Sports Bra by HPE // Leggings by HPE // Sneakers by Adidas

A lot of people are making resolutions this time of year and luckily, I booked my first week of January classes early. It’s been a while since I’ve “hit the gym hard” on the first month of a new year (honestly I’ve never done that because gyms terrify me) but what motivates me more to jump on the megaformer or slip on my pink boxing gloves is that annual trip to my old Kentucky home where I undoubtedly give in to every casserole my family can concoct, every soft drink I can get my hands on and of course biscuits, gravy and cornbread (no fried chicken to all those stereotypers - I also wear shoes occasionally).

While I was home, my mom commented on the muscles in my arms - I really think she misses being able to feel the bone but I assured her I was ready to defend myself in a dark alley now…why doesn’t anyone believe me when I say that? But the truth about my arm workouts is that aside from the spring load in Pilates, I stick to super light weights, girly push-ups and boxing. I am by no means trying to build muscle. One of my favorite workouts is with a resistance band that I first did last year in JJ Dancer’s class and you can make that load as light or heavy as you want depending on how much tension you leave in (and if you are in LA - I 100% recommend you take her class for 90 minutes of dancing and sweating that you cannot find anywhere else). I am also a fan of simple arm exercises with super light-weights (I mean 3 lbs for the biceps and 1 lb triceps) or Tracey Anderson style workouts that use no weights at all - the latter is perfect for a quick lunch break. *Sidenote - I’ve voiced my opinion that working out is more fun in cute clothes and right now I am loving HPE’s matching sports bra and leggings sets.

Next goal: learn to jump rope for more than 3 minutes without stopping…it’s the single most traumatizing experience of all my workouts. How was this fun when we were kids?

Images by Allen Zaki // instagram: @allenzaki // twitter: @allenzaki

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