September 01, 2020 at 11:07AM Tips for setting up your Peloton bike (or any spin bike) with seat height, seat position, handlebar positions, and how to clip and unclip your pedals. I’ve been participating in an exciting Instagram advice mission lately: helping reader friends set up their Peloton bikes. I’ve had the bike for two years but have taught cycling classes for 11 years now (WHAT), so quite a few people have reached out to me for help on how to set up their bikes. (One week, I helped four people set up their bikes via photos and video!) I feel like Peloton does a lot of things right, but when I first got the bike myself, I was so thankful that I was an advanced spinner, because otherwise I would have felt lost with the initial process. I didn’t feel like the setup video was very thorough or helpful. They breezed through a lot of the details but thankfully, I was easily able to set it up myself. I thought I’d make a video here for my friends who have recently purchased a Peloton or another spin bike or need to adjust their current settings. The right settings can make such a huge difference in how your ride feels and can also help to protect injury and pain in your knees, ankles, wrists, and low back. As always, be smart when you’re setting up any type of fitness equipment. Ask for someone to help you if you need it!
Category: Fitnessista
Friday Faves
July 03, 2020 at 11:26AM Hi friends! Happy Friday! I hope you had a lovely week. It started off as a bit of a rough one over here – I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed and emotional about everything going on – but these two little monkeys have really lifted my spirits, even though they probably didn’t know I was in a funk. The Pilot was gone this week, so the girls and I enjoyed our slow mornings, did some baking and crafts, and swam every single day. P has been swimming more often without her puddle jumper, which is a huge deal! We’re still cranking away on redoing our bedroom. I ordered some new furniture from West Elm and figured I should list our furniture on Facebook Marketplace. I thought it would take a week or so to sell everything, but it was all sold and gone by that night. For now, we’re sleeping on our mattress on the floor. The new bedroom reveal post should be ready soon. (I think Bella is convinced we put the mattress on the floor purely for her convenience.) It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below. Read, watch, listen: Hamilton is on Disney+ tonight and I CAN’T WAIT. Are you watching tonight? Throwback picture
Lean legs barre workout (video)
July 01, 2020 at 11:10AM Sharing a barre video workout you can do at home, featuring some of my very favorite exercises for lean, strong legs. All you need is something sturdy to hold onto for balance, like a chair or countertop. Hi friends! How’s the morning going? I hope you’re hanging in there with everything going on. We had a good weekend here at home and cranked away at the master bedroom. We’re completely re-doing it and I ended up selling our furniture way faster than expected on Facebook marketplace. We’re sleeping camp-style until the missing pieces get here. I didn’t realize that I still had paint and dirt all over my feet until I started filming this barre video. I hope you love this one! I included some of my very favorite exercises for lean, strong legs. This one is a little over 30 minutes and flew.by. My legs were pleasantly sore the next day, too. Lean legs barre workout (video) Here’s the full follow-along video! You can combine this with last week’s Barre Arms and Core video for an hour-long workout. Please let me know if you give it a try and leave any workout video requests in the comments! My Barre Bootcamp plan is still available here if you’d like more full-length barre workouts (and a plan!) you can do at home.<3 xoxo Gina More barre workouts: Total body barre workout and video 10 barre workouts you can do at home Barre for everyone Cardio Barre workout
WIAW
June 24, 2020 at 11:55AM Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning. We’re just taking it easy here and looking forward to another tie dye blitz this afternoon. The girls have gotten so good at tie dye lately and have been dyeing pretty much any white article of clothing in the house. For today’s post, I thought I’d share a WIAW-style post. To be honest, my eating hasn’t been very stellar since we’ve started this whole “stay at home” thing a few months ago. We’ve been cooking even more of our meals at home, which is a good thing, but I find that because I’m juggling so much more – it was even more intense when we were doing the distance learning thing – I’ll sometimes go for dips into the chocolate chip bag instead of real meals. When I feel stressed, I tend to feel pretty blah about food. I make the girls delicious and balanced meals, but when I need to put something together for myself, it just doesn’t sound as appealing. I’m a believer in giving ourselves grace, especially during such an unprecedented time. In the future, I’m sure I’ll be back to my meal prepping and organized ways, but I’m just over here flying the seat of my pants most days. I probably should have taken pictures of the kids’ meals because they were a bit more exciting lol but here we are: a full day of eats. 8:30am: We all sleep until 8 (!)
obé fitness review (my thoughts + are the workouts good?)
