Tag Archives: chicago

Pure Barre Lincoln Park: Fit Review

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10 brave women made it out in the cold after a appetizer, sides, and pie holiday to get their fitness on this past Sunday at our first ever private Chiorganic Girls class at Pure Barre Lincoln Park, an admirable feet given the tendency to want to sleep off the lingering food coma.  We were grateful for our motivation to attend as we got a kick a*@ workout that toned and tightened to reset the good habits and prepare us for the back to work grind.

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Lincoln Park Pure Barre is a brand new workout hot spot that just opened November 4th.  Ashley Gertz, owner of the newly opened Pure Barre in Lincoln Park, opened the location because of her personal love of barre classes and keen business sense.  She welcomed our group with a tour and an overview of what Pure Barre has to offer.  Ashley, a former marathoner and avid runner, found that cardio didn’t promote toning and strength so she joined the River North Pure Barre and was hooked.

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Marguerite, our teacher, gave us the overview of common moves of Pure Barre and then we got cracking with an immediate plank set (WHYYY??).  Bubbly pop music as well as giggles from class participants offset the strenuousness of the miniscule muscle movements.  We rolled through abs, arms, legs and ended with (sigh*) more abs and a bridge set to tense up the tush.

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After class, we took our shaky legs to the lobby area for complimentary Kashi and Luna snack bars as well as raffle for 2 lucky participants.

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And now, we are sore…very pleasantly “can’t walk up the stairs so well” sore, evidence of a real workout.  Wanna check it out?  Pure Barre Lincoln Park offers new students a very affordable unlimited month of classes for $99.  If you join now, you can also compete in the Jingle Tuck challenge (15 classes in 30 days) for prizes and the ultimate win, a retreat at a spa in Arizona.

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Free Workout Class at Pure Barre to trim those turkey thighs!!

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Usually the idea of wiggling into a pair of hot pink leggings on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to go workout may not be so tempting but when it’s for FREE!?  We’re so excited…and we just can’t hide it!  On November 30 at 5 pm, we would like to invite you, dear reader, to don your sticky bottomed socks and long pants to tuck and trim your tush at a private class at Pure Barre, Lincoln Park!

GO US!!

Hmmm…but what are you committing to with this “Pure Barre” class?  

During this 55 minute class, you will experience a full body low impact workout including strength based movements alternating with stretching.  Most moves involve using your own body weight with tiny movements to change the shape and length of your muscles.  The class incorporates the ballet barre, small 2 to 3 pound weights and a rubber workout ball.  The goal is the lengthen the muscles to create a lean (not bulky) look…and yes, you will do some planks.

And what do you have to do to join us?

Send us 1,000 dollars worth of unmarked bills in a nondescript envelope to secure your spot. JK follow the instructions below.

What: Private Chiorganic Girls Holiday Trim Those Turkey Thighs Class

Where: Pure Barre, 2058 N. Halsted, Lincoln Park, IL

When: 5 pm, Sunday, 11/30/2014

Who: You lovelies!

Dress Code: Long workout pants or capris, socks (no shoes needed)…oh and of course, wear a top please

Sign Up?  RSVP here with you and any guests names.  Please let us know, as well, if you decide to cancel. There are 23 spots available.

 

Now you can feel good about stuffing yourself (in moderation) with your family.  Meet us at the BARRE!

#Run10Feed10 First 10k Run Recap!

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This past Sunday, I ran my first 10k with Run 10 Feed 10 and Women’s Health…and boy are my gams tired!  I did it!  And next time, I’m dragging Monica to run with me.  My popular co-blogger had yet another wedding to attend that day.

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And what did I learn from the fab event?  For those of you moving from 5ks to the next step up, know that it is possible to be ready in 4 weeks!  This is coming from someone who used to hate running.

Amateur 10K tips:

1) Don’t stress!  There was plenty of people walking and taking breaks.  Your first 10k should be enjoyable and don’t feel guilty if you have to pause to catch your breath.

2) Get enough sleep.

Ya’ll know Halloween is coming, yeah?  So I had a lil pumpkin carving party the Saturday eve before and maaaybe stayed up a bit too late.  You need your full body strength to be at optimal performance so go to bed on time!

3) But not too much sleep.

