Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Wednesday! Life's Better In Yoga Pants is heading back to Long Island for the long weekend. Posts will resume on Monday. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Xo,

Lynette

Doonya

A few weeks ago I was invited to the grand opening of Doonya's first NYC studio. They held pop-up classes throughout the city but this is the first time they have had their own location. 

I arrived just in time and changed in one of their chic dressing rooms. The class started promptly and they wasted no time getting us right into it!

Doonya is a Bollywood dance fitness company, for those unfamiliar it can be compared to Zumba. A combination of instructors hosted the hour long upbeat class. There was a combination of pop, hip hop and traditional Bollywood music. Each routine targeted different parts of the body such as abs, arms, legs, calves, etc. It was easy to follow along and I never got bored. Definitely the perfect after-work dance party. 

Afterwards there were drinks from Veev Vodka, snacks from Bhagvat Life and a beauty station from Shobha Spa and BrideGal Multicultural Beauty. 

I highly recommend taking a Doonya class if you haven't already!

Xo,
Lynette

Armpocket Ambassador

About few weeks ago I was contacted to see if I was interested in reviewing an Armpocket and learn more about their ambassador program. I thought why not- I rarely use an armband and the one I have is falling apart so there was no harm in trying out a new one. 

They sent me one of the multi-colored Armpocket's and although I wasn't too fond of the color (I asked to exchange for a different color) I am a big fan of the product. So much so that I applied for the ambassador program and got accepted! 

A few of the things I really love about the Armpocket include:

• You slide your phone into the front pocket, that has a little strap, so your phone stays put, making it easy to use through the protector.

• Fits snug around my arm. Although I've only worn it a few times, it hasn't stretched out at all yet. That was a big problem I was having with my previous armband. 

• Since it's snug, I can't fit much in it but it holds my phone with a case one and my keys pretty comfortably.

I don't put music in my armbands for races so I'm intrigued to see how it does holding my shot blocks and how easy it will be to access them. 

I look forward to being an ambassador for Armpocket and sharing so much more information with you!

Xo,
Lynette

Tone It Up Tuesday: Squats

Doing cardio in a second floor apartment isn't exactly easy. And I'm 110% sure my downstairs neighbors would be banging on my door in a heartbeat. So to switch things up with yoga, I made a little strength circuit with squats, abs and arms moves. I alternate squats and other parts of my body until I'm done. I usually do the below sequence minus the sumo squat because I'm skeptical that it does anything. I also don't follow the reps on the side. Some weeks I do 12,15 or 20 depending on the time I have. 

[Source]

What are your go-to apartment workouts?

Xo,

Lynette

The Holidays Have Arrived!

After a wonderful week of new workouts, I ended it with some fabulous friends by hosting a friendsgiving/housewarming party. It has been a whirlwind of a year and I am so thankful for each and every person who trekked out. I had the best time and loved being able to cook for everyone!

With that being said, not a damn thing was made with being healthy in mind. And that's OK! A few ingredients were organic but A LOT of butter was used and you know what? I didn't care. For the most part, I eat healthy and workout during the week and the holidays have the best food that I'm just not willing to give up. 

I spent the better portion of the day cleaning and cooking. I made sweet potatoes, stuffing cupcakes, mashed potatoes, a green bean casserole, a ham, crostinis and roasted mushrooms. Everything was super easy to make and used many of the same ingredients. 

[Window sill bar]

[Appetizers]

[A cute picture of me taken by NYC Living]

[The aftermath]

Are you hosting any friendsgivings this year? What are you making?

Xo,

Lynette 

The Monster Cycle

[Photo Credit]

I've been in the hunt for fitness studios in the new neighborhood I work in, which would be SoHo. After searching for the 47364th time I've accepted there's no Flywheel in walking distance. So I Googled and this place called The Monster Cycle appeared. I'd never heard of it before, it looked like it had a creepy yet super cool vibe and the first ride was only $13. So I signed up for a Tuesday evening class.

