Guest Post, Health, Photos

Burn at the Barre

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I decided to not blog every day while on vacation because that’s just crazy-ness. So instead I’ve asked a few friends to chime in for me. I’ll make this short and sweet. Jill, blogs over at Bluegrass Belle and I’m excited to have her on my blog today! Please take a visit at her website. She’s one of my daily-reads (or whenever she updates, heh heh!)

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Hey there, Spiffykerms readers! I’m Jill, from Lexington, Kentucky, and I blog over at Bluegrass Belle. While I wish I could tell you I have a certain topic or “focus,” you’d quickly figure out that isn’t the case, ha! (I intentionally chose this picture of myself because a friend told me I looked skinny…ha!)

Anyway – I’ve been reading Nancy’s blog for quite a few years now and one of the things I’ve always admired is how active she is! Well, now I understand why that is easy for her – it’s because she does something she likes! Last January, I too started doing something I liked…Barre Amped!

Never heard of Barre Amped? Well neither had I, really, until I started doing it! From the website: “BarreAmped is an intensive body shaping experience designed to produce reliable results, no matter the client. The method is influenced by classical and modern dance (though it is not a dance class) and utilizes a barre to achieve optimal positioning. The precision-oriented technique focuses mainly on small, isolated movements within deeply held and challenging postures. BarreAmped is proven to increase metabolism, burn fat, and lengthen tight muscles. With commitment to the technique, you get recognizable results exactly where you want them.”

Okay, well, that sounds great and all, but does it work? Honestly, before I did it I had a hard time thinking that it would. You never use more than a 3 lb. weight and it’s not like you’re running miles or anything. The first time I took a class, I didn’t even take a bottle of water!!!! (It was an accident, but oh, how quickly I learned…)

(This hottie is Leigh-Ann, one of my BarreAmped instructors and the studio owner. Not too shabby!)

I’ll say this – when I started doing Barre Amped, my size 6 pants were starting to become snug. That has definitely changed! My stomach is flatter and more toned, I have muscle definition in my legs that wasn’t there before, and I feel tremendously better.

BarreAmped has also allowed me to feel comfortable in LEGGINGS. People, I hadn’t worn leggings since elementary school! And skinny jeans? I actually LIKE them now.

In addition to being a total body workout, BarreAmped allows me to zone out for an hour and focus on me. Usually, at the gym, I’d be on the treadmill or elliptical…and the whole time my mind would be racing. Honest to Pete, I would often wish I had a notepad to make notes to myself of all the things I would think about that I needed to do (at work, at home, etc.) That is enough to make you dread working out right there! At BarreAmped, not the case. The entire 60 minutes, I’m focused on the instruction and cues from the teacher, as well as my body and position.

So, you may be wondering about the title of the post, Burn at the Barre. Well, if you don’t feel the burn and your muscles aren’t shaking, you’re not doing it right. Or else you are tremendously in shape and I hate you. But let’s assume that isn’t the case ;) A huge goal in BarreAmped is to make your muscles shake and burn. I can handle the shaking a lot better than the burning. Let’s take a look at one of the positions that burns the crap out of my legs AND makes me shake…Leigh-Ann is below in seated chair, with heels in releve (rell-uh-vay).

(Can I just add that Leigh-Ann taught BarreAmped classes all the way up to 40 weeks pregnant?! I’m not kidding when I say I took a class with her one night and she had her baby girl THE NEXT DAY. She is amazing.)

The other HUGE burn for me comes when we do what is known as the “Waterski.” Check out the picture and you’ll easily see why. I hate waterski, but I love it. It burns like the dickens, but I know it is working. I can feel it!

If you don’t have Barre Amped in your area (check this link for locations), there are a number of other barre classes you can try. I can’t speak to what they’re like because I’ve never done them, however, those I know of are: Pure Barre, Bar Method, and Physique57.

Still none of those available? Check out this at-home workout, compliments of Shape magazine: Embrace Your Inner Ballerina

Or, you can visit My Barre 3 and try out some online classes. My friend Emily did this for awhile, when she was faced with a really hectic schedule and couldn’t make it to class! She enjoyed it!