Ok, so rookie mistake.  My anxiety got away with me and while I woke up at 5:30 am, I went back to sleep until 7:30 and then had to pull a Ferris Beuller’s day off and ramp myself into my workout clothes and on to the highway to get to the start line 5 minutes after the race started.

4) Take in the scenery

Running outside in Chicago is a treat (no tricks here).  Other than dodging goose poo in a small section, the race jaunted along the picturesque Chicago lakefront.  The continually varied foliage and fauna…oh and the Grub Hub running team with their hotdogs and turkey shaped hats…is way more interesting than staring at the wall while on the treadmill.

5) Revel in your results (and the after party)!

My time wasn’t super fast but I have gained about 2 minutes of speed since I first started running.  Women’s Health put together a sweet after event with a post race yoga, free post race fuel (Nestle Choco Milk, Bagels and fruit), athletic massages and beauty touch ups from Panasonic.  I was surprised to see Allison Sweeney of Biggest Loser there as well.  She gave out the post race awards, none of which I won.  Maybe some day!

Thanks to Women’s Health for allowing me to contribute to this spectacular event.

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Jump Away Calories at Sky Zone

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Ok 80’s babies, sing it with us.  Sky Zone will make you “Jump, Jump”!  Yes, now Kris Kross is in your head, suckers.

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We had the distinct pleasure of bounding on over to a trampoline haven at the newly opened Sky Zone in Elmhurst, IL, our Chicago neighbor to the West.  Jump-a-whaaa?  It’s basically a warehouse full of tramps (the hoppy kind, people) set up for your child-like nature…and children, if you have them, of course.

When we arrived, we felt a little nervous about the thought of trampling small children with our lack of coordination as we saw them running into the building.  Sky Zone has a pretty sweet set up, however, to make sure adults and kids leap with ease.  Sky Zone has scheduled jump times to reduce crowding and several jump arenas with different activities.

So what ya do when you get there?

First, we signed a online waiver, grabbed our cute pink sky socks (in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month) and stopped by the snack bar to get some water.

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Jump Tip #1: You don’t need to pay for water.  There are water fountains (uh duh, why didn’t we look earlier?).  There is no slushie fountain, though, so you will need to pay for that Blue Rasberry Slushie craving you have.

We started our jumpsperience at FOAM ZOOOOONE with some very inept flips into a big pile of orange and blue foam cubes.  There’s a monitor in each area directing flip traffic so you can belly flop, front flip, or just slide down the trampoline on your face into the pit…as one of us did (heheheh).

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Jump Tip #2: Wear Jump appropriate clothing.  Half shirts, low riding pants and thong panties may be a bit too revealing as you claw your way depths of foam helllll.  Seriously, its a struggle getting out of those cubes!

Next, we moseyed over to the open jump dome and were surrounded by all ages of jumpers.  The coolest aspect about open jump is that its organized chaos.  The dome is divided into personal trampoline squares so jumpers can have their own private trampoline dreams without being tackled by a fellow participant.  As we jumped back and forth between each other’s squares, we noticed how dang hard trampolining is.  We burned calories, sweat and didn’t even feel like we were working out until our legs revealed their shaky nature once we left the dome.

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Jump Tip #3: If you use the Sky Zone lockers, put your key somewhere safe!  Ours jumped right out of our pocket and left us with a $10 locker key replacement fee.

Finally, we tried out WNBA aspirations at Sky Slam, the Slam Dunk section.  One of us, the tall one with hops aka Monica, enjoyed the area, while the other, the shortie, got kicked out for trying to dunk in the kids line.  Kate can’t slam dunk and now it’s been proven by cold hard evidence.

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Sky Zone visitors can try their hand (or legs) at Ultimate Dodgeball.  We just didn’t feel like getting smacked in the face by 8 year olds so we skipped out.  Fitness classes are also available for those who want a dedicated low impact/high calorie workout without all the rug rats running about.

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Final Jump Tip:

Sky Zone is affordable (fitness classes are only $10 and open jump is $15), fun and will make you fit!  Check out the class schedule and open gym times here and hop to it!

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#RUN10FEED10: Help End Hunger AND Shape Your Booty

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It’s not hard to love such a beautiful city like Chicago in fall.  The leaves are changing and the weather is cooling. Not everyone gets to stay cozy warm, however.  The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates there was about 138,575 Chicagoans who were homeless in August of this year. It can be overwhelming to figure out how we can best help people who are in need. One way, however, is very simple! Stretch your legs and run to provide meals to people who are hungry.  Join Kate as she tests her speed at the RUN10, FEED10 race on October 19th, 2014.

