Sweat Fixx

Low Impact | High Intensity | Total Body

SATURDAY MORNINGS ARE FOR BATTLE FIXX

Saturday mornings are for battle!

That’s right, once a week, we have our Battle Fixx class – a circuit-based class where Fixxers tackle 300m, 200m, and 100m sprints for a chance to snag a personal record, a round win or a new studio record.

Haven’t been to a Battle Fixx yet? What are you waiting for?!

Three things to keep in mind during Battle Fixx – whether it’s your 1st or 100th Battle:

  1. The first 300m – Remember to keep on breathing. 300m is hard for EVERYONE, but if you focus on your breath and on your form, you’ll find yourself at that finish line faster than you think. Plus, you get those two long pushes out of the way in the first round!
  2. It’s you vs you – No one else’s row or reps count for yours. Make sure you are working to get stronger each and every single time. Focus on yourself, on your monitor and on your reps – you won’t be disappointed, because you know you’ve given it everything you’ve got.
  3. Go heavy for strength – You get three chances at each of the strength stations. Each time you hit a station, you are there for about 20 seconds less than the time before. Pick up that heavier weight, if you can, and see if you can push yourself just a little bit more. You might surprise yourself with just how strong you are.

Grab a couple friends and make a #BattleThenBrunch morning out of it. 

It’s a fast-paced, high energy class that will have every person cheering for each other at the end. Motivation runs strong in this class, not only as a group, but personally as well. Each time you get on that rower is a chance to complete that sprint just a little bit faster than you did the round or week before.

So – who is ready to battle this weekend?! We’re excited to see PR’s get set and see you crush those Saturday mornings!

Miriah’s 5 Tips for Getting It All Done

 

Our supermom instructor, Miriah, seems to do it all with a smile on her face. She pushes us to get one inch lower, each and every time she’s on the mic, all while having an ultrasound career, and well, being a mom.

So how does she do it (seriously, we all want to know)? This week, Miriah took over the blog and shares her top five tips for getting it all done with all of us.

 

1. Take time for yourself

This is SO important. If you do not take time for yourself, you can not take care of anyone else.

When you are happy, healthy, and fulfilled your whole attitude will change. This, for me, is when I started my fitness journey. I always wanted to be an instructor and I finally took time to focus on my goal, and make it happen. I am not going to say it was easy…. I may have had to lock myself in my room.  And you know what happens when you close a door when you have kids – my kids ended up banging on that door every single time. Sit back and think about what really makes you happy and take some time to focus on it . Remember if mama isn’t happy, no one is!

2. Embrace the chaos
” Mom, Mama, mommy, ma, ma, ma!”

All the crying, yelling, and laughing –  just love it! Two kids, Italian husband, hugeeeeee dog, ultrasound career, Sweat Fixx instructor, bill payer, taxi driver, cook (kinda), maid (kinda) the list goes on and on! All day, all I seem to hear is:

  •  “I want a snack”
  • “He isn’t sharing”
  • “She won’t play with me”
  • “Mom, Dantae is naked again” (**eyeroll** boys)
  • “The dog got loose”
  • “I am hungry”
  • “What’s for dinner?”

The demands are endless! People say all the time we should have a tv show… If there was a camera on our 24/7 lives, we would be rich! Yes, we yell and cry, but we laugh way more.  Take a step back and look around you – you’re so lucky to have all this chaos, so just LOVE it!

3. Organization
My co-worker calls me the most disorganized organized person she knows. My “book” is my life even though to some people, it might just look like a game of tic tac toe. It’s color coded, full of scratch outs and white out, but it is literally my life! I have it with me 99% of the time. My tip for you is get a calendar and never let it look like mine. We also have one at home, to keep the family up to date.

Make lists – I love lists! I write down everything, even small tasks that that might take two seconds  to complete, and cross them off so I feel more accomplished.

Also, start saying  “no” to things. The less that is in that calendar, the smaller that to-do list!

4. Healthy lifestyle
Eating healthy and exercising is a huge part of my life. I try to schedule workouts whenever I can. Sometimes things come up, and I can’t get that workout in – and I’ve realized that it’s ok! Some weeks I might not get as many in, while other weeks I can do more than usual. It all evens out!

