water is dissolved; pour into bowl with blueberries. Add agave and cinnamon to the top and mix ingredients.

*A rare non-hybrid grain offering the highest protein of any wheat; 100 percent whole grain.

30/60/90

30/60/90, created about two years ago by Kristi Molinari, is by far the best class I have ever taken from any gym. Althought this class is offered at many Equinox locations, I take it at the SoHo Equinox on Tuesdays at 6:30pm. "For those of you who haven't taken this class before; it's really hard," Kristi yells into the microphone. "If you need to take a break, do so, but just don't do it in the last 10-15 seconds each exercise). These last 10-15 seconds is when you get the anaerobic exercise and your body sees the results."

As the title suggests, the class is run on intervals of 30, 60 and 90 seconds. Kristi walks around the class with her stopwatch and makes sure everyone is using 100 percent of their energy. The items needed for the class include a step pad, hand weights and medicine ball...and a gallon of water and towels to soak up the excessive sweat.

She starts the class with a quick warm-up and then the class goes full force into the timed intervals. For the first two minutes we jumped up and down and back and forth on the back of the step pad, which began to work my quads and hamstrings—a variation of squats and lunges. Then each interval took us through pushups using the side of the step pad, jumping lunges with weights held above the head, side-to-side with weights held high, some arm exercises, dips on the pad and many other strenuous, torturous cardiovascular exercise (with weights). In between each cardio/weight jumping sequence was another weight exercise.

Now, I had done the wedge class the day before I took this class, so I was already kind of sore. The side-to-side lunges were almost painful for me and the entire breathing thing became hard. When the time came for us to do a 7-minute plank routine (plank is a yoga position where you get into a push-up position, but don't go down for the actual push-up). I almost died. Luckily, I am pretty good at plank and incorporate it into my daily routine; otherwise, I would have fallen on my face. Next was side plank where you hold your body up by one arm, on leg is on top of the other leg with feet flexed, giving you an oblique workout. Then we had to run in place while still in plank. I really wasn't joking about the 7 minutes.

Have you ever heard of a squat thrust? Well, it starts with a simple jump in the air, down into push-up position, push-up, then back to the jump. This is a pretty difficult thing to do for 90 seconds, so Kristi decided to bring a medicine ball into the mix, so instead of just a regular push-up, we had to balance on a medicine ball.

I have a love/hate relationship with this class and I highly recommend it.

SELF Workout in the Park

The SELF Workout in the Park is an event I have wanted to attend for five years and on May 9th, I finally made it! Held in San Diego, Chicago and New York City. The NYC event took place in Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield where thousands of women come together for workouts by Crunch, beauty treatments and product samples. Registration began at 9am, but the events didn’t start until 11am. Since the $15 entrance fee was paid in advance, I stood on line waiting for a while. There was a choice of taking classes in three areas – the main stage (mixed classes), quiet zone (yoga), and Ford Rebounding Zone (cardio on a trampoline with weights). Since we (Nathalie, her sister and I) only wanted to stay at the main stage, we secured our spots right up front…also the yoga and urban rebounding required that you sign up.

I didn’t eat breakfast before, so I stopped by the EAS booth for a chocolate Myoplex drink and and energy bar. Other sponsor booths included Ford, Blue Diamond, Afrin® PureSea™, ASICS, American Laser Centers, Garnier, Jennie-O Turkey, lucy®, JELL-O, Pretty Elizabeth Arden, PureVia™, Smartfood, Reebok EasyTone, Maybelline and Veramyst.

Classes we tried:

11:10 – 11:30am Strength and Alignment: Create a leaner, stronger, more flexible body using classic sculpting and stretching movements.

11:35 – 11:55 Latin Rhythms: Moves from the mambo, cha-cha, merengue and samba.

12:00 – 12:20 Rock Bottom: Intense lower body workout that targets butt and thigh muscles.

12:25 – 12:45 Cardio Tai Box: A cardiovascular workout with great music and simple choreography. (Because we were all so close together – everyone was kicking wet gook on each other’s backs – gross!)

12:50 – 1:10 Movieography: Break out your sweatbands for moves from the most dance-tastic movies of the 80s: Footloose, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing and more. (This wasn’t so much of a workout, but it was really fun!)

Classes we didn’t try:

Beach Body: Total body workout.

Steletto Strength: Calf boosting, posture-building, cat-walking diva class.

Million Dollar Knockout: Traditional boxing principles and training targeted for women.

Masala Bhangra: Traditional Indian dance workout set to hip-hop, disco, salsa, techno, house and rap music. (I was so sad I didn’t get to try this!)

After 5, 20-minute classes, we took a break to walk around and grab some goodies at the booths. I came home with a Ford scarf (everyone needs one of these suckers), some popcorn chips, some Garnier shampoo and a SELF magazine. We planned on trying Masala Bhangra, but it was hot out and we were tired...I will have to try it at Crunch in the future. If you are in any of these cities in 2010, you should definitely do the SELF workout in the park.

TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour

My 42 miles of adventure started at 7am when I met my team in TriBeCa. At 8am sharp, we were off!

With roughly 30,000 participates, the ride was pretty slow at first, but as we got closer to Central Park the gaps between people became greater. After Central Park, we went through Harlem (for about 10 blocks), then Brooklyn and finally, Queens. Along the way were rest stops stocked up with Pop chips, Bonita bananas, Larabars, Snapple energy drinks, water and other little snackies from the sponsors. We only stopped at one rest stop (#2) and I’m proud to say that in the span of 4 hours, I didn’t need to use the restroom once!

What a cool experience to have in NYC; we rode on streets, bridges, and highways, through parks, and should have gone on ferries (we didn’t make it to Staten Island due to the 3-hour wait when you return to the city). Not sure if you noticed or heard, but it was raining on Sunday and yes, I rode through it like a champ…sort of. The subway ride on the way back was a little painful and cold…very cold.

Did you know that this tour is the largest biking event in the United States!?! If you live in NYC (or not), this is an experience not to be missed. I was lucky to be recruited by a team of 18 that raised money for three great charities: Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), United Veteran’s Beacon House (UVBH) and Generation Iraq. Overall the team had 228 donations for a total of $19,200!

Join me next year!