Fitness Magazine #FitBlogNYC Part 2; The Events and Sponsors!

In my last post we left off with all the amazing speakers at the Fitness Magazine #FitBlogNYC meet and tweet.

After the morning seminars, we took a break for lunch and to check out all the fabulous vendors!

Lunch was pretty yummy! I ended up having a grilled chicken wrap with a side salad and a smoothie.

After lunch I headed inside to check out all the vendor with Patty and of course I was drawn to all the new sneakers!!!!!

Check out all the hot Reebok Sneakers! I am loving their new “Live with Fire” campaign!!!

And check out Saucony!!! Saucony also has a great campaign going on right now “Find Your Strong”

I love campaigns that promote empowerment and finding YOUR greatness!

After checking out the kicks,I made my way to the Crystal Light Liquid display. I watch Celebrity Apprentice and I remember one week they I had to complete a task for Crystal Light to promote this new line and I was dying to try it! I tried the blueberry raspberry flavor and it was amazingly delish!

I then made my way to the Ford Fiesta Photo Booth and snapped some pictures with Amber!

I continued to make my way around, visiting all the sponsors before it was time to workout! A couple of days before the event, we had to choose a workout we wanted to participate in and our choices were:

Mad Cool Fitness brought to you by Athleta
From working the abs and arms to toning the “junk in your trunk,” Jennifer Turner will lead the MAD COOL CARDIO DANCE PARTY.  This is a great and fun way for any fitness enthusiast to take charge of their health while rocking out to a great mix of pop, funk and R&B sounds. 
Jennifer Turner is a high-powered media executive, Athleta Sponsored Athlete and true health inspiration – her life’s mission is to empower others to “activate” their innate ability to have a healthy lifestyle and achieve happiness.

Power Run brought to you by Saucony
Join a Saucony athlete on a power run around NYC.  More than a run, this work-out will include drills to take your run to the next level.

Yoga with Tara Stiles brought to you Reebok
Reebok Yoga bends the rules, taking yoga out of traditional environments and conventions making it fun, fresh, athletic and accessible to everyone. Reebok is excited to offer a yoga class with Tara Stiles, showcasing the latest Reebok Yoga styles, inspired by her rebel attitude. Tara Stiles offers a fresh take on a very traditional discipline. She is the author of the international best seller ‘Slim Calm Sexy Yoga’ and  founder/owner of the celebrated Strala Yoga studio, which places emphasis on its “yoga for all” ethos.

What do you think I chose? I’ll give you a minute to think about it…

YOGA!

I am a huge fan or Tara and took a class with her husband when I was part of the Nissan Leaf bloggers event for the 2011 Marathon.

It was a gorgeous day so we took the class outdoors!

Beside our feet feeling like they were on hot coals (haha), this was a wonderful  experience!!! Tara has amazing energy and I love that she teamed up with Reebok to make a Yoga line!!!! and I am loving their motto “Who Made The Rules?”

AND what is a blogger event without hanging out with some friends!? I got to see my fellow Sweaty Betties Ambassador. Brooklyn Fit Chick! Love this woman!

Amber and I posing…

I even met  Fitness Model Kelsey Byers

This event was amazing but then they took it the the next level and gave us SO MANY GOODIES! Thank you to all the wonderful sponsors; Athleta. Camelbak, Crystal Light Liquid, Ford Fiesta Movement, Marmot, Reebok, Saucony, Smart Balance, Tonalin. VIchy, and so many more!!!!!!!

I already have put some of my goodies to good use…

I am so grateful for this experience and want to thank everyone at Fitness Magazine for making this event happen and inviting me to participate.

Namaste…

Fitness Magazine #FitBlogNYC Part 1; The Seminars

I don’t even know where to begin with this post…this was such an amazing event and my head is still in the clouds…

I guess we should start from the beginning…

I headed over to the city with my sister (she was heading to work) and met with other blogger at a Café before heading to Mercedes Club for Fitness Magazine #FitBlogNYC Meet and Tweet.

We arrived at the event and the line was pretty long but we were all in pretty quick.

Once we are in our seats, Betty Wong the editor-in-chief of Fitness magazine, started the event!

The first speaker was Celebrity makeup artist Sarah Lucero (one of her clients is Victoria Beckham). She is also the executive director of Global Artistry, Stila Cosmetics and a breast cancer Survivor!

Here are some of her beauty tips!

