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!

First Vlog!

Mix 'er up!

Well, hello there! It's been a long while since I've blogged. Yeesh.

It has been a crazy winter in New York City. One day it's snowing 19 inches and the next, it's 62 degrees outside. This January and February I've been varying my workouts based on the lovely daily weather mood swings. For the past 2 winters, I've had a Half-Marathon to train for. This year, I decided not to take on the challenge. I think I chose wisely because instead of feeling a ton of pressure to follow a running schedule, I've allowed myself to explore new classes at the gym and vary my workout a bit more than I've been used to. I've been taking cardio kickboxing at the 14th Street Y and yoga at Yoga to the People, creating and exploring new workout plans of my own, and testing my Exercise on Demand via Time Warner Cable on days when it was nearly impossible to travel anywhere. There were a couple of days when I was lucky enough to take myself outside for a jog and instead of it feeling like an obligation like it did for the past couple years, it felt like a treat. A treat because either the roads/paths were clear enough or the weather was warmer and I just couldn't resist. When I went on these jogs, they felt like more of a struggle than they had a month or so beforehand when I had been running every other day.
That's what's great about varying your workout. When you take a break from something that your body has gotten used to, coming back to it is more difficult and your muscles, lungs, and heart are tested again. It feels like I'm really getting something out of my hard work, which I love. Always switching up your workout is the best way to see results and to keep yourself from plateauing. Here are simple ways you can vary your own workout and see results more quickly:

• On the treadmill, elliptical, or bike, always chose a program that varies in speed and resistance. You can choose programs labeled random, hills, or interval. This will ensure that you are testing your body and making your heart, lungs, and muscles work harder than if you stayed at the same speed and resistance. You'll also get a better workout in less time at the gym. That rocks.
  

• Use free weights instead of machines.

• Try balancing on one leg when doing standing weighted exercises. You'll test and work your stability and core muscles as well as the muscle group you are lifting for. This will help you to burn more calories and build more lean muscle all over your body.

• Take your chest press or skull crushers off the bench and onto the stability ball. Sit on the ball and walk your feet out until you're lying on the stability ball with your head, neck and shoulders supported by the ball. Here, you'll not only be working your chest or triceps, but your legs, glutes, and abs too, because you have to balance yourself and keep from falling off the ball. Try sitting or lying on the ball for almost any exercise for great core activation.
  

• Add 60-90 seconds of jumping jacks, jump rope, jogging in place, or plyometrics in-between sets of weighted exercises.

• Add a 30-60 second high intensity burst during your cardio workouts. For example, if you're jogging, sprint as fast as you can for 30-60 seconds 2-4 times during your jog.

Be Well!