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Women’s Health and FEED are partnering for the RUN10 FEED10 10K race series to motivate consumers nationwide to help fight domestic hunger. RUN10 FEED10 has raised over 2.5 million meals to support the cause, and in 2014 the bar is set even higher. The concept behind RUN10 FEED10 is simple: run a 10K and feed 10 hungry people in your community. Timed 10K races will take place in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Those living in Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston, Minneapolis, and Washington D.C. can participate in one of the Women’s Health “Fun Runs,” and if runners don’t live in one of the RUN10 FEED10 host cities, they can still participate by registering at RUN10FEED10.com to run a 10K in their hometown.

The series kicked off in New York City on September 21, 2014 with thousands of participants running down the West Side Highway for the timed race ending at Pier 84 at Hudson River Park. In the Chi, we will jaunt down Belmont harbor along our gorgeous lakefront and be greeted at the end with a post-race wellness festival. This post race celebration will feature yoga sessions, nutrition, beauty consultations and great giveaways from sponsors.

Feeling intimidated?  Kate has only run 2 5Ks before so she googled to figure out if she could make it through the entire race without yelling uncle and lying down on the pavement.  Self.com has an awesome 4 week training plan to get your booty in gear or you can sign up for training plans with Women’s Health and Run10 Feed10.  Doing a 10k will also flex those glute muscles and burn an odd 600+ calories (about 9 snack size Halloween packs of M&Ms, yup!). Good prep to don that sexy Pumpkin Spice Latte costume (or sexy wizard or sexy sexy…whatevs your wearing).

Not ready to run? You can still help by donating or even shopping at popular retailers like Nike and Gap from the comfort of your sexy couch.

Ready to join Kate and register or share your cash?

Sign up today at www.run10feed10.com!

 

Image from Run 10 Feed 10 Website

Image from Run10 Feed10 Website

Relax with an UpLIFTing Retreat!

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As the weather grows chillier and your work load picks up, it becomes essential to practice self-care.  We love opportunities where we can treat ourselves and retreat from the overstimulation of life WHILE helping others.  Next weekend you can do just that!

Experience an upLIFTing yoga session and contribute to children in need.   LIFT (Leading India’s Future Today), founded in 2004 in Chicago, opens a world of possibility for its students.  LIFT supports a holistic learning and leadership development program for boys and girls in Tamil Nadu, India.  LIFT educates children, creates leaders and transforms communities of highly motivated, underpriveledged students.  Learn more about LIFT at www.liftusa.org

The event will feature a ohm-some yoga class with mini Luna bar snacks to refresh yourself after your workout.  Strap on those ultra comfy yoga pants and get ready to relax on the mat! http://lift-foundation.org/uplifting-retreat-2014/

 

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Be Healthful Retreat: A Holistic Health and Wellness Retreat

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The Healthful Guide Presents:

The Be Healthful Retreat: A Holistic Health and Wellness Retreat

Event: Be Healthful: A Health & Wellness One Day Retreat

Hosted By: The Healthful Guide and In Good Taste Magazine

http://behealthfulretreat.eventbrite.com/?aff=IndustryAffiliates&afu=87145668223

Oh DANG! Workout classes all day, mini spa treatments, juicy samples

#BeHealthful will partner with In Good Taste Magazine, Whole Foods, Karyn’s Raw, and other health and wellness leaders in Chicago for an all ­day wellness retreat and holistic health industry event at Moonlight Studios.  Get ready to be educated, entertained, and inspired!

Be Healthful will offer a series of pop­ up fitness classes, workshops given by wellness professionals, healthy eats, and over 20 health conscious vendors.  The retreat will provide an oasis for guests to recharge and reset for the week ahead.  All will leave pampered and energized.

Thirty percent of ticket sales will be donated to the official charity beneficiary of the event, Charity4LIFE.

The one day retreat is an “open ­house” meaning guests can come and go throughout the day and can build their own itinerary. Upon registration, guests can reserve their spot in what workshops/yoga classes they want to attend, and also the times that they want to visit each vendor for their spa services and wellness consultations.

