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My workout regimen is based on location, location, location.

April 15th, 2013 6 Comments

Mary Rambin exercise 2013

@JaclynDayBlog tweet

As a matter of fact I have!  But that could have been 3 years ago…after so many years of blogging I lose track :)

If you’ve been following me through those years, you know I’ve moved a handful of times – New York, LA, Houston, Mexico, Atlanta.  As much as I would like to take my workout with me as I bounce around, I can’t because of the facilities and studios specific to each city.   In some ways that’s good so I don’t get burned out and my body doesn’t become accustomed to a routine.  As we all know, one of the most important parts of changing our bodies and getting stronger is challenging your body.

The basis of my workout is always the same:  cardio, weights/strength, aerobic/zone 3 heart rate/fat burning days, yoga.  How I accomplish those things is based on where I am and my heart rate goal for the day (cardio = zone 4-5 for 1 hour, fat burn = zone 3 1 hour).  Here is an approximate breakdown of what I do where.  If you click the links, you’ll get more details on what my workouts entail.

New York

  • SoulCycle – 3 days a week = cardio
  • Blink/Equinox – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
  • Yoga – 1 day a week (haven’t found a studio here yet)

To answer Jaclyn’s question, SoulCycle isn’t enough FOR ME because it misses 2 major muscle groups (chest and back) during the arm segment and doesn’t allow for building muscle with heavy weights.  However, the arm section is amazing to tone your shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

Los Angeles

  • SoulCycle – 2 days a week= cardio
  • Runyon Canyon – 2 days a week = 1 day cardio, 1 day zone 3
  • Equinox – weights or group fitness classes (they have THE BEST!), 1 day yoga

**I still haven’t figured out my scheduling of these yet.

Houston

Atlanta

Mexico

  • My beach workouts – 3 days a week = 1 day cardio, 2 day zone 3
  • Gym – 2-3 days a week = weights + cardio
  • P90x – weights, resistance bands, 1 days a week = weights
  • Yoga DVD (haven’t found a favorite yet)

Traveling

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5 Tips for sugar detox – my article in JEZEBEL!

March 3rd, 2013 No Comments

Sugar article JEZEBEL March 2013

Click the image to enlarge!

After a 3 day juice cleanse, eating vegan 2 days before and after, and abstaining from bread, dairy, coffee, and sweets for the duration, I feel great! Apples taste as sweet a cake now.

I’m going to ride the clean eating, nothing processed, sugar-free wave a long as I can. Cutting out dairy is hard because I rely on yogurt for protein often….and I miss the taste of a cappuccino but thankfully not the caffeine. It was a pleasant surprise to discover I’m not addicted to caffeine. I will admit I splurged on wedding cake last night and it was DELICIOUS, but I don’t feel like I need more. The only thing processed I’ll ingest is in my wine glass. Unfortunately white wine tastes too sweet so I opt for red, a healthier choice anyway. A this point, one glass is enough to get me tipsy so I’ll be a cheap date for a while.

After practicing what I preach in the article regarding water, I’m also fully hydrated for the first time in my life. I can’t say it makes me feel any different overall, but the water is very filling and surprisingly satisfying after a meal.

More on the cleanse, sugar, and my new coffee substitute when I return.

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Which brand of gel nail polish is the best? And is it really the best thing for you?

February 12th, 2013 2 Comments

As a girl who can’t keep a manicure for longer than 4 days, I was really excited about gel with its promise of no-chipping for two weeks!

My first experience with gel polish ended the day after I had it applied when it all peeled off.  You can understand I was a cynic for a while.  However, as the market grew, I figured I should give it another shot at a new salon.  I lucked into having a very meticulous esthetician (Traci at Trina’s Nail Salon in Buckhead) give me a fabulous manicure that lasted the two weeks the gel polish promises!  Since then, I’ve been a gel junkie and have tried all the brands with a couple different girls at Trina’s salon.

So far I’ve tried: Shellac, Gellish, Voss, and OPI.  I’ve heard about:  Akzentz, Bio Sculpture Color Gel, CalGel, Dashing Diva Gelife, IBD, the list goes on. For  more on brands, go here.

What I’ve found is that it’s not the brand of polish that matters, but who tends to your cuticles and how they apply the polish.

Your cuticles must be pushed and cut back as far as possible.  When they grow back to the edge of the polish, they push against it, causing the polish to peel up.  Also, if the polish is applied over your cuticles, your mani doesn’t stand a chance.  So you’ve got to run the gamut of estheticians before you find the right one.  Then choose your polish on color not brand.

Wait, there’s more.

After getting a few gel manicures I started to think, “this can’t be good for my nails.”  Kind of like the hair extensions that made my hair thick and beautiful…until I took them out.  In a gel manicure, they buff off the enamel of the nail, apply chemicals to replace it, and then bake it dry almost instantly with UV light.  Ugh.  If you want to read about the effects of the chemicals, click here.  It seems the one we need to look out for is BHA,  butylated hydroxyanisol, which is a “cancer-causing agent.”  The UV light is pretty self-explanatory.

I never get to the part where I have to soak it off, which dries out your nail bed.  I find peeling it off to be a great distraction while sitting in horrific Atlanta traffic.  (I’m sure that’s bad for your nail bed too.)  I let my nails rest a week before returning to Trina’s for more gel.  It’s really the only thing that has ever worked for my nails.  I’m thinking about wearing finger-less gloves from now on to protect my hands.  As for the BHA, I’m just hoping it gets fried in the baking process.

And you?  Now that you know the facts, will you continue to get gel manicures.  Leave your comments below!

