Swanky Dailey Soiree

I enjoyed a wonderful evening this past Thursday with the entire Dailey ownership crew - talk about feeling honored!  I felt like I was in a swanky suite full of rock stars (minus the British accents and unmentionables).  As a nod to the social media PR video we filmed a few months ago, Jill invited me to say hello to everyone and mingle with the best of the best.  We spent the evening atop the Hotel Vitale over looking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge while raving about the hottest new seatwork variations and the odd range of undergarments ladies at the Salt Lake studio manage under their lulu lemon gear.  Thankfully, Jeremy was a trouper and hung in there with all the sparkling ladies.  Now, I cannot wait to visit some of these studios, next on the list: Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Venice Beach and of course the newest of the bunch, Mexico City!  I'll just have to keep making videos so no one forgets who I am :)


Oh and just in case you forgot, revisit the video that launched my Dailey fame at the link below from June...

My Love for TDM gone Viral

The latest buzz at the Barre!

Lulu Shimmy Pops

This morning I had another fabulous dose of some sparkle Shimmy Pop Hipline goodness.  Every month Lululemon offers community events on weekend mornings and today they got the Elmwood streets-a-shakin' to the sweet beats of Beyonce, Niki Minaj and Pitbull.  I am always amazed at how these classes come together.  As a fitness instructor, I am constantly trying to find ways to make my class fun, energized, challenging and creative... I want my clients to walk away thinking, I can't believe I laughed that much and still had my ass kicked!  This morning I was reminded of Deb's uncanny ability to do just that.

At 8:30am, about 15 sleepy, somewhat nervous and excitable ladies gathered in the open front room of Lululemon in Berkeley.  Then another 5 women show up... quickly filling the colorful room. We shuffled around,trying to find our little dance corners, politely trying to not take up too much space or be too close to anyone.  Cue Sean Paul... Deb springs to action and brings it all together... The trajectory of these early morning hip hop dance classes seem to start with the same slightly timid, sleepy dance moves, awkwardly thrown about, a sideway glance here and there.  "Am I totally off beat? Yes. I must look rediculous, I can't see the teacher, I am trying to get it perfect, ugh failing!"  The pace picks up, the blood gets flowin and then well, once you start sweating bullets and belly laughing, something shifts.  All the sudden, the "workout" barrier between near strangers in a room starts to fade and you realize, we're all here to have a morning dance party, and what could be more fun that a little booty slappin and dropin down low before 10am? eh eh?

All of the sudden, a room full  of grown women are hooting and singing out of breath, ripping their t-shirts off and doin some supafine "spinal unjulations."  You get so tired at min 45, you can barely lift your knees but you can't stop because you're just having too much fun.  At one point, since I was at the back and couldn't see any of the choreography (not that I was doing a very good job following it anyway), I happily resigned to having my own freestyle dance party of my own choreography in the storefront window.  I'm sure the drivers and bikers at the College and Ashby stop light enjoyed the show.

After the last song ends, we strike a pose, and there is a tangible surge of energy in the room.  Its like every woman is the hottest dancer, gleaming with sweat and ready to be best friends with everyone.  We stand in line, patiently waiting to hug and thank Deb...all thinking, how can I get more of that wild, hilarious vibrant sparkle into my life everyday.

Thanks for another inspiring class -- I'll be sure to make reservations well in advance to save a spot at Hipline to keep reminding myself how good I feel after an hour of Shimmy Pop -- I recommend you do the same!

xoxo
Lydia

http://www.myhipline.com/

 

The 300 Burn

So, I just learned that a pilates session will burn anywhere from 300-400 calories... Dailey Method looks like around 200 - 300-- which is great, even though it really just equates to about  an english muffin and a couple of berries.  Woohoo!  Well, if you're looking for quick weight loss, pilates or Dailey Method aren't always the quickest to sweat the pounds away.  To put it most simply, weight loss results from burning more calories than you consume.  

That being said, the magic of these workouts comes from the deeper changes of the musculature, metabolism and overall shape and tone of your body.  Your metabolism (the rate at which we burn calories) increases with muscle mass. Specifically, as you increase your lean body mass/fat ratio, your muscles will continue burning calories for you long after your hour long workout.  Aerobic exercise on the other hand, while is pumps the heart up, causes a good ole' rompus sweat, doesn't do that.  

