Halloween Tricks for Treats brought to you by BSC!

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Halloween is officially over... how's the candy eating going? Are you ready for THAT to be over, too? Having Halloween favorites in the house can be really hard to turn down (reese's, kitkat, hello??). A true test of willpower! BUT, Boston Sports Clubs came up with a workout routine to make you feel a little better if you indulged! And, if you didn't indulge - kudos to you! This workout is FUN anyway! I've included descriptions and some photos below. The point is... it's all about moderation. If you have a little candy, don't beat yourself up. Make healthy choices and get a little extra cardio in today. :)

Pumpkin Patch Push-ups with Side Plank - Get into pushup position on knees or toes.  Do a pushup and as you come up, rotate to the right into a side plank, taking left arm up to the ceiling (keep knee down on the floor for balance; stack feet for advanced).  Come back into pushup position and do another pushup followed by a side plank to the left side.  Continue alternating pushups and side planks for all reps, modifying when needed. Do 3 sets, 10 each side.

Jack-o-Lantern Jumps - Start standing with feet about 6 inches apart. Bend knees and sit down to a 90 degree angle, keeping your back straight. With a power jump, leap up as high as you can, landing a giant step to the front. Repeat to the sides and back. Try for 3 sets of 24.

Spider Squats – Holding a plastic pumpkin filled with candy, perform a squat. Place your feet shoulder width apart, abs pulled in. Squat down slowly as you sit back on your heels keeping good posture with chest up, shoulders back, and chin level. Lower as far as you can, keeping knees behind the toes and not going below 90 degrees. Tip: place a chair behind you and act like you're about to sit down, pulling up before actually sitting. Do 3 sets for 15.

Tricky Tricep Kickbacks - This is a tough one!  Stand on right leg, taking the left leg straight out behind you so both leg and torso are parallel the floor.  Bring the right elbow up next to your torso while holding a weight and, maintaining your balance, extend the elbow until the arm is straight by contracting the triceps.  Maintain this position for all kickbacks and then switch sides. Try for 3 sets, 12 each arm.

Creepy Crunches - Lie on your back with hands placed gently behind your head. Put feet about 2 feet apart, flat on the floor, with knees bent. To start the exercise, lift your shoulder blades off the ground, meeting your rising knees to some up to a 90 degree angle. Lower both the feet and the head back to the ground. Try for 3 sets of 20.

Monster Climbers - Start with hands on the floor, shoulder width apart, legs straight on toes. Using a thrusting motion, bring right knee into the chest, tap toe on floor. As the right foot goes back to starting position, bring the left knee in. Be sure to have a slight bend in the elbow and keep your abs tight. Continue for three sets of 20.

Happy Weekend! How are you getting in a workout this weekend?! Hope it's fun! 

xo

NBGNO LaceUp365 Recap

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Hello my frieeeeenndss! As most of you know by now, I recently emceed last week's New Balance Girls' Night Out (NBGNO). To get a refresher on how it came about read THIS. New Balance developed NBGNO with the goal of empowering women through physical and social experiences and opportunities, to connect with others. Last week's theme was LACEUP365. I've talked about how passionate I am for the #LaceUp365 program for close to a year now (HERE, HERE, AND HERE). Essentially, it represents New Balance's 25 year partnership with Susan G. Komen and was developed to bring awareness to breast cancer 365 days a year, not just in October. The ultimate goal being: a world without breast cancer. So, the next time you lace up for a workout and decide to take a selfie or a scenic photo - think about someone who has been diagnosed and give that little instagram pic a special hashtag #LACEUP365.

For those of you that have been touched by breast cancer by either experiencing it personally or someone you are close to, you understand why there is so much pink, so many organizations, and so many ribbons. And that understanding is this... guys, there is no cure. Doctors have made HUGE strides and have come so incredibly far, but, they still need more funding. Since Stacy's diagnosis, I've learned that breast cancer is REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY complex. I never, ever ever realized the complexity of BRCA and HER2, and FISH test and Progesterone positive or negative and Estrogen positive or negative. Gah! You catch my drift? Every diagnosis gets a different treatment.

So, New Balance  dedicated last week's NBGNO to #LaceUp365. We chatted, we ran a few miles, we ate apps, had pink cosmos, dedicated our runs to BC survivors and honorees, and then I emceed a bit more and then the BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT DR. BRASTIANOS shared her story.

