Fitness Friday: New Perspectives

In the classroom, I talk to my students about perspectives a lot. It's a prominent theme in several books we read throughout the year and it encourages them to look beyond the surface to consider points that they hadn't thought of before.

I've also talked about perspectives in fitness. What might be easy for some is hard for others. An injury makes you reflect on your goals. You get the idea.

This year I wanted to continue to broaden my perspective, so I set a goal to try more new activities.

On Sunday I joined the Blog & Tweet NH group at New Perspectives Pole and Aerial in Manchester to try the new fitness trend for first time: Pole Fitness

Pole Fitness combines dance and acrobatic moves to create a fun workout that builds strength and flexibility. It involves moves such as spins, climbs, slides, and inversions.

The owner and our instructor Juel is a retired gymnast and certified strength and conditioning coach. In addition to instructing, she also competes professionally!

After some floor warm-ups, our Intro to Pole class started to get up close and personal with the POLE.

Even though Juel did an outstanding job showing us how to do the individual beginner moves, it was the toughest thing I've ever tried. I've never been known for my upper body strength, but it was obvious that the rest of my body is lacking power also.

When I signed up to attend this event, I was expecting to feel awkward during the dance-like portions, but I was ready to push myself out of my comfort zone. I was ready for it to be hard, but willing to try.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though I'm not the strongest girl, I was still able to do most of the moves. It was also a relief to feel a sense of encouragement from the instructor and the other ladies in the class.

I don't know when I will be back for more Pole Fitness, but I will be back!

If you're thinking about checking out Pole Fitness, follow New Perspectives on Facebook for information about the upcoming Open House.

Have you tried Pole Fitness? 

Fitness Friday: Booty Barre Recap

If I was thinking that Becki, owner and instructor of Strength in Balance NH, was going to go easy on us at the Booty Barre Blog & Tweet event, I was proved WRONG! But I'm totally ok with that!

The Strength in Balance NH Barre Fitness Studio is located at Z Club in the old mill buildings on Factory Street in Nashua and is the first barre fitness studio in southern NH. This total body workout is a mix of dance, yoga, Pilates and balance.

Becki got us warmed up quickly with some arm and leg strength work in the middle of the room. Using two pound hand weights seems like nothing at first, but by the end warm up I had to put them down and go through the motions without them.

After the "warm up", Becki moved us over to the barre for the bar/ballet part of the class. She would show us the exercise in small parts first and then put it all together. The balanced moves made my legs literally shake!

These barre workouts would be interrupted briefly for some open floor cardio like burpees and mountain climbers to get the heart pumping before heading back to the barre.

Janine, Allie, Amber and Candra

Just when I thought I was mastering the barre moves, we busted out the blue sponge balls. Yikes! The goal was to squeeze it between our legs while doing squats and behind our knee while doing leg lifts.

Lastly, we moved to the mats for some core work similar to Pilates moves but using the barre. I liked these exercises better than regular Pilates class moves because it felt easier to control what my core was doing.

Class ended with a good dose of stretching which felt so amazing after the complete burn I had just put my body through. Despite feeling spent, I was all smiles!

I wish I lived closer to Nashua because I would make Booty Barre class one of my regular cross training workouts. I loved the high energy, loud music, open and roomy studio. Becki was awesome about walking around, checking our forms, and correcting when necessary. It was a fun and challenging class, which it makes it totally worth the time.

Strength in Balance NH offers a wide variety of classes designed for all levels, so there's no excuse not to try it.

Have you tried barre? What do you think?

Special thanks to Becki for hosting us all for the Blog & Tweet event. We attended the class free of charge, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Gluten Free Crock Pot Chili and Pilates & More with Elina

Last week I met up with the NH Bloggers & Tweeters group for the monthly Blog & Tweet event, but not before having a bowl of my husband's delicious wheat-free crock pot chili.

He has masterfully created a yummy chili recipe that simmers in the crock pot for about 5 hours:

2 pounds browned hamburg
2 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 can green chiles
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can dark red kidney beans

I add crackers to my chili and like Glutino gluten free original crackers the best.

The October Blog & Tweet event was a Pilates Fitness Class at Pilates & More with Elina in Manchester. Pilates is a conditioning routine meant to help build flexibility and strength. It's a great cross training option for runners.

Pilates & More with Elina is located in the old mills buildings of downtown Manchester. Parking was free and easy, but finding my way to the studio inside the building was just the start of the adventure.

The studio, which opened in September, was a cozy space with hard wood floors that easily accommodated our group of seven.

Elina, who has 19 years fitness experience, greeted us right away and after filling out some paperwork, she led us to the Pilates mats we would be using for the class.

The 45 minute Beginner's Mat class was a mix of beginner Pilates moves put together as a sequential series and a lot of giggling. That's what happens when you put a group of girls together!

Photo credit to Janine

Some of the Pilates exercises involved a good stretch at the end, which felt awesome after Elina pushed us to do more repetitions. Even though we were not moving around a lot, I could feel my muscles tiring from the repetition or holding of positions. I wish I had remembered to wear my Polar Heart Rate monitor because I would love to know how many calories I burned in this class!

In addition to the Beginner's Mat class, Elina explained to the group at the end of the session that she also offers several other classes:

Cardilates - low impact cardio and Pilates with music
Bandilates - Pilates with resistance bands
Rehabilitation - Focus on range of motion and stretching

Pilates & More with Elina offers a range of pricing options from $15 drop in rates to packages and private sessions.

I've done Pilates before and had forgotten what a great workout it is. It was a nice change from the high energy workouts that I've become accustomed to doing. Thanks again to Allie and Janine for organizing our monthly Blog & Tweet events.

And special thanks to Elina for hosting our crazy Blog & Tweet NH group!

me, Amber, Sarah, Allie, Kathy, Karlene, Elina, and Janine

Have you ever done Pilates? What do you think?