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Fitmapped– Your GPS and Yelp for Fitness

Oh the sweet glorious weekend is finally here!

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Last night Meg, Lauren, Theodora, Bo and I toasted to the weekend with dinner and drinks at BLT Fish followed by drinks at Lillie’s Bar in Union Square. It was such a fun evening with Bo’s parents who are in town for the weekend. We enjoyed delicious food at BLT Fish while talking about everything from running to work. Due to my crazy travel schedule it had been over a month since I saw Meg and Lauren; a far change from this summer when we basically saw Meg on a daily basis!

Before meeting Theodora for happy hour at Raymi, I had the pleasure of having my hair done in a work conference room. Yup, pause on that statement for a moment. Long story short, one of co-workers asked me why I don’t wear my hair wavy more often since it’s now longer. I looked at her with a clueless look and basically admitted to not knowing how to use a curling iron properly. She offered to do it anytime as she loves doing other people’s hair and based on her gorgeous hair she knows her way around a curling iron. Therefore, last night a 6pm, after sending my last work email, we converted one of our work huddle rooms into a makeshift salon. One small mirror, a can of Fekkai hair spray and my Conair curling iron were all she needed to take my hair from stick straight to beach waves!2013-02-22 18.20.242013-02-22 18.45.08

Now that we’ve covered my lack of curling iron knowledge, let’s talk about something I know a little bit more about – workout classes! One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is take advantage of work out classes around town that I rarely have time to squeeze in during the week. Whether it’s a relaxing yoga class at Equinox on a Sunday after a week of running or a cardio class at Uplift, I normally go to at least one class each weekend. But, how do I make sure that the class is worth my time before investing the time and money?

There is a new website on the block that can help you find your next favorite class if you’re based in New York City or Los Angeles. Fitmapped is a new website and app that combines GPS capability, Yelp, and the fitness studio’s website into one place!

FiTMAPPED - Your GPS For Fitness

Let’s say that you live in Gramercy and know that you want to take a yoga class within a 1/2 mile of your house on Saturday. You need it to be at a studio where you can pay by the class and you want to read reviews ahead of time.

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Within second, I have the 2 studios that fit my requirements, along with the ratings for their classes!

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Not too shabby, eh?  They also have a blog which features weekly fit deals so you can find the best classes for your budget around town!

In order to get the most out of the sit, they ask users to give back by reviewing classes and using the app to check in on Foursquare and Facebook to make it a more interactive experience. Overall this is a great site which I have already used numerous time in just the past few weeks! Check out the site and let me know what you think! Hopefully you’ll find it as helpful as I have! Let me know if you have any feedback and I’ll share it with the team! Their goal is to grow the site and your feedback will help the team make it the best site possible for NYC and LA based fitness nuts!

* Full disclosure- I’m a FiTMAPPED FiTREP, which means that I get to try out complimentary classes and use the FiTMAPPED website.  However, as always, all reviews are my own!

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ashleyd /

Giveaway: Cruise Through Summer with Dasani Drops

A few weeks ago, my friends at Greatist asked me for tips on how I stay healthy each day. It’s no surprise, if you know me, that my tip has to do with water!

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Especially when I’m traveling, a bottle of water is always at my side. It keeps me feeling hydrated and refreshed both inside and out! Airline travel can be tough on my body due to the altitude and pressure changes but also the low moisture levels. Did you know that an plane cabin’s humidity levels are around 5-10%? That’s less humidity than a desert! In addition, I realized first hand just how much hydration helps with jet lag these past 2 trips to Geneva. Even though I enjoyed a few glasses of wine on the trip I also ensured that I drank over 120 ounces of water during the 8 hour flight. This meant that I didn’t have to worry about dry eyes, chapped lips, or a headache when I landed!

But, after 120 ounces, sometimes plain water needs a little oomph in order for me to choose another glass over something more flavorful.That’s where Dasani Drops can come to the rescue! These little bottles are zero calorie flavor enhancers that come in easy to bring with you sizes and containers. Drops come in four fun flavors: pink lemonade, pineapple coconut, mixed berry, and strawberry kiwi. While it’s recommended that each bottle make 32 servings, I love that you can add drops to your flavor preference.

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My favorite thus far is the pineapple coconut but that may be because I’m still dreaming of the San Juan beaches!

In order to ensure you have fun while staying hydrated, the folks at Dasani are giving one Healthy, Happier Bear reader the perfect way to cruise through summer – a new bike! The winner can choose from either a beach cruiser style or mountain bike, valued at over $200. In addition to the bike the winner will also receive Dasani water and Dasani Drops coupons so they can stay hydrated this summer!

DASANI Cruiser Bike

DASANI Mountain Bike

If you want more information about this great new product, head over to their on Facebook and Twitter pages.

To enter:

1) Leave a comment letting me know which flavor you most want to try.

2) Tweet about the giveaway: “@healthyhappier is giving away a @Dasanidrops prize package including a new bike to cruise through the summer! http://alturl.com/2w85y”. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know that you tweeted!

The giveaway is open to US residents only and will close Monday, February 25th at 10pm.

“The prizes for this giveaway were furnished by The Coca-Cola Company, and The Coca-Cola Company provided promotional consideration for my participation in this program; however, Have U Heard is fully responsible for this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of The Coca-Cola Company.”

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ashleyd /

Perspective

You know those days when you just feel like you need to step away to put everything into perspective?

Today was that day.

I don’t take lunch breaks on a daily basis, instead normally doing the unhealthy thing and multi-tasking through my meal. Therefore, late this afternoon when I needed a few minutes away from my desk, I felt very little guilt just stepping away. I know that it’s better for me to take a 30 minute break than push through when I’m just in a stressed out mode.

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Let me tell you. That 3 mile run was the most amazing stress relief and made this month’s membership to Equinox all that much more worth it since I was able to hop on a treadmill, just one block from my office, and pound out a very fast 3 mile run while listening to Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Then, a few hours later, while enjoying my grilled chicken sandwich delivered to my front door compliments of Seamless Web, I read a blog post that just hit home. Sometimes we can only do so much. Maybe you’ll sleep through the alarm for 2 entire hours. Maybe you’ll feel like an idiot because your face is peeling all day and you know your co-workers think that you either have really bad dandruff or just don’t know how to properly apply aloe. Maybe you packed your lunch and left it on the kicthen counter, so the cheese stick, Chobani, and salad could all go bad. Maybe your in-laws are coming to visit tomorrow and the house is a mess. Even if all those things happened to you in one day, as they did me, you still woke up and conquered the day. Sometimes, that in itself is enough.

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Not everyday in a city is filled with sunshine. Nor does each day come with it’s own pair of rose colored glasses. But, at the end of the day, I’ve found after years of trying to be perfect that it’s far better to focus on the attitude with which you tackle the day. I’ve also learned that having a dear co-worker with whom you can vent is invaluable. Having a family member or friend who is 100% unrelated to work is also valuable. Knowing when to say no is never easy and sometimes the hardest thing to say. At the same time, sometimes following through with a commitment you’ve made is also the hardest thing to do but you will feel 100% better after you do it.

And, hopefully, if my hand doesn’t hit the snooze button ten times tomorrow, I’ll remember how wonderful a long run in Central Park before work can feel.

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Check back in tomorrow for a fun giveaway that will come in handy for long summer days!

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