Fitness

Fitness gear for the new year

 in Fitness / General Fashion  tagged fitness / fitness gear / fitness tips / nike by

fitness gear for the new year

From left: white hoodie / purple leggings / purple tank / sports bra / duffle bag / running shoes / lavender tee / jacket / loose yoga pants

 I have always been a fitness buff, but for 2016, I am completely revamping my workout routine in order to lose fifteen pounds! In my quest for fitness success, I want to spice up my almost-all-black fitness wardrobe, and get some new fitness gear for the new year!

If you are heading to the gym for your new years resolution, you might be looking for new fitness gear in the new year too! I have a few basics I like to stick to, but for 2016, I would like to add some brighter colors, and less conservative styles to my fitness wardrobe.

The basics are simple. I cannot live with out a Nike sport bra. No other sports bra offers the support, and the comfort, Nike’s classic staple offers. If you have not found the perfect sports bra yet, I highly recommend this one!

I love capri leggings for spin classes, step classes, and cardio kick-boxing (BodyCombat) classes. They offer smooth range of motion, and are not too warm since they hit below the knee, and do not extend to the ankle. I attend a step class every Saturday morning. This year, I want to commit to getting myself down to the gym every Friday for BodyCombat and every Tuesday for Spin. They are all such great workouts for both the legs, and the core.

When it comes to yoga, I just don’t go. Not this year! As I age, I have found I need more recovery after working hard at the gym, and I also need to stretch more in order to stay injury free! So, as part of my new years resolution, I plan to add yoga into my schedule. I already do fifteen minutes of Pilates three times per week after working out, so I feel like I get enough Pilates on my own. My favorite type of Pilates is simple mat Pilates. It is a great way to strengthen the core, and stretch muscles you didn’t know you had!

I don’t like wearing tight clothing for yoga or Pilates, so the loose pants pictured above are perfect since they are not constricting, and they can easily be worn to run errands before or after a yoga class. Love that!

When it comes to shoes, I am a Nike girl! I have been wearing Nike since High School and swear by the brand. These shoes are my favorite running shoe style. I wear running shoes for running, or walking on the treadmill. For fitness classes, I prefer a cross trainer such as this pair, and for tennis I wear good old fashioned tennis shoes such as this pair.

I like a no-nonsense duffle bag for the gym. I don’t like using a designer tote, or an overly fussy bag. I feel like a gym bag should look athletic; not like it is pretending to be something else. This duffle bag is perfect; and very sporty looking! Love that!

What are your current fitness goals? Do you prefer classes, or do you workout on your own?

Fitness gear for the new year wish list:

Casual New Years Eve outfit

 in Fitness / General Fashion  tagged casual style / fitness / gap / H & M / jill milan / new years style / outfits / swarovski / valentino by

new years eve outfit idea casual new years eve outfit idea vegan handbag on sale casual holiday outfit

Pictured: Sunglasses: Chanel / Lipstick: Chanel Melancholie / Earrings: Kendra Scott / Necklace: Tasha (on sale!) / Sweater: H & M / Jeans: Gap / Handbag: c/o Jill Milan (on sale!!) (vegan!!) / Bracelet: Kendra Scott / Nail Polish: Chanel Vamp / Shoes: Valentino

 New Years Eve for me, over the years, has gone from full blown formal party, to casual New Years Eve for me. When I was in my 20’s and single, my friends and I used to wear sparkling dresses, and attend parties or events to ring in the New Year. Now, as a Mother of three, I keep New Years low key by either spending it with family, or attending a casual house party.

It can be hard to navigate that fine line between over dressed party attire, and too casual, daytime attire; when putting together a casual  New Years Eve outfit. I was thrilled when I found this sparkling sweater at H & M, Santana Row. It is a basic v-neck sweater with side slits that can be worn with jeans, leggings, or a slim black skirt. I decided it was perfect for the holiday season!

In addition to being perfect for casual holiday gatherings, I plan to wear this sweater on Christmas, and also as my casual New Years Eve outfit to celebrate 2016! It is a thin sweater, so it is easy to wear in a heated home with a simple tank top underneath. Love that!

As we head into 2016, I want to share with you my New Years Resolution! Now this may sound cliche, and I guess it kind of is, but my New Years Resolution is to lose fifteen pounds.

I never shared this struggle on the blog when it happened because this blog was still a hybrid online magazine slash blog. Now that I have transitioned it to my personal fashion, style, beauty, and runway report blog, I want to share with you more personal aspects of my life.

In 2012, I was sick and placed on bed-rest following a miscarriage, for three months. I was depressed sitting on the sofa over the beautiful, warm summer months. While my children played in the pool, I sat on the sofa inside watching them. The only time I got up from bed, or the sofa, was to sit at my desk and write a blog post.

