Dare You To...

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Les Mills.  As always, the opinions reflected below are entirely my own.

Senior year of college, I was a regular at the student gym's "BODY COMBAT" class.  This is where I fell in love with martial arts-style classes.  It was all about moving to the music, harnessing your inner strength, and kicking butt.   That class is still one of my favorites; I loved every minute and have missed it ever since.  Turns out, the folks that created the Body Combat classes have a slew of other group fitness programs that are offered at various locations throughout the country.  The company, Les Mills, has created 13 global group training programs, which now have millions of participants in over 15,000 gyms in 90 countries.

Their weights class, BODYPUMP®, debuted in New York Sports Clubs across NYC this week.They moved in with a bang; they are now offering an average of 130 classes every week at 36 NYSC locations... WOW.  Th…

Tough Training

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to spend an hour with a trainer at my gym.  I was nervous for being pushed out of my comfort zone, but glad to get out of the rut I've been in with my typical cardio and free-weights routines.  She had me doing plyometric squats, using machines for weight training, and medicine balls to throw around.  Everything was in sets of 15, paired with another move--also 15 sets--and I did two sets of each before moving on.

It was DEFINITELY out of my comfort zone, but helped that she was there to demonstrate the moves, to challenge me to finish the set, and to alternate which muscles were getting used (so that just when I thought I was going to die, we switched to something different that was ready for the challenge.)  It was great learning some new moves and surprising my muscles.  (It's Friday and I'm STILL sore!)

Which do YOU prefer for strength training? Free weights (barbells/dumbells)... pure body weight exercises... or strength tr…