FEATURED
Cari Shoemate Is Back!
If you've been on Social Workout for a while, you may remember the weekly Breakfast Club challenges we ran with Exercise TV and superstar trainer Cari Shoemate. We've missed Cari a lot since the Breakfast Club challenges came to an end, so we are thrilled that she's back on the site, hosting a clean eating and exercising February challenge. Cari is the personal trainer to NBA Houston Rockets Power Dancers and Erica Rose from The Bachelorette - she really knows her stuff. She's also incredibly friendly, wears rad brightly-colored sneakers and her hair is amazing (I think it's a Texas thing). Can you tell I'm a Cari fangirl?
Cari's challlenge, "Lose 10lb in February," runs all month long and focuses on doing daily cardio and eating very clean. Losing weight is not a requirement of the challenge, but Cari does challenge you to get regular exercise and eat very well. Also, try to lay off the cocktails, which should be easy for all of you who just came off of The Jan Plan.
Sign up for Cari's challenge here: http://socialworkout.com/challenge/showRunning/24380
For Cari's instructions on what exactly clean eating means, see her featured posts: http://socialworkout.com/challenge/showRunning/24380?filter=featured&sort=recent&datepicker=
Good luck to everyone!
-
Heart
5
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
Day 3: Morning Practice and Core Focus
Welcome to Day 3, in which we work out our morning creaks and build our core. Onward, yogis!
->NEWBIE: Morning Practice with Jason Crandell. If sleep is a time of rest and repair, then why do we feel so stiff and creaky in the morning? Try this practice, designed to banish stiffness and creakiness and awaken the whole body.
http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/beginner_day3
-->NOT A NEWBIE: Core Focus with Rebecca Urban. Core strength and stability are essential to a yoga practice. It's what helps you stand in balance poses, kick up into inversions, and hover in arm balances.
http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/intermediate_day3
-
Heart
3
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
The Break of Day
What breaks in daybreak? Is it the night? Is it the sun, cracked in two by the horizon like an egg, spilling out light?
~ Margaret Atwood
-
Heart
7
-
Bullplop
0
Working it hard with Buffin this afternoon. Interval runnng, then barbell deadlifts (115 lbs, baby!) interspersed with planks, then lumbar back extensions with weights, and lunges with weights. But the big news: Buffin put a ring on it! Well okay, it was my ring, which he was holding in his pocket for me while we worked out, but still, BUFFIN PUT A DIAMOND RING ON MY FINGER!!!!
After stretching, I spent a good long time in the sauna, having some of the best girl talk with two ladies I didn't know. Straight talk in the sauna gets really real, really fast.
-
Heart
10
-
Bullplop
0
Wednesday afternoon silks with Heather. I can't wait until I nail knee hooks so that my knee & hamstrings work together to actually hook, and it's not just my arms scrambling to save me from certain death. Lady Bulldozer has a great concept for an aerial show she wants to do with me. It involves me showing off my skills, and then she kicks my butt with her even better skills, and then she rolls out on her wheelchair looking like a total badass ... and then maybe I do some silks to Disney songs.
(Counting Wed & Mon silks class, because I like to know how many classes I have taken and I didn't have an active challenge on the site on Monday)
-
Heart
5
-
Bullplop
0
Hooray! Cari Shoemate is back!
-
Heart
4
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
Day 2: Happy Standing
->NEWBIE: Happy Days Practice with Lilias Folan. Exercise your cheek muscles—by smiling—and introduced to a giggle-inducing pose called Victory Goddess.
http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/beginner_day2
-->NOT A NEWBIE: Standing Poses with Jason Crandell. Practicing standing postures improves our awareness of our bodies; builds strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance; and prepares our bodies for other categories of asana.
http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/INTERMEDIATE_day2
RECIPE: Corn Chayote and Chile Burritos. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/11624 «
-
Heart
0
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
Good Morning Sequence, Good Morning News
Kate Holcombe's morning sequence kicks off this February 21-Day Yoga Challenge! This practice is a great way to start your day—or get an energy boost any time. The key is to "go at your own pace," says Holcombe, founder of the Healing Yoga Foundation in San Francisco. This means listening to your body.
Other good news this morning: artist Alivia Barker is offering 15% off of her gorgeous t-shirts to all challengers who complete 15% or higher in this month's yoga challenge. Alivia's t-shirts feature The Hamsa,"a beautiful symbol respected by people of many faiths and backgrounds. It creates a peaceful unification for all men and women." Now that's a reason to roll out your yoga mat!
Alivia Barker's t-shirts can be found here: http://www.livas1.com/
Today's Morning Sequence with Kate Holcombe can be found here:
NEWBIE:
http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/beginner
NOT A NEWBIE: http://www.yogajournal.com/21daychallenge/intermediate
-
Heart
0
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
Rise and Shine, Dawn Patrol! You're Already a Winner!
Dawn Patrol!
Good morning, sunshine! Thank you for joining the Dawn Patrol challenge. If you were up for this morning's sunrise, we also thank you for waking up. Hooray! That's right, we are thanking you for waking up. It's not an easy feat, especially in the winter, and we appreciate your efforts. If you didn't quite make it this morning, don't despair. Tomorrow really is another day, with another sunrise, and another chance at redemption.
Now for some news that's even brighter than the dawn: The fine folks at The Company Store are offering you 20% off your next online purchase, just for joining this challenge. Sweet! I'm personally a huge fan of their jersey knit sheets, and I credit their comfy softness with why, even though I woke with the dawn today, I refused to get out of bed with the dawn. The jersey sheets are the perfect accessories for mid-winter early morning luxuriating. After all, if you're going to spend less time sleeping, you should at least have high quality bedding. The Company Store also offers a great selection of rugs, curtains and other home decor, so take your 20% and go crazy:
CODE: SWTCS
LINK: http://www.thecompanystore.com/
See you tomorrow morning, all you sunny people!
