Happy Workout Wednesday,

For most workout Wednesdays, I post a workout, a new playlist, or a workout video, but today, I want to talk about WHY I workout. Of course we workout to look and feel good, but is that all? No, way! I could think of about a million reasons I workout and why I love to teach exercises classes, but I decided to narrow it down to my top 35 (ok, so I didn't narrow it down that much). 

I Workout To.....

Stay strong

Set a good example for my daughter

Feel like a GLADIATOR IN SPANDEX (corny Scandal reference, but true)

Have an excuse to whoop and holler in public (my students know what I'm talking about)

Hang out with amazing friends

Look good for my husband (just being honest)

Thank my body for all it does for me

Revert back to my cheerleading days

Feel good about myself

Work off some steam

Sweat like a pig, and like it

Dance to hip hop music like I'm at a high school dance, and not care who's watching (all my high school friends are laughing to themselves right now) 

Empower others

Empower myself

Build muscle

Burn calories

Make myself smile --> the kind that creeps into your eyes because you're that happy

Have an excuse to sing along with my favorite songs

Bob my head to the music and have half the class do it with me

Spend 10, 20, 30, or 60 minutes just thinking about one thing (my workout) and not my to do list

Escape reality

Embrace my body 

Make myself huff and puff for air

Feel my legs and arms shaking after a hard workout

Experience how rewarding a hot shower can be after a run in the cold

Relieve stress

Reward myself for my hard work as an employee, mom, and wife

Encourage others

Meet new people

Try new things

Learn things I didn't know about myself

Push my limits

Stay healthy

Increase my brain power

Love myself!

There you have it! The top 35 reasons I workout and love every second of it (most of the time)! If you came to the blog today hoping for a new workout, make sure you check out the great lower body barre workout I posted yesterday or my workout page for tons of ideas!

Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!

Your turn! Why do you workout?

In health,

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Happy Workout Wednesday!

Where has this week gone? It seems to be flying by a little faster than normal. Last week, I shared a roundup of some of my favorite workouts, and this week, I want to roundup a few of my favorite motivational mantras. Between a baby, work, a husband, and trying to stay sane, I can definitely admit to struggling with workout motivation from time to time. Sometimes, I really just want to go get back in bed after Belle's 5:30 AM feeding instead of working out, but I try to remind myself of how great I will feel afterwards. I also find that keeping positive quotes around me about health, fitness, and life in general helps keep me on the right track. They are like little kicks in the behind when I feel like skipping a workout or when my exhaustion turns into a bad mood. Here are a few of my favorites!

Remember we are in control of how we treat our bodies and our attitudes! I hope one of these quotes resonates with you and maybe puts a little extra sunshine in your day.

Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!


What is your favorite motivational quote or mantra?

In health,

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Happy Happy Workout Wednesday!

I hope you all are having a fabulous and sweaty week so far! For today's Workout Wednesday, I wanted to share five of my favorite at home workouts with you (these can all definitely be done at the gym as well). They are all total body workouts that should take 35 minutes or less and give you a killer workout!

First up, is a traditional circuit workout using resistance tubing and your own body weight. Each circuit contains an upper body exercise, lower body exercise, and cardio burst to get your heart rate up. Repeat each circuit 3x's before moving on to the next.


Next up, is a dumbbells only circuit. This workout is great to do at home or while traveling because all you need is a set of dumbbells. You'll perform 12 reps of each exercise and repeat the circuit as many times as you can in 25 minutes.


This one is a doozy!! Fifty reps of each exercise will have your huffing and puffing in no time. I loved this one because 1) it was hard, 2) I was sore the next day, and 3) it was fun to bust out of the 12 reps of everything rut!


Ladder Down was another great rep rut busting workout. You start with 25 reps of each exercise and then ladder down to 5 reps of each workout. All you need is your own body weight for this one, so no excuses!

Last but not least, is my beautiful friend the kettlebell! If I had to be stuck on a deserted island with just one piece of equipment, I think I would take the kettlebell. This total body circuit workout will hit every major muscle group in your body and most of the minor ones in no time. Be prepared to feel it the next day!