The studio is quite spacious. The first floor is check in, retail, a juice bar and a lounge area. For the second time this year when I was new somewhere, no one showed me around. I was told the changing rooms and spin studio was downstairs but wasn't even told where the stairs were! Really? This goes for all fitness studios and gyms- if someone is new please just ask if they'd like a tour or something. 

[Photo Credit]

Anyway, I went downstairs and went to the locker area. Things I liked: my locker corresponded with my bike number so I wouldn't forget which locker I picked. What I didn't like: There was no lock! After that realization, I got changed in one of the bathrooms, each of which had a shower in it.

The spin studio is small and has 2 flat screen TVs. You have your choice of clips or cages on the bikes but please take note they do not have shoe rentals. 

[Photo Credit]

I loved they play music videos. I never know what to look at sometime and the person in front of mes ass is usually not sufficient enough to keep me entertained. Each song obviously had a video although I only knew one or two songs so that was a bummer.

And apparently the instructor only knew sit or stand. We did hill climbs standing and sitting and occasionally a sprint. I would have loved for him to switch it up a little more, add a jog, 3 part jump or anything more. 

Something I think is important is that the instructor didn't talk too much. Sometimes I have trouble getting lost in a song during a climb if the instructor talks through it. He also shared a motivational quote at the end which was nice.

Overall it was an OK class. I'm not sure I would pay full price for it but it was worth the $13 and if someone offered me a class I would probably take it.

Have you been to The Monster Cycle? What did you think?

Xo,

Lynette

Thursday Three...is back!

So many posts this week and so many fun things in the works. I can't wait to share with you all! But until it's time, here is what's inspiring me lately.

These are 2 of my amazing friends who also happen to be bloggers who I am also working on 2 pretty rad projects with. Check them out at NYC Living and Megan at Home.

After watching the NYC Marathon up close and personal, I finally got inspired to get back in my workout groove. Can't wait to see what my 2015 running seasons have in store for me!

This is one of my favorite times of the year. The holidays always inspire me to be a better friend, person, publicist and writer. 

What inspires you?

Xo,

Lynette 

Much Needed Time Off

[Photo credit]

I've been an athlete my entire life and towards the end of a season, I start getting an itch for a little break. After a mixed emotions spring race season I bounced back with an amazing fall season and gave myself well deserved time off.

[Staten Island Half smiles]

And you should too. All of us athletes spend most of the year turning down long nights with our friends for practice or a race the next day. It's second nature. After I ran an extremely well race at Staten Island, I took time to see my friends, party, catch up on work and apparently gain 8 pounds (good thing my little break is over). It was so refreshing and now I'm ready to ease back into working out and gear up for spring. Remember, even Shalane gives herself a little break!

[Out on a Friday night!]

This weekend, I'm hosting a housewarming party/friendsgiving and next weekend is a good friends birthday and another friends post-marathon "I have a life again" party.

What are you doing during your downtime? 

Xo,

Lynette 

Tone it Up Tuesday

Since I've been doing a lot more strength training at home, I thought I'd bring back Tone it Up Tuesday and each week share a new exercise I've been trying.

One thing that I never did and recently found on Pinterest was the dolphin pose. I think I had bad form when I was younger and thought that it didn't work. Lo and behold, it definitely does!

It not only works your abs but also your arms. And feels great. 

How do you do it?

Start in plank position. Make sure your spine is neutral- no butts in the air or sagging down! Abs should be engaged the moment you start.

[Photo courtesy of Fitness Magazine]

Next, using your engaged abs, pike your butt up towards the ceiling. 
Hold for a moment then slowly return to your plank position. 

[Photo Courtesy of Real Simple]

Depending on what my workout is for the day, I do about 12 as an ab move in between squats. 

Do you practice dolphin pose? Do you do any variations? 

Xo,
Lynette

Socked at the Barre with Bianca Jade (MizzFit)

Last week Bianca, MizzFit, invited me to a barre class for the launch of her first ever grippy sock line in conjunction with Pointe Studio. I'm not a regular but I do enjoy a barre class every once and a while so I decided to go. 