Long story short, if you're looking for a weight loss plan, Dailey Method and pilates should be coupled with a diet plan (still gotta count those calories).   Smaller, more frequent meals can help keep one's metabolism reved up without feeling like you're depriving yourself to much.  Rest assured, the other countless benefits from doing such deep core and full body toning, include: 

- Improved posture (that longer leaner look and feel!)

- Improved balance & alignment

- Tighter, more toned shape of your entire body

- Increased flexibility

- Better joint control and mobility

Fyi - what your work out equates to in food calories!  

Breakfast – 290 Calories
1 whole wheat English muffin
2 pats low fat butter
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 cup of fruit
8 oz fruit juice
8 oz water

Cereal – 300 Calories
1 cup of cereal
8 oz 2% milk
1 banana
1 coffee or tea

Baked potato – 305 Calories
1 medium baked potato
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa
1 cup sliced melon
12 oz water

Oatmeal – 325 Calories
1 cup oatmeal with raisins
1 cup of fruit
1 cup coffee or tea
1 banana

Soup – 350 Calories
1 bowl of soup
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water
4 saltine crackers

Chicken – 345 Calories
6 oz of chicken
1 cup of green beans
2 pats of low-fat butter
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water

Chicken Salad – 350 Calories
1 large tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
6 oz sliced chicken
1 cup of low fat wheat thin crackers
12 oz water

Scrambled eggs – 360 Calories
2 scrambled eggs
2 strips of turkey bacon
1 piece whole wheat toast
1 pat of low fat butter
1 coffee or tea
8 oz water

Fish – 365 Calories
6 oz broiled white fish
1 cup of mashed potatoes
1 pat of butter
1/2 cup of peas
8 oz diet iced tea

Chicken and Rice – 395 Calories
6 oz cooked chicken
2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce
1 cup of mixed vegetables
1/2 cup of brown rice
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water

Come one, Come all!  You know you want your own customizable tie-die attire.  I seriously wear my two scarves almost everyday! We had a lovely afternoon at Alamo Square Park modeling for Nurse Rachel's Tie Die!  Thank you for all for making this happen!
Check her amazing goods out at her Etsy page: etsy.com/shops/nurseracheltiedye
Photography by Kim Bartel  photography
Models: Autumn Gray Burrell, Kai Mekonnen, Kristin Burrell, & me :)

 Nurse Rachel herself! So beautiful!

Nurse Rachel!

Well, I have a newfound love of tie-dye!  As much as I've tried to tap my inner dead head, my passion for tie-dye never quite took flight after a few poor attempts at summer camp.  That being said, I think my interest has been sparked thanks to Rachel Daniels, artist and entrepreneur founder of Nurse Rachel Tie-Dye.  She has been brought the spectrum of free love and good vibes to the Dailey Method with her cool tie-dyed sticky socks and Kind Scarves.  Both are so spunky and brightly irresistible.  Check her out on etsy and of course pick your scarves and socks and Dailey Method Mission Castro!

xo

Lydia
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nurseracheltiedye

Hot Mama!

Well, we got a happy message last night that a welcomed addition to our family has arrived!  My cousin's new little baby Autumn Gray took center stage at Marin General Hospital and now she's got got me thinking about how postpartum fitness can begin to be reintegrated into a new mama's routine!  Undoubtedly, getting back into the fitness groove has countless hurdles as well as benefits.  Let's focus on the benefits shall we, including raising your metabolism, shedding those extra pounds, and keeping your energy up to fight stress, post-preggers blues, and fatigue.  Not to mention its invaluable effects on your mood and overall well being -- plus you're setting a good example for the little tike :)

But the questions still linger - When?  How much?  Can I wear my white lulu lemon pants after labor day??

Firstly,you probably should not wear white yoga pants.  But more importantly, you should  get the a-ok from your doc before you start up anything new or strenuous, particularly if you  tapered off your fitness routine during pregnancy or had a c-section.  For those of you lucky ladies that had an uncomplicated delivery, the days of waiting to strap on some tennies a strict 6 weeks after giving birth a disappearing along the horizon.

If you feel strong after your first week after birth, you can start incorporating some light exercises:

-  Walking: start slow, making sure you have a good sense of balance and pacing.  Your body has just pushed a ton of relaxin through your joints so you'll be a little more limber and less steady -- watch your step!

