-White Dress Ready-

I have decided there is no better client than a bride-to-be. These women are motivated by that one day that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. Time and time again, I have been impressed with a brides ability to make drastic life changes in order to feel and look her best on her wedding day. In the past few years, what has proven to be even  more impressive, is that these drastic life changes have now become healthy life habits.  These brides have continued to practice balance through fitness and healthy eating and now continue to inspire others daily. The days of looking good on your wedding day have turned into FEELING good for the rest of your life! 

I have had the privilege of working with these girls over the years to help them achieve their fitness goals. They have proven to show me what it really means to follow through with a goal and not only look bangin in a wedding dress but make LASTING changes.  I hope they inspire you too!!

ANGELA

Angela worked hard to clean up her nutrition by eating more vegetables and less sugar. She focused on strength training to tone the muscles in her arms and back to look stunning her dress! Angela has proven she has made lifetime changes as she continues eat healthier and makes lifting and working out whether with me or on her a weekly priority!

EMILY
 Emily has trained with me for a few years but really dialed it in for the months leading up to her wedding. After finding that her body responded better to limited gluten intake she was able to continue to make healthy nutritional choices which helped her achieve her beautiful body on her wedding day! Emily has continued to stay fit and fabulous by keeping a balance of strength training and other fun workouts in fitness regime!

LIZ

 Liz committed to her white dress and for the year leading up to her wedding made sure she did what it took to look and feel her best. Liz focused on her strength training by attending 3 strength sessions a week with me and also found a balance with running and workouts on her own. She went the extra mile when she cleaned up her diet by eating lots of veggies, fish, and healthy fats!! Liz has continued to maintain her white dress physique by sticking to her healthy nutritional choices and a balanced fitness routine.

SARAH

 Sarah was an easy one! A perfectionist and driven woman who was going to do what it took to look White Dress Ready! Through a very clean nutrition plan , 2-3 weekly strength training workouts and light running she strengthened and toned her hips and arms to look amazing in her honeymoon bikini! I am happy to share she also recently gave birth to her first son. She committed to strength training through her pregnancy and just reported to me she is already back in her pre-pregnancy clothes!

ASHLEY

Ashley is a lifelong Fitness femme. She started out with big goals even before the wedding which only made the White Dress goal that much more attainable! I have watched Ashley dedicate herself to a healthy lifestyle and through years of training and healthy eating defeat her weight fears and achieve her best body! She not only looked stunning on her wedding day but has continued to maintain her wedding day body!

JENNIE

Jennie went above and beyond her dream dress physique when she took her goals into her own hands! It wasn't until Jennie made some big nutritional changes that she started to see her body change. Once she was close to the body of her dreams she decided to step it up and get back to strength training.  A year before her wedding she committed 3 days a week to building strength and muscle and with the help of myself and her workout partners she walked down the isle with a bangin bod! I am excited to say Jennie has stayed committed to her fitness and nutrition by continuing her strength training regime and healthy eating!

CARRIE

Carrie came in looking for a type of training that would help her tone and strengthen her arms and back. What she found and committed to was a fitness program that reshaped and toned her whole body. Already blessed with a tall and fit physique, Carrie was able to dedicate the months before her wedding to leaning out and toning her body. She walked down the aisle was a beautiful, athletic , muscular bod which she has decided to maintain to this day. Loving life and loving her fitness she continues to strength train and workout to keep her white dress frame fit and fabulous!!

Change doesn't happen when you feel like you "should' do it. Change happens when you WANT to do it! If you have a wave of inspiration or a big goal that is driving you, stand up and ride it. Oh, and make sure you are doing it for you and ONLY YOU!!

What is your Fitness Personality??

Whether it is becoming fit, doing fit or staying fit, having fitness as a part of your life, I'm going to guess, is something you feel expected, obligated, or driven to do and become. Over my years as a fitness professional, I have observed that the toughest part for people is deciding HOW to DO fit for their personality and lifestyle.

Each year the fitness industry lures us with the latest and greatest exercise trends and tools to trim our bodies into perfection. What they don't provide is the information necessary to help you decide whether or not these fitness trends will work for your body type and goals. At the end of the day, we are left with an overwhelming amount of exercise options each with enticing marketing slogans. So the question lies, How do you find what type of exercise best fits YOUR fitness personality??

Take the Fitness Personality Quiz to give you some insight into the fitness path that may best match you and your lifestyle!

1. Do you consider working out...

A. Social

B. A lot of work

C. A learning opportunity

D. Invigorating 

2. When do you prefer to workout?

A. Weekends

B. Lunch time quickie

C. Before or After work

D. All the time, anytime

3. When it comes to exercise you are...

A. Inspired by others

B. Relaxed and methodical

C. Focused 

D. Goal drivin

4. When I workout I like it to be..

A. Energetic

B. Peaceful 

C. Intense

D. Outside

5. What I like to get out of my workout is...

A. General fitness and an uplifting experience

B. Toning and flexibility

C. Muscular strength and definition

D. Cardiovascular fitness and accomplishment

6. After I exercise I like to feel..

A. Sweaty and invigorated

B. Mindful and mobile

C. Strong and empowered

D. Closer to my goal

7. If given an option between exercise and one of the following, you would rather...

A. Go dancing

B. Go to a coffee shop

C. Go to a concert

D. Go to the park with your pup

8. Which Star has your ideal bod?

A. Jessica Alba

B. Jennifer Aniston

C. Jillian Micheals

D. Jennifer Lawrence

The following are suggested types of exercise that may fit your style and personality. Please note that these are just suggestions and you should not limit yourself to only one form of exercise. The best way to live a healthy and fit life is to practice balance and moderation in all of your daily choices! This includes exercise, sleep, diet, work and relationships!!

