...end week one of 30 day challenge...

I have finished my first week of my 30 day challenge (not a full week because March began on Tuesday), and I feel great, still a little tight (that kettle bells is tough!) but great.

Day 3: 5 mile Chastain Loop and Kettle bells with Sean and Trey.

The walk around Chastain is so beautiful right now as the first blooms of spring happen here in Atlanta while school is still being canceled for my folks in the north!

Aphi's favorite part of the loop...

The Kettlebells was less of a workout today because Jack worked with us a lot on technique which for Sean and I was super important. We learned the Turkish Get-up, silver-back dead lift, swings and the goblet squat...

Trey should stop looking so excited (he skipped chest day at the gym for this, a real sacrifice... thanks Trey!)

Day 4:
Yoga and a one mile fast run (well fast for me...)

Day 5:
Kettle bell workshop with Sean, John and Jack: Another day of basics, Jack is super knowledgeable about body mechanics and kettle bells and I think we are all on the same page now and ready to move and shake. We did get a workout in at the end and those little weighted balls are unrelenting!!

Day 6:
5 mile loop and Yoga at Peachtree Yoga with Daniela who is also a pranic healer so as you can imagine we did lots of breathing... it was a nice class, my first with her, I would definitely go back!

So Here we go into my first full week of the challenge... I will check back in on Sunday!

Have a great week everyone!

...Fitness challenge, 2 days down...

Well my legs are really still but my spirit is strong!  Don't let the strip mall fool you, everything in Atlanta is in a strip mall, and Oni Fitness is a fantastic new space in Vinings...

This is where I just started teaching some more classes, and where the start of my challenge began in a kettle bells class with Diane and wow.

Day 1:

We had a good class size and some fun music and we just went to it.  It was my first time and I used the lightest weights which I believe were 18 lbs.  Here is a little more info on Kettle Bells, it was my first class but it won't be my last!  Apparently there is a little bit of a fad doing this at home with a video but I definitely think at least in the beginning having an instructor is great to help get the form down...

We moved through three sets and I felt myself fatiguing through each but I made it through just fine... I though later that night that I felt great and headed over to Peachtree Yoga Studio for my regular Tuesday evening class with Todd (which is always a challenge, fun and deep.)  I felt a little more tired than usual but the class was great.

Day 2:

I woke up on Wednesday though and wow, good morning stiffness.  My arms were totally fine but everything from the waist down was totally seized up!  I immediately got out of bed around 7:30 am and fed the pup and then walked the Chastain Park loop from our house (about 5 miles).

This is an Atlanta Gem with a golf course, horse riding, tennis, trails, a school, art center, sports fields, a babbling brook through the middle and walking and biking lanes.  It was a great start to the day but I found my legs even more stiff afterward!

I tried to do some stretching to no avail and then jumped into a salt bath which was fantastic.  I was able to stretch more after this in preparation to teach a class at Oni at 6pm.  That class went well and I got in a few stretches myself.  I was feeling good so I stayed and had a short private pilates class with Shelley (from Oni).  This was also my first pilates class and I now understand on a whole new level why people swear by the ab strengthening series!  It was great and I think it will make its way into my life as it targets your abs in a way yoga doesn't and help them learn to fire which took all the strain out of my low back (my problem area). 

This brings me to the end of day two, with glorious stiffness and a happy mind.  I am taking another kettle bells class today with one of the owners of Oni- Jack and I am dragging some friends along...

While I cannot tone anyone's butt from afar (Laura Kramer), you are welcome in Atlanta!!  Come visit and we will work it out!

...30 day challange...

Well I have gone and done it.

I was not happy at my job for a number of reasons, and it was not at all leading me towards my career and personal goals and so I made the choice to resign.  It is daunting to enter the world of unemployment again but Sean and I have gone into it with open eyes, clear goals and a much more positive attitude.  It is amazing to think that I was in this exact spot one year ago- where did an entire year go and I am in the same place?!?! 

Well, in order to help keep myself sane and positive I am beginning a 30 day fitness challenge.  I wanted to do something that would motivate me to blog and live and stay happy and tone my gluteal area... yeah that last one is key...  At first I thought I would join the 30 for 30 challenge that I think is great from Kendi Everyday- check it out, it would be a great challenge, but I felt like I needed something more...

Not to be outdone by Dean Karnazes (who is currently running across our country!), I am embarking on the challenge of one class a day for this entire month.  I will be partaking in yoga (yay), kettlebells (today is my very first kettlebell class, tune in tomorrow for details), and pilates (matt and reformer, neither of which I have done before!).

I am still going to keep doing the things I do, but I am also going to get out of the house every day and partake in some sort of group activity to keep sane (and tone up a bit).

Still unsure if I will do a weekly wrap-up or check in each day- I think for this week I will check in daily and then resort to the weekly wrap up in homage to 'fit fridays'.

Check out Oni Fitness Studio which is where I just started teaching and where I will be taking a lot of classes!  Wish me luck!