fithiphealthy

LULU IN WAYNE!

ODETTE.

I'm in love with the organic, whimsical, bohemian designs of Jennifer Sarkilahti, dubbed Odette NY . 

Jennifer's designs are all made from an intricate process requiring her to hand sketch everything, create a wax mold from the sketch, cast the metals and polish the final pieces.  Making quality jewelry is hard work!

SAVE YOUR LIDS!

 

It's Wendy On Wednesday!

Last week, my lovely nail technician (and owner of Sojourn Salon and Spa) Maria Ketschek informed me that plastic water bottles do not get recycled unless you remove those pesky caps, which are made of a different plastic than the bottle itself.  You can imagine my dismay at discovering that all my diligent recycling efforts have literally gone to waste.  The horror! 

Luckily, my salon (Sojourn Salon & Spa) is a licensed Aveda distributor, and Aveda is currently hosting a cap recycling campaign.  You can bring your caps to any Aveda salon or store and they will mail the caps to Aveda itself, where they will then be recycled into new caps for their product lines.  Schools also participate in the campaign, so you may also be able to find info/get involved through your kids’ schools. You can read all about it at aveda.com/caps. 

Images via aveda.com, b.e.a.ch.org & inhabitat.com

ASK THE INSTRUCTOR!

Hi Lauren,

I wanted to drop you note and say I felt great after todays class (Skinny Jeans) but I must admit I still feel like a weakling :-) This was my first class out of Immersion and was wondering if you could aide in some advice on the below:

- Push Ups- I am having a hard time doing regular push ups and making it through all the reps. In order to keep my wrists from hurting, I have been using weights and that helps. But do you recommend any "out of class" exercises I can do to get stronger and further make it through my reps? 

- Barre- This is the hardest for me. I am 100% committed to my classes and getting stronger.  But again, I am having problems getting through all the reps. I am pretty sure the obvious answer is to stick with it and I will get better over time. But was still wondering if there is anything extra I can do. I really want to get the most out of every workout.

My plan is to try to take a mix of 3 classes a week. This week I am scheduled for Skinny Jeans (Mon.), Thinny (Thurs.) and Cinch (Sat.) Do you think this is a good plan & line-up? Thanks, C. 

Hey C, 

Yep, you have to stick with it!  Commitment is number one-that's all it takes, really!  Sounds like you have that in the bag. First and foremost, your form looks great and that is what's most important.  The fact that you are feeling it and finding the workout really tough to get through means that you are doing things correctly.  Strength and stamina will come with a little time.  Give it two-three weeks and you'll feel your cardiovascular strength really increase...It's like magic : ) 

Doing regular push ups also takes time.  Try two or three on the toes and then drop to your knees.  Do the same for that second and third set.  Every week, add another two on the toes.  Within a month you'll have it.  I don't know a person out there who thinks push-ups are easy!  Don't give up though-they change your entire body!  I always notice that Lithers who go for push-ups on their toes look dramatically different than those who never get off their knees-They burn more calories and expend more energy in our classes due to the first heart-rate max-out in the beginning of class during the push-up sequence. 

As a beginner, your core isn't so strong so your wrists are taking the workload.  it will get better.  In the meantime, you can use weights, but I'm not a weight-holding lover. Lithers who rely on weights can never seem to get rid of them.  Have you ever tried wrist support gloves?  I like Wags.   I'd rather see you ditch the weights, build their strength and stop when you need to.  Give your wrists an opposing stretch by turning your palms up and placing the back of the hand on the floor. 

Same goes for our barre work.  Don't give up until you feel like you cannot do another rep.  Take your time. When you feel like you need to take it down a notch, take it out of stiletto and work flat-footed.  Stop and take a break when you need to (everyone takes breaks). 

I like that you're putting in three hours a week and I think that this combination of classes is good.  Skinny Jeans tackles everything and everyone needs cardio/barre work.  Thinny® will stretch you out, prevent soreness and really work on your range of motion.  Our band work is vital to developing the upper body and creating beautifully lean yet cut arms.  It really gets all those smaller, accessory muscles near the armpit (ask me, Krista or Bari to make a "T" for you and you'll see what I mean.  Or check out Krista in "T" above).  Cinch is so necessary for sculpting the abs, waist, bum and mid to lower back. 

You don't need to do anything outside of Lithe to become better at lithing (although extra push ups and stretching never hurts).  I'd also like to see you add a more intensive cardio class into your lineup when you're feeling stronger (Split, High Mini, Barlesque, Hot Legs, Higher Power®, Waspie, Twiggy). Just keep on keepin' on and try to change your classes every three weeks to get the most out of the method.  Thanks for writing in! 

Untouched out-take images of Lithe Instructor, Krista DeNofa utilizing Lithe's Higher Power® Band System, Lauren Boggi in push ups for Everlast , Lithe instructor Nicole Sewall in Attitude and Liz Cipolletti in Up Dog.

LITHE ON FILM.

Talk about inspiration! 

Last Tuesday, we had a Lithe photo shoot with Dom at Lithe Method Rittenhouse.  It was the first time that we chose to feature a handful of instructors along with some current Lithers (non instructors!) who consistently bust their butts in the studios and who really fit the fit.hip.healthy bill.  You can clearly see just how Lithe these women are and boy, were they working hard!  

All Lithe Instructors begin as clients (we hand-pick, hire and train from within).  Our clients are our greatest advertisement for the results and the 'look' that Lithe Method yields. 

I'm looking forward to sharing more amazing images with you soon right here on fit.hip.healthy.com and on our sweet, new website!  

Untouched out-take images of Paula G. utilizing Lithe Method's Higher Power® Band System in Twiggy, Instructor Nicole Sewall in Fabu-legs®, Instructor Bari Rosenthal utilizing Lithe Method's Higher Power® Band System in Barlesque, Liz C in Wheel, Allison L in Thinny®, Instructor Krisa DeNofa in quad stretch and Instructor Anna Marie Chang in Foldover Seatwork via Dominic Episcopo.