Current faves: Events, fun, food and weekly workouts

Hi, friends! How are you? What’s new? My Mom has been here for a week, which has been just magical. I’ve been getting out of the house a bit more without Brady (went to SoulCycle, the gym, the post office, the library, the City, a baby sprinkle, you name it and didn’t have to drag out a stroller or car seat), and I’ve also just been soaking up her company. We went on a night-time walk with glasses of wine around the neighborhood and are doing all the things a girl likes to do with her momma. 🙂 

Today, because it’s Friday, we’re going to look at a few random favorites making me happy, which hopefully will give you a little entertainment too. Let’s go!

Events

Taking a barre class with Hiball at MNT Studio

I haven’t been to MNT Studio in the SoMa neighborhood of SF since the summer of last year when I was quite pregnant. Wow! Flashback to that in this post.

I went back this week for an event hosted there by Hiball, a clean and organic sparkling water energy drink created in SF. We arrived, sampled the drinks, chatted and then took a barre class by the studio owner, Elaine, whom I’ve met a couple times before. Elaine is absolutely adorable, the sweetest and one fit Pilates momma (she is shown below!). She has a son just a few months older than Brady too, and I totally enjoyed catching up with her in person.

I love MNT Studio and would totally be a regular there if I lived a bit closer to the City. They offer reformer Pilates, Pilates mat classes, yoga, barre and so much more.

Anywho, the Hiball drink we were there to try certainly tastes better than a normal energy drink, and has much better ingredients too. The founder was also in attendance to speak to our group, which was really nice, and I like that he created a product like this for energy drink lovers — who don’t want to be downing Redbull or other crap products, but they need a little quick energy boost sometimes. It’s awesome that companies are creating better-for-us products that are also convenient. And rumor has it that Hiball is also creating a dairy-free cold-brew drink launching next year, so keep your eyes open for it in your local grocery store.

The barre class was great (lots of burn), and I had basically zero traffic in or out of the city, which is all good stuff. It’s always does wonders for me to get out of my bubble and get out at night too to see fellow influencers or fitness babes — so this event certainly did that. Thanks for the invite, Hiball!

And just look at this beautiful space … 

Suggested listening 

Breaking the Wagon Mentality podcast episode

This episode of The Model Health Show featuring the founder of Coconuts & Kettlebells blog and book, Noelle Tarr, is one of the better episodes I’ve listened to in a while for women — particularly the first half. It’s all about how you do not “fall off the wagon” when you eat a cookie, thus breaking your diet. You just eat the cookie, and you continue on about your healthy life. There is no wagon, when it comes to a healthy lifestyle, people. A reminder we all need.

The whole episode is about women’s nutrition, fixing your relationship with food and knowing that your body, weight and diet do not make you a good or bad person. Ahhhhhh-mennnn. (The second half is all about how Noelle works with clients to come up with macro plans in her new book, which I’m less enthused about, but the first part is golden. I had never actually heard of Noelle before listening to this, and I may need to check out more from her.)

Rather than give you all the details, I recommend a listen to this particular episode here.

You can see more of my favorite podcasts on this list.

And in case you missed it, I was a guest on a podcast last week talking about group fitness, so check that out here. Yay for podcasts and the fact that they are totally free and provide entertainment and education.

Fun

Dave Matthews Band concert

Last weekend, Dave and I had an awesome time at the Dave Matthews Band concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, right near the Google campus. We took a private van down to the venue with some friends, tailgated before the show and sang as loud as we could during the concert. Basically one fabulous night, and I loved that Shoreline Amphitheatre is entirely outdoors, because the weather was just perfect. Have you ever seen DMB before? This was our fourth show — two in Florida and two in California.

Food

Lunching outside with my mom

The weather has been cooling down a bit this week, which has been awesome for daytime outdoor activities, so my mom and I made lunch and sat outside a couple of times.

I pulled together all the usual suspects, Hilary’s Eat Well veggie burgers, Vital Farms eggs, an avocado, pickled beet sauerkraut and a mug of bone broth — all covered in sea salt, black pepper and turmeric — for this spread.

P.S. I recently learned you need to add black pepper when you’re having turmeric to really absorb the benefits, that along with healthy fat (avocado, oils, etc.). Good to know that food combinations matter!

Pumpkin spice lattes

I know that the Starbucks PSL is not a healthy beverage. I do not care. I’ve had two so far this season, and they are even sweeter and better than I remember. I get mine with almond milk. Mmmmm! What’s your Starbucks drink of choice?

Fitness

Push-up challenge is DONE!

Yessss! The 16-day push-up challenge in the A Lady Goes West Friends Facebook group is complete. Thank you to all you soldiers who gave it a try, because it wasn’t easy. While I really don’t like push-ups, I do like have a small challenge to work toward each day, and I definitely saw improvement in my ability and form to get multiple push-ups on the toes. I think another challenge is in store, just not sure what yet. Any requests?

Weekly workout recap

Here’s a look at my workouts from last week. 

• Monday: 45-minute FlyWheel class, 10:30 a.m.
• Tuesday: 30-minute BODYATTACK, 30-minute CXWORX, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 9:30 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 45-minute reformer Pilates class, 9 a.m.
• Saturday: 30-minute legs weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was majorly class heavy for me. In fact, I only had one solo workout, which I actually did with Dave. Technically, I picked up weights or did resistance training several times, throughout the classes, but I would have liked to have done another full-body day devoted to strength if there was time. I did cycling, cardio, core, weights, barre, Pilates and more — so major diversity. And of course, a full rest day too. Good stuff.

Suggested reading

Best links from around the web

• Fix your rounded shoulders. This is such a thorough post about exactly how to sit up straight, correct and fix your poor posture from sitting hunched over a computer (or phone) all day and get more out of your upper-body workouts. Love it! I already tried one of the mobility moves at the gym (the pec wall stretch), and it felt great.
• Travel tips. Dave and I finally signed up for TSA Pre-Check this year to make our many trips through airport security a bit less crazy with a baby (and sometimes a dog) in tow — I’ve done seven roundtrips this year and have at least two more on the agenda. This article is an awesome look at ways to rack up free points, save money or just improve your travel experience, and of course, the TSA Pre-Check is part of it.
• Steady state cardio vs. HIIT. Great article by a fitness friend of mine all about the benefits and disadvantages of both long slow cardio sessions and shorter intense interval sessions. Spoiler alert: Both have their place depending upon you needs, goals and likes.

A Lady Goes West favorite archives 

• Expecting? Here’s some info for your next workout … “How to modify a BODYPUMP class when you’re pregnant.”
• Breakfast for the week. Try this … “Make this cacao baked oatmeal for a week’s worth of breakfasts.”

Oh and one more thing … Brady has three teeth! 🙂 

P.S. Giveaway winner! Congrats to the two winners of the Elemental Superfoods giveaway, Jen and Georgiana. More giveaways coming soon!

Peace out, my friends! Be good! See you around here very soon! 🙂 

Fitness, food and fun favorites over on A Lady Goes West today ... Click To Tweet

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What are you up to this weekend?

Have you read or listened to anything interesting lately worth sharing?

What kind of challenge would you like to see next?