The great book recap of 2024

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Sharing a roundup of the books I read in 2024, my plan for reading in 2025, and the top picks from the year.

Hi friends! How are you? How was the weekend? Ours was relaxing and blissful after the Christmas chaos. I taught two barre classes, we watched movies, I took a 3 hours nap (bless it), we ate leftovers and takout, and we took sunny walks around the neighborhood. Winter break is rivalring summer break, especially because the weather has been so dreamy!

For today’s post, I wanted to share a recap of the books I read in 2024. We’re finishing out the year, and while I didn’t hit my reading goal this year, I was able to read a lot of amazing books. I’d love to hear about your standout reads from the year and anything you’d recommend to get my reading mojo back!

The great book recap of 2024

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

I was hesitant about this one because I love Friends and love Matthew Perry dearly. I’d heard some people say that this made them like him LESS, and I didn’t want that. The good news is that for me, it did the exact opposite and I found myself loving him even more. I think many of us grew up watching Friends, and feel connected to all of the characters. Even though I was in 5th or 6th grade when it started, I watched almost every single episode, starting with the very first one. My wise 11 or 12 year old self recognized that it was something special.

This book is heartbreaking, as can be expected, and gave a true glimpse into the struggles that addicts face. Addiction took over his life, sabotaging his relationships, affecting work, and impacted his mental health. It was also devastating to learn that all he really wanted was a wife and kids. He had *everything* but also at the same time, he felt like he had nothing. I recommend listening to the Audible version so you can hear it in his own voice. 8/10

From Amazon:

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could

12.27 Friday Faves

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! How’s your week going? Friends who are celebrating this week: how have your holidays been?

Before we head into today’s post, a HUGE congrats to the winner of this year’s Favorite Things giveaway: Mary Anne C. Stay tuned for more giveaways coming up in the new year!

It’s been an amazing week. We spent a couple of nights at the Scottsdale Princess, which is one of our favorite winter traditions. They have so many gorgeous light displays, Santa, ice skating, rides, and the atmosphere is so festive and fun.

(They also have a ridiculous hot cocoa cocktail called the Nutcracker that is SO good.) We met up with friends and enjoyed all of the activities on property, and also had dinner at the new Toca Madera.

We were blown away by the food and the service. Everything was cooked perfectly – we shared guacamole, chips, oysters, and the Pilot and I enjoyed margaritas. For entrees, the kids got truffle mac and cheese and a chopped salad with chicken, while the Pilot and I enjoyed steaks and sides. We ordered three desserts (we want to try everything when we go out to eat lol) and the presentation was so unique – everything was on a board adorned with a lit sparkler.

While we were in Scottsdale we also saw the Ballet Arizona Nutcracker; one of my all-time faves!

Best Single Leg Exercises

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Sharing a list of my very favorite, and what I consider to be the best, single-leg exercises! I hope this post will inspire you to include more unilateral training in your routine. 

Hi hi! How are you doing today? I hope you’re having a wonderful week so far!

For today, let’s talk fitness-y things. Single-leg exercises are one of my favorite elements to include in lower-body workouts. Single exercises are – you guessed it- exercises using just one side of your lower body at a time. Leg strength is important no matter what sport you choose or fitness mode you enjoy. Strong legs support everyday movements and our ability to perform, and focusing on one leg at a time can have several benefits. In today’s post, I’m sharing a roundup of the best single leg exercises that can help you reach your legs’ fullest potential.

(Set was gifted from Vuori. I love everything on their site, and especially their leggings and joggers.)

Why train unilaterally?

It’s SO easy to use bilateral exercises to *depend* on our strongest side. Think about a barbell biceps curl vs. a dumbbell curl. With the barbell, you’ll lift the weight without the true ability to determine if the weight is split equally between sides. Your stronger side will always kick in to help you complete the rep, which can cause muscle imbalances to go unnoticed. By training one side at a time, like with a dumbbell curl, you can really focus on developing strength in the weaker side. This will not only promote muscle symmetry, but also potentially prevent altered movement patterns from depending on the stronger sides of the body.

Here are some of my favorite single-leg exercises to include on leg day! As always, check with a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify as needed.

Best Single Leg Exercises

Single-leg deadlift (a.k.a. Single-Leg RDL)

Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell, shift your weight to your left leg, then float your right leg off the floor behind you. Keeping your weight on your front leg, hinge at the waist and tilt forward, keeping your back straight, until the weight reaches just below the knees (or as far as you can go while maintaining a flat back). Keep your right leg straight behind you. Exhale and return to an upright position. Repeat with your other leg. Make sure to keep your hips parallel to the floor and look straight ahead throughout this leg workout.

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have yourself a merry little Christmas

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Hi friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We spent it at the Princess in Scottsdale and also saw The Nutcracker at Ballet Arizona. The Princess is one of my favorite holiday traditions and always puts me in the Christmas spirit. 🙂

I’m taking a few days off to enjoy time with the fam. I hope that my friends who are celebrating this week enjoy a beautiful Christmas (and happy Hannukah to my friends celebrating!), amazing food, time with those you love, and space to rest and enjoy. I understand that the holidays aren’t holly jolly and easy for everyone. If you’re going through a difficult time, I’m holing you in my heart.

I’m thankful for your support, comments, emails, DMs, and friendship every single day. Thank you for being a part of my life and hope you have an amazing week!

 

I’ll be back on Friday with some faves, so I’ll see you then!
xoxo

Gina

Photos by Kristi Harris

The post have yourself a merry little Christmas appeared first on The Fitnessista.

12.20 Friday Faves

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was your week? Ours was a good one. Lots of fun events with the kids and we’re headed off on a holly jolly adventure this weekend.

I can’t even believe Christmas is a few days away. How are we feeling, friends?? Are you ready? I totally feel like it snuck up on us this year, and while I think I’ve done a lot, I still feel like there’s so much to do. I’m trying to just take a step back, breathe, and rememebr the true reason for the season and not get too wrapped into the stress behind it all (even though it can be a lot). We’ve got this, friends!

Friendly reminder: it’s not too late to join in this year’s Favorite Things giveway! There are SO MANY amazing prizes up for grabs – the winner will get over $1800 worth of goodies.

Annual Favorite Things Giveaway 2024

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

12.20 Friday Faves

Fashion + beauty + random:

(Holiday nails with Liv! While this won’t be a regular thing – dance competitions start in January and she can’t have anything on her nails – it was a fun little Christmas activity)

If you’re shopping for last-minute gifts, here are some ideas from this year’s gift guides:

For Her

For Him

For Teens

For the Kids

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