Month: February 2015

Tour of Columbus // Pure Barre, Dublin

Pure Barre | Dublin

Although I’ve heard great things and have a friend who is a PB instructor, the $23 drop in rate was keeping me away – we love running, which is free, you know!  Thanks to Class Pass, I was definitely glad we got to test it out.

Pure Barre Dublin is located in a strip all off Sawmill Rd, conveniently located about 10 minutes from my house. When the weather warms up, we could ambitiously run there?!

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The workout was about an hour long & regular attenders are encouraged to wear “grip” socks – PB sells their own, of course. For this particular class, we were instructed to get a mat, ball & band.

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What I liked:

  • the pulsing is definitely going to make your lower body burn! With regular attendance, I’m sure you would tighten up those hard-to-tone lower body areas… or as they say, “lift, tone, burn!”
  • low impact – there were several pregnant mommas in the class.
  • definitely different than our normal run+yoga routine – we love new workouts and mixing things up!

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Overall, we had a fun time together & of course, got some pictures. As a busy working mom with a hectic schedule, I probably won’t make it here often just because I have to be “smart” with my time and need a little bit more “sweating” to happen. I’m a cardio junkie, hence, the running group! But it was a great lower body workout and I am sure I’ll be sore tomorrow!

More barre…

We’ve also taken classes with Rachel Wilson around Columbus at PAI Yoga & Fitness and Bend Active.  Her barre-OM method combines her passion for yoga & barre and will get you sweating & shaking! Check out our earlier interview with Rachel HERE.

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Rachel & Teresa at PAI Yoga & Fitness, Dublin

 

 

 

Five ways we stay FIT during winter

After browsing Aloha.com for a bit, and wishing we could magically transport our entire running group to a beachy tropical island, we got to thinking… how do we stay ‘healthy’ in the winter?  Are there tips we could share with others trapped in this abyss of snow?  In the spring, summer & fall we stay healthy and fit, seemingly running & POGA-ing all over Columbus.  Come Thanksgiving, however, a lot of folks begin hibernation [single digits, negative windchills, a FOOT of snow?!]  Whether the air is too frigid or the trails are covered in snow and ice, we often have to find other means of staying healthy during these cold winter months.

Here are FIVE ways we stay fit during winter…

1.  Fitness Challenges.  We participate in our annual Living Fit Columbus Winter Challenge as well as   IMG_9027various [yoga] Instagram challenges.  Just today we played a little #stopdropandsnoga!  Weekly or monthly health related activities include nutrition, exercise, social support and community connections.  The group camaraderie along with shout outs and prizes from local businesses go a long way in helping us stay motivated through the cold months.

2.  Hydration, hydration, hydration!  Between hours of hot yoga & the dry-your-skin-and-everything-else-out air, hydration in the winter is essential.  As Aloha says, “Everything we put into our bodies should bring us a step closer to better health” ~ and we agree!  Juicing, protein smoothies [try Aloha’s recipes!] and lots of water are super important.  We use the ‘half your body weight in ounces’ rule, but the more water-based fluids you can consume, the better.

3.  Hot Yoga.  When it’s a balmy 6 degrees outside, who wouldn’t want to be sweating in a 90+ degree room? We love a hot & sweaty, toxin-flushing, fat-burning vinyasa yoga session! Yoga is a great compliment to our running routine and has many other benefits for your body, mind and spirit.

4. Indoor workouts.  When in doubt, treadmill it out!  Sometimes the weather just won’t allow you to run outside.  So mix it up [check out our music interval idea] and make a date with your treadmill.

5. FIT book club.  Since it gets dark too early to do group runs on Thursday nights, we created a fit book club for the winter months.  We are currently reading The Running Dream and try to keep topics related to overall mind+body, including running, health, overcoming adversity, empowerment and more.  We share healthy snacks and great conversations about the book and any upcoming fitness events.

Although we look forward to sunshine, warmer days and returning to the park for runs & POGA events (pop up yoga in the park!), we will remain healthy and happy with our winter fitness plan.  That’s the ALOHA way!

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Weekly “Sweaty” Events – updates

Updates… TWO yoga sessions with TWO juice samples in TWO days?

We are SO excited about the remaining events we are attending this weekend, so many FIT and local companies collaborating, its amazing!

Friday, February 20

We are taking a community class at V Power Yoga tomorrow at 6:30PM with guest instructor, Matt Citriglia.  And we recently found out they are also having a little community pow-wow after!  Participating local companies include…  Screen Shot 2015-02-19 at 8.03.10 AM

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Woo hoo!  Come join us!

