Hi friends and hellooooo from Santa Barbara! I’m here for a minimind trip – a group of friends and I decided to meet up for a few days to brainstorm, collaborate, and help each other with our businesses – and am having a blast. We rented a conference room for daytime work sessions and have sandwiched it with group workouts and amazing dinners. I always love a little boost on the work front – I always want this space and the content I create to get better and better!- and an opportunity to connect with wonderful friends.

(with Kim, Giselle, Natasha, and Amber!)

This California trip is going to end with a weekend Phoenix staycation with the fam. I hope you have a fun and lovely weekend ahead, too!

It’s time for the 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.

Friday Faves

Fitness, health, + good eats:

YOU NEED to try these little ice cream cones from Trader Joe’s. They’re dairy-free and the perfect sweet bite! The Pilot has been doing 90% of our Trader Joe’s grocery runs – it started during Rona since he was the one “out in the world” and it kind of stuck – and this means that it’s huge help for our family, but also that I usually don’t get to see all of the new things TJs has in stock. This may be a good thing because it’s definitely minimized the impulse purchases.

We all went to Trader Joe’s after family dinner the other night, and the girls and I acted like we’d never been ther

This podcast episode is sponsored by Nutrisense! I’ve been a huge fan of Nutrisense for over a year and recently wore another CGM during the holidays. If you’d like to join me and get insight to your habits, your body, and make some healthy changes, sign up here. Use this link and the promo code TFP (stands for The Fitnessista Podcast) to get $30 off and 1 month of free dietitian support. 

Every year, it’s fun to look into my fitness crystal ball and see what I think the biggest trends in the industry will be. I’m now a liiiittle apprehensive about these types of posts, especially since I originally thought 2020 would be less dependent on gadgets and technology… and we all know how that went.

Over the past year, we saw a shift back to in-person classes and training after being mostly or completely virtual for a couple of years. Classes are bigger than ever, people are working out in the gym, and it’s been a testament for the value of in-person training and connection. Technology can be a convenient tool, but can’t fully replace the value of in-person training.

When I train clients in person, I’m able to see the full picture of their movements. When I watch you doing a squat, I’m not just counting reps. I’m looking at your shoulders, torso, core engagement, knees, ankle flexion, any foot rotation, and glute engagement. I can see SOME of these things on a screen, but not all of them. I absolutely think that in-person training and fitness will continue to see a higher year!

Here are some more of my predictions for 2023:

Nutrition and training for health over aesthetics

– Maybe it’s also due to the accounts I follow and the voices I surround myself with online, but I see a continued emphasis on training for function and health instead of purely looking a certain way. Of course there are still those trash reels and TikToks (do this video and you’ll be so sore you want to die! Or do this video if you want a nice butt in 10 minutes!), but for the most part, I see training for longevity and overall wellness. I think there will be a continued emphasis on mobility training, rest, recovery strategies, walking, progressive strength training and strategic cardio.

Pilates and Megaformer are going to have a huge year

I KNOW I’m not supposed to loop them into the same category, but in my mind, they are similar (even though I know they’re very different). I feel like yoga has gotten a lot of love over the past few years and while Pilates will always be popular, it’s definitely having a moment right now.

Peloton will continue to plateau and potentially decline as people return to more in-person cycling cl

Reviewing the HigherDOSE PEMF GO Mat for people who want relaxation, pain relief, and improved sleep. I’m sharing how I use it for all three at the same time! If you’re interested in getting one of your own, check out the link here and use FITNESSISTA15. I’m also a huge fan of the HigherDOSE sauna blanket and the red light face mask. 

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning! I’m packing up for a little upcoming trip and getting everything ready to go. Ready for some (more) California beach air!

For today’s post, I figured it was time I did a full review for something I use every.single.day: the infrared PEMF Go Mat. I’ve posted about it quite a bit and many friends on IG agreed that it’s worth the hype and one of the best things ever. When I first ordered the mat over a year ago, I knew I wanted something to bring me pockets of relaxation but also energy throughout the day. That’s exactly what it does for me, and today, I’m sharing all the details!

