Burpees | Bites | Beauty

This was honestly one of the hardest workouts I have ever done. Aerospace's areojump class is one that is hard to beat. It was (almost) a full class of jump roping (the silent killer of cardio) coupled with a few toning exercises.  Aerospace is know for training many of the Victoria's Secret models including Adriana Lima. Located in the heart of Chelsea, it is easy to get to from almost anywhere in Manhattan. They offer eight different classes along with a "Training Camp". Their classes include ThinkFast, AeroBox, Aero3, AeroBarre, AeroJump (the one I took), AreoImpact, AeroPower and AeroFly. Aerospace's website descrbes it's training camp as,"Every muscle in the body battles against gravity in this ultimate fitness class designed to enhance endurance, speed, stamina, power, coordination, recall, tone and muscle strength." Sounds like my next Aerospace workout will be taking this training camp challenge!

One of my new favorite snacks to make at home are chickpeas. Yes, I know, you don’t “make” chickpeas but the way I have them you do.   Trust me once you give them a try you’re going to be making them all the time! All you need is a can of chickpeas, a baking pan and whatever seasonings you’d like. First, you want to get the chickpeas as dry as possible. Lay them out on a paper towel until you feel that they are pretty dry. Next, spread them out onto a baking pan. Then add whatever seasonings you are in the mood for! I usually use salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. If you don’t feel like you put the spices on evenly throughout the pan, mix them together with a spoon but make sure you spread them out again before putting them in the oven.   For the first 15 mins, set the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then turn it down to 250 and let them sit for about 2 hours or until crunchy. Then just take them out of the oven and let them cool. Let m...

This past weekend I had the pleasure to celebrate my roommates birthday with her. We started the night as a restaurant that I thought would be a great start to getting back into the blogosphere. As you might have guessed, the restaurant is called Café Clover. Main dining room (photo taken from website) My roommate is friends with one of the co-owners of restaurant, so while sitting at dinner I was able to pick his brain. This is his first time in the restaurant game. He started his career in fitness and came up with the idea for Café Clover while talking to a friend. The two agreed that there weren't many restaurants in NYC that were healthy, not the extent of veganism, that had atmospheres that would still be great for a date night. Being in fitness he had a pretty good background on the healthy foods that people would be looking for. The menu seems perfect for someone on the paleo diet and the best thing about it is that all the food is locally sourced. Now, what did I or...

Many people have heard about Body by Simone. Most likely through Khloe Kardashians show on E! called Revenge Body. I really loved dance when I was a kid and the people that I see coming in and out of the studio seem fit. So, I gave it a try. Lucky me the studio is right in my neighborhood on 26th Street by the water on the West Side. BBS has five signature classes; Dance Cardio, Full Body, ABC (Arms, Back and Core), HTB (Hips, Thighs, and Buns) and Trampoline Cardio. I took a Dance Cardio Class. Oh boy did I sweat! I re-learned how to memorize choreography and it took me a little to get back into the swing of a dance class. However, with everyone around me enjoying themselves and trying their best, it made messing up easy to laugh at. The class started with a warm-up song. Then we learned 2-3 songs worth of choreography and put them all together to end the dance portion. It was honestly so much fun. As a kid I was more of a ballet girl rather than jaz or hip-hop but I loved this...

Time for some fun! We talked about how your mindset can cause a huge difference is feeling like your best self. One of the best ways to do that is to join in activities that make you happy. Whether that be a walk in the park, joining a sports team, or anything that makes you smile, do it! Something fun that I did recently was indoor sky diving! I did this at the iFly facility back home in King Of Prussia, PA. There is a facility in Yonkers and I suggest you go! This was one of the most fun things I have ever done. Once you get there and get dressed in your jumpsuit, they sit you down for the instructional video. Next think you know, you're flying through the air, an instructor at your side. Sky diving is something that I have always wanted to experience and this was a good warm up to the real thing. So go out, do something fun for you today! Enjoy your Monday for a change.

This is one of the best facials I have ever had! I met Ashley Witte, the owner, through a mutual friend and she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She is genuine and has a great head on her shoulders. I was a little nervous about this treatment because I was getting it right before a big meeting with my agency. Ashely assured me that she wouldn't do anything that would cause my skin to get red. After the treatment, my skin looked amazing and I went into my meeting feeling confident. Ashley has the top facial technologies and she does a great job describing what each machine does for your skin. Her website says it all, "Dedicated to the transformation of skin through organic elements, gentile touch and non-invasive technology." She is located in a very convenient location on 5th Ave and 32nd St and her space is calming and cozy. It's a new and personal experience every time I go in. I can't wait to go back.

Anya was created by Courtney Bauer who spent years in he role as a toga, pilates and meditation teacher. As it says on the Anya website  her goal was to "create a fitness formula to strengthen the body, rest the mind and heal the soul." The Anya studio was very relaxing. The smell of aroma therapy wafted throughout the room as I walked in. There were soft curtains separating the different studios and as you can see in the photo, natural light flooded the room as plants grew by the windowsill.  The class I took as Aerial yoga for beginners. I was a little nervous taking this class because I had recently dislocated my shoulder and I didn't want to put too much pressure on it. The class was very relaxing but I did work up a sweat during the abs section. Trust me, you will feel those abs tomorrow. I really enjoyed this class. It had the relaxation I needed to get from the yoga portion but still gave me a good workout. I would go back to Anya again.