Bed rest was difficult for me. I am used to working out at the gym five days per week, playing tennis with my friends, swimming for fitness and fun, and running around with my children. So, to ease the pain, I ate ice cream. A LOT of ice cream. Well, thirty pounds in three months later, I was on a mission to regain myself.

I counted calories, and worked out diligently. I lost the thirty pounds and was back into a size four. It was fabulous! Then, in the fall of 2013 I started homeschooling my middle child. She has ADHD, DMDD, Dyslexia, and a 170+ IQ. Needless to say, a traditional public school is not the right environment for her.

There are schools out there for kids like my daughter, but they all start at sixth grade. So, I decided to homeschool her until sixth grade, at which time, we will decide where to send her for school, or if we should continue homeschooling her.

She is extremely artistic and would like to be a fashion designer when she grows up. She already has a sketch book, and a business plan!

Since I started homeschooling my daughter, I have not been a regular visitor to the gym. Instead of five to six workouts per week, plus tennis and swimming, I am down to three workouts; if I am lucky. Due to this change in my activity, I have gained fifteen pounds, and gone up to a size six. I believe most of this weight is in my thighs. Ugh!

In my quest to get back to my normal weight, I will be talking about fitness routines, and fitness gear here on the blog in 2016. This will not reduce the amount of fashion, style, and beauty posts I publish each month. The fitness articles will be in addition to my current content; and an added bonus!

If you are working on losing weight, or you are a fitness guru, I would love to connect with you! Please let me know in the comments below or on social media. Thank you so much for all your support over these past few years, and I look forward to bringing you the trends from the runways, beauty reviews, and Silicon Valley style, in 2016!

Thank you for reading, and stay fabulous 😉

Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 customized with Nike ID

 in Fitness / General Fashion / Shoes  tagged athletic shoes / fitness / fitness gear / outfits / reviews / sneakers by

fitness attirenike air zoom pagasus 32 nike id running shoesrunning outfit ideanike id air pegasus running shoes review workout outfit idea

Pictured: earrings / sports bra (sold out, also love this one) / tank top / lipstick / pants: Nike (sold out, also love this pair) / nail polish / socks / shoes: c/o Nike

Did you know I enjoy running? I am not a very fast runner, but I find it fun nonetheless. My new favorite running shoe is the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus, and I love that I was able to customize my new pair through Nike ID.

If you follow me on Instagram, it might appear that all I do is shop, eat, rinse and repeat. In reality, that is only a small part of my day. My three children, my work, my husband, and my fitness routine are also a huge part of my life.

Growing up, I was a very serious athlete. I trained over twenty-five hours per week for middle distance, and long distance swimming. I dreamed of going to the Olympics one day. My entire focus in fitness, was being fit for swimming so that I could win.

Fast forward twenty-plus years and a huge shoulder injury later; and it is easy to see I never made the Olympic team (thanks shoulder injury!), and my fitness goals have changed.

As a busy Mother of three, who is also managing my own business, I have to stay fit. I need to remain healthy and active for the sake of my family. Plus, it also feels good to be healthy!

In order to stay fit, I swim, run, attend fitness classes at my gym, and hike. I have found, that one of the most important ways to have a successful workout, aside from being properly hydrated, is to wear the proper footwear.

Since I was in high school, Nike has always been my choice of footwear for sports. For swimming, we crossed trained. Part of our cross training was running. I always needed to own at least one good pair of running shoes. Those shoes were always Nike.

Since high school, I have continued to wear Nike shoes for all activities sports-related. I swear by their cross training shoes, and tennis shoes. Of course, I always have at least one pair of Nike running shoes in my closet.

When Nike came out with NIKE ID years ago, I was thrilled! I quickly customized my own pair of cross trainers with my “CathyLSG” ID. This also happens to be my Twitter handle.

I had the opportunity to meet with a Nike representative when I was in New York for fashion week and we talked about Nike ID. I was already in love with the concept of shoe customization and had customized my own shoes in the past, but I had never tried the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. It is one of Nike’s most iconic running shoes. I was excited to be able to test out a pair!

I love all the different ways you can customize your Nike shoes through Nike ID! You can pick everything from the color of the shoe laces to the color of the trim. I matched most of the colors together, but you could really make a rainbow of a shoe if you wanted to. It is so much fun! I also love the idea that my shoes are customized by me, and it is highly unlikely that anyone else will be wearing the same exact shoe as me. We could even venture to say this is “sporting couture!” Love that!

The Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 is extremely supportive. I have high arches and sometimes it is difficult to find footwear which properly supports them. The Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 has ideal arch support; and it gives my entire foot proper support. Having a well-built running shoe really makes my runs more enjoyable; and consequently I am able to run longer, thus burning more calories. I am a fashion girl after all, gotta burn those calories off!

I am excited about this fabulous pair of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 ID running shoes I customized through Nike ID. I look forward to customizing more pairs in the future!

You can customize your own pair of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 running shoes online at Nike.com. To view Nike’s entire collection, please visit Nike.com.