Is anyone else as surprised today is the last day of July as I am? I feel like this month/summer completely flew by. I had plans to really kick up my workout routine this summer... and go dairy free and neither of those happened but surprisingly I still get a ton of comments and questions about my workout routine so I figured today was as good a day as any to talk about my workout routine! First off I want to say, I am in no way a nutritionist or a fitness expert so just because something works for me, doesn't mean it will work for someone else. And I would suggest if you aren't very active to start slow and work your way up before tackling an intense workout. While I'm not the most in-shape person ever, I am pretty active not just at the gym so I feel like I can push myself a little harder. 

I used to work out 6 times a week until I realized that my body needed some rest periods. I started getting really bad shin splints and I was sore more of than I wasn't so I took a step back and cut back the number of times I worked out. Listening to your body and not overdoing it is extremely important. Currently I work out between 3-4 times a week and for me it's perfect.

Monday and Wednesdays are usually my weight days. I generally break it out by upper body and lower body, starting with upper body Monday. I do a mix of free weights, cables and machines and I occasionally throw in some TRX workouts to switch it up. I often do a lot of my free weights and TRX exercises on a StrongBoard Balance Board to get a little extra out of it. Wednesday I mix it up between lower body and core using a mix of machines and a stability ball.

Thursdays are my cardio days which aren't my favorite days but like you learned from Zombieland, the first rule of Zombieland is cardio. In the event of a zombie takeover, you don't want to be the slowest kid on the block. Ok, I kid, but seriously; cardio is an important part to fitness. In the cooler months I prefer to get outside and run but when it's as hot as it is outside right now, I tend to stick to either cardio classes like spinning or Zumba or a 30-45 minute HIIT workout on the treadmill.

The weekends I try to get at least one workout in on top of going out and just being active. Usually if I workout on Saturday I'll do an early morning Boot Camp workout before it gets too hot outside that consists of a bunch of different burst training exercises. If I workout on Sunday I try to make it more of a relaxing one so I'll take a yoga class to unwind before starting the week. 

If you hate going to the gym (and if you do, I don't blame you at all) get outside! I used to love going to Disney because it would be a guarantee I'd get several miles of walking in while having fun. I'm also a huge fan of being out on the water, paddle boarding and kayaking are both great workouts that you don't really have to have any skill to do. I also love barre classes for a nice full body workout not in a gym! I hope this helps give you some ideas or maybe some motivation. I'm headed to yoga to start my day now so hope everyone has a great week!

*Linking up with Biana*

Happy Monday babes! I'm coming at you this morning from Las Vegas so if I'm absent in the blogging world, that's why! With that being said, this will most likely be my only post this week since I'll be in Vegas at a conference through Thursday and then I fly back and will probably have a ton to catch up on but feel free to follow along with me on Instagram or Snapchat {pamelanicole84} and see what all we're getting in to. This is my first time at this conference so I have no idea what to expect but it is Vegas so you never know.  Ok, enough about work, let's talk about the weekend!

Saturday morning Kate and I got up bright and early and headed to Winter Park for Barre in the Park presented by Barre3 to get a good workout in to start the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and who doesn't enjoy getting a workout in outside in beautiful weather? 
If you've never tried a barre class before, I highly recommend it. At first glance it doesn't seem like the world's most difficult workout but I assure you, this is not true. Despite going to the gym at least 2-3 times a week, barre is the only workout that leaves me shaking and sweaty at the end. Even if you visit the gym regularly, barre is going to work your muscles in a completely different way using small, isometric movements to help perfect your alignment, balance your body and work those deeper, postural muscles used in weightlifting. One of the things I love the most about barre is it makes you push yourself and believe in yourself that you can do it. 
If I can offer you any bit of advice, start small. Even if you're lifting 20 lb weights in the gym, start with the 2 lb weights in barre, or even no weights. It's better to complete the exercises with no weight than to need to take a break because you used weights that are too heavy. And trust me, even the 2 lb weights are going to feel heavy by the time you're done. It may feel embarrassing to have your body trembling in class in front of everyone but shaking is good. Shaking = change and change is why you're there. So embrace the shake. And remember, just like anything, change takes time so don't expect results overnight but you can expect to feel those muscles the next day!



Being a bit of a gym rat, and not a first time barrer (yeah, I just made up my own term for a person who takes barre, deal with it) I wasn't sure what to expect from Barre in the Park, especially without the weights and barre but it was incredibly tough. I was shaking like crazy and dripping sweat by the time it was over but I loved every second of it! Kate and I had a blast, shared some laughs and got an amazing workout in to start the Saturday. 

