The Running Skirt: 5 Reasons Why I Will Never Run in Shorts Again

Yesterday I had a MEGA epiphany, people. This one is going down in the books for me.

I've always run in running shorts. I mean DUH, who doesn't right?

Well let me just start by saying that for the past few months I've been seriously considering buying a sports skirt. I mean they just started popping up in stores like daisies, and everywhere I went I felt like they were following me.....[in a ghost's voice], "oOooO...buy me Jenae, BUY ME!"

I've come so close to swiping the card and going through with it. But every single time I felt like I didn't have a good solid reason to buy one; I felt like they were too preppy for me, or like they were for playing tennis and I don't play tennis. I thought that if I bought one, I'd feel like a stupid idiot wearing it. 

Well turns out most recently when Lululemon sent me product to test, lo and behold, they sent me a running skirt! So yesterday I pulled it out and gave it a whirl for the first time on my 5-mile run. And OMGoodness I'm serious people, this is where the epiphany happened.   

I can't tell you how surprised and pleased I was to realize that this skirt was the reason I decided right then and there, that I will never go back to regular old running shorts ever again!!!

To sum it up for you, this is my list of 5 reasons why I will never go back:

1. No more tugging down on your shorts every five minutes as they ride up your crotch when you run.

Every pair of shorts I've ever had have this problem, and it annoys the crap out of me! I hate having to tug down my shorts as I'm running because they are rolling up my leg.

What I love about this skirt is that it has built in shorts with a sticky elastic band on the inner hem that keeps your shorts locked in solid place, and no matter how much you extend your hips, your shorts are sealed baby!!!

2. No more eposure of your inner thighs.

I don't know about you but I am not one of those lucky girls who has a beautiful gap between her thighs & absolutely no thigh fat whatsoever. See this pic below? Sadly, not me. Running skirt solves this problem completely. No more inner thigh exposure!!!

The skirt's flap in the front always has your crotch and upper thighs covered throughout the entire run, (even if your under-shorts would by any chance start to roll up), and the flap doesn't get caught or mold between your legs when you're running either, unlike some other running skirts I've tried on. 

3. Feel the breeze, not the squeeze.

What could be better than feeling a fresh breeze up your skirt instead of having your shorts squeeze the crap out of your butt as they roll up your legs and cause a sweat fest in your underpants? Okay just kidding maybe it's not that bad, but seriously you feel so free like you're flying when you run in a skirt versus shorts! It's a better way to say cool and sweat free in your undercarriage if ya know what I mean ;-)

4. Feel like a girl not like a sleeze. 

No more guys checking out your butt. Why? Because it's completely covered by magical skirtness! Okay maybe they'll still check out your legs, but they would've done that in shorts anyways. No but seriously, men aside, this skirt makes you completely feel like a feminine girly with the beautiful bouncy ruffles in the back! So you can sport your girlpower all over the place!

5. No more muffin top. 

As Cassie Ho always says, "muffin tops are for muffins only!" This skirt completely wraps beautifully around your hips giving you a beatiful shape for total coverage on the muffin top!! 

And finally, I just want to say that if you ever decide to get a running skirt, take the plunge and buy the Run: Pace Setter Skirt from Lululemon.

They didn't pay me to say that either, I'm telling you from my personal experience that all of those other times I ever shopped around for sports skirts, I never found one of them that measures up to this skirt in technical performance, fit, or function. They really put in a lot of attention to detail with this skirt and I don't think I'll ever buy anything other than this one! 

I hope you guys have awesome weekend!!! Get your workout in!! xoxoxo!!

The Final Stretch

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Happy Monday!! For the past four months I've spend most of my free time studying and reading this huge NASM book for personal training. I am happy to report that I have finished reading and taking notes on the ENTIRE BOOK and I am now working on studying up for the exam... FINALLY. You have no idea how long I feel like this has taken me!!

I have to admit I'm REALLY nervous about taking this test because it feels like the only barrier between me and what I want to do most - personal training. So I'll be spending the next couple of weeks reviewing and really packing in all of this knowledge into my brain. Wish me luck people, I need it!!

On another note, I just want to say that I've decided I'm going to do my best to make this week a great week. I have set a goal this week to complete 240 mins of the Nike Training Club app, to run a total of 5 miles, and to do yoga at least once this week.  I feel like setting specific goals and writing them out on Sunday really helps me to accomplish them because it no longer is just a fuzzy goal in my head like, "I wanna work out this week." Seeing the specifics keeps me committed. 

Do yoga this week: CHECK. 

I went to Yoga today and created some awesome Lululemon mat sweat art :) Picasso, step aside. 

People, this mat is seriously the best mat ever in the world!!! No slippage EVER!! In fact, the sweatier you are, the more grippy the mat becomes. No joke.

Also, do you ever notice how everyone in the fitness world seems to diss on McDonald's all the time? Well I'm not gonna lie, I've done it before too. But lately I've FALLEN IN LOVE with their awesome healthy Oatmeals that you can purchase at any time of the day. OMG soOoOoo YUM!!! My favorite is the Blueberry Banana Nut... ahhhgghhrerezdzz. I freaking love it. You need to try it, seriously. I feel like if you're an American eating at McDonald's and you're getting fat it's now you're own fault. 

