fithiphealthy

SAYEH'S LIVING (THE NEW) WATERSHED! 22 May 2013

Watershed!

What you need: Gloves! 
Props: Pom Bands, Spiky ball
Clothing Considerations: I would wear pants--cropped or full length is fine. Avoid shorts because the spiky ball will leave marks on your bare skin
Sweat Factor: Prepare to get a little sweaty. Not drenched, but a good all-over sheen.

For those of you that have been Lithing for a few years, you are probably familiar with Watershed. It used to be a low key, theraputic, sculpting class where you would massage a small, spiky ball on various parts of your lower body--between sets at the barre and sculpting on the mat--to release fat-trapping fluids via the lymphatic system. Hence the name, Watershed.

As with all Lithe classes, it was a workout, but it was also a bit of a break from the norm of intense cardio and marathon sculpting sets. I used to chase it around the schedule, because it was perfect for those days when I didn't feel like I could ramp up the intensity normally required for Lithe classes, but still wanted a workout. Now, things have changed. In Lauren's ever-evolving quest to give no one a free pass, no matter what the class, Watershed has ramped things up a bit. 

You begin the class at the barre, sharing a set of Pom bands with your neighbor--meaning you have one band in one arm and your partner is gripping its mate. You then begin the process of absolutely exhausting one leg (and getting your heart rate way up). Double Jump Squats and every possible Lithe exercise (lunge, curtsy, sumo, hover) all in one combination. Then, yep you guessed it, you do it on the other side too.

Our instructor, Joellyn, explained that while a lot of the barre work we do in Lithe is about muscle exhaustion, it is particularly important for Watershed. The more warmed up and primed our muscles, the more effective the next part--which hasn't changed--rolling around on a small rubber ball covered in spikes.

You use your own body weight and arm strength to keep yourself lifted as you roll the ball up and down the back and front of your legs, which helps to not only loosen up and relieve our often tight and tired legs, but also to smooth them out. In fact, if you take Watershed a few weeks in a row, you can see a noticeable difference in those dents and dimples we all hate so much. But you know what they say about beauty--it's effing painful, and those balls are no exception. It's totally common place to hear a few choice words fly around the studio when it's time to rub those spikes onto the tight and tender IT band--the long band that goes from hip to knee. But don't let that scare you. It's the good kind of hurt. The kind that you feel when a good massage therapist, like Tif, gets into a tight spot on your back and works it out. And when else will you loosen those muscles? 

Then you flip it over and end the class in what seems like an eternal butt series. You work those glutes to exhaustion, and then use the spiky ball to get after them too. 

Despite the fact that Watershed isn't as completely low key as it used to be, I still love it. It's nice to get the heart rate going, and then get down and deep into the legs and glutes in an effort to get rid of the appearance of cellulite and relieve tightness. It's definitely still a departure from typical classes, and I think the adjustments only add a calorie-burning bonus to how effective it already was. For my part, I will still be chasing it around the schedule. 

See you in class!

WATERSHED! 10 May 2013

Smooshy tushy?  Overworked muscles?  Meet Lithe's Watershed.  Does this really work?  Yes!  Are you going to sweat?  Yes.  Are you going to get a total body workout?  YES.  We combine isotonic exercise that shortens and lengthens your muscles rhythmically, gets your heart rate up and then we bring on the spiky balls (and the bands)! 

Our special anti-cellulite balls loosen up Lithed-up-muscles, and kick surplus fat stores to the curb via lymphatic drainage, and increase circulation by continuous compression.  We CAN put a dent in those dimples through exercise, stimulating circulation and drainage—which all help to restore elasticity to connective tissue.  And boy can you feel and SEE the results two days later!

Tip:  Wear long pants to protect the skin from bruising, and don't wear Trashers to achieve the best results. 

Watershed images via Lauren

LITHE IN PHILLY MAG! 7 May 2013

Check out The Cult of Lithe Queen of Hearts feature by Richard Rys in Philadelphia Magazine's May issue.  Kudos to Richard for having the guts to enter our culture (and experience the workout!).  Thank you to our Lithe Instructors Jaime Powers, Kim Sauer, Meg Grauzlis and Tirsa Rivas for enduring an arduous 14 hour shoot and body painting session.  And, thank you to all the Lithers of Philadelphia for shaping Lithe's history, and loving this workout and lifestyle; I'm so honored! 

Images via Philadelphia Magazine and Jonathan Pushnick

SAYEH'S LIVING ROCK STEADY! 1 May 2013

Rock Steady!