Action shot before we crossed the street.

Through the Common.

The sun setting over the Charles. Swoon.

Back at the store, it was my turn to chat with everyone again and tell my experience over the past year with #LaceUp365. At first I was super nervous, but, Renee (at New Balance) told me to just "have a conversation" with the girls, which totally relaxed me. It is Girls' Night Out, after all!

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Dr. Priscilla Brastianos is a person on a mission with a deeply personal passion for finding a cure for breast cancer. A Komen research grantee, and Director of the Brain Metastasis Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Brastianos is an incredible leader. She spoke at the Komen race 3 weeks ago which was when I first heard her story. Her grandmother diagnosed herself with breast cancer when she was in medical school at the age of 23 and then sadly passed at age 29. Her mother just passed of bc this year at age 57. I can't really explain to you how incredible this woman is... she's such an inspiration.

Dr. Brastianos is the second one in from the left.

Dr. Brastianos is the second one in from the left.

If there's one thing that I want you all to take from her speech at the event, it's this: 

EXERCISE REDUCES YOUR RISK FOR BREAST CANCER BY 20%.

She provided a lot of excellent information, but, this fact stood out to me big time and I actually didn't catch it at the race and I admittedly didn't know the percentage was that high. This is a big deal, it's proven. So, if you could all do yourselves a favor, if you're not already exercising, please start somewhere. I'm talking about more than walking. Get your heart rate up at least 3x per week. Lift, dance in the living room, join an exercise class, run, do push ups and squats, hit a heavy bag, jump rope, climb stairs, do jumping jacks, play spike ball, WHATEVER. Just please start exercising. That is one big huge number that really means something! If you need ideas for getting your heart rate up, message me and I'll guide you. I promise.

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This dedication wall shouldn't have so many names. Let's make a cure happen!
xoxo

Race for the Cure | Stacy Strong Recap

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I'm having a hard time figuring out where to begin with this blog post... wooooof. As most of you know, it's been a tumultuous week (to say the least). I'm just going to go ahead and jump over all of the ups and downs and tell you about the race and how incredible it was. Does that work? Ok? Ok good!

So for a quick recap: I started team "Stacy Strong" as soon as the Komen direct mailer landed in my mailbox. Together, with family, close friends, and friends of friends... we raised a total of $10,700 (actually the count is still climbing - somebodddyyy added another donation today). We came in 2nd place out of over 100 teams for our fundraising efforts. WOOT WOOT THANK YOU EVERYONE! YOU ROCK, YOU ROCK, YOU ROCK! We earned ourselves a very cool VIP tent (pictured below) which was, for some reason, so exciting! haha

More importantly, STACY MADE IT to the event AND walked AND crossed the finish line. My sister's will just continues to grow stronger. Man oh man. She's incredible. Seriously, I have no words because what she has been going through in addition to the difficulty of this past week... has been more than any person should have to deal with. In addition to that, my aunt Kathy D walked with her head held high and crossed that finish line! She was the very first person to show up to the event. It was extremely moving for our entire family because she was diagnosed back in 2010. We walked at this same race for her that year and she wasn't able to walk with us. She is lookin' and feelin' fine now (yay!). THEN, a neighborhood friend of my mom and sis, Janet B, was also diagnosed earlier in the year. She RAN and finished with her family. OMG. (If these women don't motivate you, I don't know what will.)

My heroes: Stacy & Kathy D!

Then, they had the survivor parade which was one of the most emotional moments I have ever experienced. But, really beautiful.

Then, we ran and spilled water all over ourselves.....
Haha... Anyway, it was so fun.... but HOT. 85 degrees hot. Here I am with my cousin, Jenn.

My favs. (just missing Janet)

Cousins!

My awesome fam bam.

Again.

And Jonathan, of course!

And here's the ENTIRE STACY STRONG POSSE. I think I count 74 here. That is how much strength and support is behind my sister and this doesn't even include all of the friends and family who live far away or couldn't make it. So moving. YOU ARE ALL AMAZING. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you're interested in supporting Komen Mass at another event, I'll be the blogger host leading the 3mi fun run at the New Balance Girls' Night Out event next week on 10/8. Info HERE (via boston.com).

Have a GREAT week. xo