Burpees | Bites | Beauty

Ignore the unhappy look on my face, it's just because I couldn't breathe. Barry's Bootcamp is about as hard as it gets. I workout on a daily basis and this place kicked my butt. I have taken their arms and abs as well as their butt and legs class. I left both of these classes with my shirt see through I was sweating so much. They assign you a treadmill or floor space and you either start you off on the floor or the treadmill. I liked starting on the treadmill better because it's a good warm up and when you are done you end on the floor which is better for stretching. You don't get to necessarily choose though. They do two rounds. You are on the treadmill twice and on the floor twice doing multiple exercises on the floor. I wasn't necessarily sore the next day but I was exhausted at the end. If you want to be tired and sweaty, then go to Barry's.

So here is the second part, as promised, to my collaboration with my trainer Mike Castle. I sat down with Mike after one of our workout sessions and asked him a few questions that I thought might be interesting to all of you. I thought that his answers were interesting and I hope you do as well. How did you become a personal trainer? This is the short version: I never wanted to become a personal trainer. I always wanted to be a police officer.  I almost didn't have a choice in becoming a personal trainer.  When I was a kid I weighed 315 lbs.  I thought that I could get into some sort of shape by joining a kung fu school, but they told me no, they told me to try the boxing school up the block. In about 6 months I lost over 100 lbs and dropped down to 198 lbs.  All of my friends saw the dramatic change and started to bombard me with questions like “What did you do and how?” and “Can you show me?” And I did.  And I learned...

Bari Studio, located in Tribeca is a great workout that includes a combination of dance, bounce and tone. They are inspired by sports and dance training, making your workout high energy while working mind and body. They offer five different types of classes along with personal training. "Barione" is a 20 minute mix of everything Bari has to offer. "Dance" is a high cardio, fully body workout. "Micro" is the full body conditioning class. I would say it is almost equivalent to a barre class with the use of resistance bands, "bari balls" and skimmers.  I took Baris' "Bounce" class. The class I took was a half an hour of dance based bouncing on the trampoline and finishing with an ab workout. I really enjoyed this class however don't expect to be perfect at it the first time you try. Even with my 13 years of dance experience in my pocket, I still struggled keeping to the beat at certain points. I was sweating but not as much ...

While in the process of becoming our best selves, many of us forget the importance of relaxation. Stress is often a major cause of weight gain and can lead to many other health problems. Relaxation of the mind and body helps to ease your way to healthy weight loss and a healthy life style.  Whenever I am taking a break from the city and have a weekend at home, I almost always take an epsom salt bath. Epsom salt is extremely high in magnesium, which is an element that most people are deficient in but it is very important to the body. Magnesium helps with many of the main bodily functions, like controlling muscles, energy production, and the elimination of harmful toxins. Magnesium deficiency as led to heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and many stress related illnesses. You can get epsom salt almost anywhere, from your local supermarket to CVS. It is very easy to find and not expensive. Some packages say to take a bath 2-3 times a week but I just do it as needed. Occasiona...

Since I have talked about Gotham Gym so much, I partnered up with my trainer Mike and asked him to help me out with a few posts! One is an interview with him about some of his best workout tips and the other (this one!) is a look into one of our workouts! So here we go: As a warm-up, I will just for three minutes on the treadmill at a 6.0 mph speed. Next, I will do three minutes on a machine called the Versa Climber. If you, or your gym does not have one a good equivalent could be doing mountain climbers for three minutes. Up next, is a round of boxing! This is my favorite part of the workout. Not only do I feel like I'm kicking butt, I also am working up a sweat. A round of boxing is about three minutes (I'm sure you're sensing a theme by now) and we do a round intermittently throughout the hour.  Next we move on to abs: If you are thinking, "I don't have a wheel or a bungie cord at my house! How am I supposed to so this?" Have no fear! There are...

Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything just seems completely out of control and unorganized? There was a period of time for me where I felt like my life was all over the place. In the world of modeling, you don't get your schedule until the night before at 6 pm. As you can imagine, that last minute scheduling can cause a constant change of plans. There is an importance to having a schedule and I realized it after I completely forgot about a doctor appointment. So, later that day I picked up a calendar. This is my how to post on how to stay organized! This is my handy dandy calendar. I personally like to write things down but you can also use the calendar in your phone. The most important thing to help you keep your schedule is to write down everything. Even if it is a tentative plan, write it in pencil or mark it as a different color in your phone. Just make sure you have it written down somewhere. Next, remember to bring your planner with you wherever you go....

There is a list of blogs on the right column of by website. These are blogs that I check out from time to time and if you have time or interest I suggest you check them out yourself. There was a post from Margaux's Closet that I thought would be beneficial to my readers. The post is called Inspired Summer Makeup . I loved her suggestions for a summer makeup routine: "SOME TIPS: Stay moisturized, and take care of your skin. If you aren't taking care of your skin, chances are you might feel the need to add more makeup to cover up any blemishes you might have, I know I get that urge but I encourage you to fight it. If you really focus on skincare first, you will have such an easier time when it comes to applying a natural flawless face of make up for the hot and humid weather. Oils, moisturizers are key, and really help your skin to look it's best during the hot months.  Remember to match your foundation. Change up your shades. It's never fun to have to p...

I never thought I would be one of those people who went on juice cleanses but I have become a fan of them. After doing a juicing camp I was turned on to the world of juicing. I wouldn't do a camp again but I like having a day of juicing every once in a while. Juice press is one of my favorite places to pick up a juice. The staff is fully prepared to answer any questions you may have about the juices. They will help you prepare a cleanse that is perfect for you whether it is your first cleanse or your 100th. The juice prices are competitive with the other top juice stores and I find that the Juice Press has the widest variety of juices that actually taste good. They also have some of the best clean eating meals and snacks. If you're looking try a new juicing or are just looking for a new juice store, I recommend trying the Juice Press. 

For those days that you just can't get out of your apartment to make it to the gym but you still want to get a workout in, there is a great video online that I love to turn to in order to give my booty a little extra perk. So clear a space, roll out your yoga mat and get to working on your booty! Do this video a 2-3 times a week for about a month and I guarantee you will see a difference in your booty. 

If you're the type of person who only buys from the organic section of the grocery store here is a cosmetic version. It is called Juice Beauty . Endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow, this company has made a line of cosmetics and skin care that is completely organic. The founder of Juice Beauty has a very interesting story and if you have time you should read about it. Her mission is,  “At Juice Beauty we believe in advanced beauty solutions that harness the best of certified organic ingredients to deliver clinically validated skincare and vibrant plant-pigment makeup that provide beautiful results, enrich your well-being, and sustain the Earth.” I tried their mascara. I like the natural look and feel of it. There weren't many clumps and it felt very light. My lashes looked naturally longer and I appreciate the mascara even more because it is made from natural ingredients. 

As you know from my previous post, Gotham in Gotham City  I love the hardcore workouts. I told you all about my love for boxing and working hard. Now, let me now tell you about a workout that's a little more calm but just as hard. It's a place called Flex Studios. Flex Studios offers pilates, barre, and TRX classes. If you are looking for a workout that's not a lot of sweating but still makes your muscles sore, this is the place. My favorite is the pilates reformer class, it's killer for your abs but it can also be great for your legs and butt. One feature of Flex that I really like is the 30/30 class. It's 30 minutes of Pilates and 30 minutes of Barre. It gives a good overview of what you can expect from both classes. There are a lot of pilates reformer classes in the city but out of all of the ones I've tried this one is my favorite. The weights aren't too heavy or light and the instructors love what they are doing which make it all the better.