What you need: Wrist Bands! The new Thinny bands no longer have a foam cushion to protect your wrists (sanitary reasons). BYO or purchase them at the front desk for $6. They keep the delicate skin around your wrists from chafing from all the sliding the bands do in this high energy class. I highly recommend them. They make a world of difference. 
Props: Lithe Thinny Bands
Clothing Considerations: Whatever you're comfortable in 
Sweat Factor: You'll look like you just pulled the chain to dump water on yourself during your dance performance on stage a la Flashdance. 

I was a cheerleader once, for exactly 1 year. The 8th grade. We were the Mustangs. Who rocks the house? The Mustangs rock the house. And when the Mustangs rock the house...they rock it all-the-way-DOWN! Picture butts in the air and slamming the ground on the word DOWN. We were awesome. Except that we weren't. We kind of sucked. I just loved the uniforms and was excited to learn synchronized dances, but wasn't into my squad leaders yelling and screaming at me and would usually skip practice to fake inhale cigarettes under a bridge behind my school with all the 'alternative' kids. Which meant I was wearing a pleated skirt and coughing up a storm while kids cooler than me listened to Nirvana on their discmans in their flannel shirts.  

Fast forward ten years, and I was a first-year high school teacher a few weeks into the job when my principal called me into his office to ask me if I would volunteer to be the cheerleading sponsor for the school. Now, as a first year teacher you are expected to take on extra-curricular activities and really lend a helping hand. Something I was prepared to do, but high school cheerleading in Texas is NO JOKE. You guys saw the Lifetime movie. They kill for that stuff down there. I just looked him dead in the eye and said: Cheerleading? Do I look spunky to you? He chuckled, said Good point. And I decided to head up our school's chapter of Crime Stoppers instead. We stopped mo' crime!

But deep down I've always been drawn to the sport despite acting too cool for it when I was coming up. I watched the competitions on ESPN, secretly loved pep rallies where I could see all the amazing stunts and high flyers. I had to admit--even if just to myself. Cheerleaders, despite their various stigmas, were TALENTED ATHLETES. 

Enter Rock Steady. A microcasm of my relationship with cheerleading. When I first saw the video that Lauren posted of one of its CCS sequences, I was slightly terrified. Then when I realized they actually shout things out and stomp and clap, my too-cool-for-school reflexes kicked in. HEll NO! I thought.  But then true to form, my nagging inner cheerleader kicked in too. She was saying: Rocky Steady might actually be FUN. You know you want to. 

And she was so right. First, it wasn't nearly as difficult to remember the CCS sequences and keep up as I thought it would be. If you've been taking classes like Higher Power, Twiggy, Pom and Weightless and have gotten a feel for CCS, you will pick up the Rock Steady sequences quickly. If not, I still say give it a shot. You repeat the sequences so many times that you will certainly pick it up by the end of a class or 2. 

Like the aforementioned CCS heavy classes, Rock Steady breaks up the CCS sequences into sets. In other words, you do 10, 20, 30 reps of each move before moving to the next. You do that a few times before you break them down by doing one of each all in a row. And the CCS sections themselves are further separated by scultpting segments where you doing standing sculpting work or down on the mat doing abs and sculpting yourself from hip to shoulder. 

Class flies by and you're done and soaking wet before you know it. It definitely brought out my secret love for remembering fun routines. It was so fun to see everyone doing them in unison while a great play list blared around me. It definitely beats hacking away at Viriginia Slims in a cheerleading uniform and dodging the dean of students under a gross, humid bridge. Rock Steady definitely rocks the house. All-the-way DOWN!

See you in class!

INSTAGRAM ♥... 18 Apr 2013

LITHE (AND LAUREN) ON GO RECESS! 9 Apr 2013

Read all about Lithe and Lauren on GoRecess!

SAYEH'S LIVING DUTCH! 3 Apr 2013

Dutch!

What you need: Just yourself! 
Props: Jump Ropes
Clothing Considerations: Cropped pants or tight leggings--flared pants will get caught in the rope, sneakers (tie your laces tight!), I wouldn't wear a hoodie as the hood will catch on the rope too 
Sweat Factor: Red-faced and sweat-tastic!

I must preface this post by informing everyone that I don't run. Can't run. Not even to my mailbox--and considering my mailbox is a slot in my front door, that gives you some concept of what I'm talking about. Growing up, every Thursday was "running day" in gym class. I LOATHED it. We had to run around these four orange cones placed way too far apart in a field. Everytime we finished a lap, our gym teacher would hand us a popsicle stick. The goal, obviously, was to collect as many popsicle sticks as possible during the 45 minute class period--but the minimum was four. Four laps around the cones. In 45 minutes. Easy right?

Wrong!

