Daily Burn Barre Harmony

 

It isn’t everyday that I have the opportunity to try out a new workout, be the most awkward person in the group and have a blast wth other fun ladies while filming a live workout.

Daily Burn barre harmony group

Alyssa Sparacino  – me – Leslie McDonaldAliKelly RobertsAshley Macha

As part of Daily Burn’s press launch for their new barre workout, Barre Harmony, a few of us were invited to give the workout a try during today’s Daily Burn 365 filming.  DB365 is Daily Burn’s latest workout program which features, brand-new 30 minute workouts every SINGLE day at 9 AM.  Available on the Daily Burn 365 page all day, people can do the workout at home any time during the day that works for their schedule.  How fun is that?  In case you haven’t heart of it, Daily Burn is a leading streaming fitness service which offers more than 600 stremaing workouts taught by certified trainers. I’ve had the opportunity to try a number of their workouts over the years since my good friend Theodora is one of Daily Burn’s Senior Managers. In fact, Bo and I streamed Daily Burn’s workouts on a weekly basis, our favorites of which were Inferno Power and 5/10 in Nine workouts.

Their new barre program, Barre Harmony, was created by the talented Becca Pace as a 6-week at home program that will target the burn in 15-40 minute workouts you can stream from home.  The workouts only require a yoga mat, a chair and optional light weights if you want added burn.  Perfect for all abilities, each workout shows modifications to make the workout easier or harder.  Barre Harmony is the first time Daily Burn has featured a barre program and I am sure it’ll become one of their more popular programs due to the great mix of mobility movements, toning, cardio and stretching.

daily burn adjustments

Our group arrived a bit before the live 9AM Daily Burn 365 show began filming in order to go through the moves, understand the show’s flow and get comfortable.  For today’s workout, I was the person showing all the modifications which was a very new role for me. At first, I was self concious of being the person doing the modifications as I’m used to going all out but then I realized that right now, modifications are what allow me to stay active and healthy during this last trimester of pregnancy. You should have seen my face when they told me that doing modifications meant a lot of camera time in order to make sure the people watching at home could follow them. As you guys know, I’m not the most coordinated person in the world so I was worried about messing up but luckily our group spent most of the rehearsal laughing and having fun together which helped calm my nerves.

daily burn bts

Once we started the workout at 9 AM, the workout flew by. I was so focused on the moves and adjustments that I never looked for a clock to check the time. The workout flowed quickly between cardio bursts, strength work and stretching which I appreciated and also helped keep things interesting. The two hosts, JD and Becca kept things light hearted and positive with lots of jokes and postitive reinforcement for both our group and the viewers at home. Also, the below picture is one of the few moments when I wasn’t watching Becca to ensure I was doing the move properly. I found the lack of mirror to be the most challenging aspect of the live workout as I’m accustomed to watching my form and the instructor via a mirror during barre and other workouts.  If you want to see some of the footage from today’s workout, you can watch me in all my awkward glory via their Facebook video.

daily burn donkey

Want to check out Barre Harmony for yourself? You’re in luck as right now you can get a free 30-day trial so you can tuck, pulse, stretch and sweat at home with Barre Harmony!

Thank you to Daily Burn for inviting me to be a part of today’s launch and for the free 30-day trial!

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The Odds Will Forever Be In Your Favor If You Survive This Workout

Until last Wednesday I had no desire to read The Hunger Games. Sure, I’d heard wonderful things from everyone and their brother about this book, but normally I tend to avoid cult favorites. For example, I’ve never read the Harry Potter series or Twilight. I know, you can lift your jaw off the table now. I haven’t been under a rock, I promise. I just haven’t been interested.

What changed on Wednesday you ask? Well, my ass got handed to me by Daily Burn’s Hunger Game inspired workout which Theodora organized as part of her day job. I was the only person who didn’t understand the constant survival jokes, comments regarding some people named Peeta and Katniss.

Compliments of Samantha's Blog (www.checkmypulseblog.com)

I rarely want to be the odd man out or confused so after this workout I vowed that I’d spend time on the bus to Washington, DC starting the series. A few days later I’m hooked on both the book and this workout.

The workout, which took place in the beautiful IAC Building, overlooking the Hudson River, was led by the Daily Burn team and Lisa Wheeler, their fitness program director.

Lisa Wheeler motivating the group as we get ready to conquer the workout.

The Animal Core workout, which is rated intermediate by Daily Burn, took us through a warm-up followed by four circuits of animal inspired drills such as dolphin jumps, donkey kicks, crab walks, and other plyometric exercises.

This is definitely harder than it looks, especially the third time through.

Surrounded by some awesome athletes, I pushed myself through every exercise which means that on Friday I was still feeling the pain in my glutes. By the end of the workout, we all decided that if we incorporated this into our training at least two times per week, the odds would be in our favor for sure.

Don't we look confident?

While I’ve discussed my love of Daily Burn on here before, here are a few of my favorite things from this workout.

  • The countdown clock on the right side of the screen allows you to see how much time you have left in the workout.
  • It is truly a full body workout! My arms and pecs were sore the next day from the planks and pushups while my glutes and calves were feeling every dolphin jump and donkey kick.
  • There are 15 second breaks between the workouts which allow for a quick water break, getting readjusted, or just a breather.
  • If this is intermediate than my ass is already scared to feel the affects of a hard or advanced workout.
  • This workout could be done in a NYC size apartment as long as you have about 10 feet of space for crab walks and duck walks.

If you’re looking for a library of sweat inducing workouts and some nutrition tracking, Daily Burn is most likely a great option. The $9.99 per month price tag is hard to beat and the workouts evolve based on your previous experiences and headway due to the tracking ability. For a limited time, you can preview it online for free!

Have you read The Hunger Games? If so, who is your favorite character? If not, will you see the movie?

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Gym Free Workout Options

It’s that time of the year when every gym is packed to the brim with new members, part of the “resolution club” hoping to uncover a new them through hours of dedication at the gym.

For some, they are in it to win it and ready to commit. For others, it is a short lived relationship that will end far before their annual membership ends.

But, what if you can’t fit a gym into your lifestyle right now? For some this may be due to a new child, an ailing parent, a demanding job, frequent business travel, or simply budget. Across the nation the cost of a gym membership continues to increase each year as gyms offer more perks for their members such as child care, thorough class schedules, scented towels, and improved service.

Just today, my friend Lindsey lamented on Facebook about the fact that her reliable fitness partner, Exercise TV, no longer existed. Before last week many people relied on this as an at home fitness solution.

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Luckily, for both Exercise TV addicts and people who can’t fit gyms into their life right now, there are two great new options available for far less than the average gym membership: Daily Burn and Gaiam TV. I’ve tried both of these over the past few weeks and have really enjoyed each of them!

 

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When Gaiam TV reached out to me about reviewing their new site, I expected to find a website with streaming yoga videos and workouts. While this excited me, I can’t live on yoga alone and therefore doubted how often I would use the site if I purchased as subscription. However, a few weeks ago, when my trainer cancelled last minute I turned to Gaiam TV for a workout substitution and was very pleasantly surprised.  Within seconds I was logged into the website and browsing their library of Jillian Michaels workouts, organized by categories, which included far more than yoga alone. The site is very easy to navigate for even first time visitors, even featuring a what’s trending section to direct visitors to their top videos and features.

imageI also love that Gaiam TV makes working out while I travel an easy option. Since you can access it via computer, iPad, television (using HDMI adapter) and iPhone I can break a sweat in the comfort of my hotel room when doing a yoga, fitness, or strength video. Gaiam also features films and documentaries which can be enjoyed during a plane trip, commute, or lazy evening at home.  Unlike other websites, which only deliver yoga workouts, I love that this site incorporates over 2,000 workout videos in one place which are accessible, on an unlimited basis, for only $9.99 per month. In addition, they offer a free 10 day trial so you can try it risk free.

 

While Daily Burn isn’t a new kid on the block, they have recently launched new features on their site that have made it a comprehensive fitness and nutrition power house. Daily Burn provides workouts and nutrition advice customized to help you meet the goals you share with them during the questionnaire portion. For example, I said that I had an average of 45 minutes to work out each day and wanted them to provide me with very specific nutritional guidelines which would make it easy to follow.

Within minutes, I was provided a full menu along with suggested recipes.

image My favorite part isn’t the menu but instead the grocery list it creates so I can ensure I have all the ingredients accessible when it comes time to prepare and cook each meal or snack.

In addition to the nutritional information Daily Burn suggested, it also provided me with a first workout based on the feedback I provided.

image If only I could figure out how to let them know that I need a workout that can be done in my small, New York City apartment. Oh well. After you complete the workout suggested, or any of the other workouts, you provide feedback which allows them to alter the workouts moving forward.

Daily Burn is a great option for people who are looking for a holistic nutrition and fitness program, not just a live streaming workout video. In addition, subscription is only $9.99 per month which is far less than a gym membership alone.  While I think some of their nutritional suggestions needs to be taken with a grain of salt, this is a great starting point and provides inspiration and ideas!

Similar to Gaiam TV, you can access Daily Burn from your computer, iPad, iPhone, television (using an HDMI connector) or Droid.

Question: Have you tried either of these workout options yet? What are your thoughts? If not, what is keeping you from trying them?

Today’s Food:

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