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you to give barre a try! If nothing else – you heard this from someone who has actually tried it and seen results…not just some super fit instructor! I always wanted to hear from someone firsthand but a) never knew anyone who did it and b) never had the courage to ask many questions. I’m about 10 lbs. lighter than when I started, and loving every minute of class. Just don’t forget your towel and water bottle ;)

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Fashion, FitFluential, Health, Photos, TripleFFriday

OOTWW. Fun, Fit, Fashionable #2

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Last week was my very first Fun, Fit, Fashionable (or #TripleFFriday if you’d like to use the hashtag on twitter) post. So I thought I’d to it again! Let’s hope I keep this up… ha. Next week I don’t think I’ll have one because I won’t have much time to blog. We’ll see!

But first I’d like to start with a quick little OOTWW / what I wore to work this week.

What is everyone doing this weekend? I’m coming straight home from work this evening to get the Boyf, me and our pup all sorted out for our flight. I don’t doubt Audio Box live will be playing on our speakers at my desk here with a subwoofer and all. If you like house music, you’ll like that music. Sometimes it gets awkward with it. If you listen to it enough, you’ll know what I mean.

Alright. Onto the first person for #TripleFFriday: Fun, Fit, Fashionable.

Jess (Canadian blogger!) from Laces and Lattes raced with the University of Waterloo Homecoming XC Varsity team. Crazy!

Amanda (Canadian blogger!) attended a wedding and looked absolutely stunning.

Natalie shows us her climbing gear. Drool. She’s absolutely hilarious too, so check her blog out.

I’ve been reading KDot’s blog for a few years now — she’s also a Canadian fashion blogger, showing her OOTD’s that she wears to work.

(and another one for good measure)
P.S. I love Fashion’s blog is amaaaaazing. I just found her site a few weeks ago. I forget what language she writes in, but sometimes she writes it in English too. Either way, I have been loving everything she posts. I’m totally re-creating this look.

Carly is also a Canadian blogger and YouTuber located in Toronto! Here, she wears layers well! Loved the cropped jean jacket.

Submit yourself to my weekly Fun, Fit, Fashionable posts. You can certainly submit your own, next week. Just shoot me an e-mail to spiffykerms@gmail.com. Just include any of the following:

  • Your name
  • Your URL, if you have a blog
  • Description of you being Fun, Fit or Fashionable
  • A photo, which is optional of course
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CrossFit, Daily, Fashion, FitFluential, Health, Photos, Reviews

MPG Clothing

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I know you’ve probably already seen a few of these photos that I uploaded to Instagram (@spiffykerms), but I wanted to keep my post just as enthusiastic, because I was SO EXCITED to get my Mondetta Performance Gear (MPG)! This company is Canadian and is just based out of Winnipeg. Heeeeyyyy Canada!

I had placed an order (for free, they sent it to me) and since I read reviews online that their clothes ran small, I too decided to size up on just the pants. Because who wants to have tight work out clothes and make you feel uncomfortable, and unflattering? No one does.

Unfortunately the review I read was incorrect. MPG does not run small. In fact, their clothing fits exactly the same as any other store would. I had  asked for the mediums in just the bottoms, and smalls for the rest of the tops, but my butt was totally swimming in them. They looked great if I was standing around but when I was doing front squats, burpees and a 1kilometer run at CrossFit, I kept having to yank them up and wiggle my arse to get them to sit high on my hips. Otherwise, I felt that I would’ve been butt-crack mooning everyone. Not fun :(

Of course, that’s not their issue. It’s completely my fault. I even looked at the size charts which were accurate. Ah well. Next time I’ll know what size to order.

The quality of the pieces are just incredible though. Much better than my Costco work out clothes, ha ha! I own a few lululemon pieces as well. But it’s difficult to compare the two companies. Just because Lululemon has Luon, and everyone else does not.