If you picked mostly A's your Fitness Personality is:

The Free Spirit-  Zumba, Group fitness classes, TRX, Spinning

 You can find classes such as these at large membership based gyms, but also look into smaller more intimate studios for a more personal touch with smaller class sizes. Whenever starting a class make sure the instructor is a certified instructor in the classes being taught. The fitness class logo ( EX. Zumba) should be present on the website, schedule, or business cards.

If you picked mostly B's your Fitness Personality is:

The Sparkler- Pilates, Yoga, Barre Concepts, one on one personal training

You can find classes such as these at large membership based gyms but, also look for studios that specialize in yoga, Pilates, or Barre classes. Speciality studios will ensure that you get hands on attention and you are taught correct form and technique.

If you picked mostly C's your Fitness Personality is:

The Lady Gladiator - Weight training, small group personal training,  Bootcamps, Boxing, 

To become a lady gladiator you have to find a lady gladiator mentor so look for a certified fitness professional to help give you proper instruction on form and technique as well as build a training plan. Look for more affordable ways to work with a trainer by joining a small group or attending a bootcamp or boxing style classes.

If you picked mostly D's your Fitness Personality is:

The Medalist - Triathlete, Crossfit, Marathoner, Cyclist, Obstacle course racing

If you choose to take on this challenge alone beware of misguiding information on the net. Luckily, the growing interest in multisport racing and marathons, has made finding coaches who specialize in these events easier to find. Consult with a coach or join a racing team, and if that doesn't fit your budget make sure you choose a credible site to obtain training plans and tips .

The Dumbbell Didn't Do It!

As women, we love our cardio, fitness classes, and yoga but did you ever think that just maybe all those forms of exercise just aren’t enough, or even worse, TOO much?!  Would you believe me if I told you that most women workout WAY too hard in hopes to get the body they want, but in reality all those hours on the DREADmill are working completely against you!

I don’t have enough time or space on this blog to get into how big of a role diet plays into developing the body of your dreams. So what I will focus on is how a balance of cardiovascular interval training, learning how to lift the right amount of weight, and the importance of days OFF will help create an efficient fat burning machine without adding man muscle to our cute feminine frames.

The  Myths -

Over the years, we have completely misconstrued the notion that those lumps of iron would make us “bulk up” and that hours of cardio was the only way to shed extra pounds.  The harsh reality is that these misconceptions are the reasons women feel defeated.

Our poor dietary choices, excess cardio and/or workouts, and lack of recovery in between workouts can lead to high stress hormone levels and/ or not enough nutritious calories. Combined, these create the perfect storm for plateaus and stored fat aka “bulk”.

The Truths-

The most important thing to understand is that our female bodies are not designed to build huge amounts of muscle mass.  Our hormones do not provide us with enough testosterone to build those crazy big muscles guys dream of.

If you’ve already started weight training and feel like you’re bulking up this may be what you are feeling: When you start lifting heavy enough weights to build muscle, the muscle develops under your fat. So over time, if you build muscle but don’t decrease your body fat you’ll feel like you’re getting bigger. What you’re missing is that those beautifully “toned” muscles are hiding under that ugly” bulky” fat. Those amazing muscles are your key to creating a better metabolic engine to burn off that unwanted fat!

Moral of the story, don’t blame it on the dumbbells but understand the importance of BALANCE.  A fitness routine should not just be hitting the elliptical everyday for an hour, but should have even days of weight training, interval cardio and rest.  If you challenge your body with new weight training exercises and honor its need to recover then you will start to feel and SEE yourself leaning out and letting your lovely toned muscles shine through!

Let your Beautiful Strength Shine on!!

Try this Upper Body Workout this week!!

adore your core | Chic Blog

Adore Your Core | Chic Blog

Commanders In Chic: Beth Dolce | Chic Blog

Commanders In Chic: Beth Dolce | Chic Blog
Learn a little more about me!

Baby Its Cold Outside!

That means a couple of things! I have burrowed down into hibernation mode and will spend these cold evenings filling you in on whats up in my fitness world AND its time for soup!!

When Mother Nature bears down on us with her blustery moodiness that is when it becomes prime time for soup making! Homemade soups have the amazing following qualities:

1. No matter what time of day, a bowl of hot soup will always kick the chill.
2. Making soup is the easiest form of cooking. Cut veggies and proteins,  mix into pot with other ingredients, and simmer!
3. Soup is the easiest way to consume your daily recommended veggies. Especially for none veggie lovers!
3. Soup is best the next day and even better the day after that = LOTS of leftovers!
4. Soup can be a well balanced, complete macro nutrient meal in a bowl = Only one dish to clean!

Shall I go on? If you are new to soups start with this one! You literally dump ingredients in a pot and simmer! 

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 packages of PRE CUT  butternut squash ( This is the secret to simple)
• 3 carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 apples
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 4C container of low sodium veggie broth
• 2C water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1Ts of cumin 
• 1TB honey
• Red pepper flakes if you like a hit of spice

1. Cut all ingredients in to chunky pieces.
2. Place ingredients in large pot and cover with veggie broth and water.
3. Bring to boil for 10min and then simmer on medium -low for 30min or until all the ingredients are soft. 
4. Add in cumin, honey, red pepper
5. Use an immersion blender to blend to a creamy smooth consistency.