Her top three beauty secrets are sleep, tinted moisturizer such as bb cream to reduce redness, and wear the same color tone in your cheeks and lips. Three gym bag must haves are Mist, Mascara, and a kickass playlist on your iPod. Summer must haves are vibrant colors and a power pout. And ladies if you are over 30 start to brush in your eyebrows. So funny that she said this because I started to do this a couple of months ago!

The second speaker was Jennifer Ashton, M.D. who is ABC News Senior Medical Contributor, ob-gyn, triathlete, and author of the book “Your Body Beautiful: Clockstopping Secrets to Staying Healthy, Strong and Sexy in Your 30’s, 40’s and Beyond”.

Dr. Ashton, discussed Angelina Jolie and her choice to have a double mastectomy; and also noted that every woman struggling with cancer and the chance of cancer is a hero! Some foods we should be avoiding to help reduce the chance of breast cancer; alcohol, bad carbs and add lots of fruits and veggies into your diet. Also, she suggested following a 5/2 diet plan; be strict during the week and allow yourself a treat during the weekends. After a while of doing this your body will no longer crave the “treats” as much. The number one health myth that drives her crazy is “birth control causes cancer” and it is actually the opposite, birth control is known to REDUCE the chance of ovarian cancer. The number one thing that that stuck with me was “Life is an Olympic event and we have to train for it'”.

Up next was “My Blog is My Business” with an amazing panel of ladies, Deb Perelman @SmittenKitchen, Dana Weiss @possessionista, Jill Hanner @JillHanner, and Erin Whitehead @FitBottomedGirl

Here are some highlights and tips for bloggers

• Don’t blog for money but instead make money blogging (AMEN!)
• There is not only one way to blog; don’t try to be like anyone else…be yourself!
• Don’t worry so much about the numbers
• Don’t give value to the trolls and negative comments
• Tools they love; Skim links, google, twitter, instagram
• Don’t always say yes to everything; ask yourself these questions “Are you passionate about it? Will it help you get new readers? Will you make money from it?” if you can’t say yes to any of these…don’t do it
• When making a youtube video, make sure you have good lighting and audio.

The next speaker was Brett Hoebel founder of Hoebel Fitness and a featured trainer in season 11 of The Biggest Loser.

Brett spoke about the Extreme Fitness trend that is going on right now and how social media plays a huge part of this. The first thing that people do when they finish an event is post it on facebook, twitter, etc.; it is a badge of honor. People see their friends doing these events and think they can do it too. Brett’s Training Philosophy; short workouts with 3 movement patterns...if you want to see results you need to push pass that threshold!

The final speaker was Rocco DiSpirito! When I saw his name in the itinerary, I gasped so loud! I have been a HUGE fan of Rocco since his reality show and I was a bit star struck. Rocco is the Author of “Now Eat This! Italian” and star of Now Eat This! Web series on AOL ON.

 

I was never so happy to be sitting in the front row!

Rocco was so animated (true Queens guy!) and passionate when he spoke; every so often he would throw in some Italian words (((((swooooon))))))). He spoke about how we have a misconception that Italian food is bad for you but if you visit Italy a very small percent of the people are overweight as opposed to the USA. His new book recreates healthier versions of popular Italian dishes; he even went to Italy and cooked with over 20 different “mamas” to get it just right. Things that we should have in our fridge, Non fat Greek Yogurt, Parmesan Cheese (THE REAL STUFF), Dijon mustard, hot sauce. What inspires Rocco in the kitchen? people and ingredients!

I was nervous as all hell but I needed to take a photo with him…seriously when will I ever get this opportunity again!

Thanks to all the all the wonderful moderators;  Christie Griffin; Digital Director, Lisa Haney; Senior Editor, Pam O’Brien; Executive Editor, Heather Muir; Beauty Director, and Mary Christ Anderson; Deputy Editor.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this wonderful event!

Namaste…

Facing Your Fear…

Sooooo I am stepping out of my comfort zone…

One of the hardest things for me to do as a blogger, is to create vlogs. I have created some in the past, at events as well as a tutorial on how to make my beloved green monster and also my home gym. BUT if you clicked on those links, you noticed that the last time that I did this was in 2009!!!!

I am committed to work on the things that scare me and putting myself out there for the world to judge is definitely one of my fears. I decided this past weekend to just practice doing a vlog and was not even certain that I would post it up for anyone to see besides my family and close friends. With some encouragement from a fellow Sweaty Betties Ambassador, Brooklyn Fit Chick (BTW check out her vlogs…they are AMAZING!) I mustered up the courage and here it is!