 Let me know if you give one of these bad boys a try! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your Workout Wednesday and Belle sends each one of you a great big hug as well!



Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!


Are you a gym kind of person or an at home exerciser?

If you go to the gym, weight room or group fitness class?

In health,

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6) Gum and chapstick - These are must haves no matter who you are. Coffee breath and chapped lips are just not cool. :)

7) Nike Studio Wraps - If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I have the unfortunate ability to dislocate my right pinky toe at the drop of a hat. This sucker has popped out of place 4 times in the last 3 years, and it doesn't like to go back in very easily. E bought me these after my third dislocation to try to protect it during class (I dislocated it on someone's water bottle that time). I have broken numerous bones and given birth to an almost 8 lb baby no problem, but having to get my stupid pinky toe put back into place is enough to make me want to bawl my eyes out. So needless to say, I am a big fan of my studio wraps so my baby toe stays right where it is suppose to!

8) Batiste Dry Shampoo - As someone who pretty much lives sweaty, I am somewhat of a dry shampoo connoisseur, and this baby is my ALL TIME FAVORITE! It smells great, doesn't make your hair look ashy, and isn't sticky at all. If you don't have any, go buy some!

9) Coach Wristlet - I use this as my wallet/mini purse. It's easy to throw back and forth between my gym bag and diaper bag so I always have what I need. It also keeps me from having to carry my entire gym bag in with me when I'm running errands or meeting a friend for lunch.

10) Tylenol - Even though cutting out gluten has drastically cut back on the  number of headaches I have, I still battle tension headaches from time to time so tylenol is important.

11) ToeSox Leg Warmers - Last but not least are my new favorite Barre accessory.... leg warmers! When it is freezing outside, these things are amazing and look super cute I might add. Don't you knock 'em till you try them. Move over 1985, I'm coming for you!

I also usually have a water bottle, small makeup bag, and bandaids hidden somewhere in there!

Part two of this glorious Workout Wednesday is the quick and dirty (aka sweaty) workout I completed on Monday morning. I should have titled it, "Watch out 27, I'm going to kick your butt!" Anywho, it was a good one and only took 20 minutes.



Most of these exercises are pretty standard, but the plank to squat was new to me. It is essentially a burpee without standing up. That sounds like it would be nicer than a traditional burpee, but when you take out the standing portion, you end up staying in a squat or plank the entire time, and boy do your legs start to burn!

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To begin, start in a deep squat position with hands on floor. Jump feet back into plank. Perform a push-up and then jump your feet back into your squat leaving hands on the floor. Sounds fun right?

Let me know if you give this workout a try! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your workout Wednesday. Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!

What is in your gym bag that you couldn't live without?

What is your favorite variation of a burpee? I think my all time favorite has to be a BOSU burpee! 

In health,

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Happy Workout Wednesday!

It's time for another edition of Workout Wednesday, and today I want to talk about working out when you feel like you have zero time to spare. We all have those days that are so jam packed we just don't think there is any way we can fit in a good workout. But what actually constitutes a good workout? Do you have to dedicated an hour, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, more, less? I live by the motto "Anything is better than NOTHING!" Sure, I love getting in great hour long workouts, but sometimes, that just isn't an option. Does that mean you should just give up on working out? Definitely not! Sweat is beautiful no matter how long it takes you to work up a good one!

This was the story of my life on Monday. Belle woke up with her chompers really hurting. The only thing that made her happy was being held and chewing on her cold teething keys (which would only keep her happy for about 5 minutes). Poor Baby!


By the time I got her down for her morning nap, I had an hour to workout, shower, answer emails, and get some work done for the studio before we had to head in for my 11 AM Barre class. I thought about skipping my workout all together but "anything is better than nothing" right? I decided to pick four of my favorite butt kicking moves, go all out for 4 round, and then call it a day.


Man oh man! It may have only taken me slightly under 12 minutes, but they were a sweat inducing 12 minutes. I was huffing and puffing the entire time and my muscles were burning. My triceps were even sore the next day from the burpees (I did chest to floor burpees with my arms in a tricep push-up position)! It may have been short, but it definitely got my blood pumping and made me feel strong. Mission accomplished!


