TRX Training Center Review

September 18, 2014

Thanks to my wonderful one month ClassPass membership (read more about ClassPass here), I had the opportunity to try out two TRX classes at the TRX Training Center. I decided to write a TRX training center review for any of you who may interested in taking a class there. I use TRX exercises occasionally in my workouts but I had always wanted the experience of doing a class. Even though I can work up quite a sweat on my own, there is something about having someone push you to your limits and telling you to do “JUST ONE MORE!”

The first class I tried was the ‘TRX Circuit Training’ class. I completed Kayla Itsines bikini body guide (BBG) a few months ago (read my review here) and since her workouts are circuit based, I thought this would be a really fun class to try.

Ah, if only I were as fit as I was when I was doing Kayla’s program … I really got my butt kicked at the TRX circuit training class!

The class is a mixture of strength moves done on the TRX and cardio based moves such as jump rope and burpees. The class was essentially structured so you would do a few sets of exercises on the TRX (which were timed) and you would then take a short break and do some cardio based moves without the TRX (also timed). Every part of your body gets worked out in this class; upper body, core and legs. My core is definitely my weak point and the TRX really challenges you because you use the whole weight of your body to support you. The instructor for the class was Miguel, and he was fantastic! I feel as if most instructors do not check on their students form much, but he was great at making sure my form was on point. I would love to take another TRX circuit training class with him (although a little scared haha).

Me dying in the TRX circuit training class

The second class I tried was the TRX Body Blast class. Although this class was just as hard (I had to pause and catch my breath multiple times), it was more of a strength based class. You do get cardio in as you are moving at a fast pace but you are not doing dedicated cardio based moves as you would in the TRX circuit training class. Again, this class worked every inch of my body and left me feeling extremely sore. This class was much fuller than the TRX circuit training class and I have to say, I felt a little intimidated at first! I had nothing to worry about though as everyone was really nice and welcoming.

“Bottom line: TRX is an incredibly

effective and challenging workout”

I feel so lucky to live in a city with a TRX training center! I hope to try out some more classes in the future. I was particularly interested in trying out their TRX rip training to see what that was all about. It will have to wait however because next week, I plan on restarting Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide and then continuing onto the bikini body guide 2.0 … I am SO nervous. I did the legs workout from her free week of workouts downloads and today my legs are so incredibly sore and stiff. I forgot how intense the workouts were!

So wish me luck 🙂 Also, how many of you have ever tried a TRX class before? Let me know if you have or if you use it at your local gym. Would love to see some of the routines you guys do with TRX.

Honestly yours,
Alice

(featured image via http://yubfit.com)

Fitness, Health

Get Ready to Hike!

August 14, 2014

I think a hiking preparation post is in order! I recently got back from a holiday in Salt lake City where my boyfriend and I went on some fun hikes. They were all much more challenging than I thought they were going to be (and the high altitude certainly did not make life easier either)! One hike in particular was absolutely ridiculous but so worth it because there were three beautiful lakes and absolutely stunning views.

You’re probably wondering when I am going to get to the point of this post haha … basically these challenging hikes got me thinking that it would be really cool to do a post about preparing for a hike, whether it is challenging or relatively easy. I know it seems as if preparing for a hike is pretty intuitive but there are quite a few things you can do which you may not have thought about.

Preparing for a hike, especially a challenging uphill hike, can be categorized into the following:

Cardio/Strength, Research, & Supplies

Although anyone can technically just go on a hike, if you want to have a good time on a hike it is usually important to make sure that you are at least somewhat fit. I am not saying you have to be an avid gym go-er or a marathon runner, but it is good to have a good cardio tolerance and to have some leg strength. Core strength is also beneficial to keep yourself balanced if you are hiking on a steep downhill portion. What I would recommend is making sure that a few weeks before you go on a hike, you start doing something that will improve both your cardio and strength levels. For cardio you could start by going on a few brisk walks a few times a week, going for some runs or even trying out a fitness class such as kickboxing or BodyAttack (offered at most 24 Hour Fitness gyms) to raise your cardio levels. To improve your strength levels, you can start concentrating on lower body exercises such as squats and lunges. You could even do a pilates legs and butt workout (Blogilates online and free videos are my favorite) or go to a fitness class that focuses on building strength and tone such as Booty Barre (still need to try this class at Mint Studios Pilates!) or BodyPump (offered at most 24 Hour Fitness gyms).