I talk about my new logo, as well as being invited to fitblognyc AND Bob Harper’s new book!

Namaste Mari Rambles

I am going to work on these and have at least one vlog posted every other week!

Do you vlog??? What is something that you are afraid of?

What’s Happening…

Who remembers this show from the 80’s?!??! God I miss the 80’s!!!!

Anyways….LOL

So I had a little health scare yesterday but thankfully it was not something HORRIBLE but it made me appreciate the little things in life that made me smile recently…

ONE: I was one of the winners of the Sweaty Betties dietbet challenge! I managed to lose 4 percent of my weight! BAM. If you are looking to lose weight and need a kick in the butt, I totally recommend trying this out. Danny J created a new challenge for the month of May and you still have time to enter.

TWO: I received my order from Cavegirl Confections! Cavegirl Confections is Paleo approved Gluten and Grain free Snacks! I ordered the cherry vanilla almond butter and the key lime pie bites…holy yums batman!

THREE: I ordered my new business cards and love them!!!!!

FOUR: I was invited to Fitness Magazine’s FitBlogNYC Meet and Tweet!!!!! I can’t wait to attend this event next week!!!

 

What are you grateful for?

Namaste…

Namaste Mari 2.0

I am soooo happy to share my new logo with you!!!!!! I have been working with an amazing designer to make her exactly how I wanted and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome!

 

I also made some changes on my blog to make it easier to connect with me…I love interacting with my readers!

What do you think of the Namaste Mari 2.0? HAHA

Namaste…

Namaste Mari Does Bikram…

For the longest time, there was something that I refused to EVER do…HOT YOGA! but it is time to eat my words. My dad’s wife goes to a local studio, Hot Yoga 4 You and has been trying to get me to go with her for the longest time and I finally did!

Here is a little info about hot yoga from their website:

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises, suitable for all ages and levels of ability. Each posture stretches, strengthens and prepares specific muscles, ligaments, and joints needed for the next posture. The Bikram method also stimulates the organs, glands, and nerves, moving fresh oxygenated blood to 100 percent of the body, restoring all systems to a healthy working order. Bikram scientifically designed this 90 minute program to deliver total health through the balancing and strengthening of every system in the body in order to prevent illness, injury, promote weight loss, and limit the effects of aging. Bikram Yoga is done in a heated room to warm your muscles, prevent injury, allow a deeper workout and cleanse the body by flushing toxins.

I packed my towel, water bottle, and Yoga Mat and was ready to go…

Before Class (Dry Mari)

When I walked into the room and saw the thermostat…it said 106!!!!!! Holy sh*t what did I get myself into? The heat literally smacked me in the face. Chris, the instructor put me in the back of the room since I was a “new” student (::clearing throat:: “I am namaste mari!”). But I have to say, I did appreciate being back there because it was right by the door which he would periodically open throughout the class. Oh, did I mention that the class is 90 Minutes??? (They just added 60 minute classes which I want to try too.)

I enjoyed the class but didn’t really find the poses that challenging which I am sure they did this because the room is so hot. Not one single plank?! Chris was very informative and fun which is so important to me…I need to have fun in a class and smile every so often. He also knew how to handle the room; some students kept chatting it up like it was Starbucks but he laid the smack down haha .

By the end of the class, I was a REAL sweaty bettie. I give the entire experience a thumbs up and I plan to return again.

After class…(Sweaty Mari)

Thanks Monica!

Namaste…

#SpringToHealth Challenge Winners!

These past couple of weeks have been so great…I have met so many amazing women during the #SpringToHealth challenge. I want to thank EVERYONE that participated in the photo contest and made it a success. We originally planned to only choose two ladies but we decided to pick three instead! We went through allllllll the photos and chose the ladies that posted every day.

We then went old school and put their names on small pieces of paper and picked three.

Congrats ladies!!!!! Please email Amber (exsoycise@gmail.com) and Myself (namastemari720@yahoo.com) your contact info so we can have your prizes shipped from one (or more) of these amazing Sponsors!

ColourfulPalate won the $50 Whole Foods Market gift card

BerryJustine won the case Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt, Neocell Beauty Bursts Mint Chews and Kind Bars!

QueenBacon won the Kelapo Coconut Cooking Oil Spray and Baking Sticks, and Almond Butter, Granola, AND Fruit and Nut Bars from Cavegirl Confections!

Congrats to all of you!!!

Thanks again for participating and we hope to bring another challenge to you in the future!

Namaste…