New brand for activewear: Werkshop

Mastering the awkward picture. 

Dragon crops. OMG. I'm in love.

I really like to have workout clothes that standout and when I saw these Wekshop dragon crops I knew I had to have them. They are so bad ass. And dragons! I love dragons. 

I got these in the mail and immediately wanted to wear them. But I decided the girls in my barre class weren't bad ass enough to appreciate them, so I wore them to flying trapeze, which seems like the most appropriate place to wear dragon crops. Hello flying?

Blooper real from flying trapeze. Keep your feet together and don't ball up your fists. Maybe I just felt like Super Man? 

I tried them on and my first thought was SQUISH. They are very compressive. But not too compressive to move in. They were fine for flying trapeze—a lot of piking and balling your body up. I had no issues.

These are a light colored and I had no issues with opacity, because the detailing around the butt is dark. I had black underwear on and it didn't show through and didn't show lines. The inside of the pant is white. 

And I really liked the detailing on the butt—the horns. I thought it made my butt look cute, but dangerous ;) 

And apparently, you can wear these with a swimsuit for SUP yoga. (SUP yoga classes were sold out when I tried to sign up recently.) 

Fit: Runs small. I'm a 6 in Lulu and ordered a medium in these. They fit quite snugly. I've never worn a large in my life, but I might try one on to see how it fit. That said, the medium is the right size.

My husband said he wanted a pair. An XL would probably be too small for him. The owner of trapeze said he wanted a pair too. I think he needs a pair.

Verdict: I love these crops. On my budget, I can almost afford a new pair a month ($88 plus $5 shipping). I want the panther ones, and the octopus one. Who am I kidding? I want them all. Werkshop does a great job of making appealing prints: Hearts for Valentines Day, butterflies, fruits, kale—all sorts of themes. 

Fingers crossed for a Labor Day sale. 

Flying Trapeze: Seat roll from whip

Another weekend, another trapeze class. #addicted.

I liked my trick from last week, the seat roll, so we did it again this week. This week from a whip position instead of a knee hang. I think I was doing it wrong because it was much harder. 

I haven't done this whip position since May or so, so the first time I was wary.

Whip position. (Wearing dragon crops :)

The trick is jump off the board, hang, on the way back tuck in, then pike, feet toward the board, butt towards the bar and look at your knees. At the call, you pull your arms closer to the bar, hook your knees, and then pull up towards the cables (not the lines.) It's almost one movement. Then you sit on the trapeze, pull the bar close to the bottom of your butt, lower your hands on the cables and lean back (the trapeze is under the bottom of your butt, your body is arched, toes pointed). On the call, you release your hands for the catch. 

And once again, I struggled with this one.

1) I feel like I've lost strength, because it's hard to hold all of your weight in the whip position. 

2) On the first one, I didn't keep my feet together.

Feet apart, hands in fists. Double fail. What am I doing?

3) On the second try, I missed the call. Was I supposed to sit?

4) And I was trying to muscle up onto the trapeze (which is hard) when I think I was supposed to yank the trapeze pulling my body toward it and then reach.

After a few tries of that, I tried cutaway for the first time. 

I knew I'd be a hot mess. This is a difficult trick that takes several classes to get. 

It's like single reverse. You jump off the board with hands crossed, you untangle yourself as soon as possible (keeping your feet together). Kick forward, backward, forward, and then bring your toes to the bar, so your whole body is piked. From there you, kick your feet like going to handstand, and then release your hands and you should do a layout towards the catcher.

That is not what I did.

I let go with my hands first and did a dolphin dive toward the net.

I knew when it was happening that it didn't feel right. I just let myself fall—because that's all you can do. And honestly it was fun.

Kaz joked that I set a distance record for that dive (which he's seen many times before.) And we all laughed for several minutes about it. 

And it almost makes sense. When I do handstands, I lunge, put my hands down and then kick my feet. So hands first, then feet. I need to kick my feet first. 

After that it was time for catches. (Seat roll off course.) The timing was off for my first catch. I did touch Alex's thumb. And then I had my hands too narrow for the second catch. (I make all kinds of stupid mistakes). Class was over 10 minutes early so I tried my luck and asked for one more turn (I always feel like a need a try or two more than anyone else. And it was much better.