Cheers,
The Dawn Patrol
-
Heart
1
-
Bullplop
0
Take 2 on my picture. Haleakala Crater, December 31, 2011. Raise your hand if you're not a moring person. ME!
-
Heart
2
-
Bullplop
0
What is going on? This is so weird. I thought blue birds would sing to me like in the morning scene in Disney's Cinderella. Where are my blue birds?
Kaitlyn B. threatened to call me at 6:30 am, which is WAY before sunrise, and I said absolutely not, sunrise is at 7:06 am, and I am sticking to it.
Anyway, This is a picture of me at the summit of Haleakala Crater on Maui, where I watched the sunrise on December 31, 2011. Look, I woke up at sunrise twice within a month and the world did not stop spinning on its axis out of shock!
-
Heart
3
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
If You Showed Me This Schedule in 2009, I Would Have Cried
For real, if you showed me this schedule in 2009, I would have cried, and then kicked you hard in the stomach and run away. That's me in the picture, the first day I joined Social Workout, thinking I was so tough because I strolled and gossiped for 5K in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. I think I sweat maybe 3 drops, and that was because of the humidity. Also, why wasn't I wearing more pink? Now here I am, 2.5 years later, making up challenges for myself, which involve 6 workouts a week, hauling my von hottness up some fabric, and regularly lifting 100 lbs. with my hot, hot trainer.
Anyway, I realize that a 10-goal challenge makes it look like I will work out a zillion times a week. That is SO not true. I mean, I'm a lady with a lot going on. It's all about streamlining, people. Streamlining, and then cocktails. Here's the plan:
Monday - silks & cardio & foam rolling
Tuesday - personal training with Buffin
Wednesday - silks & foam rolling (& cardio if I don't do it on Mondays)
Thursday - Buffin & cardio
Friday - silks & foam rolling
Saturday - weights (because Buffin says I have to) & cardio. So if I sleep til noon, go to brunch, then workout for 2 hours, that should take me right back to cocktail hour. Perfect!
I don't know where to fit in the yoga class. I need the yoga because my legs and hips and shoulders are muy inflexib-ley. Saturdays? Maybe Sunday nights? But that's my rest day. It is so hard being this fit and fabulous! Please pass the protein martini.
-
Heart
10
-
Bullplop
0
TEAM SHOUT
Ladies! Congratulations on being the winning team in the Yoga Journal 21 Day Yoga Challenge. Fabulous job! Zevia will be in touch about your prizes.
Thanks for bringing such a great team spirit to the challenge!
-
Heart
2
-
Bullplop
1
FEATURED
Do Fitness Challenges Really Work?
It probably goes without saying that we think the answer to this question is a resounding, "YES!" We are big fans of goal-setting, both big and small, and even bigger fans of social accountability and community support. Besides, we're always amazed at how many awesome people are capable of doing awesome things when you dare them to do something that's just a little extreme, 21 consecutive days of yoga, for instance. It's heart-warming and inspiring. We're pretty sure that if we get more people to challenge themselves more often, the world will be a better place.
Our friends at Well and Good NYC posed this same question in an article on fitness challenges, and they were kind enough to include some input from our fearless founder (and Big Challenge enthusiast), Oliver Ryan. You should read it, and please do give us your opinions on fitness challenges. Which reminds us: we're working on some big site upgrades, so if you've got any requests, leave them in the comments.
Read the Well and Good NYC article here: http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2012/01/30/do-fitness-challenges-really-work/
(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/familymwr/5281262711/)
-
Heart
0
-
Bullplop
0
Thanks for your words of encouragement...they are greatly appreciated!
-
Heart
1
-
Bullplop
0
FEATURED
Wake Up and Win!
Good day, Dawn Patrol!
We're just two days away from the Feb. 1 start! Excited to reap the mental and physical benefits from waking early? Or are you on the fence to even take on the challenge? Well, to give you an extra little nudge, we've gathered together some fabulous award offers:
--> SIGN UP: Get 20% off at The Company Store (Less sleep, better bedding!)
--> WAKE UP AT LEAST ONE MORNING at dawn: Earn 20% off from Acacia Lifestyle (New morning workouts!)
--> WAKE UP HALF OF THE MORNINGS at dawn: Receive an offer from Goat Milk Stuff (Good soap for fresh mornings!)
--> WAKE UP WEEKDAYS at dawn: Special offers from DoMatcha and Protein Bakery (Goodbye coffee and muffin, hello matcha and protein brownie!)
--> WAKE UP EVERYDAY: Get 20% off an Exhale Spa service (Wake up, pamper yourself, repeat.)
Now those are some offers worth waking up for! Set your alarm, prepare your coffee pot, and don't get too cozy under the covers. On Wednesday, we'll see you with the sunshine!
Cheers,
The Dawn Patrol Prize Squad
-->Check out our awesome prize sponsors here:
- The Company Store: http://www.thecompanystore.com/
- Acacia: http://acacialifestyle.com/
- Goat Milk Stuff: http://goatmilkstuff.com/
- DoMatcha: http://www.domatcha.com/
- Exhale Spa: http://www.exhalespa.com/
- Protein Bakery: http://www.proteinbakery.com/
(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulagway/6752350143/)
-
Heart
5
-
Bullplop
0
![[avatar]](/img/avatar-default.jpg){kind=avatar}
