New gym bag

I desperately needed a new gym/carry-all bag. I had been using my purse and a smaller bag to carry all of my things to and from work. It sucked because I tend to carry my whole life with me and I felt like I was breaking my arms and back shoving everything into multiple bags. I finally took the plunge and purchased this bag from Lululemon. It's the best, and it's just the right size gym bag. I can fit my clothes, shoes, and purse inside this bad boy. It also has great features too, such as, if you don't have a lot things to carry you can clip it so the sides fold it to make it smaller. You can also turn it into a messenger bag by using the strap when you have a ton of stuff (like I normally do). If you're looking for a cute and large gym bag, look no further!

Motivation

How to keep yourself motivated.

Mix it up

 Because no one likes a boring old routine and plus you will plateau that way. If your gym has classes go to them. I swear by spin class. There's no way I'd ever be able to do them alone, but with the motivation of some kick-ass ladies I'm all for it! This also means that if the treadmill is your thing and that's all you do, mix it up with some strength training (as you know I'm all for pure barre). But if you don't have pure barre in your neighborhood try online pilates. It's nice because you can do it in the privacy of your own home and you need little to no equipment.

Don't go at it alone

 Having someone to motivate you and keep you accountable is the best! If you make a workout date with a friend you're less likely to miss it than if you were doing it alone. Brian, my boyfriend and I go to the gym together the majority of the time. We don't necessarily workout together while we're there, but just the act of going together really helps motivate me! So make some sweat sesh plans.

Dress like the sexy babe that you are

 When you're dressed the part you workout harder and just feel better about yourself. Here are some cute items that will make you want to get your sweat on

Layered Tank- C9 Champion

Free to Be Sports Bra- Lululemon

Supermodel Capri- Victoria Secret

Go at the right time of day

 That ladies and gents depends on you. If you know you'll never ever go after work because you're just too tired and nothing sounds better than your fave TV show and a glass of wine, get up early and go then. I know it's sometimes hard to get up in the am but exercise will get your heart pumping and help wake you up. I work out at night most of the time because I'm a baby when it comes to sleep (7-8 hours) and it's easier for Bri to workout then too. But really anytime of day is fine, just as long as you go.

And last but not least no excuses

 To reiterate, if you really want results you have to work really hard for them. As much as I wish it did it won't just happen overnight. Stick with it because you deserve to look and feel great!

Happy exercising

::Kari::

Happy hour at the Barre (Bucktown)

I get so bored if I don't mix up my workout routine (like look at my watch and think "oh my gosh only 30 seconds have gone by??!! I could have swore it's been 30 minutes!!). A little dramatic? I don't care. I'm just the type of person that seriously needs to switch it up every week. I'm always looking for new things to try and well I found a cute little place that lift, tones, and burns && where I NEVER EVER watch the clock. This burn so good place is...drum roll... 

 

I swear when class starts I don't even think about what time it is until it's over, because it's such a fast pace workout that really tests my limits that all I can really think about is performing the moves correctly. Plus the staff at pure barre bucktown is amaze! I hadn't been in for 3 weeks because of traveling and both the person at the front desk and the manager remembered me right away. I felt so special :)

What is pure barre: So basically pure barre is a low impact way to lift and tone your bod. They focus on all of the problem areas (or at least mine) arms, legs, seat, and abs. The movements are very small and isolated so at first you wouldn't think these movements would do anything, but OMGGGG you'll feel it right away. I have been doing pure barre for about 5-6 days a week for the past month because they give all new clients a $100 for one month deal. But now that I have my base and my month client special is over with I'm planning on going 2-3 times a week and add cardio the other days to melt fat and let my pure barre physique show through. 

If you're ever in the Chicago area or if you live here go to pure barre bucktown. Trust me you'll love it! ~~~ and tell them Kari sent you ;)

Beach Body

I'm really dying for a great beach body. It has been struggle since... well I can't even remember, I guess always. I have a pear shaped body (large thighs  small upper body). I feel like it's so hard to lose the weight on your lower half (*I'll post my workout schedule in a later post*). But hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.I plan on losing my weight through 80% diet and 20% gym. I plan to eat clean. Fresh fruit and veggies, and good fats like avocado and almonds. I'll eliminate wheat and other processed foods, and of course *sigh* alcohol. 

I also want to start juicing.  It's great for your body and mind. I especially love green juices. You can find a great jucie recipe here at my favorite blog: barefootblonde.com 

 Of course, I went to pinterest to help motivate me. Well it has worked, at least gym wise- I just need to clean up my diet. Here are some of my motivators:

Toned

I had the best work out today! You know when you really sweat and are all disgusting... I LOOOVE that!!!! 

Today Brian and I joined our local gym. It's perfect! They have so many group classes, cardio machines, and weights. I actually decided that I'm going to try out lifting. I really want to get toned up. I want to start now so I'm nice and fit once spring/summer rolls around because why start when you're beginning to wear swim suits and shorts. I've said I was going to tone up (well actually lose weight) many times before but I think I was going after it for all the wrong reasons. This time it's not to lose weight because actually when I signed up they checked my body fat % and I was on the low point of average (yay me!) so I want to do it to feel good all around. It will be a perk that clothes will fit a little better and I'll feel a little more confident in my own skin. 

I'm also going to try and eat healthier too because a toned body is made not only in the gym but in the kitchen too. I think this part will be the hardest for me because I love sweet things...hey I can't help it! But I'll try my hardest. 

new gym

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It's starting to get cold here and it's making me want to stay indoors and cuddle with my kitten in my down blanket and watch TV. 

I get so lazy when it gets cold out and this is bad for my workout routine which mostly consists of me running outside. I basically just stop doing it, which is really really bad. However, to combat this I'm going to join a gym! I've never joined a gym before, I mean I've used a guest pass at a gym and occasionally used the University gym In MN, but I've never actually held a membership. I'm going to use my 3 day free pass at LA fitness and see what it's like. They have so many group fitness classes I don't think I can go wrong! 

I'm also thinking about training for a marathon this spring or fall. Possibly the Journeys or Madison marathon. I haven't fully decided if I'm going to do it, but I'm leaning towards yes.

Tonight I'm going out to eat at Mercadito with Brian, my sister Kristi, and her boyfriend Mark. I'll take some pictures and blog about it soon! 

 

Fitness

 I really enjoy a good workout. I always feel really great after (unless I've broken a bone, which does happen to me). As I've mentioned before I really love running by the water. I find it very peaceful and I am able to just zone out. Sometimes, if I feel like running faster I find a person ahead of me and try and pass them. I can get kind of competitive with sports :) But really it's a great way to pick up the pace when you're not on a treadmill. Running is probably my favorite workout of all time. 

I find that if I do just one type of workout I get bored. That's why I add other things, such as group fitness classes, workout DVDs, and youtube videos. I really like group fitness spin and zumba. In spin class it's really fun to pedal fast and pretend like you're beating everyone. See I'm competitive, I told you! Zumba is really fun! I'm not good by any means, but I really enjoy dancing and it's burning calories, so I don't care. As for workout DVD's I love doing P90X, especially the kenpo x, plyometics, and ab ripper x. I also use Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. Each workout it about 20 minutes long, so I do two of them. As for youtube videos, I pretty much just search for different exercises that I feel like doing that day. However, I do really love Blogilates. Blogilates is a blog that was started by a fitness instructor. I found her fitness videos on youtube a while back, but now she has her own website. She basically does pilates to pop music, it's so much fun!

 Check it out by clicking here

Every time I'm at the computer Phineus always sits in my lap. He's such a sweet cat.