Eating better has impacted my life on another level. Last year, I did Whole 30, and this year I did the #FuelFixx Three Day Reset. It’s feels so good to reset and start fresh. No matter how much you go to the gym, ultimately your diet is what will lead you to those big changes.  Don’t get me wrong –  I love all food and drinks so I usually try to be good during the week so I can splurge a little on the weekends.

5. Have fun!
This is the thing I am best at! I do this 100% perfectly!

I dance in every single situation I can  – sometimes on top of tables, during movies with my kids, in my truck, and sometimes even in the shower! It may not be super graceful, but full of passion and laughs!

 

So, we may not get it all done. We’re human.

But, as long as you work hard, keep yourself organized and do the best you can do, you’ll surprise yourself at how MUCH you can get accomplished. Give yourself permission to let those dishes or the laundry wait – especially in the summer! It’s way too short, so spend it with your family.

There you have  it – this is how I keep my chaos under “control”. My secrets have been revealed, so the next time I see you on your mat and rower, I want to know how YOU are managing your busy lives – let’s share and learn from each other!

Go Ahead and Love Your Body

Self love is work.

Appreciating what your body can do is increasingly difficult in a world where filtered photos, miracle wraps, and different diets are blasting us on and offline.

I still remember the first time that I became aware of what my body looked like.

I was in 7th grade, at a new school, sitting in the back of a bus on our way to the gym. As the new kid, I threw myself into sports – soccer was where I made most of my first friends each time that we moved. I sat down on the bench, and my classmate looked at me and said:

“How are your legs SO big. Both of my legs equal one of yours”

I can STILL feel my cheeks getting red.

The next time I had gym class, I chose pants instead of shorts. I kept that up until I was in my mid 20s.

Chances are, each one of us can pinpoint one time in our lives where we became acutely aware of our body. Chances are, we have held THAT one comment so close to us, that we have refused to fully accept what our bodies are capable of.

When I was training for my first marathon, I remembered having a love/hate relationship with my legs. They were strong, but I could light a FIRE with them if I forgot to put on Body Glide. I started wearing shorts again, not because I LIKED how I looked, but because running in pants in 85 F was just terrible. My legs could carry me 26.2 miles, but when I saw my race photos, I would quickly swipe past the ones that showed off the jiggle that happens to ANY leg when gravity and pavement meet.

So what changed?

When I was injured in 2016 and couldn’t do anything – I had the realization that what my body was able to do was actually pretty awesome.

When I first strapped in to a rower, and had Elise tell me that rowing was 60% legs, I thought to myself “Well, I have legs, so let’s do this”.

And I haven’t looked back.

We live in a society that makes a ton of money off of making us feel bad about ourselves. How amazing would it be if we were able to help shift that mindset and become a society that wanted everyone to LOVE themselves?

Jump on the rower and sprint faster, or pick up a heavier set of weight, not because you HATE your body, but because you LOVE showing yourself how strong you are. When you set your PRs and break them months later, you work for it not because you want to be 5 lbs lighter, but because you are striving to be better than you were yesterday.

This summer, pull out that bathing suit that you have been waiting to wear and throw on those shorts that you bought years ago but were waiting for the “perfect time” to wear them. There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to love yourself and what your body is able to do.

Leave those negative thoughts about your body behind, and focus on how awesome YOU are.
Your body, right now, allows you to do amazing things, on and off the rower – whether it’s raising $900 in 45 minutes to support your community, snagging that 17s 100m sprint time, to spending quality summertime fun with your family.

You don’t need anyone’s validation or permission.

Give it to yourself.

Go ahead, LOVE your strong body this summer.

Get. Off. The. Scale.

“Don’t believe a thing the scale tells you, and stop trying to please the weight gods — they’re the wrong deities, and they live in the wrong church.” – Jon Gilson
 
I triple-dog-dare you to find one person in the WORLD who enjoys stepping on a scale.
 
Why? 
 
Because, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
 
It doesn’t tell the story of how you started bicep curling five pound weights, and now can curl 15 pounds easy. 
 
It doesn’t measure how much lean muscle mass you have, nor will it reflect your new 100m PR. 
 
It doesn’t measure how much better you are feeling – physically or emotionally.
 
All it tells you, is what your relationship with gravity is.
 