For a printable flyer, click here –> VPowerYoga

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 And the next morning…

Saturday, February 21  rachel-about2

Yoga For Runners 
9:45am – 11:00am

Bend Active @ The Shops on Lane Ave

1595 W Lane Ave
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
614-817-1100
Join us for a COMPLIMENTARY Run+Yoga event at Bend Active!
  • ARRIVAL: Plan to arrive between 9:30-9:40ish for a quick meet & greet and drop your yoga stuff in the store.
  • RUN:  We will leave PROMPTLY at 9:45 for our run.  Some runners will do 3 and some hope to get in 4 miles.  We will end back at Bend to transition into our “Yoga for Runners” class. [We are hoping the temperature warms up as projected, stay tuned to our Living Fit FaceBook page for last minute weather updates]
  • YOGA:  Led by Rachel Kerr of The Beauty Barre, this will be a “stretching” type class where we work on specific stretches great for runners hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, etc.
  • FUN!:  Stick around afterwards for…
    • Some play time to practice certain poses that require good hip flexibility
    • Samples from Native Cold Pressed  Screen Shot 2015-02-17 at 5.00.01 PM
    • Group [and individual] photos
    • Discuss our Living Fit Columbus tanks and charity of choice
    • Some shopping at Bend!
      Bend-Active-Logo ********************************************************************

For more info on upcoming events that we are attending and/or planning, visit our Living Fit EVENTS page and calendar.

Stay warm!

Photo credits and info blurbs – Bend Active, The Beauty Barre, V Power Yoga

Weekly “Sweaty” Events

We are attending & promoting some fabulous events and classes this week!

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Tuesday, February 17

7581 Sawmill Road
Dublin, OH 43016
(614) 356-9999

Several of our runners want to PR for spring races, so speed training and strength training will be an integral part of our preparation.  Where can we get both?  At Orange Theory Fitness!  Known as “The best one hour workout in the country,” the workout consists of intervals with the treadmill, rower and TRX system.

Their website states, “The idea of OrangeTheory is simple:  a 60-minute workout designed to push you into the Orange Zone. This creates Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or EPOC. It’s what burns calories after your workout and gives you noticeable, lasting results.”

We’ll give you an update and let you know how we did.

Tour of Columbus - Orange Theory Fitness

Tour of Columbus – Orange Theory Fitness

 We visited once last May, check out our previous visit HERE.
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Wednesday, February 18 [This class is not open to the public]

Some lululemon educators are taking a private class with Rachel Wilson, founder of the barre-OM method!  We’ve met up with Rachel several times and guarantee the lemons will love her class.  Can’t wait to hear about it!

 IMG_8396Check out our interview with Rachel, HERE
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Friday, February 20 [This class is full]

We are taking a group class at V Power Yoga this Friday at 6:30PM with guest instructor, Matt Citriglia.  We first found V Power on ClassPass and it was highly recommended by Rachel Kerr, who now teaches there.

V Power Yoga-7We LOVE V Power, check out our previous post HERE.

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Saturday, February 21  rachel-about2

Yoga For Runners 
9:45am – 11:00am

Bend Active @ The Shops on Lane Ave

1595 W Lane Ave
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
614-817-1100
“My hips are SUPER tight!”  Commonly said and heard among distance runners.
Want to work on hip stretches and learn more about how yoga can benefit you when you run?  Join us for a COMPLIMENTARY Run+Yoga event at Bend Active!
  • ARRIVAL: Plan to arrive between 9:30-9:40ish for a quick meet & greet and drop your yoga stuff in the store.
  • RUN:  We will leave PROMPTLY at 9:45 for our run.  Some runners will do 3 and some hope to get in 4 miles.  We will end back at Bend to transition into our “Yoga for Runners” class.
  • YOGA:  Led by Rachel Kerr of The Beauty Barre, this will be a “stretching” type class where we work on specific stretches great for runners hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, etc.
  • FUN!:  Stick around afterwards for…
    • Some play time to practice certain poses that require good hip flexibility
    • Samples from Native Cold Pressed  Screen Shot 2015-02-17 at 5.00.01 PM
    • Group [and individual] photos
    • Discuss our Living Fit Columbus tanks and charity of choice
    • Some shopping at Bend!
      Bend-Active-Logo ********************************************************************

For more info on upcoming events that we are attending and/or planning, visit our Living Fit EVENTS page and calendar.

Have a great, sweaty, week!

Photo credits and info blurbs – Bend Active, The Beauty Barre, Rachel Wilson, OTF

Weekly Workout – Interval [treadmill] Training

[t gellenbeck]

While many of our running groupies are racing a half marathon this summer, I personally am focusing on a shorter distance ~ the 10K.  I’m somewhat pleased with my 5K, half marathon and marathon PRs, but my 10K one is less than stellar.  Therefore, many of the interval and speed sessions I’ll be attempting over the next 8-10 weeks will be geared towards that shorter distance.

For you half marathoners out there, a common goal is to break two hours.  This magical finish time is the one several of our runners have set their sights on for their spring race. If you want to see that 1:59:59 on the finish time clock, you need to keep your pace at 9 minutes & 9 seconds [or faster] per mile.  During training, you want to get your body used to running this pace, so running your tempo and some of your intervals at that 9:09 [or faster] will help you mentally and physically prepare for your half marathon pace [HMP] goal.  You can do it!   Screen Shot 2015-02-12 at 10.47.57 PM

For today’s speed session, I kept the 2 hour half marathon finish time in mind.  My ‘recovery’ pace was a 9:05/mile ~ this way your HMP seems easy compared to the rest of the workout!