Today I stumbled upon a new website called BodyRipped.net. Remember Kyla Gagnon I featured a few months back? Well she recently created this new website, and it reminds me a lot of BodyRock.tv back when Zuzana was still the star.

To be honest when I stumbled on BodyRipped.net and started watching some of Kyla's workout videos it completely made me sooo incredibly happy. I felt like for a long time I've really missed having a good role model to look up to and inspire me again and today I feel like I found her.

Kyla is so real, so down to earth and knows how to be just herself. She doesn't complicate things, she's not all IN YOUR FACE, and her workouts are original and fresh. She doesn't have a boob job which is totally refreshing because I can actually relate and look up to her as a real, beautiful, natural, happy-in-her-own-skin kind of woman. (no offense to any of you reading this who have boob jobs, I'm sure you look like a superstar.) I also love how she's an incredibly motivated and passionate personal trainer, which totally makes me wanna be like her!! Anyways, I hope she becomes totally famous too!! 

Welp, that wraps up today for me. I'm gonna get back to studying now. Wish me luck people, I really want this, I can't fail!! blahh....!!

xoxoxo 

True or False: Eating at night stores fat

 

Source: shape.com via Sarrah on Pinterest

Hey guys! Happy Friday! I received a question recently asking, "Does eating at night make me fat?" The way you answer this question will say a lot about how much you really know about weight loss and how much you're just picking up from hear-say and myths.

Source: Uploaded by user via Shirley on Pinterest

The answer to this question is simply, no. Eating at night does not make a person store fat; eating more calories than you expend does. 

We all have a certain amount of calories that we can consume without gaining weight. Every single day, our bodies expend a fixed amount of calories based on our height, weight, and age. This number of calories is called your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Basically if you layed in bed all day and didn't move a finger, you would still burn this amount of calories. These calories are required by your body to sustain vital bodily functions like blood circulation, respiration, and body temperature regulation. In order to maintain your weight you need to eat at least this amount of calories plus a few extra that count for things like digesting food, and the other regular activities you do daily (excluding exercise). Additionally, if you exercise you will need to eat more calories above your RMR to maintain your weight. So in the end, RMR + your activity level will all total up and equal the amount of calories you can eat daily to maintain your current weight. 

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So let's say that you know you burn at least 2,000 calories in a 24-hour period. You are having a busy day and have only had a chance to eat a 400 calorie breakfast. For the rest of the busy day you didn't get a chance to eat. You get home at 10pm at night and gobble up a whopping 1,000 calorie meal and go straight to bed. Will you gain weight? NO. You consumed a total of 1400 calories that day meaning that you have burned 600 calories more than you have consumed, so technically you've actually lost a little bit of weight. 

Source: google.fr via Deer Deer on Pinterest

However this was just an example scenario. The key to successful weight loss is not starving yourself all day. Make sure to balance out your meals throughout the day to keep yourself in top mental & physical condition, to avoid things like low-blood sugar, and to avoid binge eating. 

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So now to the burning question, then how do you lose weight? Simple. Eat less calories than you burn. To find out the amount of calories you should consume to maintain weight, try out this calorie calculator. In order to lose weight subtract roughly 500 from the number this calculator generates for you.

Source: fitsugar.com via Crystal on Pinterest

There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb of fat. So if you're eating 500 calories less than you burn daily, you will lose 1lb of fat per week. If you want to lose 2lbs of fat per week, then add in some daily exercise to burn an extra 200-500 calories. 

Source: goo.gl via Bell on Pinterest

I hope that helps some of you break through some dieting confusion. Remember, diet is about 80% of how you look and will determine the speed of results you will get from exercise. Exercise is supplemental to weight loss, while how you eat is the actual key. You'll never be able to exercise yourself out of a bad diet.

I hope to keep posting myth-busting posts every now and then, so let me know if this post helped you out. Have a wonderful Friday!! Eat something healthy for me!! xoxo!

Lululemon Athletica - Yoga

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Happy TUESDAY everyone! For those of you who know me well, you know that Lululemon Athletica is one of the brands I obsess over. Well I'm totally excited to announce that I am currently in the process of doing some legit Lululemon Athletica product testing!!! ahhh!!! I sort of kept it a little secret until now, but while I was in Florida I was contacted by a sweet gal named Erin of Lululemon, and offered the awesome opportunity to test out their product and report back to their corporate headquarters! Since their clothes are built by athletes for athletes, they need feedback focusing on fit, function, and technical performance, so that's just what I'll be doing!

(Disclaimer: they are NOT paying or incentivizing me with clothes to blog about this! So I hope none of you as my readers feel like you're being sold!! This post was made completely by my choice only ;)

So since I'll be testing out quite a few items and for a few different types of training, I wanted to drag you guys along with me! I'll be making a few separate posts about each of the outfits and pieces I received. 

So for starters, today I tested out a lovely yoga outfit during a yoga class at 3BYoga Studio in Provo.