Since January, I’ve lost a total of five lbs. That averages out to about one pound a MONTH. If I was letting the scale dictate my success, I would probably be devastated.

 

But, when I went to go get fitted for my wedding dress, I had to have the top and waist taken in.

 

When I went to put on my normal pair of jeans, they were a little looser.

 

When I put on a tank top, I can now see some rocking shoulders and arms that were most definitley not there before.

 

And that core? Oh, I noticed little ab popping out. It’s my friend now. I want to keep it around, and maybe bring the other ab-friends out some day too.

 

So, if you are feeling down because the scale isn’t moving, then stop stepping on the scale.

 

Go and put on something that shows off those strong AF arms and legs. Enjoy being able to run around the lake faster than you were able to run before. Curse #Sally, and then give your body a hug for getting through the longest 3 minute ab series ever.

 

Take a look at one of our founding clients, Jess. She has been putting in the work since January and this photo is PROOF that she is working every single to day to get stronger. Want to guess how much she lost?

 

SHE GAINED 3LBS, and is getting stronger with every single rep!

 

 

 

-AMANDA

THE TIME IS NOW: MOTHER’S DAY EDITION

Hey Crew, Elise here! Today, I am taking over the blog with a special Mother’s Day post. If you have been to the studio, there’s a really good chance you have run into my mom, Sue. Since our grand opening, she regularly takes five classes a week, and even doubles on some days!  She’ll take any class with any instructor, and regardless of how she may look, always tries to push past her comfort zone…even if it takes making some funny faces ☺.

A lot of people, who know that she’s my mom, have come up to me and asked, “So is this where you get your love for fitness from? She works out every day!”

And I have to be honest. It’s a hard NO.

My entire life (up until now) we couldn’t pay my mom to take a fitness class. A really tough workout for her was walking around the lake. She was over 200lbs, not eating well, and really had no interest in taking care of her body.

Then in June of 2011, our family got some really tough news. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Usually, when you hear the words “pancreatic cancer”, it’s already too late. In fact in her case, all of the doctors said it was too late, except one. One fought for her, and ultimately they decided to try a whipple procedure. Thirteen hours later, she came out of surgery and the doctors were optimistic, but still cautious.

After five years of fighting, countless mornings of being viciously sick, infection after infection, and way too many other complications to count, she’s here.

Five years cancer-free!

What came next is what inspires the hell out of me, and so many people.

To this day her body will never be the same. There are still more mornings than not that she wakes up sick, but she hasn’t let that get her down. In fact, her battle with cancer has given her a spark to light this fire that was missing. I remember the first time she asked me to write her a workout (before Sweat FIxx was opened), and my mouth dropped.

My mom wanted to work out?

I remember her saying that she was given a second chance, and the time is now to take care of her body. She said she will never take it for granted again.

That stuck with me.

So many people push their bodies to the side, and don’t make being healthy a priority, until it’s too late. It’s amazing to watch someone who never stepped on a piece of cardio equipment in her life, crush it on the rower five days a week. She was given a second chance and is making the most of it. I think her story is motivating because most people don’t get that second chance. For most of us  the TIME IS NOW . You have one body, and it’s your duty to take care of it. It doesn’t mean LOOKING fit, it means BEING fit.

I sat her down to get her side of the story and here’s a little bit more of what Mama Caira had to say:

  1. Tell us a little bit about your fitness journey? What gave you that kick start?

I was never devoted to working out, even after I hit my all time high weight of 220 pounds in my early 40’s.  At that point, I tried to become a little more active and joined Weight Watchers.  I went up and down the scale, and it was frustrating.  By my 48th birthday, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  I was devastated and thought (like the majority of people) this was a death sentence. I promised myself that if I made it through this, I would make some huge life changes, especially when it came to taking care of my body.   I am proud to say, I survived and have made the changes that I promised myself.

  1. Do you feel like the cancer has changed you in any way?

Cancer has changed my life in so many ways.  It has made me realize that life is so special and I should not take anything for granted.  Every day is a gift and you should try to live it to the fullest.  I try not to get upset over the small things.  Ok Mom, then no more getting mad when you don’t break 20 seconds on your 100 meter sprint

  1. You come five days a week, how do you stay so motivated?

When I feel like I can’t deal with working out or just day to day situations, I remember the promise I made myself.  I think of how sick I was, what I went through, and how far I have come. If I can make it through cancer, I can go to the gym for 45 minutes a day or get through any daily situation in a positive manner.