-  Light stretching - Stretching should always feel good, pushing to the point of heat and tension, never pain.  Be gentle here - side stretches, child's pose, and roll ups are a nice way to ease in.

- Modified pushups - try a few standing up, leaning into a counter or wall. Keep your shoulder blades flat on the back of your rib cage, your sternum and chin lifted and tighten your abdominals from all four sides of your waistline.   Keep the movement slow and controlled.


- Abdominals - Be gentle in your incorporation of abdominal work- I mean honestly, all those muscles just spread to kingdom come.   Incidentally, babies take up quite some space between those sturdy obleques, so your abs will need anywhere from 4-8 weeks to come back together.  The catch is, doing a bazillion crunches is not necessarily the way to zipper back up -- in fact crunches can sometimes do more harm if your not careful.  Depending on your delivery, you will have a varying width of separation.  Try lying on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor.  Place your palm on your belly, near your belly button and begin to curl up slowly.  If the soft space right in the middle of your belly is more than 3 finger widths, avoid curls all together and stick with very controlled pelvic tilts and leg slides (keeping low back on the floor the whole time, sliding one leg along the floor away from you  at a time)...   Beautiful shot below - hot mama!

When you do start curling again, alway imagine pulling your tummy down to the floor rather than pushing out.  I like to think of my belly button as a button on a mattress (I mean who doesn't?!). That inward contraction will help fire into the deepest layer of abdominals and avoid pushing out into the linea alba, thus causing worse separation between your abdominals.  Take a look below at these fabulous photos below-- notice the first picture her tummy is pouching out (boo) and the second its sinking down towards the floor.  Nicely done Esmerelda!

- Kegels: Oh yeah, we can't forget these little gems.  Strengthening your pelvic muscles are important for many reasons.  Peeing when you laugh is one of them.  Practice by tightening your pelvic floor (like you're stoping yourself from peeing -- don't laugh!) Try tightening the muscles for five seconds then release.  Repeat a few times in a row, working up to holding the contraction for 10 seconds.

Fun weird fact: Lots of exercise can cause a build up of lactic acid in breast milk which tends to give milk a more sour taste and babies may not like it as much (clearly no bueno when screaming baby doesn't like their dinner)... so docs say to continue drinking lots of water during and after physical activities.

Remember fellow fitness fellas, take it easy, most important thing is that you're allowing your body to heal first.  No matter when you begin to incorporate your fitness goals and routine back into your life, always remember to listen to your body, what feels good and comfortable.  Be patient and you'll see and feel results before you know it!

Rock on mama!

Lydia




http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-after-pregnancy/MY00477
http://www.babycenter.com/0_postpartum-exercise-is-your-body-ready_196.bc
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/postpartumexer.htm
http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_reconditioning.html

Playlist Publish

In need for some iPod revamping to give your workout a fresh kick? Here are a few of my favorite beats that keep me getting longer, leaner and more revved to hit the studio :)

UP BEATS

Good Feeling: Flo Rida (video)

Tonight is the Night: Outasight

Nanny Nanny Boo Boo: Le Tigre

Different: Ximena Sarinana

Rapture: Nadia Ali (hilarious and amazing)

Genesis: Grimes

I Love My Sex: Benny Benassi

Love You Like a Love Song: Selena Gomez
Ti Amo: Hssyn' (another amazing Video)
Why Don't You Love Me: Beyoncé (video)

GROOVE BEATS

Midnight City: M83

Mi Mujer: Nicolas Jaar

I'm an Indian Too: Tussle

Night Falls: Booka Shade (Sound but no video)

Something Special: Miguel Campell

Booty Swing: Parov Stelar

COOL DOWN BEATS

Can't Get Enough: J Cole (video)

Take Care: Drake / Rhianna

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right: Bob Dylan

How I Feel: Wax Tailor

Rialto: The Pica Beats

Blood: The Middle East

Tenuousness: Andrew Bird 

Bleeker Street: Simon & Garfunkel

Rock on!

Pretty Pretty Pasta... aka Sorry honey, dinner's at 10 tonight

After a slight hiatus over the holiday month of December, I'm back to blogging and hungry for more!  Tonight, rather than bombarding my internet audience with a lengthy New Years Resolution sermon (don't you worry, that one's coming eventually), I'm easing my way back online with a tasty winters meal.

