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Fitness, Health, Healthy on the cheap, Products I love

The Yoga Collective & Giveaway

June 7, 2015

Last year, I was so good about doing yoga regularly. I practiced yoga about 3 times a week for about 6 months … and then I stopped. I mean, I did yoga here and there, but I was just so busy with my final year of graduate school that yoga sadly took a back seat. I have resolved to try and incorporate yoga into my weekly routine again and to practice at least once a week. Even if just for 10 minutes.

The Yoga Collective review

As such, I was thrilled when I learned about The Yoga Collective and their fantastic array of online yoga videos! Although I love going to yoga studios, sometimes time (and money) issues can make this difficult. Being able to do yoga at home makes it much more realistic for me to practice yoga on a regular basis.

What is it like to take a Yoga Collective class?

The Yoga Collective review

The cool thing about The Yoga Collective is that there actually is a physical studio in Venice Beach, CA, where they shoot their yoga videos.  I like that each video is shot in the studio because you really feel as if you are getting the full yoga studio experience from an online yoga class; but from home! When you play a yoga video, it starts with the instructor introducing themselves and explaining each of the poses in an easy to understand fashion. I have to say that so far, Shayna Hiller, is my favorite instructor because I think her voice is incredibly soothing and that she explains the poses and eases you into transitions extremely well. Her ‘Birds of a Feather Twist Together‘ class was fantastic and I highly recommend it.

But what if I’ve never done yoga before?

That is totally fine! The Yoga Collective has options for you to choose the level, duration, teacher, style and focus of the yoga class. There are lots of options for beginners and more advanced users alike. There is even a whole page dedicated to helping you perfect the moves called free yoga poses. This page has tons of videos of different yoga poses to help walk you through them and to make sure your form is correct (so important in yoga).

If you are a beginner, it is definitely helpful to get private instruction and/or one on one help from a yoga instruction but to be honest, 95% of all the yoga I have done has been at home. It is just so much more convenient.

Giveaway: 1 Year Membership to The Yoga Collective!

I love using The Yoga Collective and I absolutely want you to have that experience as well! The Yoga Collective were kind enough to offer 2 of my readers a 1 year membership to The Yoga Collective. All you have to do is enter using the widget below and follow the instructions; so easy 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you get to check out The Yoga Collective when you can, and best of luck to all of you that have entered!

Honestly yours, 
Alice

Thank you for all of your support! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Disclaimer: I was given a free 1 year subscription to try out The Yoga Collective and the giveaway was sponsored by The Yoga Collective. My thoughts are always my unbiased and own, and I only showcase what I think will be helpful for your health and fitness journey.

Fitness, Health, Salt Lake City

How to workout in high altitudes

May 31, 2015

Before I moved to Salt Lake City, I had no idea that being in a place with high altitude could affect your workout performance. I mean, I kiiinda knew because I had heard that athletes often went to train in places of high altitude to make themselves perform better. I pretty much ignored thinking about why it would be harder (yet better for you) to train at higher altitude until I moved over to Salt Lake City, just last week. I know the altitude in Salt Lake City is not thaaat high, but it makes a difference, trust me. My experiences so far inspired me to write this post so that I could help anyone who is struggling with how to workout in high altitudes.

How to workout in high altitudes

Why is it harder to train in higher altitudes?

The reason it is so much harder to exercise in higher altitude is because of the lack of oxygen; the higher the altitude, the less oxygen there is. And as we all know, if you are working out, you need to supply oxygen to your muscles.  Therefore, when you are at a higher altitude, you need to breathe at a faster rate to get the correct amount of oxygen to your muscles and your heart also needs to beat faster “to move more oxygen-carrying blood cells past the muscle cells.” So that’s why I end up on the floor, a big red mess, wheezing for air so quickly!!!

How can you overcome the difficulties of training in higher altitudes?

Still trying to figure this one out and sadly, there does not seem to be a quick fix. You basically just have to keep training and eventually, you will acclimatize and your body will adapt to the change in altitude. This NY Times article states that acclimatization will bring about chemical processed which will enable your muscle cells to better handle the lower oxygen levels. Also, the number of capillaries you have will increase (that is so crazy)!

What am I doing?

Considering that I am a health and fitness blogger, this is a great (yet annoying challenge) for me. I have been doing the following things to help me still workout despite feeling like an absolute beginner:

  • I have been going at a slower pace when doing circuit training and taking more breaks as needed
  • I have been doing more LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) to build up my endurance
  • I have been doing extra strength based moves (such as TRX push ups and ab exercises) to ensure that my body stays well conditioned while I build up my endurance to do more high intensity circuits
  • Not beating myself up when I get tired – I felt really bad the first time I worked out because of how weak I felt, but I realize that it is a process and that I will get stronger and faster again

Does anyone have similar experiences?