Seriously, you will be happy you prepped when you do the hike. I would say that I am a pretty fit person, but my hike to Lake Blanche in Salt lake City KILLED ME. It was 6 miles, and 3 miles of it were all steadily uphill .. do not underestimate how exhausting walking at an incline can be 0__o

In terms of research, I just mean that you should do some Google searching about all the different hikes you can do a few days before you plan on hiking. Take the time to see how far away it is to drive to the hike, how long the hike will take, and how strenuous the hike may or may not be. A good tip is to read some reviews, such as on TripAdvisor, about what others thought about the hike. If you are a hiking newbie, avoid hikes with reviews that say ‘REALLY STRENUOUS HIKE’ .. ‘OMG, THIS HIKE IS HARD’ and the like.

Lastly, but certainly not least, make sure you have the relevant supplies a day ahead of time. There was one point during my time in Salt Lake City when my boyfriend could not find his trainers .. ergo no hike lol. So make sure you have the following supplies ready (or at least some of them):

1. Lots of water bottles (1x 1 liter bottle per person for every 1 and 1/2 hour of hiking)
2. Appropriate clothing (some light and well-fitting activewear if in a hot place, or some warm jackets and etc if in a cold place)
3. Proper footwear that you do not mind getting dusty (think trainers like Nikes, Asics, Reebok and etc)
4. Sunglasses with a good amount of UV protection
5. A phone (just in case you get lost, and helps you keep track of time – alternatively a watch instead)
6. A hat
7. Sunscreen (yes, even if you are hiking through snow or on a cloudy day, the sun will still reach you!)
8. A backpack (to hold all of you handy dandy supplies :D)
9. Food (if going on a hike longer than an hour it would be smart to bring portable and nutrient dense foods such as fruit, bread/crackers, nuts and etc)

If you guys think of anymore pre-hiking prep advice then please, please let me know either in the comments below or via social media or email. I would love to hear them because I am no hiking expert; but I do hope my hiking advice helps you prepare for your next (or first ever) hike!

Guess what I am doing this weekend … 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice xxx

Fitness, Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – Kayla Itsines Week 11

May 11, 2014

Kayla Itsines Week 11

I literally spent Tuesday through Saturday with the stiffest and most sore legs I have EVER HAD!!! For those who follow me on my bikini body guide journey, you will know that I have now completed week 11 of Kayla Itsine’s bikini body guide .. yay! On Tuesday, I did my leg workout and although I have done it once before in week 9, I truly pushed myself to the max this time. Hence the stiff legs for almost the entire week! It was pretty ridiculous, every night I would go to bed thinking ‘okay, so tomorrow they won’t be sore anymore’ and then wake up with equally sore legs -__-

I love the workouts for week 11 though. They are so intense and really make you realise just how strong you are. I have to say, the ab workout for this week has been my absolute favorite of the entire guide. It hits every part of my abs and makes them feel oh so tight and toned afterwards.

The arm workout is great too, although I have much more of a love/hate relationship with it. I did approximately 157 push up variations when I did my arm workout for this week, so hopefully that gives you some indication as to how ridiculous it is. But hey, at least now I can do that many push ups!! I normally do my workouts in the group exercise room at the gym, but for some reason an unannounced class was being held in there when I arrived on Friday, so I had to do it in front of all the cardio machines. A little embarrassing to say the least but I did look pretty bad ass doing all those push up variations, so it didn’t really matter in the end.

In other news, I was doing SO WELL on my #HFsugarfreemay until this weekend. It was my boyfriend’s graduation and so I wanted to bake him some yummy treats which inevitably ended up with me tasting these yummy treats too .. oops. Regardless, I think trying to stick to sugar free as much as feasibly possible as it is really quite helpful. It made me stop putting honey in my tea, stevia/brown sugar in my coffee and just made me think more about whether I really wanted that dark chocolate or not 😉 I am all about balance so having sugar/sweets/ice-cream or whatever once in a while is alright as long as you are being mindful about your choices and not completely gorging on whatever your indulgence is. With that in mind, I will leave you with a photo of my boyfriend and I at his graduation, haha.

So all in all, it was a great week and I am so excited (but kind of sad) to be finishing Kayla Itsines bikini body guide next week. Be excited for that next week and also for a really, REAAALLLYYY exciting post on Tuesday. Trust me, you will not want to miss it!

Honestly yours,
Alice

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