How was Your Weekend?

Happy Monday! We had a wonderful weekend which included a mystery dinner party. It was Hollywood 1950's themed and I played the role of Grace Killy, a talentless actress who came from wealth. Style-wise, I was meant to be a mash-up of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. It was great. The hubs played the reporter so he could snap plenty of pics. Him in the first act and me in the second. Up until my most unfortunate death, I was calling everyone "darling" and competing for the next big movie role. It was pretty great, but then I died. Hmph.

There ended up being four killers and I guessed one. Ha! Guess we know who should not be a detective. Me.

It should also be noted that I was totally in character and even wore a girdle that night. Yes, my poor character died in a girdle. I think getting down to the floor was enough to kill me in real life. Those girdle and corset wearing girls have my respect. They had to be some seriously tough ladies!

Earlier in the day on Saturday I was also able to take my favorite advanced power yoga class and go on a jog before it started. Needless to say, Saturday was a pretty busy and pretty fun day- which left Sunday for relaxing! Our local Pottery Barn (right across the street now!) was having a Christmas decorating workshop that I was able to attend yesterday morning. It was pretty fun and gave me tons of DIY ideas along with a discount that just had to be used. All pillows and throws were 30%-50% off, plus I got a 15% discount on anything bought the day of the workshop! Yes, our has has plenty of new pillows now and a few holiday decs starting to show.

Since I was in the holiday spirit, I followed in a good friend's footsteps and started wrapping presents this weekend as well. Five are done and only about a billion to go! Wouldn't that be wonderful, though, if we could have all gifts wrapped by Thanksgiving? I think it just might be a holiday goal of mine this year.

Wrapping also seems a bit more cumbersome than usual because we have opted for a classic Christmas theme this year with browns, grays, golds, white, and green. This also means all gifts are getting the brown paper package treatment and binging finished off with simple string. It is so pretty, but brown paper is quite thick. If anyone has any suggestions for wrapping with thick paper, I am all ears! 

I am also thinking we will have a how to decorate post in the days leading up to or just after Thanksgiving. There are a few DIY workshops that I am signed up for as well and cannot wait to share the info with you!

As for workouts, yesterday's post did not get out for some reason, so I will fill you in real quick today. Sunday was a rest day since last Saturday my hot power yoga class did 108 sun salutations and I was sore until Thursday. Monday was a simple 2.5 mile jog in the morning followed by hot power yoga that evening. Tuesday was a 1.5 mile jog. Wednesday was this yoga flow which was great! Thursday was a break for our anniversary, and Friday was a simple bum workout that I will have to share on the blog soon!

Also, I was going to add a motivation bit on to this, but think the post is quite long enough already. Let's get some motivation in tomorrow instead! It is going to be one of my favorites and a mantra for the holidays!!

The Pros and Cons Orange Theory Fitness

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Last week I was able to try Orange Theory Fitness for the first time. If you are not familiar with Orange Theory (which I was not, until they moved in next door), it is an intense cardio and weight fitness class that uses treadmill, rowing, and varying floor work. They are also the ones responsible for all those orange bikes you may be seeing around your town.

Right now, Orange Theory is offering the first class for free, which is totally how they got me in.

After our try at Barry's Bootcamp, my cousin was telling me how similar it was to Orange Theory; this made me want to try it. Now, two months later, I tried it for the first time. Really, it is quite similar to Barry's, but with a few key pros and cons.

Pros

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Orange Theory was a great workout, that would have to be pro number one. One of the things I absolutely loved about it was that ever person wears a heart rate monitor and has their current heart rate displayed on screens throughout the workout room. Trainers tell you what zone you will want to be in for each segment and all you do is watch for your heart rate to be in the corresponding color. This was fantastic for every workout their was. It is ridiculously easy to stay in the right fitness zone when you are able to 1) know what zone that is and 2) watch it on a screen the entire time.

Another thing I loved about this class and the reason I would recommend it to anyone, no matter their fitness level, is that everything changes up so fast that you have no idea where the time goes. Our class started out with interval treadmill workouts mixed in with rowing. Both of these were massive cardio workouts that burned a lot of fat while massively killing my bum. Seriously, my bum was sore before this class and after, I thought walking would never happen again.

Next up was floor work where we did four sets of alternating workouts from kettlebell swings to jumps and lunges. We used balance balls, weights, and resistance bands. It was pretty fantastic! To make it even better, the end of the class is summed up with seeing the time you were in each heart rate zone during the entire workout.

Cons

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Honestly, I did not find a lot of cons in this class. Everything went by fast, the workout was for toning and fat burning, and my heart rate was in the appropriate zone the whole time. Scores on all points. The biggest, and really, the only downside was the amount of leg work there was compared to abs or upper body. Rowing machines are my newest frenemy and, like any frenemy, there are pros and cons. I loved the bum work that the rowing machine gave me, but it also did a lot in my shoulders that I was not so sure about. As a girl with broad enough shoulders already, the idea of working them even more does not sound like the most fun thing ever.

On another note, a lot of the workouts were massive thigh workouts that missed the mark on arms and abs. Sure, I like thigh work as much as the next girl, but I also want to keep my thighs looking svelte and not like I'm going for a body building championship.

Overall though, it was a fantastic workout that I only wish was a bit more even in the areas that it worked. This class did not seem quite as intense as Barry's and could be better for those who are not a peak athletic form but want to work hard and get healthier. Hopefully, my next few classes will even things out because, yes, I did get a membership.