Life is busy and full of reasons to skip your workouts, but stay committed to your goals and your mind and body will thank you over and over again! If you are a new mom, I feel your pain (and sleep deprivation)! Hang in there an try some of these tips for fitting in workouts with a new baby! In need of more quick and efficient workout ideas? Head over to my workout page!

Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!


Do you ever do quick workouts or are you an hour or nothing kind of person? Both are totally fine!!

What is your favorite way to sneak in exercise when your short on time? I try to do squats while holding Belle. She loves it and so do my legs! 

In health,

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Howdy Friends,

I take my workouts with......

...... a side of baby monitor

....... a steaming cup of coffee (pre-workout, normally while feeding a sleepy baby)

....... a dash of kettlebell

....... a hearty serving of Pilates

........ a healthy dose of Barre

........a pinch of burpees

....... a splash of TRX

...... a dallop of walking

...... a dash of breathlessness

...... a heaping dose of efficiency!

Stir in some amazing students and bake it all together in the comfort of my garage or the ToddPilates studio!

I talk a lot about fitness here on the old blog and in life in general (I guess the name gives that away). During some of these conversations, a lot people ask me what my favorite types of workouts are or what I think is the most efficient workout. Honestly, I think that is a really hard question to answer and my answer changes from year to year. I believe everyone is different and everyone's bodies respond to different things in different ways. Some people only like to run, while strictly taking Barre classes work for some, and hitting the weights 5x's per week works for others.

I started my fitness career teaching 10-15 high impact aerobics classes per week, and although I was having a blast and felt fit, I had a few stress fractures to show for it as well. When I started doing Pilates about 8 years ago and Barre about 4 years ago, I knew I had found something that I would continue doing for the rest of my life. They make me feel strong, give me great results, and are definitely my favorite fitness format to teach (Belle is a big fan of the Pilates studio as well)! Since we moved to Austin, I've been doing mainly Pilates, Barre, and running........until recently.

So why did I decide to switch things up? Because variety is the spice of life my friends oh and running was killing my joints and making me feel like I got run over by a mac truck! I 500% love Pilates and Barre and think they are amazing, but I still crave the occasional sweat dripping, muscles screaming, lungs burning workout. So enters HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training..... aka quick, effective, and dirty) workouts to save the day.

It's really only been in the past few months that I have swapped out my runs for HIIT workouts, and I can honestly say, I have never felt stronger. The Pilates and Barre keep me feeling long, lean, and centered while the HIIT workouts give me an opportunity to push myself in new ways. This formula seems to be working for me at this stage in my life so I am going to roll with it until my body tells me otherwise. I was truthfully super worried that it would be hard for me to take off the rest of the baby weight if I stopped running 3-4 times per week, but that was not the case at all. My body happily shed the rest of the baby weight and then some with my new workout schedule. :) Am I saying all runners should stop running and switch to HIIT workouts, absolutely not! I am just sharing where I am in my fitness journey at this moment in time.

Here's a look at what a typical week looks like for me exercise wise. Please note that I am teaching all of those Pilates and Barre classes, I am not advocating doing that many classes in one week (I would say I typically do about 85-90% of a class when I am teaching it). Additionally, I have been teaching multiple classes per day since I was a freshmen in college so my body is totally used to it.

Weekly Workouts:

Monday: 30 minute HIIT workout + Barre at 11 AM

Tuesday: Pilates Mat at 7 AM + Barre at 9 AM + walk with Belle

Wednesday: Barre at 6 AM + Pilates Mat at 11 AM

Thursday: Pilates Mat at 6 AM + Barre at 7 AM + Barre at 9 AM + walk with Belle

Friday: 30 minute HIIT workout + Barre at 11 AM

Saturday: Rest + family walk

Sunday: 30-40 minute HIIT workout + family walk

If you are new to my blog, here are a couple of my typical HIIT workouts. You can find more than you probably care to browse through on my workout page as well!




So there you have it folks! I take my workouts with a side of ....... well everything and I like it that way! Since variety is the topic of this workout, be sure to head over to the Workout Wednesday linkup to find even more great workouts!


What do you take your workouts with a side of?

In health,

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Howdy Friends!