There were three pieces to this outfit starting with the Gather and Crow Crop. I've honestly NEVER tried a crop bottom like this before in my life. I've always stuck to bottoms that hug me at the ankle or hug my calves simply because I always felt that anything else would make me look short haha. But trying this crop was actually refreshing. I guess what I loved most about this crop was the fact that it allowed a full range of motion, comfort, and ease during my yoga session that pleasantly surprised me! 

The second piece was this No Limits Tank. When this tank first debuted a while back, I remember how much it stood out to me. Lemme just tell you that wearing it feels completely different than just looking at it. The flowy midsection is just awesome; they should've called it the freedom tank. :P

And finally, a yoga outfit wouldn't be complete without something totally warm and soft to cuddle into after the mad sweatfest! Hence the Scuba Hoodie! Ahh this hoodie feels like a big warm hug. If you've never tried this hoodie before, it's totally different than any other hoodie because it has a super high collar and a deep hood that makes you feel completely surrounded in the hoodie.

So aside from product testing, remember about a month ago I told you that I was super stoked to teach some new yoga classes and HIIT classes? Well all of my official teaching will start today!!! ahhh I'm so excited and maybe just a little nervous! Wish me luck!

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!! xoxoxo

My Proudest Moment

Hey everyone!!!!! I'm FINALLY BACK in Utah now believe it or not, after almost a whole month of traveling and craziness!! I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in the best state ever!! (hehe jk maybe California tops Utah just a little bit ;-).

So, many of you may have already seen this photo below but I just HAD to share it again. People, this is my beautiful 4-year old baby sister!!! I got to spend a couple of short days with her during my visit to Utah and honestly I've had some of my proudest moments teaching her yoga. I was so glad the moment I arrived all my siblings kept begging me, "will you teach me yoga? please Jenae teach me yoga!!" And so the fun began!! 

At first Jaelene struggled with this pose (bakasana) but after some good practice she became a little PRO!!! Every other minute I turned around she was doing the posture over and over again! *That's my girl!!!*

I also taught her and my little brother (the one in the photo just below) some nice mediation with some essential oils that we used to breathe in as we relaxed. ;-) oh yeah. Of course this was all after the horseplay and shenanigans we exhausted ourselves into ;-) 

These two fill my heart with so much love and joy!! I was soooo sad leaving and sad my trip was so short in Ohio, but it was still super sweet to have that time with my family. 

This is my whole family - Dad, Mom, and eight kids total, including ME!!! I'm the oldest, DURRr! hahaha. P.S. a lot of people confuse my mom and me, can you tell who's who? hahaha

During the last night of our trip to Florida, Andrew and I also watched the opening night of The Avengers!!!! OMGosh if you haven't gone to see that movie yet, YOU MUST!!! sooooooooo awesome!!

Anyways like I said, I'm so excited to be back in Utah now and back where I belong - in the dry weather, amidst the mountains, and amongst the best people on the planet.

I'm totally excited about hitting the regular workouts, the blogging, and the personal training and yoga teaching!! I am going to be taking my NASM personal training exam in a couple of weeks and I couldn't be more excited. Cross your fingers for me that I pass the test the first time around!!

Have a happy Thursday!! xoxoxo!!

Our 1st Anniversary!!!

Andrew & I celebrated our 1-year anniversary being married yesterday! Yay! We're officially no longer newly-weds hehe. We got married April 30th, 2011. It's crazy to think it's already been a whole year, but it's absolutely been the best year of my life!

To celebrate we spent the day in Tampa and visited the Florida Aquarium, then we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant in Ybor City!

My camera's timestamp was totally wrong. I'm not sure why it says 4/29 for some pics, and 4/30 for others... oh WELL!!! These were taken on 4/30.

Andrew in front of a school of fish, a shark and a sting ray! 

These fish were so colorful and beautiful!! 

(again, wrong timestamp) 

Aside from that we've been visiting Sea World and Busch Gardens this past weekend and it's been a BLAST!! So far I've been on three of the world's top 10 roller coasters!! I think I've had my fill of roller coasters for a while now :)

This is a photo taken at Busch Gardens with their tigers! Can you see the tiger? It looked much bigger in person!

This photo was taken after a LOOONG day of roller coaster riding and getting wet on water rides... can you tell my hair got a little crazy!!?

Anyways I hope you all are having a great week so far, this will be our LAST week in Florida, we leave on Saturday. Andrew will be headed back to Utah, but I'll be flying to Ohio for 4 days to visit my family. So the this vacation trip is not over yet for me! 

Honestly keeping a good diet and exercising regularly has been SOOOOO difficult for me on this trip so far. In fact I think I've gotten a little pudgy again (can you tell?). I've always been so used to having things controlled in my own house, in my own kitchen, with my own routine. But staying with family, and visiting with friends, and celebrating, and visiting theme parks, and doing all of the things people do on vacations, it's been so unpredictable and therefore hard for me to stick to my normal routine! In some ways I can't wait to get back to regular life so that I can have complete control and routine back again. 

But for now, I'm still trying every single day to do my best, to exercise, to eat right, and to keep on TRYING!! Because that's what it is all about- a lifetime of commitment and never letting go of these good habits and ways. :-)

Have a wonderful Tuesday!! xoxo