Every Thursday, without fail, boys and girls ran past me...two, three times carrying fists full of popsicle sticks. Not me. I could barely collect 4. During the last leg of the 4th lap, the coach would cheer me on/yell at me. My friends would urge me forward, "Chariots of Fire" would play, everything would go into slow motion, and I would collect my last stick before falling into a heap just shy of the last cone while everyone else was headed back inside. You get the idea. 

So, when I showed up for Dutch, and realized there would be running involved, I was slightly terrified. All I knew of Dutch was what I inferred from the picture of Melissa jumping rope posted on the blog last year. I guess I assumed we'd be skipping down the street with ropes--which in retrospect was silly considering we ran down Spruce (from the RH studio)--and people wouldn't appreciate a gang full of rope wielding, fitness crazed ladies taking over the sidewalks (or would they?)

Thankfully, we alternated between a light jog for 2 blocks and walking for 1 block until we reached the Schuylkill River Park, so I didn't have flashbacks to gym class. In fact, even though I was dead last in the line of ladies, I wasn't as miserable as I thought I would be. Turns out all of the up-tempo Lithe classes have paid off. I felt like my lungs were keeping up with me (on the way there anyway), and that my legs weren't going jello on me like they did back in the day. 

Once we got to the park, we started jumping rope, and something happened with the space-time continuum. Have you ever been having an incredible time with friends or an amazing moment with your significant other--where you just wish time would stand still so that you could live in that moment forever? Well, I've found the answer for you! Start jumping rope! That's right. Want that goodnight kiss to never end? Bust out your rope and get to skippin! Want the incredible dish you ordered at your favorite restaurant to last as long as possible? Get to jumpin! Why? BECAUSE TIME STANDS STILL WHEN YOU JUMP ROPE!!

For example, Catherine, our instructor, would say now jump on 1 leg for 30 seconds! Oh, 30 seconds? No sweat! YES, SWEAT! MAJOR SWEAT! And don't even think you can Lithe stall your way through any portion of those 30 seconds. I blew my nose. Adjusted my sweatshirt. Tied my shoes. Untangled myself from the rope, and Catherine would shout, while looking at her watch, 28 more seconds! This goes on for 3-minute intervals. Three minutes of nonstop rope jumping. You do it in a variety of ways for the interval, then you hit the ground for push-ups, burpees, etc. in between each. Get ready to really test your endurance. This isn't your school yard jump-rope sesh. Oh no. 

Then you head to the riverside to do some sculpting work, which is a nice break from the jumping (but still tough), then it's another light jog-walk back to the studio. I again, was bringing up the rear. So much so, that during the walking portions...I had to run anyway just to keep up with the pack. Needless to say, it was a killer workout. I can imagine adding this to my schedule once a week, and watching the lbs melt off. Seriously. I could barely walk the next day, and had to cancel my Tuesday Skinny Mini since I couldn't even make it down my stairs. Lithe still makes me sore, for sure, but this was like first-time Lithing type of sore. I'm still feeling it. 

If you like to run, I think this class will satisfy that running-itch I always hear runners talk about. If you're like me and my account of middle school gym class sent shivers down your spine, there's no way you are worse than me, and I could keep up...so don't let it scare you. It's nice to be outside in the world and out of the studio even though Philadelphia refuses to acknowledge that it is spring, and let up with this cold weather. In fact it seems to be giving spring the middle finger ever time she tries to pop in for a few hours. But, she'll win out in the end (I hope), and Dutch is the perfect way to take advantage as the temperatures rise.

See you in class!

PROGRAMMING TIPS FOR APRIL. 1 Apr 2013

I've heard from many Lithers, when they first start coming to classes, that they were already working out every day, thinking that they were ‘fit’ and had just hit that inevitable plateau with their results. Then, they realize, Lithe.Is.Different.

I have specifically designed Lithe around a sculpting regimen and cheer-based cardio (Cardio-Cheer-Sculpting®) that will give you unparalleled results…and I've put a system in place that assures you will never plateau. By constantly updating and adding workouts, customizing classes to the season, and orchestrating the monthly class schedules so you almost can't avoid variety in your workout, you'll never get bored, and never stop seeing results.
 
Monthly...
 
Each month (since 2005... the beginning of time here at Lithe), our schedules change.  Some people fight me tooth and nail about it, but, some of you roll with the punches, embrace our ever-changing schedules -- and then see amazing changes in your bodies.  There's a method to the madness - I know how easy it is to get comfortable in a routine, and so do your muscles! In order to continue to change your body, you should switch up your classes every 2-4 weeks; please don’t stick to the same workouts week after week and month after month.  *If you see a workout on any studio schedule for 8+ weeks, please know that there IS a reason for it.  Getting bored?  Increase your weight and grab those 5's or 8+ lbs.
 