You can substitute songs as desired below [hey, not everyone is a Tswift fan!] but the just of it is to alternate periods of speed with periods of recovery [your HMP].  Take 30-60 second breaks between songs as needed, eventually working up to NOT needing breaks.

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I was sweaty and felt like I got in a great run.  Hope you can make it work for you!

Try to make sure you are getting in at least one speed/interval session per week and one tempo session per week.  Hill work is never a bad idea either.

Good luck & stay fit!
Disclaimer:  I am not an expert, just a seasoned runner.  Please consult your doctor and make sure you have been running, injury-free, for 6-12 months before introducing speed work! 

 

Weekend Events – Come Sweat With Us!

We are attending some fun events and classes this weekend!  Saturday we’ll be hanging with Rachel Kerr at VUE and Sunday we’ll be with Rachel Wilson at Bend Active.

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Saturday, February 7  rachel-about2

A fun, one hour vinyasa power flow yoga class via Rachel Kerr of TheBeautyBarre.net

9AM @ VUE, 95 Liberty St, Columbus, OH 43215

Bring a mat, water & be ready to sweat!
A few of us are likely meeting after yoga to do a 4-8 mile run.
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Sunday, February 8

Join barre-OM founder Rachel Wilson for a barre-OM fusion class!

11AM @ Bend Active, Lane Ave, Columbus

 

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This 60 minute class will combine yoga and barre (www.barre-OM.com). Barre classes consist of small isometric movements used to work muscles until complete exhaustion. Barre exercises target arms, thighs, glutes, and abs. Yoga postures will be interspersed throughout the class in order to create strong, long and lean muscles.
No prior barre or yoga experience is required, but some experience in one or the other is recommended.
Bring your own yoga mat!
10% of all Bend sales on the 24th will be donated to the Law and Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization that is designed to help students from underserved communities to get into college. The program is located in six cities throughout Ohio (Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo), and approximately 350 students are involved in the program. The program is free to all participants and it is designed to help high school students build their reading, writing, critical thinking, public speaking, analytical, leadership, and professional skills. Students receive free SAT/ACT preparation and they also receive assistance in the college application process.Rachel works full time as the Program Director of LLI and teaches fitness classes at Pai Yoga & Fitness (barre and yoga), Grow Yoga (yoga), The Butcher Shop Fitness (Lagree Fitness), and Replenish: the spa co-op (barre and yoga).  You can read about our interview with her HERE.
 Rachel barre
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A big shout out to these kind-hearted yogis who are doing these events at no charge and to Bend Active, who offers complimentary fitness classes almost every weekend! Bend-Active-Logo

For more info on upcoming events that we are attending and/or planning, visit our Living Fit EVENTS page and calendar.

Have a great, sweaty, relaxing, coffee-drinking, water-rehydrating weekend! 

 

Photo credits and info blurbs – Bend Active and The Beauty Barre

Living Fit Columbus Winter Challenge WINNERS!

If I can accomplish an “impossible” feat on my yoga mat, think of all of the possibilities for my life off of the mat. – Masumi Goldman

So proud of these girls!  They ran, they yoga-d [sp?], they tried new places and met new faces, and man did they SWEAT!

WINNERS & prizes of our Living Fit Winter Challenge

Winter Fitness Challenge WINNER 2014-15

First Place – Jen!

  • Recap:
    • Total Points Earned: 2535
    • Some of her 2015 FIT goals:
      • Train to get faster & stronger for the Indy Mini Half Marathon [Hoping to PR and break the 2 hour mark!]
      • Participate in #LFCMilesandMats2015
      • Finish TriFit Duathlon challenge distance [2.4 mi run + 25 mi bike + 10K run]
      • Continue working on forearm balances, choose at least three
      • Run 2015 miles with Amanda R
      • Choose a fall fitness event or retreat to participate in

Second Place – Christine

  • Recap:
    • Total Points Earned: 2505
    • Some of her 2015 FIT goals:
      • Participate in #LFCMilesandMats2015
      • Complete two half marathons
      • Complete five total races, including one with her husband
      • Work towards setting and accomplishing personal yoga goals

Third Place – Amanda R

  • Recap:
    • Total Points Earned: 2445
    • Some of her 2015 FIT goals:
      • Complete the 2015 miles challenge with Jen (1007.5 miles for each of us!)
      • Participate in #LFCMilesandMats2015
      • PR for a half marathon
      • Commit to another half for the fall
      • Continue to become a better yogi, which has significantly helped my running!

Living Fit 1000 Point Club

  • Jen
  • Christine
  • Amanda R
  • Teresa
  • Peggy
  • Joan
  • Lan
  • Deedra

*All 1000 Point Club members [those that logged over 1000 points during the eight week challenge] will be entered in a drawing for a Winans gift basket! Drawing will be conducted this weekend at our YOGA class @ VUE.*

Thank you to all our sponsors & supporters and GREAT JOB to all our participants!

Watch for more challenges and details on our #LFCMilesandMats2015 challenge on the blog!

Winter Fitness Challenge Memories

[more pics to come ~ also check out #lfcwinterchallenge on Instagram]

Bend Active