  1. What are some of your goals going forward?

I would like to see myself remain very active so I can enjoy my grandchildren, and hopefully great grandchildren.  I would like to see myself be as physically fit (as possible for a woman my age), maybe even as fit as the instructors at Sweat Fixx someday! They, along with the members in all the classes, have been very positive and inspirational.

  1. What is your favorite Fixx class and why?

I really like Sculpt and Row Fixx.  I lost a lot of muscle mass and endurance during my sickness, and I needed to get it back.  I can really feel and see my strength and endurance improving daily.  It is very challenging, don’t get me wrong (and I have to modify at times), but I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to.  I am now trying the Row Flow class and working on my flexibility. This is super super challenging for me, but as Elise is always reminding me flexibility is SO IMPORTANT.

  1. What would you tell someone who is playing with the idea of starting to work out again? Any advice?

I would tell someone that they are much stronger than they think they are.  You can do anything you really set your mind to.  Start off slowly, but be consistent.  As the instructors at Sweat Fixx say all the time, “BE BETTER TODAY THAN YOU WERE YESTERDAY =  YOU ARE STRONGER TODAY THAN YOU WERE YESTERDAY = YES YOU CAN!!”

  1. A Sweat Fixx newbie sits down next to you on the rower and you can give them one piece of advice what is it?

I would tell a newbie that this is your class.Block out everyone else.  Set your mind to what you want of out of the class and go for it.  There is no right or wrong.  You’re “right” just for showing up to class and trying.  Also if I can do this, ANYONE can.

  1. What is your favorite thing about Sweat Fixx , besides for the awesome owner of course 🙂 

My favorite thing about Sweat Fixx is that no one (instructors and/or clientele) is judgmental about anyone else.  Anyone at any age, ability or sex can do these workouts.  All the instructors are very motivational and can adapt the workouts for any age or level of ability.   The mindset of Elise and her crew is to help and make fitness goals achievable for  all of their clients, regardless of their fitness level. That is why I believe Sweat Fixx is becoming so successful for such a wide range of people.

There is no better time to get stronger, than right now. For Mother’s Day, take a chance to recognize just how strong your own mom is – whether she kicked cancer’s butt or crushed it while raising you and your siblings. Fight for your right to be just as strong as your mom. The time is now to make that happen.

We’re hosting a Mother’s Day battle on Mother’s Day morning – we want you to bring in your kids, your moms, and the best moms that you know, to celebrate being strong AF with us! Book your rowers soon, and then enjoy a Mother’s Day mimosa or two 🙂

 

Friday is my second favorite F word… my first is…

Fail.

What?

Yes, fail is my favorite F word. Hear me out.

According to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of “fail” is “to fall short”.

To. fall. short.

That’s it.

But you know what you have to to do to fail?

You have to start.

Whenever you miss your PR time, or you aren’t quite ready to lift the next set of weights up, you have consciously taken a big step out of your comfort zone. It means you started and even though you may not have met your goal THIS time, you started, you put in work, and you gave it your best.

Every time I sit myself on the rower and strap my feet in tight, I set an intention or goal for class – something that I want to accomplish. You might have even heard me say that at the beginning of class. Do I ALWAYS accomplish my goal? Heck no.

But you know what I do? I show up. You show up. You work your hardest with every push, pull and stomp. We all do.

 

If you set your goals high enough for you to fail, that means you are pushing yourself to be that much better, every single day. The more you work, the bigger you fail, the sweeter it will be when your hardwork pays off and you hit that new PR or you pick up that next set of weights.
Falling short of your goals isn’t the end of your story – it’s just the beginning. You will learn so much about yourself through that “fail”. You will find that fire within you that will continue to grow. Then, once you accomplish that goal… you’ll fail again trying to hit your NEXT goal.

Each time you fail, you show yourself where your limit is. Each time you push that “fail” aside and be just a little better, you prove to yourself just how strong you are.

That’s why fail is my favorite F word.

You can’t fail without starting, and we all know that starting is the hardest part.