What is included in the registration fee ($39.00) and $10 OFF code: CHIORGANICGIRLS

  • ­ 10 yoga and pilates classes (you can take as many as you like throughout the day) Moksha Yoga, Exhale Spa, Pilates Pro Works, Abigail Simon of Joffrey Ballet, Yoga Six, Tru Body Yoga, Yoga Loft, Flex Pilates, and more.
  • ­ 7 workshops including Ayurvedic detoxes, reflexology workshops, nutrition and motivational talks, cooking demos, and more.
  • ­ Spa services including: full body spray tans, facials, oxygen treatments, light therapy sessions, scalp and shoulder massages; mini makeovers including makeup consultations and hair styling, and more.
  • ­ Wellness consultations including: detoxing consults, posture examinations, tongue examinations, mind and body consultations, and more.
  • ­ Food and Beverage tastings including juices, a variety of plant ­based cuisine, vegan and paleo baked goods, artisan teas, and herbed popcorn. (guests have the option to purchase goods from vendors at guests discretion)

Oh DANG! Workout classes all day, mini spa treatments, juicy samples…what are you waiting for?  Come join us because we all need a chance to recharge and pamper ourselves.

About The Healthful Guide:

The Healthful Guide is a plant based dining and healthy living directory for the city of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Healthful is dedicated to bringing more awareness to living a nourishing and holistic lifestyle. Their core belief? That life is all about being Healthful. To learn more visit http://eathealthful.com

Go Deep or Go Home: The Art of #Chicago Style #Pizza

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What do a deep dish pizza and a magician have in common?  They both have good taste!  Ok, that was a stretch but did you  know magicians could have more than just doves up their sleeves?

Recently, Now We’re Cookin’ invited members of Chicago Food Bloggers (including lucky saucy us) to learn to make the Chicago style pizza at their Evanston cook space.  To our surprise, instead of pulling rabbits out of hats, our chef, a professional magician, pulled a fantastic pizza out of the oven.

Chef Brian Kirshenbaum keeps his pizza dough straightforward (yeast, warm water, all purpose flour, cornmeal and oil) but sneaks in one secret ingredient (since a magician can’t reveal all his tricks).  He demonstrated the proper way to press down the dough into a deep pan with the slight of a hand.

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Next, he created the sauce by squeezing the juice from fresh whole peeled plum tomatoes and sprinkling in fairy dust…or spices (oregano, black pepper, salt, and garlic) as we non magicians call them.  Then guests partnered up and got to work pressing their own pizza dough and prepping their chunky sauce.

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Finally, the show came to it’s climatic point as fresh deli sliced mozzarella was pressed on the bottom.  Guests picked up to 3 vegetables/meats to fill their own pizza.  We shuffled through the ingredients and chose spinach, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and few thinly sliced fennel.  Veg head Monica loaded up on the plants and a dash of spice instead of sticking with just the traditional thick chunk of gooey cheese (Mon is not fan of xxxtra cheese but will eat deep dish to support her city).

Finally, we spread the chunky tomato sauce over the top of the pizza and sprinkled Parmesan cheese and viola; a magic Chicago pizza appeared :).  Notice the delicate saucy finish.  As we marveled at the fresh flavor of the pizza, Chef BK astounded us with magic acts to titillate our other senses.

 

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We had a blast learning from Chef and Illusionist Brian Kirshenbaum at Now We’re Cookin’.  And now Mon loves Chicago’s own deep dish pizza!

Running towards Labor Day: 1st time (or 2nd or 3rd) 5k Tips for Success

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We have a confession to make.  It’s been 2 weeks since our last post…and quite awhile since our last good run and yet, we have decided to run a 5K this weekend!  AHHHH the agony.  We have every intention of getting up at 5:30 am and running to prep but then our beds call us back loving and tenderly.  Maybe tomorrow we will start again.

For those of you who want to stretch your runnin’ legs with us and challenge yourself anyways, the Magnificent Mile Chicago Women’s Half Marathon and 5K this Sunday has super fun pre and post race events that may convince you to jump out of your bed!

The Magnificent Mile® Fitness Meets Fashion Market

Schedule of Pre Race Events

Where: Fleet Feet Sports – South Loop

What: Sneak peeks into fall apparel from trendy fitness brands, live music and giveaways!

Friday

10:00-8:00 pm: Fitness Meets Fashion Market hours

4:00-7:00 pm: Q+A, chat with running coach and Runner’s World columnist, Jenny Hadfield.