The catch was better than last week too (it was all the catcher last week). This week, he definitely had my wrists (Afterwards I could see the outlines of his fingers in chalk on my wrists). And I tried not to pike. I did the slightest and pulled myself in. Victory.

This trick has a lot of moving parts and it's hard to remember all of it: feet together, hands shoulder width (no fists!), look at your knees, pull, bar under your butt. It gets better with practice, when you're muscles remember what to do—so you don't have to think. Overthinking is my enemy is trapeze. I overthink the directions and take too long and miss the timing.

Now I'll just have to work on my cutaway. I think the blooper reel for this one will be pretty good ;) 

Nerdy Girl's Guide to Body Shred

Today I tried a Body Shred class at Chase Street Yoga. I came home and told my husband it was awful, but good.

It was a free class, an interval training class designed to keep you going for 30 minutes without rest—to really rev up your metabolism.

I decided I should try it. But thought I might die during the class. I haven't done this type of interval training in almost a year.

I showed up for the 8:30 a.m. class (in part because the instructor is a Lululemon ambassador and they usually teach a good class) and also figuring not many people would be up that early AND I could a run in afterwards and be done with the day early.

Prep
Before going to the class, I checked the Facebook page and saw people are wearing shorts and sneakers in photos. So that's what I wear. I do so many barefoot workouts I didn't want to show up in flipflops ;) Also, the post said you will get sweaty, so I wore my favorite Under Armour mesh back tank with Lulu shorts and sports bra.

The class
At 8:15 a.m. I'm the first one there. I sign in. I bring my water in, but leave my keys and phone in the cubby outside. (Don't want to trip over them during class). The owner say it's good I'm early, they've got 12 people already signed up. People trickle in after me. I grab a spot in the back. The class fills up. (I counted 19 yoga mat stations for people.) It's a mix of ages and body types. And I really like it. There's even a guy on the mat next to me. Yay for class diversity.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m. the instructor starts to explain the class—what it's for, some of the moves. So far, so good.

The class starts with marching in place, high knees, jumping jacks and cardio—and before I know it, there's fast feet and lunges, jump squats. Lots of squats. So many squats. And so much jumping. I tend to avoid jumping (knee issues).

And true to form, there is no break. I just want a sip of water, but no one else is stopping. So I don't either.

There's squats with back flies, rows, ice skaters. I'm trying not to trip over my mat. I'm not always successful. I'm not sure of all the moves. So I'm watching the cute girl who works at Lululemon (who keeps getting praise from the instructor). But, I CAN do most of the class. Some of my squats were awful, but I kept in there. I did take a 3 second water break towards the end. Sweat is dripping down my face, so I can tell this class is really working.

By the time we get to planks—for a blissfully short 30 seconds—I'm ready for the break. More planks please. And it's almost to the end of the class. The cool down in marching in place and we're done.

I survived
I'm happy to have survived. And it did seem like an effective class. I worked hard.

I liked the instructor. She did like to yell—but it was encouraging yelling. She yelled good jobs to the people whose names she knew, and she also gave alternatives—to ease or strengthen the activity. Yes, I can hold plank with one leg up. No, I don't want to add more jumps to these squats, thanks though. The yelling was more motivational than boot camp style corrections. It worked. She had a good energy that made us NOT want to quit.

After the class, I was really sweaty and completely wiped. Saturday is usually my day to run three miles. Running seemed like a really stupid idea—given how tired I was, but my legs were really tight and I decided a slow mile would be a good cool down, so I headed to the student gym and ran a mile. My legs were felling better after the first mile so I ran another. My pace was really slow: 9 minute first minute, 18 minutes total (which includes a few seconds of fiddling with my iPod which would stop working and play stupid songs). And I decided two was enough. (I was soooo sweaty. My hair was wet like I'd taken a shower.) And that was the end of my Saturday morning workout.

Happy to be done with my run. And for an empty track.

Would I do the workout again? Yes. I'd do it again. It could be a good addition to my Saturday workouts. I like the time it was offered. We'll have to see if they add it to their schedule for that time. Bonus: It's a $9 drop-in class. I like that price and I like drop-in classes.

Awful, but good: In all, it was a tough, demanding workout—for all ability levels. Everyone was working to their level. It was awful in places, like a tough workout should be. But overall, it was a good effective workout. And 30 minutes is great—for busy people, for ADD people, for people who don't want to waste time.