As soon as I got the go-ahead to pick out two outfits from MPG, I knew exactly that I wanted the Serene Jacket. It’s completely true to color online as it is in person. It’s a neon hot pink. Maybe not neon. It looked pretty bright in the natural light though, so let’s just call it neon for now.

First photo is me showing you guys that it has a sweat-zip snuck in there by the zipped pocket area, there’s two sets of zippers! Second photo is me showing the “pullover mittens” as I’d like to call it. It definitely came in handy on some outdoor runs (not long one’s) and the last photo is me showing you the backside, where you can poke your pony tail through!! Ha!

I wore this jacket the first day that I got it. I’m also wearing the Endorphin leggings here. Once I ripped open the plastic packaging the leggings came in, I wanted to check to see if they had a gusset in the leggings. Because nobody wants a camel toe, am I right? Thankfully, both pairs of them did.

A different day, wearing the Endorphin leggings. I have to hold up the back of my pants while doing our warmup runs at CrossFit, otherwise I feel I’ll lose them! Wish they had a tie-string to make them tighter. What I really like about the Endorphin leggings is that they’re long enough for my legs. A few of my crop’s from Lululemon hit right below the knee, which I think is a very unflattering length. I’d rather it hit right in the middle of my calves. I’m average height at 5’6″ but I have longer legs, I think.

I have a complaint about the Serene Jacket however. I wore it once to CrossFit for maybe 15 minutes. I then wore it again, underneath my thicker jacket while at Nuit Blanche in Toronto over the weekend. Unfortunately the fabric is prone to pilling, because look at what happened near the left pocket / my elbow area.

Pilled like mad! It also looks a little pilly on the cuffs where my thumbs go through the loops as well. For $90, I wasn’t expecting this.

I tweeted about it and received both a tweet, and an e-mail saying that this was completely out of the norm. They said that their garments have become renowned for their durability and integrity after repeated washings, which is why they were both perturbed and surprised to hear I was having problems.

I hope that they’re like that with every customer (if/when this happens to the next person) and not just because of me since I’m doing a review for them. But, either way I was glad they replied in under 12 hours and sent out a new jacket to me. That’s pretty wicked, in my mind.

I also received the Avert legging which is a long pair of leggings, that hit straight down to the ankle. I’ve always wanted a pair of leggings for the winter that completely covers my legs. Just because it’s so cold in the winter and I don’t want much skin exposes to the harsh elements. Not that I do any exercising outdoors during the winter…I just wish I didn’t order these too, in a medium. Again, too big for my little toosh. However these are much more wearable than the Endorphins, since the Avert leggins has a draw-string to tighten up the pants. So I can wear these while working out and not expose myself. haha.

I wasn’t sure about the look of the tank when I got the Rumor tank. It was my second choice, because Pax was all sold out in my size. I may have even said uh-oh when I tried it on. My boyfriend asked what was wrong and saw nothing wrong with the tank top at all. That erased all doubts I had and decided it was a nice tank! Seriously, that’s all I need man, a little positive feedback and I’m all good. What do you guys think of that one? It’s definitely much more fitted than I usually wear. But I really like it, especially since it has a zipped pocket in the back for keys or a piece of ID.

I also got a bra, which I’m not showing you. Ha ha! It’s the maneuver bra and is quite nice too, it has a bit of ruffling/sinching on the front of the bust which is cute. I wore this with a tighter tank top, so I think this one would look best with a bit bigger top, so it doesn’t look like I’m stuffing my bra with tissues ;) It had great support and also comes with some removable not-so-overly-padded cups. You know, on the days you’re feeling a bit nippy outside. Know what I’m sayin’ here ladies? ;)

My favorite MPG pieces that I got to review? Most definitely the pink Serene jacket, and the two pairs of leggings. I don’t mind hiking them up every once in a while, but the longer pair (Avert) has a draw-string, so heya, bonus there!

Which items are your fav?

You can use the coupon code spiffympg2012 which will give you 25% off your purchase. you cannot use this coupon on marked down prices. Valid until June 30,2013!

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