Now I will be the first to say, I'm no master in the kitchen.  In fact, I'm usually more than happy to be acting as prep-cook, clean up crew and general entertainer rather than head hancho.  That being said, I'm learning to love cooking... well, baby steps at least :)


For Christmas Jeremy got me Bi-Rite's cookbook.  Bi-Rite is an innovative, popular local market in the Mission and they are known for having great everything... in their words, they are a "beacon of sustainability, seasonality, community and educated staff..."   One can imagine, shopping at Bi-Rite is an amazing experience, even for those of us that can at times feel overwhelmed with the chore of cooking and kitchening.

For tonight, we made "Delfina's Spaghetti"from this cookbook and it turned out magnificently.  I have a few thoughts before I elaborate on the recipe:

- Before starting a cooking project, read the whole recipe... this includes not just the ingredient list (hallelujah if you have everything -- off to a great start!)... but make sure to check total cook times, equipment required and techniques needed.  (Thus dinner at 10pm part-- no one like that ambush half way through the recipe - what, a surprise 45min! gah!)

- Clean as you go - it not only saves a ton of time and energy when you're in a food coma after a meal, but its a decent distraction while your waiting for  that huge pot to boil.

- Ask for help if you need it.  I was tempted to "to it all by myself" in order to present a fabulous meal at the end, but eh, it's much more fun as a team, particularly if there is heavy lifting of boiling liquids involved.

- Go for it! Even if it seems challenging, food is always rewarding.  Its ok if it isn't perfect, or it takes longer than expected -- its more important to be unintimidated by the kitchen and adventurous in your attempts!

OK... now for the fun details!

Delfina's Spaghetti (abridged): from Bi-Rite's cookbook (serves 2-3) -- the trick is to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for the last few min. of cooking - yum!

Cook time: about an hour

Ingredients:
1 (28oz) can of peeled whole plum tomatoes
3 Medium cloves of garlic
Kosher salt & Fresha peppa
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
pinch chile flakes (to taste)
17 Large Basil leaves (we didn't have these, but whew sounds good!)
8 oz of Spaghetti or Pasta
Parm

Stuff to have on hand:
Large deep skillet
Big deep pot
food processor

- Open the can of tomatoes and de-seed the tomatoes over the can.  Place the tomatoes into a bowl and break them up a bit with your hands.  Strain the seeds out of the juice and add that to the bowl as well (toss the seeds out).

- Chop garlic coarsely and add it to the oil in a hot large skillet (our cast iron worked marvelously).  Cover and let cook slowly over med. heat without letting them get to brown or toasty (5-6 min).  Add the tomatoes, juice, chile flakes, 1 1/2 c of water, 1/2 tsp of salt and a few grinds of your fresh ppeeppaa.  Bring to a boil then simmer for 45 min.  I repeat... 45 min.  (I saw this detail after it was already 9and we were ready to eat... oops!)

- After the sauce has been reduced to "a scant 2 cups", blend/pulse in a food processor 1/3 of the sauce then add the pureed mixture back into the pan with the rest of the sauce.  Tear basil leaves into sauce.

- Bring a LARGE pot of slightly salted water to boil.  Add pasta, cook 6 min. and drain.  Save at least 1cup of the cooking water. Don't overcook at this stage!

- Put the sauce in the same pot as the pasta, add pasta and about 1/2 - 3/4 of the cooking water back into the pot and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente, the liquid is completely absorbed into the pasta, and the sauce is reduced to a very thick puree, about 5-7 minutes longer.  (Adding more of the cooking water if need be to get the pasta to al dente).  Cooking the pasta in the sauce not only thickens up the sauce, but also lets the sauce cook into the pasta.  According to Delfina Chef Craig Stoll, "the last bite of pasta should bring the last bit of sauce with it."

Taste and season with more salt if needed and top with parmigiano.  Eat up because it might already be 10pm!

 We also roasted up some seasonal winter root veggies: onion, heirloom carrots, red pepper, parsnips, watermelon turnips, romanesque cauliflower (ie. the psychedelic ones!), and garlic.  Paired with an toasty Acme baguette, we were all set for a cozy night at home!

Filled and ready to resolute for 2012 :)

Happy New Year - many beautiful, inspiring adventures in store!

-- Lydia