Friendly reminder to check with your doctor before using any new wellness gadgets to make sure it’s a fit for you! This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

PEMF technology promotes rest and digest, which can have a calming effect on the mind.

PEMF technology was originally used by NASA to promote health of the astronauts while in space. PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy, and is designed to mimic the vibrations found in nature. These vibrations interact with our organs and tissues to help promote healing and relaxation. It’s been scientifically shown to potentially reduce aches, pains, inflammation, improve circulation, and other ailments. It’s been FDA approved for decades and is used in animals as well as humans. You may have seen PEMF used by doctors, surgeons, physical therapists, and chiropractors. Thankfully, they now have lower-cost and portable versions like this, so you can get the benefits at home!

Some studies regarding PEMF technology:

Successful application in post-COVID fatigue regarding mental wellbeing and energy

Effectiveness with neck pain improvement

Improved pain, stif

Sharing an updated skincare and makeup routine that’s perfect for beginners.

Hey friends! How’s the day going? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. P had a soccer game, I taught a barre class, we watched a movie and roasted a chicken, and met up with the fam for dinner. Today, I’m spending the morning studying for IHP (I’m more than halfway through Level Two!) and taking a hot yoga class.

For today’s post, I wanted to share my most recent skincare and makeup routine. I’ve had some recent requests and I feel like I’ve found a groove with products and so many of these have been faves for the past few years. It’s funny because I went to write this post thinking that I’m a major minimalist, but after writing everything down, it feels like a lot of products! So while I use a lot of *stuff*, everything has a purpose, and my routine is SPEEDY. It has to be with juggling kids’ pickup/dropoffs/activities/work/life. I also try to pick products that have safer ingredients with decent EWG ratings.

Here’s what it looks like right now! It changes and evolves over time with new products I find or like, but these are a lot of my tried and true faves.

5-minute skincare, 5-minute makeup routine

Daily 5-minute skincare

Nightly:

Makeup eraser. This little thing is a true wonder. It works SO well and helps remove a majority of makeup, including eye makeup.

Blueberry bounce cleanser. My skin is super sensitive and this is one of the few I can use on my entire face (even around my eyes) without irritation.

Toner. This toner is brightening without being drying. I also will use this one once or twice a week.

Serum. I switch out serums fairly often and this is my latest fave for bedtime, and this is my favorite morning serum.

Moisturizer. I’ll also swap out daily moisturizers and will typically rotate between Eminence and Beautycounter Supreme Cream.

Hellooooo! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope you had a great one. It was a quick one over here and I’m looking forward to some fun time this weekend. With school and the kids’ activities I feel like the week is such a blur, so it feels nice to just slow down a bit and enjoy. We’re having family dinner on Saturday night, I’m teaching a barre class, and we’re hoping to hit up the Gem Show on Sunday.

A highlight from the week: my third round of the EquiLife detox! We’ve been doing this as a community, and I love that it resets my nutrition settings, ups my energy, and I feel great. This was the first time I’ve slept terribly during the detox, but during the day, I’ve felt productive and centered.

One of my lunches from this week:

I made this lentil coconut curry soup and it was SO delicious.

In the Instant Pot, I added:

– 1 sweet onion

– 4 cloves of garlic

– 2 chopped zucchini

– Most of a bag of chopped cauliflower

– 3 small chopped and peeled carrots

– 1 knob of ground ginger

and sauteed it for about 5 minutes.

Then I seasoned it up with about a tablespoon of curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon turmeric and salt and pepper. I stirred in half a can of crushed tomatoes, a whole standard size box of chicken stock, and 6 oz sprouted lentils (from Thrive Market). After cooking on the soup setting for 20 minutes, I added two big handfuls of spinach, a can of coconut milk, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

It was SO GOOD and so easy! It’s been freezing around here (in the 20s in the morning. My Arizona soul is suffering), so this was very warming and deeeeelicious.

Check out this amazing check-in from our community FB page!

(You can order a detox here if you want to try it out and use the code FITNESSISTA20 for 20% off)

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 love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below!

We took the fam to see Bluey’s Big Play the other night. While it was definitely geared towards younger kids, it was super cute.

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