And remember, Lithe works in mysterious ways: our leg-focused classes will change your arms (and burn the most fat and calories) and arm-focused classes will change your waist!  

To every thing, there is a season...

Just like eating seasonally is important, it’s just as important to work your body in unison with the seasons and what you’re are taking in food-wise.  People tend to turn inward, be more lethargic and tight as the weather turns cooler. That’s when you’ll see more Rare Form, Melt, and Floored classes on the schedule.  When it becomes warmer, we take it outside with Hotstepper and Walk-star and up the ante with more hi-cardio based workouts. 

I also keep a keen eye on Lithers bodies and fashion trends when developing new content and classes. I look at what people will be wearing (and revealing) in the upcoming months.  I know that you want to look great in your clothes!  
 
Seeing a lot of band classes on the schedules?  It must be post-holiday or pre-summer! Either way, it’s fat-burning time, ladies!  If it's Spring-time, short shorts and higher hemlines are upon us, and I'll create a new leg-focused class, or Short Shorts and Watershed will reappear on the schedule.  Fall and early spring usually coincide with Skinny Jeans, and you’ll see a lot of Lithe Classics on the schedules… There’s no better workout to target your lower half and tone the hips and glutes to pull off a pair of skinny jeans!

So remember, to get the most out of Lithe, embrace the variety and continue to push yourself. You'll love the results! 

Images of Lithe Instructors, Lauren Boggi, Melissa Weinberg & Bari Rosenthal via Dom

SAYEH'S LIVING HIGH WAISTED! 27 Mar 2013

High Waisted!

What you need: Gloves! 
Props: Pom bands (the ones with handles), Calorie Trashers (if you got 'em)
Clothing Considerations: Cropped pants--lots of balancing, dont want to get tangled in too-long pants
Sweat Factor: Everyone in the room had a good sheen, but could also grab a drink after class without looking like they ran through a sprinkler a la Higher Power

If you've picked up a fashion magazine in the last couple of years, you've noticed the high waisted look is back, and I have to say that I've been wanting to get on board, but every time I eye a pair of high waisted jeans, images of poor Jessica Simpson flash before my eyes. You remember what I'm referring to, of course. The girl got skewered for wearing a pair of high waisted, so-called mom jeans. Now perhaps I have a soft spot for my fellow Texan, but I truly felt bad for her during that fiasco, and have no desire to repeat her fashion faux-pas. So, high waisted pencil skirts are more my speed. Although, every time I go to try one on, they present their own challenges too. Yes, they make me look little in the middle, but like I got much back...if you know what I'm saying. And highlight the saddlebag area to boot.

Enter, High Waisted the class. It works your entire body 360 degrees around your core down through your hips, saddle bags (not to mention full leg and arms and...wait that's your whole body). Most of the class is spent on one leg, balancing while lunging, raising up into liberty, arabesque, and folded over doing some pulses and kicks while using the pom bands for support and to keep your arms and back engaged. It requires some coordination, to be sure. Bari told us up front not to be discouraged if we felt a bit wobbly on one leg--that it takes about 3 classes to get the feel for the class--so that allowed me to relax and not pressure myself to feel like I needed to get it exactly right the first time. 

That said, the class was FUN, and actually not super crazy hard to get a hang of. It was definitely the first class that I really wished I had the Calorie Trashers because my range of motion is pretty crappy, and I could have really benefited from something to keep my muscles warm and increase my flexibility as I stood on one foot and folded over and kicked behind me. 

The class is upbeat, but not brutal in terms of cardio. It's the perfect combination of cardio and sculpting. At one point, a great song was blaring, we were combining all the moves we had just learned and I was in. the. zone. I woke up the next morning feeling sore in ways that I never have and eager to take the class again. A few more, and I'll be heading back to the racks for that pencil skirt minus the J. Simp flashbacks.

I highly recommend it. Let loose (literally) and have fun! 

And if you take High Waisted any time soon, I'll see you in class.

 

ROCK STEADY! 12 Mar 2013

Everyone's loving Rock Steady!  Here are a few images from my Tuesday, 12:15pm class at Lithe Rittenhouse.  These ladies bring the spirit, voice, endurance, smiles, and the muscle every week!  A few of my favorite tracks:  Amame (Long Ass Mix), We Built This House featuring Cevin Fisher, and Joe Brunning's  Now Let Me See You Work

Images of Lithers and Lithe Instructors Danielle Ingerman, Bianca Pallotto, and Diana Khuu via Lauren