Happy Workout Wednesday! I am linking up with Diatta, Sheila, Amanda, and Heather for today's edition of Workout Wednesday. If you're looking for more great workouts, go check them out. :) Today, I have a great Tabata workout for you that I tested out on Sunday. It was fun to do a whole workout without counting one single rep!

I used a handy interval timer app on my iphone. You simply plug in the work to rest ratio you want and how many intervals you are going to do. For this workout, I set the high interval for 20 seconds, the low interval for 10 seconds, and it repeated that 8 times for one tabata. It's super handy, because I can still play my music through the phone and the app sounds a little alarm over the music (the song keeps playing right along) when it is time for me to switch intervals.

I also geared up for my workout with the new workout gloves E gave me. Somehow, I lost one glove of my last pair, and I love them for kettlebell work. Hot pink! He knows me so well!


This workout was a doozy. Each Tabata takes 4 minutes, plus about 1 minute rest in between each tabata, so the core of this workout took 30 minutes. I added about a 5 minute warm-up and approximately 5 minutes of extra abdominal work and stretching. It was definitely a butt kicker in the best sense of the word!




In health,

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Happy Workout Wednesday Friends!

I hope your week is going well so far! I am slowly getting back into a routine after the holiday break! I have a killer workout for you today, that I tested out on Monday. Can you say oh my fiery shoulders and legs (hence the name)! When you look over the workout, you can tell it is going to be a doozy for the legs, but the arms sneak up on you. I seriously spilled a little water on myself afterwards because the hand holding my cup was shaking so bad. Now, you know that's a good workout!

I must admit, I totally took a break at rep 30 during the push-ups and rep 25 in the v-ups. Those babies get hard!! Try to keep rest to a minimum between exercises so you keep your heart rate elevated. I did the core part of the workout (minus the warm-up and cool down) in 23 minutes. Fast and efficient just the way I like it! :)

Now, for the exercises:

You can see a video of kettlebell swings here.

I'm sure we all have the push-up down by now. Feel free to do them from your knees or toes or some combination of the two.

Surrenders:
This is officially my new favorite move, and made me realize how much weaker my left glutes are than my right. To perform a surrender, start on your knees with dumbbells by your side. Step forward with one foot and bring dumbbells to shoulders. Step forward with the opposite foot coming to a standing position and press dumbbells overhead. To return to start, drop down onto one knee bringing dumbbells to shoulders, and then lower to both knees bringing dumbbells back to start. I did 25 reps on each let.

Source: gethealthyu.com

Rows with tubing:
Anchor your tubing around something that won't move. I used our dumbbell rack. Stand facing tubing, and lower down into a semi squatting position. Start with arms extended out in front and then squeeze shoulder blades together as you bring elbows past our rib cage. Return to starting position. You can do one arm at a time (as shown), or both together. I did 50 with both arms rowing at the same time.

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V-ups:
Begin in boat position - legs in table top with abdominals tight as you recline slightly (top picture). Straighten legs and lean back until lower back touches the floor (lower picture). Return to starting position. Repeat 49 times. Yikes! You can do it!

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Thrusters:
Begin in a standing position with feet slightly wider than hip distance apart and dumbbells by shoulders. Lower down into a squat keeping weight on heels. As you come into a standing position, press the dumbbells overhead. Think about keeping a tight core the entire time and really squeezing your glutes as you stand up.


Plank Jacks: 
Begin in a plank position with hands under shoulders and back flat. Jump your feet apart like you were doing a jumping jack and then jump back to your plank. Voila! I love these because they get your heart rate up while working your entire body!

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And there you have it folks. Although it was tough, I loved this workout. It's fun to play with rep numbers and get out of the whole 12 reps for 3 sets routine that I usually do. I hope you enjoy it!

After that Fiery 50 workout and teaching a barre class on Monday, my legs were toast. Luckily, I have a very cute walking partner to help me shake out my legs in the afternoon. It was a chilly 50 degrees here (I hear the eye rolls from my northern friends), so I had Belle bundled up pretty good.





Do you usually stick to a certain number of sets and reps for workouts or do you like to switch things up?

In health,

Lauren George

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Happy Workout Wednesday and Christmas Eve!

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