I would love to hear from you if you also moved to or are currently living in a place with higher altitude. What did you do to keep yourself motivated and how did you build up your strength and endurance again? It is times like this I wish I had a personal trainer to force me to workout haha, but luckily I have social media networks, such as Instagram, to keep me motivated and disciplined. 

Honestly yours,
Alice Salt Lake City health and fitness blogger

Thank you for all of your support! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Fitness, Kayla Itsines, Products I love

The First 4 Weeks of BBG 2.0

May 6, 2015

Wow, well that went by fast; it is already May and I have completed the first 4 weeks of BBG 2.0 (Kayla Itsines second bikini body guide)! I wanted to share with you all my thoughts regarding BBG 2.0 and to update you all on what’s happening with me in terms of health and fitness.

The First 4 Weeks of BBG 2.0

review of BBG 2.0 kayla itsines

How Does BBG 2.0 Differ From BBG 1.0?

There is quite a significant difference. Of course, the format is the same typical Kayla style of two circuits with four exercise moves each, with the circuits done a total of four times. However, the weights get increased in the BBG 2.0 and there are a lot more static movements and less jumping around (or flailing around like I do, haha!). For example, you do moves like weighted barbell squats, arm raises, weighted sit-ups and etc. There were also slight modifications to moves seen in BBG 1.0 such as jump squats … buuuut with double pulses at the bottom (it burns, oh how it burns). Of course, there are moves that have been introduced in BBG 1.0 such as walking lunges, push ups and snap jumps.

Do I Like BBG 2.0?

So far, yes I do! Well, okay let me back up a bit. I definitely have a love-hate relationship going on with the BBG 2.0. I love that there are more weighted exercises yet I am still sweating like mad, yet I hate that it is still so hard haha! But I know it is good that it’s hard because it is still challenging me … but I hate it … because it is hard. LOL. Does that makes sense, and someone please tell me they feel the same way?

review of BBG 2.0 kayla itsines

P.S. Nike and Lorna Jane make fantastic workouts clothes. Also, I broke my jump rope during some vigorous speed jumping lol!

Am I Doing Anything Differently in BBG 2.0?

Yeah, like I said, the weights increase so I am using heavier weights. I also decided to challenge myself by doing military style pushups, where I keep my arms much closer to my sides and ensure my elbows bend backwards and not outwards (form is so important). This tiny little adjustment has literally made me a beginner again, and I am back to doing push ups on my knees. Try it and you’ll see what I mean; it is SO much harder but it engages my core more and is working different arm muscles. It is critical we keep challenging ourselves and pushing our bodies to the max if we want to see change. 

healthy and easy 4 ingredient pancakes by honestly fitness

 An example of some yummy foods I have been eating these past 4 weeks!

Let’s See What The Next 8 Weeks Are Like …

So, I am currently on week 17 and ughhh, I was completely caught off guard with the elevated intensity of the workouts. How does Kayla keep doing this?! I will do another update on weeks 17-20 in 4 weeks time and let you all know how it went (unless I have suffered #deathbyKayla). For now, I want to set some goals for myself to keep myself motivated and accountable

  1. Start using Kayla’s HELP guide more strictly again. Although I have enjoyed experimenting and adjusting my macros; the HELP guide was the most balanced way for me to go about my nutrition.
  2. Focus on slowly increasing the MPH I do sprints. Yesterday, I did sprints for HIIT and my speed was 9.0MPH for about 10-12 minutes and I upped it to 9.2MPH for the remainder of the 3-5 minutes. 
  3. Strengthen my lower back by doing lower back extensions. This has helped a lot in keeping my back straight during pushups.
  4. Start practicing pull ups again! The second I move to Salt Lake City, I am buying a pull up bar and getting back into it.
  5. Do not plan cheat meals. I have found that if I have an unplanned cheat meal (because life happens), I get into this very negative state of mind which is not healthy at all. Instead of planning cheat meals, I should just let them happen based upon the context. It makes SO much more sense to have a cheat meal because you are out with friends as opposed to being home alone on a Saturday night.

That’s all folks! I hope you found this mini-review of BBG 2.0 helpful and I look forward to posting another one in a few weeks. I can tell that I am definitely leaning down slowly but surely and I am excited to see how much stronger I get in the next few weeks. It is NOT EASY, but it is worth it being able to look like a bad a** in the gym hehe 😉

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!