Cruisin' and fitness? It can be done!

I just returned from a 17 day long vacation with my sister (there we are on the left!). We took a Trans-Atlantic cruise from Miami, FL to the Bahamas; Bahamas to the Canary Islands; and then we rounded out our voyage by stopping in 4 different cities in Spain. It was amazing. We were on the second largest ship in the world, The Liberty of the Seas, hosted by Royal Caribbean. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean was an experience I’ll never forget. The stars, the moon, and the air were more fantastic and fresh then they are on land. While sailing, there was nothing around us…No land or boats for as far as the eye could see. It would have felt isolating had we not been on this "floating city," as my sister dubbed it.

My friends have been asking me what I did on the 7 days crossing the Atlantic. There’s a lot you can do on a ship of that size. Things like bingo, karaoke, mini-golf, “Arts and Crafts with Janet” (yep)… But my sister, Greta, and I decided to make these 7 days a bit of a health retreat (with a little bit of bingo, karaoke, sunbathing, and wine tasting thrown in for good measure, of course). I’m sure when you think of cruising, you imagine unlimited buffets and a sedentary existence. Yeah, that’s pretty much what it is if you want to play it that way. In fact, one of the spa employees informed us on our first day that a typical guest gains about 2 pounds per day on the ship! But with some planning you can also make it active and healthy if you choose to. Royal Caribbean offers “Vitality” activities and a “Vitality” menu presented at every dinner. The Vitality activities are clearly marked with a symbol on the outline of the day’s activities that you receive each night in your cabin. And every evening in the dining room, you’re given the Vitality menu with your regular menu, which offers an appetizer, entrée, and dessert with calories clearly marked beside each option for a full meal that’s listed as “Under 800 Calories.”

The best part about staying fit and healthy during our cruise is that The Liberty of the Seas provides it’s guests with an amazing, state of the art fitness facility and spa that we just couldn’t stay away from. Check it out! Greta took pictures.
Here are all the ellipticals and treadmills at the bow of the ship. It was amazing to be moving through the ocean while moving on an elliptical.
Spinning bikes.

Fitness studio.
Boxing ring.


So, when friends ask what I did during those 7 days at sea (and really the entire vacation), my answer is that we took a 6-day boot camp and other rockin’ classes (step, yoga, total body conditioning and more) lead by fantastic personal trainers, Jessica and Kaylie--top-notch fitness professionals from South Africa and England. They kicked our butts, and we felt amazing afterward (and sore). These rockin' women inspired me to start my own boot camp here in New York in Central Park, starting in May. This boot camp will get you results like you’ve never seen before. Seriously. When I took this boot camp on the ship, I felt better than I’ve felt in a long time. I started feel different after our 6 days, and I’m continuing the work on my own here at home. I promise you that if you decide to enlist in these 6 classes here in New York, you won’t want to stop. Also, I’m running a promotion where if you purchase 5 classes, you get the 6th one for free! You’ll receive a punch card that looks like what you see on the right here. Again, 6th class for FREE! Yee-haw! This is a great deal, guys, so click here to read more details. More importantly, Be Well!