June 23, 2020 at 11:18AM Sharing my full review of the obé fitness platform, my favorite instructors, pros, cons, and if the workouts are good. Hey friends! Hope you’re having a good morning. It’s the usual routine over here – catching a virtual barre class and then hitting the pool with the babies later if it isn’t too smoky outside. The fire in Tucson is still horrible and the smoke has clouded the city for the past few days. I’m crossing my fingers that it can be contained soon! For today’s post, I wanted to share my thoughts on the obé fitness platform now that I’ve had some time to try different workouts and instructors. I mentioned before that signed up for obé was kind of an accident. I did the free 7-day trial because I wanted to take more of Amanda Kloots’ workouts (I’ve loved her dance cardio for years) and when I called to cancel it, it was over the weekend and the office was closed. Since I paid for a month, I kept trying more classes, and called to cancel it and they gave me a sweet deal for the following month. So, here we are, and I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed some of the workouts I’ve found. obé fitness review What is obé fitness? It’s an online fitness platform featuring 26-minute workouts in three different segments: Sweat – cardio-focused workouts, like HIIT training, dance cardio, choreography, and bounce (a trampoline-based workout) Define- strength classes
Barre Arms and Core Workout (video)
June 22, 2020 at 11:37AM This is a barre arms and core workout that you can do anywhere. All you need is a light pair of dumbbells, ranging from 2-5 lbs. Hi friends! Hope you had a happy weekend and that that those of you who were celebrating Father’s Day enjoyed the holiday with those you love. We had backyard dinner and swimming at my dad’s house, stopped by my mom’s to say happy Father’s Day to my stepdad, called up Tom’s dad, and made a stop at the cemetery to tell my Tata how much we miss him. We got brunch takeout from Commoner &. Co (SO good), and spent the day with our favorite guy. For this morning, I’m coming atcha with a new upper body and core workout. This workout uses some of my favorite barre-based exercises, and focuses on muscular endurance for the weights segment. I threw in some cardio blasts for good measure. It’s easy to related barre to the lower body and core benefits, but we can often forget that it can also help to strengthen and lean out the upper body muscles. Endurance exercises are so important to include in your routine. Not only do they help to change things up – we need to adjust the demands on our body to continue to achieve results – but also because it’s functional for life. What muscles are you using when you carry 18 bags of groceries from the car into the house and
Friday Faves
June 19, 2020 at 11:29AM Hi friends! Happy Friday to ya. I hope that you’ve had a good week. We’ve just been doing our thing over here. Lots of time at home and at the pool. I’m thankful to have a way to tire out the kiddos when we’ve been mostly inside. We’ve also been making tons of Perler bead creations (the girls are obsessed) and finding ways to stay buy. To shake up my routine a bit, I took a Peloton yoga class and it was everything I needed. It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below! Read, watch, listen: This important podcast episode from my favorite podcast guy. Shaun dives deeply into his personal story, systemic racism and racial profiling, and action steps we can take. What books have you read lately? A friend lent me We Were the Lucky Ones and after taking a break from historical fiction, I’m sucked into this one. It’s beautifully-written and I’ll probably finish it this weekend. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Since I finished Queer Eye (so sad when it was over), I’m back into Season 3 of Maisel. If you haven’t watched this one yet, I highly recommend it. It’s light, witty, and the costumes are insane. Fashion + beauty: Equilibria bath bombs!! My friends at Equilibria
things of lately + recent eats
June 17, 2020 at 11:26AM Hi friends! I hope you’re enjoying the morning. Some exciting news news today: Beautycounter friends and family is here! Click here to get 15% off my favorite makeup and skincare + 30% off holiday sets. I’ll share some of my top picks in the bottom of this post. What are you up to today? We’re doing the usual hangout and pool rotation over here. A new development: I’ve woken up early to work out the past two days in a row. I’m not a morning person AT ALL but since the Pilot had to leave super early to fly, I went to bed early, too. I can’t decide if I’m a fan yet or not. I’ve gotten pretty used to my late-night popsicle and Queer Eye routine. Some adventures from lately: It was madre’s birthday, so we went swimming at her house and brought a cake with us. Nadine’s bakery here in Tucson is RIDICULOUS for all of my local friends. We got a triple layer white cake with strawberry jam filling and vanilla buttercream. It was a lovely night to celebrate someone we love so much! Sitting with my fave guy, watching the girls giggle and splash in the water is one of my fave spots: When the Pilot got home from his recent trip, I wanted to surprise him with a fancier dinner than our usual rotations. I also figured that since we haven’t had people over in so long, I should probably practice
Les Mills BODYCOMBAT review
June 16, 2020 at 11:17AM Sharing my review of BODYCOMBAT from Les Mills On Demand. This post isn’t sponsored, but my friends at Les Mills are giving you 30 days free with this link. This is my fave online platform for workouts! There’s so much variety and the instructors are incredible. Hi friends! How’s the day going? We’re just taking it easy here and enjoying having the Pilot back home after a 6-day trip. The girls and I have a blast together, but the days can be a little long, especially with the current restrictions. (I took them to Walgreen’s this weekend to pick out some pool toys and it was their first time being in a store this entire time. The were SO PUMPED.) We had an awesome dinner last night and today, we’ll probably hang out with the cousins and go for a swim. Workout-wise, I feel like I’ve been the most consistent over the past few months than I’ve ever been. I haven’t been able to visit my favorite classes or studios months but I’ve made it a non-negotiable to get in some kind of movement each day for my mental health. Many days, that 30-45 minutes are the only “alone time” (in quotes because sometimes little ones need snacks, water, or something happens) I get until the kiddos are asleep. It breaks up the day and gives me a boost of energy to power through. I’m fortunate the girls are a bit older so they can
The best mom swimsuits: my top picks
June 15, 2020 at 11:21AM Sharing my favorite mom swimsuits that are flattering, not too skimpy, and functional! Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope that you enjoyed a relaxing weekend. The Pilot was out of town, so it was just me and the crew. Thankfully, the local fire has not spread too far into the foothills communities, so we’re still on watch. We’ve continued our routine of lazy mornings – I’ve been making the girls pancakes, waffles, or French toast pretty much every day – and afternoons at the pool. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE POOL. It’s been saving us over the past month since it’s been super hot here in Tucson and we’re not able to go to many of our favorite indoor spots yet. (Tucson is reverse hibernation. We have good outdoor weather in the winter, and stay indoors or swim during the summer.) While we were lounging at the pool, I pondering mom swimsuits and how difficult they are to find. When I find one I love, it’s a huge deal. (I’m pretty sure the shorts tan is permanent now lol.) What makes an awesome mom swimsuit? A winner of a mom swimsuit needs to be comfortable and flattering, but also has to rank high on the functional front. It has to keep everything LOCKED DOWN. For example, I want to be able to play freely with the kiddos without flashing my goodies. A good mom swimsuit keeps everything covered, even while you’re building sand castles, running in the