We'll see how I feel tomorrow.  (Update: sore-ish legs and butt. No running for me today.)

Battle wounds: Thigh chafing from running when I was already sweaty. :( Run in compression tights (not shorts) next time.

Not making the team

Summer Leap workshop students

I have been absolutely pumped to do a flying trapeze workshop. I wanted to do the one this summer, but didn't really have the money. I watched it sell out in three minutes.

This time around—I found the money. I got a small raise. I justified that if I gave up my barre membership and took free classes, and stopped eating out—I could afford the workshop.

I checked for the workshop posting religiously. And it never came.

Finally, I emailed the owner—figuring they weren't having workshops. She said they were—they were just never posted. And they misread my email and thought I wasn't available.

I almost cried. I had been so excited about it. I was really looking forward to it.

I was on the interested-in-a-trapeze-workshop list. I responded to the survey—that I might be interested. I was waiting to see when the classes were and to see how my schedule was looking. I was waiting for the posting. It never came. They offered the next workshop to the people in the last workshops. And filled the few spaces with people who (like me) didn't get a spot last time either. I was never asked about the workshop this time—just a survey. Which I figured was gauging was whether they had interest for two or three workshops.

And I feel like I didn't make the trapeze team. I wasn't cool enough or good enough. Only the kids who are already awesome made the team. And I want to work on trapeze skills—and get to that level, but it's so hard to get my foot in the door.

How do you get into a workshop if they're only offered to existing workshop students? I understand being loyal to your paying clients, but what about new clients and growing your client base?

I didn't cry. I just felt like it for the rest of the day. I can always buy a 5 or 10-class series and do that. I asked to be on the list of the next workshop, which will probably be in the spring, which seems like an awfully long way off.

Foodie Friday: Overripe Bananas

Bananas are one of the best snacks out there.

They're cheap, healthy and come in their own wrapper.

But sometimes I feel like they go from green to overripe in 12 hours.

And usually I can't eat 6 bananas in one day. So what do you do with them?

Cut them up and freeze them. And use them for smoothies. That's my favorite. (And I wish I'd started doing this years ago.)

Other options:
1) Give them to the dog
2) Save them for banana bread. (which I despise!)
3) Put them in PBJ's
4) Dunk them in peanut butter

But mostly save them for smoothies later. They can replace ice cubes. That's my tip of the week.

On being a couch potato

Photo by Ian Burt, Flickr

The other day someone told my husband they were so proud of my fitness routine. Which is awesome. Except it was kind of a backhanded compliment because they told him that I used to be such a couch potato.

And he was pretty offended by that comment. I have never been a couch potato. I'm a hyper, always-moving type person. (He readily admits he's a couch potato.)

I haven't always been as active as I am now. I didn't have time.

In college, I was a workaholic. I was always studying or at work. After college, I was working 70 hours a week in my first jobs. Maybe I could have found time to workout, but I didn't. I was always busy with something: cooking, blogging, writing, reading, playing with my pets. I rarely sit still.

The comment grated him and it grated me. Someone else said I used to be sickly, which also offended me.

I have horrible allergies, that I haven't always had in check. I take about one sick day at work a year. That is not sickly.

I don't know what people say these things.

Am I healthier now?

Yes. I gave up dairy three years ago and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. My lactose intolerance got exponentially worsened in my 20s. I went from not being able to eat pizza—to being miserable if I had a bite of yogurt. So I cut it out completely and my daily stomach aches have banished. And I take calcium supplements and make sure to drink soy or almond milk.

I've got muscular arms now. But the thing is—I'm the same size I've always been. There's no dramatic weight loss. And at any point during my years of inactivity I could run an 8-minute mile. (I tried to take running back up about once a year during my hiatus.)

So this is probably a vent.

But people go through periods of inactivity and activity. Maybe I regret not being active all those years—but maybe I would have hurt myself, who knows? I started going to the gym when I had time for it—when my job changed and I had more time and more stress and needed an outlet.

My view is: If you work out—great! If you don't work out—make sure you eat healthy and have hobbies and outlets—then, good for you.

And just don't say: "I'm so proud of you" when I tell you about my fitness adventures.

It makes me feel like a special needs child.

