ashleyd /

The Best 5 Minute Full Body Workout

I’m currently in work overload as the next few weeks are going to be quite stressful. Having a lot going on at work means that my personal to-do list is growing quite long. One of the things that has yet to be crossed of the list is joining the office gym. While I’m sure the process will only take 10 minutes I just haven’t made it upstairs yet to fill out the paperwork and take the mandatory tour. I also haven’t come to terms with paying the full year cost up-front until our cash flow gets in order a bit. Moving two people to two different countries is expensive!

So, in light of my gym-free life and the fact that none of my workout DVD or weights have arrived from the United States, I took the time to put together a simple five minute full body workout that I could do anytime in the comfort of my flat. It requires very little space, no equipment and best of all, it is hard enough to make your muscles quiver while not making you sweat.

Back to Basics Strength 

I’ve been doing this workout every single day for 2 weeks and am already up to 29 full pushups in a minute and the wall squat doesn’t make my thighs quiver quite so much. I love getting it done early, right after my morning run, before hopping in the shower!  It’s the perfect solution for people who travel, don’t belong to a gym, or are just looking for a beginner strength training program. Even someone like my new workout buddy, Sarah, who is a new mom with barely enough time to shower!

Try tossing this workout into your daily routine 3-4 days a week and feel the difference within weeks!

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Favorite New York City Yoga Studios

As I prepare to say goodbye to New York for a few years, I am focusing on putting together a few easy to use city guides which I can share with friends and blog readers alike. Since I won’t be in the city to tag along to workouts or dinners, I want to make sure that I’m still able to provide ideas and suggestions easily!

If there are any certain guides you’d like me to work on, let me know otherwise I’m focusing on the following:

  • Favorite yoga studios
  • Favorite workouts
  • Favorite restaurants
  • Favorite museums/tourist attractions

Today I’m going to share my favorite yoga studios with you guys! While you know that I have never practiced yoga on a regular basis for a long period of time, I never go more than a month without hopping in a studio for some much needed stretching. I tend to go in spurts where I’ll go 3-4 times in one week (like this week) and then go 2-3 weeks without but practicing more, even at home, is definitely a goal of mine.

Another thing to note is that Pure Yoga is one of my favorite studios in the city due to the diverse nature of their classes and the fact that they have classes almost any hour of the day. However, you must have a membership or friend with guest passes in order to attend.

So, now on to my favorites which welcome anyone and everyone for drop-in classes or memberships!

Yoga 216 
511 W 20th (between 10th and 11th)
212 337.3530

Yoga216

Though I only experienced Yoga 216 on Thursday for the first time, I have already signed up for 2 more classes thanks to my new Fitist package. The studio delivers a spa like atmosphere beginning the moment you pass by their adorable chalkboard welcome sign. Their sign-in and welcome area is clad with shoe storage benches and is scented with the beloved Anthropologie candles! In addition, they also have an onsite masseuse, blow out room, and tea & cookies. Their studio is all about making semi-private yoga accessible by only offering 6:1 yoga classes. They have both a heated (~94 degrees) and non-heated studio, each which are simply decorated with white washed brick walls and beautiful floors. They provide mats, water, towels, lockers and locks as well! Individual classes are $35 though they have a 3 classes for $75 class pack available for new students. In addition, their monthly rate of $275 makes daily classes $9 if you practice regularly.

Laughing Lotus Yoga 626 6th Avenue (at 19th Street) 212.414.2903

Laughing Lotus Yoga

Strala Yoga 632 Broadway 917.488.7195

strala yoga

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

30 Minute Treadmill Workout and BAMR Band Review

April showers brings May flowers eh? I feel like today was a reverse of that childhood rhyme as most of the April flowers were washed away with today’s heavy rain in New York City.

IMG_1719 (478x640) 

As lovely as a speedy run along the East River sounded last night when I went to bed it didn’t quite happen this morning. I’m human and when I hear heavy raindrops on my window sill at 5:30am it makes rolling out of bed and lacing up my shoes 100x harder than normal. I rolled back over and enjoyed an extra hour of sleep along with a relaxing cup of hot coffee while getting ready this morning. It was such a nice treat but that also meant that my run needed to happen tonight after work. I’ve committed to keeping my health and fitness a priority over the next few weeks even when I have long, stressful days. Today was a perfect example. I wanted nothing more than to head home at 7:15 and enjoy a glass of wine. But, as I sip that wine I know it tastes better now than it would have sans workout!

As I’ve mentioned, my Equinox membership will be ending soon but tonight it served as the perfect place to do a quick workout. I only had 30 minutes for my run due to an 8pm work conference call. Therefore I knew I wanted something challenging that would also keep things interesting since I get VERY bored on the treadmill. It was a pretty simple workout but it helped me keep an average pace of 8:54 which is pretty speedy for a 30 minute run. I remember that last year this time I was feeling out of breath and challenged at a 9:40 pace!

Treadmill Progression Workout

I also had the chance to test out a fun, red chevron BAMR band during tonight’s run. Have you heard of BAMR bands? BAMR stands for Bad Ass Mother Runner and her bands are 7/8 inch non-slip headbands that support the Every Mother Counts charity! How cool is that? Katie sent me a band to test earlier this week and I couldn’t wait to try it!  Each headband is lined with velvet with helps keep it in place while the bright patterns keep things fun! Each headband is only $10 which is a great price compared to some other similar headbands on the market.

IMG_8393

How about you? Headband or not when you workout? If you’re on the headband train which one are you sporting these days?

Share Button
Follow: