ashleyd /

Better Late than Never!

Last week, I received an email from Equinox advertising their latest member/guest event, The Breakfast Club.
Jump start your day and enjoy a complimentary workout, heart healthy breakfast and blood pressure testing.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH


EQUINOX FITNESS CLUBS


6:00AM-10:00AM


Fitness is more fun with a partner, so bring a friend along.


Sponsored by: Pom Wonderful, MixmyGranola

I was immediately excited as I’m probably the last health and fitness blogger to sample Pom Juice and MixmyGranola. I’ve seen these brands multiple time on other sites and even in store but haven’t sampled them. In addition, I was hoping to bring a friend to the event to enjoy a morning spin class.

Yesterday’s event did not disappoint! After a fabulous spin class and shower I headed out to the lobby to investigate the goods. There were multiple brands represented: Pom Wonderful, MixmyGranola, and Tea & Honey Store.

Mix My Granola:

For those of you who haven’t sampled this amazing idea before, Mix My Granola prides themselves on allowing consumers to design their own granola from more than 75 healthy and delicious ingredients. In addition, you can also choose from their pre-mixed formulas such as the Equinox mix. Most granolas range from $7-$10 per container. While this is expensive, I think it’s important to keep in mind that you are able to customize it exactly to your palate! I love this site and plan to order something very soon! In addition, their site is VERY user friendly
This brand was giving out small single serving portions of their Equinox braneded “Heart Healthy Granola” mix. This blend included whole rolled oats, crisp rice, honey, cranberries, almond, coconut, and more. I was only able to grab one pack since they were handing them out but it was absolutely delicious! It was the perfect mix-in yesterday when blended with my afternoon snack: Fage 0% and sugar free apricot preserves.
Even better, MixMyGranola has been so kind as to offer Healthy, Happier readers 10% off their order by entering the code: GRANOLA10 at checkout!

The Tea and Honey Store carries a unique assortment of robust and flavorful teas and honeys. Our intimate and vibrant shop in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal strives to provide exotic and delicious teas from across the globe alongside a selection of gourmet, unprocessed honeys.
Along with our own The Tea & Honey Store line of carefully selected organic teas and locally produced honey from the Hamptons Honey Company, we offer a variety of exclusive tea lines from the best tea houses and apiaries in the United States and France.
Yesterday they were handing out different Le Palais Des Thes tea bags. I was able to snag one chai and one The des Sables, a green tea. This green tea was absolutely divine yesterday morning and quickly warmed me up after the 10 block walk in the snow and cold. The flavor is softer than your average green tea due to the citrus infusion. In addition, I highly recommend their honey selection as every Equinox member who sampled it immediately broke out in “ooohs, yumms, and this is amazing” They have a great online shop as well which features their offerings!
For the local NYC readers, I will continue to post events such as this on the blog so you can have the opportunity to try Equinox for free! Until then, I highly suggest trying some of these great brands!
Also, hop on over to www.shapeupnyc.com to join me for a free kettlebell class next week!
 

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

So fresh and so clean, clean

Tuesday night my friend Elizabeth and I met for an evening workout class at Equinox’s Birthday celebration at their 63rd and Lexington location. I was so excited to bring Elizabeth since the celebration and gym were open to guests as well as members. As soon as we entered, a Kiehl’s table greeted us. The table was filled with over 100 small size samples including Acai Damage Reparing Serum, Light Weight Body Lotion, and Facial Fuel. Kiehl’s and Equinox have a great partnership including stocking all NYC Equinox gyms with Kiehl’s products. This is a huge benefit for members as it allows me to use the gym products instead of lugging shampoo, body wash, and lotion back and forth each day. Their products are all natural and good for the body!
Yesterday and today I used facial fuel during my morning gym shower. The name, Facial Fuel, is perfect as the formula truly energizes and wakes up my skin. It cleanses with a mixture of caffeine, menthol, and vitamin E which invigorates while refreshing the skin. This product is for all skin types and did not leave my skin feeling tight or dry. In addition, it removed my makeup which is one benefit I rarely find in other natural facial products such as Burt’s Bees. I this week’s workout reward will be a Kiehl’s purchase from the Equinox store after tomorrow night’s yoga class in the village with Lauren!
What is your favorite face cleanser? Do you normally use the gym shampoo and products or bring your own?
Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Summersaults, Yoga Goals, and Gnu Bars

I’m exhausted! The work week, two a day workouts, and decreased sleep has definitely caught up with me! I’m absolutely beat right now and am so glad to be curled up in our living room sporting my pjs, eating a yummy, quick turkey burger dinner, and waiting for the newest episode of Grey’s! Bo and I watch very few shows on a weekly basis but we have enjoyed Grey’s since it’s first season. Almost every other show we watch is via iTunes or Netflix live streaming. Lately we’ve been hooked on Gossip Girl. It’s such a guilty pleasure but quite fun, especially enjoying the New York scenery. It’s amazing how quickly trends come and go; not only with clothes but also with food and places in the city. Some of the places they frequent during Season 1 are no longer the NYC hot spots and have instead been replaced and long forgotten.

Having a blog is a funny thing sometime as I often forget that A) twitter updates my facebook page and B) quite a few of my friends read the blog previously and therefore were automatically alerted when I returned. Today at work, my dear Lauren, called to my attention the fact that I left out a few key points when discussing her gym habits. I must say that she is quite right and therefore deserves some explanation. She frequents the Meat Packing and Greenwich location because she is lucky enough to live less than a block from the Greenwich location. The fact that this happens to be the Equinox hot spot is only a reflection of her apartment’s great location and she and Casey’s taste in neighborhoods! In regards to exercise, Lauren is the type gal I only dream of being. She had her Equifit assesment a few months ago and found that she had the lowest body fat percentage for someone with her cardio ability! 🙂 *oh sigh* While she may not be a cardio expert, she is my yoga inspiration! When she lived in Minneapolis she practiced at a local studio regularly and therefore is far beyond my level. She has helped challenge me and push me to the next level. Even today in class, when my headstand attempt turned into a full summersault she never even laughed! Instead, she reminded me that when she wad a young girl she always used the tripod before going into headstand. I think, like her, I will use this method until my core becomes stronger.

This brings me to my yoga goals. Tonight, during Tracy Matthew’s Power Vinyasa class at Equinox,  she pointed out how important breathing is to each of our individual yoga practices. Therefore, over the next few weeks I am going to focus solely on my breathing versus speed during class. I think this will help me gain more from the class while also furthering my practice. In addition, Lauren and I have decided that we’d each like to go to at least two yoga classes a week in addition to our cardio. It looks like I’ll be frequenting the Thursday night Power Vinyasa and Saturday morning class at 44th and Lex. If you’re a local NYC reader, let me know if there is another class you’d suggest. I’m hoping to join Lauren at the Sunday night Greenwich class next weekend. She and Sara have both raved about it! What do you all wear during yoga? Do you have a favorite brand? I absolutely love the fit and feel of my Lululemon Groove pants but I wish they were lighter weight or breathed more. Half way through class today I was drenched! In addition, do Yogitoe mats make a big difference? It seems like spin shoes and yogi toes are two things I need to invest in if I keep up with these habits!

Last night while I was picking up my favorite calcium chews at GNC, I rediscovered Gnu Bars. I’ve had these a few times right when they entered the market but I didn’t realize how many flavors they have! They were on sale at GNC so I decided to grab one to sample. At work, I enjoy breakfast after my workout around 8:15am, a mid morning snack, lunch, and then a midafternoon snack. I try to ensure that one of my snacks is fruit or vegetable while the other is often a carb. I found that I tended to load up on empty carbs during my midafternoon snack when I was especially hungry or thirsty. I thought that pairing a Gnu bar with a large bottle of water would be perfect. Today I enjoyed the Peanut Butter. The flavor was not as strong as I was hoping but overall the taste was better than many other high fiber bars. These bars pack more than your average bar. One bar delivers HALF your daily fiber needs! The nutritional information is also pretty good considering the fiber and all the ingredients are easily pronounced and part of a list that is less than 18 items long which is much better than Fiber One bars! Each bar is 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 12 g fiber, 4 g protein, and 15% of iron needs. I wish there were a few more grams of protein or nutrients packed in the bar but that would probably come through artificial means.  The craziest fact is that ONE BAR equals FOUR GLASSES OF METAMUCIL! WOW! I hope to stop by GNC tomorrow morning to grab a few more bars in different flavors. Depending on my taste test results, I may opt into their Joy of Fiber program! $45.89 is the cost for 30 bars when you order them via the website! I will have to shop around to see whether this is a good deal. I may also check out Amazon.com
Share Button
Follow:
Share:
Comments Off on Summersaults, Yoga Goals, and Gnu Bars