Say: "I love that you're so into fitness. It looks like you're having so much fun."

Or just say: Cool or Good job. Awesome works too.

Keep it light and positive. There's no need for back handed compliments.

Nerdy Girl's Guide to Pole Class

Looking nerdy on the pole. 

I finally tried a pole class! It was fun. I like learning tricks. The teacher was super nice.

My friend from work and I went. We were the only two in the class. The instructor started the class by telling us all about the poles (brands, heights, widths. Didn't mean anything to me. Not sure I plans to have a pole in my house. Just wanted to try the class.) And she cleaned the poles. (Apparently this is important.)

We moved on to sassy walking around the pole (I felt very self conscious) and getting used to grabbing the pole. She called the different positions by the poles by their positions around the clock: 12 o'clock was the mirror (the audience), 3 o'clock was right of the pole, 6 o'clock directly behind it, and 9 o'clock to the left of the pole.

I think one of the first tricks we learned was called opening a book (something like that). It ended up being my favorite. You stand at 9 o'clock almost in position for a jumping jack (holding the pole with your right hand) and use your momentum to to swing across the pole and to the opposite position on the other side of the pole. I liked doing this one super fast. (I wanna go fast!)

We worked on pirouette with your hand above you on the pole. It took me a few tries to figure out how to switch your hand on those. The teacher came over and man handled me into position. It worked. I needed a few extra tries on this one. But story of my life. I always feel like I need more practice.

We worked up to sassy walking and swing around the pole. (Finally!) I totally jumped onto the pole and swung around super fast. I actually had trouble stopping. And no, you're not supposed to jump, so it took me a few more tries to get up without jumping. I couldn't figure out how to stop spinning. I mean obviously you can just jump off. I couldn't figure out how to exit gracefully. I need 20 more minutes to work on that.

We put those elements together, walking around the pole, opening a book, half pirouette and swinging. And then we switched poles. One was a little wider than the other.

Then we worked on another sequence from the beginner's routine. So if you take the 9-weeks class, you'll learn it.

There was crawling, booty-popping squats holding the pole, a move called the princess.

We ended class climbing the pole. Note: This is not like climbing a rope. (You should have seen the instructor's face when I muscled up to the top of the pole). I love climbing things, but that's not sexy, is it?

Was I good at it? ::laughs::The teacher's eyes did bug out on occasion. I think that says it all. She said I had power. No coordination and I can't remember a routine.

What to wear: short shorts (the shorter the better), and a tank. Don't put on lotion that day if you can help it. The workout is barefoot.

Would I go again? Yes. I'd like to try a more fitness based pole class. I'd like to learn tricks more than a routine. I'd love to try another instructor too. This instructor was a dancer (and I just don't dance). She was soo nice and enthusiastic. But my lack of coordination might not be fun for her. My friend and I debated on taking the 9-week series. I ended up bruising the back of my knee so I couldn't pop in the next week. Then I had a bad experience with Canopy and decided against the session. I'd go again, maybe drop in after the next 9-week session is through or see if another studio offers it.

I like the athleticism of it and would love to learn some cool tricks. We'll see if this is next summer's obsession.

Review: Rese Activewear

I first heard of Rese Activewear from a girl at my barre class. She had on the cutest yellow tank with petal detail on it. I loved it. She said Rese. I looked them up online and loved their mesh inset crops and some of their tuxedo crops.

Then, my barre studio started carrying Rese leggings with the cool mesh detail. And I had to have them. I found myself eyeing the mesh crops online again.

Rese will send you a 20% coupon to use on the first order. Note: You have to use it within the first 48 hours.

Add caption

I bought the Natalie crop in Imperial Violet. I have enough black crops and wanted another dark color. I bought it because I just love the color. I didn't spend $100 so I ended up paying $8 in shipping. I did get the crops in two days though. (Note: I was never sent a tracking number, which I thought was odd.)

I really love the color on these crops. It's a rich dark purple. I wore them to barre crop the day after I got them. (I was that excited to get them.) They did not show sweat, which I was really worried about. (Also, everyone always wears black bottoms to barre class. I was the only one in purple. Yippee!)

The crops were comfy, hit my calves at a good length! (without cutting into my legs likes some brands do). They were pretty classic crops: a solid color.