It was at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studio on 9th Ave and taught by 2 instructors from Figures NYC barre studio in Harlem. KiwiSweat hosted the sign-ups through their new app which is still in beta. 

The doors opened at about 5:15 PM and we were instructed to grab a gift bag from the front of the room that had 2 pairs of Bianca's socks in them then find a mat which had a towel and Bobble water bottle for us. 

A few minutes later the class started. We began with arms (holy push ups!) on the mat then proceeded to the barre for legs and glutes. The instructors were very energetic and one of them brought their fiance to DJ which was pretty awesome. The socks were great, I didn't get stuck on the floor like some of the other grippy socks I have although they almost didn't have enough grip, but they did their job. I would definitely wear them again to another barre class. 

We headed back to the mat to finish up with some abs and stretching. What I really loved about this class was that it was quick and flowed together. I never felt like it was dragging unmotivated.

Bianca put a lot of work into her socks and this is actually one of the first accessories project she has worked on. She has been taking barre classes since 2006 and loves the feelings she gets from them. After constantly over paying for mono-colored socks from her favorite studios, she realized she should just create her own. Learn more here, including why she named the 2 styles EKG and Blood, Sweat and Tears. 

[Congrats!]

You can purchase them here for $20.

Thanks to all of the gift bag sponsors, Kiwi Sweat, MizzFit, Pointe Studio and Figures NYC for a great evening!

Xo,
Lynette 

Recipe: Eggplant and Rice Bowl

On my way home from work on Monday I stopped at the grocery store for some fresh produce since I already had snacks and protein in the house. I've been dying to make something with eggplant recently so I picked one up while I was there. I also had all intentions of making mini pizzas with them but of course I had no sauce so fail. In Pinterest I typed in "eggplant" and a bunch of recipes came up, including one for quinoa, spinach and eggplant. Score! I didn't have enough quinoa so I used brown rice. It only took about 30 minutes and it was so flavorful- perfect for those nights when you just need to throw something together!

This recipe was adapted from Julia's Album. 

Ingredients:

• Brown Rice
• Spinach
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Mushrooms
• Minced Garlic
• Eggplant
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil

Directions:

• First, pre-heat the oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with a greased sheet of tin foil. 

• Chop up eggplant into cubes and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.

• Spread eggplant cubes on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip with a spatula and cook for another 10 minutes. 

• While the eggplant is roasting, cook the rice and in a large skillet, toss olive oil, spinach, garlic and mushrooms. Once the spinach gets slighted wilted remove from heat. 

Once the eggplant is done, remove from the oven and immediately add to skillet with spinach and mushrooms. Add rice and mix well so the eggplant absorbs all of the flavors. 

Top with Mozzarella cheese and serve!

What is your favorite eggplant recipe? 

Xo,

Lynette 

My First Marathon Experience

On Sunday I had my first NYC Marathon experience. No, I didn't run (this year) but I did volunteer at the mile 14 med tent. This was the first time I also attended the marathon rather than watch on TV. 

I left my apartment at around 7:15 to head to 46th Ave and Vernon BLVD to meet up with the other volunteers at my tent. When I got there we took inventory of all of our supplies and got the tent ready as best as we could. My tent had 4 cots, about 15 volunteers and tons of energy. I didn't realize how laid back this was going to be. We were allowed to cheer and hold signs so long as every patient was being taken care of. 

One of my favorite parts was being able to see the wheelchair, elite men and elite women up close and personal. Boy do they all fly! 

My second favorite part was being able to assist all of the runners that came into the tent and get them back on the road. Each and every one of them were so grateful to see us and it meant so much to me to be able to help them (although I did more writing and yelling out for things). 

I witnessed pain, joy, fear, tears, and more all up close and personal. The runners were all so inspiring and I hope everyone had a great race.

I cannot wait to volunteer again. It was definitey an experience I won't forget. Who knows, maybe I'll run it one day ;)

Xo,
Lynette