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Saturday

10:00-7:00 pm: Fitness Meets Fashion Market Hours

9:15 am: Official Magnificent Shakeout Run led by Professional Oiselle Runner Lauren Fleshman and Jenny Hadfield.

10:30-11:30 am: Complimentary Yoga for Runners class presented by Yoga Six Studio.

4:00-6:00 pm: Meet Professional Oiselle Runner, Lauren Fleshman for a Q+A, photo opportunities, mingling and more!

 

Race Day! Sunday

Register here and get a high quality racerback top to wear while traveling along the fab Mag Mile, a sexy finisher medal and access to a crazy post race party at the historic Buckingham Fountain.  Keep an eye out for delicious LUNA treats at all pre and post race activities.  What a good way to tighten up before Labor day!!  And to really prepare…check out the following pre-race tips for newbies like us from Terra Castro, recently retired professional triathlete and LUNA Chix Pro fitanista!!

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Morning of the Race

  • Warm-up: remember this is short speedy distance.  Warm-ups are essential to get the muscles ready to push at the faster speeds.  No need to hurt a hamstring!  Make sure to get in 10-15 min of light running and pick ups (strides- increased speed and leg turnover).
  • Seed yourself: This means make sure you pick the right corral or group to start with.  If you are ready to rock- go to the front and be aggressive.  If you are middle of the pack,steady approach, place yourself mid group but be ready because it will be a little crowded.  It is OK to be aggressive and seed yourself a little faster than you think as it will give you more room to get moving.
  • Breakfast: Make sure you eat your pre-race breakfast 2 hours or more before because you don’t want the food to cause GI distress.  Coffee, bagel with PB and banana is always a great starting point to try.  If needed you could use a clif shot right before with some water.  Keep it simple.
  • NO NEW THINGS: don’t get excited and try any new product, shoes, socks, or routine on race morning.  Do what you did in training.
  • Race plan: I always have my athletes write out a simple race plan (strategy) of how they will approach the race.  Not only is this good for the race splits (knowing your mile splits to go for) but I also have them write out the mental side of things to process nerves and know how they will handle the WHAT IFS etc.

 

Terra Castro is a recently retired Professional Triathlete who works as an Elite Sports Massage Therapist and Endurance Coach at Detroit Tough.  Terra works with age group athletes of all levels, and has a specialization in Youth/Junior Triathlon Coaching.  Her passion to BE BOLD is something she shares with all her athletes and within her community. (Head Coach/owner of Be Bold Crew LLC).  You can follow Terra and up your run quotient @terracastro (Twitter & Instagram).

Her tips and tricks will be featured in our next few running blog posts to improve your run game (and ours for sure sure!)

 

 

 

Post Run Recap: Running the Night with Energizer

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This year has brought a lot of awesome first for us, including our first 5K run together!  A few weeks ago, we headed to Chicago’s gorgeous lakefront to complete the Energizer 5k Night Race and had a blast in our efforts to help raise funds for solar lighting for people with unsafe lighting conditions.  We prepped a few weeks before by building up our stamina in Humboldt Park.  Later we picked up our race packets the week of and found our snazzy Energizer race shirts.  Our race bag also included our Energizer headlamps and some race prep samples like Dove clinical deodorant and Schick razors (hey gotta look and smell good for those other competitors, right?).

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The race had validated parking set up at the Radisson Blu hotel….which was the terrible thing!!  The lot was small, maze-like and confusing, thus we were late for the race :).  So late that the starting line was being dismantled as we started.  Some helpful bunny ear bedecked spectators pointed us in the right direction, we set our timer and began our jaunt down the shore.  The packs of headlamp runners gave us the energy to push through swarms of fruit flies and humidity to the finish line.

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Our time was 11.30 minutes a mile!!!  A personal best.  Afterwards, we kicked back some Gatorade and water and then enjoyed the post race party.  We jammed to live music, snacked on free KIND bars (wooohoo!!) and grabbed gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches from Cheesie’s Pub & Grub food truck, all with a huge blow up Energizer bunny swaying in the evening breeze.  We would definitely love to participate in the Night Run next year.

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There are still runs going on internationally until the end of the year in places like South Korea, Belgium and Germany.  Anyone wanna hop on a plane?!

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