Downside: The fabric wrinkles easily and does show underwear lines, like some of my thinner crops.

No bells and whistles on these babies, though. I was looking for a credit card pocket like so many crops have. These have no pockets. Which, if you're going to be similar in price to Wunder Unders (These were $68 before the coupon, and Lulu is $72) then I expect a similar quality.

I think these were a little pricey for what they were.

That said, if I could get a 30% off sale I'd try some of their other crops. I really wanted their Mia Capri, but have a few other mesh inset crops and couldn't justify buying them. I still have my eye on them and a few others.

Sizing: Runs true to size.

I got a small. I'm 5'5, 130. I wear a 6 in Lulu and small in Fabletics, Under Armour, Nike, most other brands. These small fit and were identical when held against a pair of Victoria Secret crops in small.

I also bought a white tank. I've been on a hunt for a white tank lately. I do flying trapeze and you get chalk all over you. I figured a white tank A) wouldn't show chalk and 2) might show up in pictures better for night classes.

The problem is I hate white clothing. I tend to spill a lot and cannot keep it clean. Also, I've tried on a ton of white tank tops. They are all see through. Can't someone make a nice think white tank?

I was perusing the Rese page and decided to take a chance on a white tank in their sale section.

Bonus: The 20% coupon does work on their sale.

The Stacey tank was on sale for $21 (from $70.) That minus 20% and I figured it was worth a shot.

I like the tank more than I thought I would. It's a nice thick material. It does have a shelf bra—but I'd still have to wear a padded bra under it so my headlights wouldn't be on display (A yoga bra wasn't cutting it.). And it does show my abs through the fabric.

The tank is indeed long. I'd probably tuck 1-2 inches under. But this is great if you're tall or have a long torso. It's definitely on the nicer side of tanks and a pretty good quality. The small fit as expected and similar to other brands. Also, it did not make me look lumpy. Lulu CRB's aren't cut right for boy-shaped girls like me (my waist isn't waspy) and I thought it looked flattering from behind.

The downside was there weren't preview colors of all the tanks on the website. So this really was a blind leap. I'll chalk that up to Rese being a relatively new company.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchases. If I come across another sale or coupon code, I'd buy from them again. (Pockets would be a nice addition though.)

Misadventures in Lululemon

I'm a pretty big Lululemon fan. Today was more sour lemons than awesomeness.

I wanted to order some pants from the markdown section. I put them in my cart and they were sold out. Of a lot more sizes than a few minutes ago. Was it a glitch? I went back in and put them in my cart and ordered.

What I wanted.

What I ordered :( 

Only I was trying to order the Jet Crop Slim and ended up with Jet Crops, which are cotton and baggy and not at all what I wanted.

I have a pair of the slims and like them. The non-slim ones—I tried on once in the store and hated them.

But I'd already hit order—not knowing they were separate things and I ordered the crops I hated when I tried to order some I liked.

Seconds after I got the order email—I messaged guest support to cancel the order. After 10 minutes of waiting the educator said she couldn't cancel the order. Which is ridiculous. It hasn't processed yet.

I called my credit card company. I can't dispute it until it's no longer pending.

I called Lululemon back and after 8 minutes of holding, the educator also said she couldn't cancel the order.

It hasn't processed yet!

Finally, I played the I SPEND A TON OF MONEY WITH YOU card and asked for a manager and she said she'd allow for a one-time return, even though it's final sale. I have to call them when it comes in the mail and they'll get me a gift card.

That takes way too long and will waste them money having to ship it to me. CANCEL IT.

Don't ship it. Don't give me a gift card in three weeks. I want the charge off my credit card.

Of course you can give me a gift card, I could just take it to the store and say they're defective and then I could get a store credit instantly instead of waiting for weeks.

I think I might need to take a Lululemon break for a while. Or stick to buying in store.

Dear Lululemon online. You suck. You should be able to cancel orders—before it's processed—like every other company.

Update: I finally got the pants in the mail and they might be the worst thing Lulu ever made. They are atrocious. I wouldn't take them if they were free. (Major diaper butt on these babies.) I had to call Lulu customer service, print the label an then take it to a post office. I ended up getting the gift card Aug. 25.

So 25 days and shipping two ways because they couldn't cancel an order. 

I'm sure glad my cat has never stepped on my computer and accidentally ordered something.