Hope everyone has a fabulous week! I'll be back next week!

*Linking up with Biana*

Happy Friday dolls! We made it through the first full week of January! I don't know about any one else but I was definitely more busy this week than I have been in the past few weeks so it's been rough getting back into the swing of thing and remembering how I balanced work, personal and blog life so bare with me while I figure all that out again. With Christmas over I really shouldn't be spending any more money but there have just been so many great sales lately that I can't resist. Please tell me I'm not the only one? So today I decided to share a few of my favorites that have gone on sale since Christmas!

1 // Leave it to GiGi to have all the cute things on sale after the holidays. I'm a huge fan of my Uber Clutch but it's not practical for every day. This is the perfect size (for me) for running around on the weekends, it looks incredibly similar to the Gucci Soho bag but for literally a fraction of the price.

2 // If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed these (in black) in a few pictures lately. I bought them as a little Christmas present to myself and they are SO comfy. The black is currently out of stock but the brown is super cute too.

3 // My favorite faux leather jacket is currently on sale for $40 off and if they had it on sale in the cognac as well I would definitely be scooping it up in that color. It's so comfy and looks great with just about everything! I even wore it to one of the Christmas parties I attending with a fancy dress and got compliments on how cute it was. 

4 // I am probably one of the few people in the world who haven't jumped on board the Zella legging crazy (not because I don't want to but because the ones I want are NEVER in my size) but these are my go-to workout leggings for now. I currently have them in 3 colors and since they're currently on sale for $15 I think I might be getting a few more... ;) 

5 // Thanks to Kerri, I cannot. Stop. Buying. These. The most recently color I picked up was Noble, which is a petal pink nude and so gorgeous for every day. I love how long these last too! 

And, I just realized that everything in this post is either black or blush... I apparently have a thing with those colors lately! Haha! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

*Linking up with Amanda*

Not to toot my own horn or to sound weird but I always seem to get comments about how great my legs look. The first time I ever heard it, I was completely baffled because even though I love working out, I definitely neglect my legs. In fact, the only thing I loathe more than squats and lunges is cardio. That is until I discovered spinning.

My addiction to spinning started about 5 years ago and I'm not even kidding when I say that after my first class I never wanted to go back again. My entire body was so incredibly sore, I could barely walk the next day and my instructor had a body I would kill for, which at the time didn't help my motivation. But for some reason, which I can't seem to recall now, I went back again and again and again and here we are, 5 years later and I'm still going. And when people ask me what I do to get my legs to look "like that" my only answer is cycle!
So when Kerri called me up and told me about this new cycle studio called CycleBar® opening up by her work I was intrigued but still not 100% sold. You see, my gym offers spinning classes and I've been taking the same spinning class with the same spinning instructor (hi Jessica!) for 5 years now so why ruin a good thing? Then CycleBar® offered a free preview to stop by and check the place out to me and some other blogger babes and I maybe I'd stop by but apparently the fitness gods really wanted me to give CycleBar® a chance because the day before the preview (when I was still on the fence) my instructor announced that she would be leaving the gym to go work at CycleBar® and that sealed it. The next day I headed straight over to CycleBar® after work for the free preview and I'm already checking out their schedule!

CycleBar is the only indoor cycling franchise in America and the first of its kind in Central Florida and the workout experience is unlike any other. This isn't your normal stuffy, boring room with bikes and someone barking "motivational" things at you while you peddle away. This is something you want to come back to. It's a high-energy, fun experience that has much more of a "club" vibe than a "gym" vibe.

The first thing you notice when you walk through the doors is how chic the studio is. It's completely decked out in red, white and black and feels more like a place you'd want to hang out with your friends than a place you'd work out. One side has a little shop where you can check out their gear and grab your shoes for class and the other side has lockers, water and other necessities. CycleBar® takes care of everything for you so all you have to do is show up and ride! They provide shoes, a water bottle, a towel. They even have hair ties for people like me that always manage to lose mine! Another thing I love about CycleBar® is there is no membership required and they track your stats for you so you can actually see your progress and feel good about your ride.
If that didn't have you sold, CycleBar® is having their grand opening in Winter Park on September 29th and is offering 60 free classes for the public for the first 10 days they're open! Yup, that's right. Up to 2700 individual rides will be available! Advance registration is required at http://winterpark.cyclebar.com/. You can begin scheduling rides on September 22; free classes will be held from September 29 through October 9. Paid classes begin on October 10. So what are you waiting for – check it out!