 

 

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The best of Atlanta

January 18th, 2013 No Comments

 

Recently I’ve started writing for Jezebel, one of the Modern Luxury publications in Atlanta.  Last week they asked me to submit a list of my favorite things in town.  I’ve only been here a little while, but it seems I get out quite a bit.  Friends are always astonished I know so many places, and frankly, so am I.  For them, I put together a list of specifics like “Best Salad” (which is at Lure, btw).  For you, I’ve created more of a city guide.  These might not be the HANDS down BEST, but if you go to any one of them, you’re getting a true taste of Atlanta.

Cuisine

Booze

 

Desserts

Shopping

Fun Stuff

(Photo via)

 

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My favorite workout right now

September 24th, 2012 2 Comments

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You’re probably checking in here on Mondays thinking to yourself, “where are all of Mary’s how-to weight posts and videos?”  Honestly, I haven’t been to the gym to lift weights in weeks so I don’t have much to write about.  With my view at Chastain Park in Atlanta above, who would want to work out inside?! That’s not to say I don’t lift weights anymore; my interaction with them is just different now.  I’ll go into that more below.

The one thing I have been doing a lot:

power walking and jogging slowly. 

And I can’t believe how much I love it!

If you’ve been reading consistently lately you know I started on a new workout program to train my body to burn fat.  It basically requires I work out in Zone 3 (fat burning zone, which for me is when my heart rate is 145-165) 3 to 4 days a week and only push myself to my max (carb burning zone where my heart rate is 165-196) 2 days a week.  For a girl like me who wants to kill it every workout, this sounded like a death sentence.

The Zone 3 workout has been more like a godsend. 

It’s easier on my body

and makes my weight workouts more effective.

Here’s what I do:  Strap on my heart rate monitor and hit the road for an 1 to 1.5 hours doing whatever I feel like.  Carrying two pound weights in each hand, I’ll jog with my weights at 90 degree angles pumping my arms until my heart rate hits 162ish.  Then I power walk doing arm-toning exercises until a muscle group burns.  When my heart rate gets low or I get bored, I’ll start to jog again. Simply doing this and enjoying the great outdoors, I am not only burning 500-600 calories, I’m also training my body to burn fat and toning up my Kelly Ripa arms!

 

Obviously the key here is knowing YOUR heart rate zone 3 so get a trainer at your gym to moderate the running test for you and set YOUR v02 max.

Fitness magazine says that even a 15 minute walk during your lunch break is productive:

“Burning some 50 extra calories a day, the equivalent of a steady 15-minute stroll, can help determine whether or not you gain weight, experts say.

Go at a pace of at least three miles an hour, and make a game out of not stopping,” Cole says. (If you’re moving at that speed, aim for a takeout place about a half mile away.) “When you come to a red light, turn right and keep moving, even if it tacks on another block.” Grab your lunch and go.

Bonus: Unlike steamier exercise, power walking won’t give you the post-workout munchies, a study from Loughborough University in the UK finds. Do this most weekdays to rack up 45 minutes to an hour of exercise without even trying. For a mini butt-firming boost,  squeeze your glutes while you walk.”

Click here for a list of links of Fitness Magazine’s power walking workouts.

My weight lifting workout has now dialed back to 2 days a week in group fitness classes instead of working out with a trainer.  One reason is to save money, the other is to get my cardio and weights in the same hour workout.  As I live in Atlanta now I can do BLAST900 two days a week and Stellar Bodies, weight lifting, or yoga one day.  From what I’ve discovered, the key to these group fitness classes is to use HEAVY weights 10, 12, 15, and 20 pounds. This builds strength and keeps my heart rate high.  I also have to keep moving, which is hard.  Let me say, an hour of cardio and heavy resistance is REALLY hard, but it’s my chance to kill it.

 

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Where to eat right now: Atlanta

August 24th, 2012 4 Comments

I was surprised to find out that Atlanta is teeming with talented chefs.  Another shocker is that vegetables are really hard to come by in the “farm-to-table” looking eateries.  Their southern food is flavorful, rich, and mostly devoid of anything green.

That being said, I love the fare I have found around town.  So many new places are opening as well, I’m working hard to discover them all as well as the classics.  The following are the city’s latest and greatest.

The Lawrence (Midtown)

You can tell the boys in the kitchen were not so pleased at my request for a picture, but I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to snap a pic of famed chef Shane Devereux and his all-bearded crew!  I’m a fan of his other restaurants, TOP FLR and Sound Table, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Shane had elevated his game for The Lawrence, a casual, yet sophisticated, Midtown venue.  After my veggie intro above, I need to say that The Lawrence menu has the biggest selection of veg I’ve seen in ATL.  I have no complaints about The Lawrence.  It’s my current favorite!

Barcelona (Inman Park)

New to Inman Park, this tapas restaurant and wine bar already has a great buzz going.  Unfortunately I can’t find the picture of my paella, but I can tell you I did sit at the table above and enjoy every dish that was served on our 4-top.  The service is a bit slow and the noise level (as well as the bill) is high, but the energy in the room kept our spirits high.  I would go to Barcelona again for a spread or simply grab a glass of wine and a snack at the bar.

Watershed (Buckhead)

Decatur’s Watershed (started by Indigo Girl Emily Sailers) moved across town to the southern tip of Buckhead on Peachtree and 28th.  The neighborhood could not be more delighted to have a trendy spot!  Think Local Three menu in a “southern contemporary” decor.   Reservations are hard to come by, but the bar is huge so you should be able to find stools and enjoy dinner.  Since they’re new, they’re still working out the kinks, but the food doesn’t need any tweaking.  Whatever the pasta dish is, order it!

Octane Coffee Bar (Grant Park)

My favorite coffee shop opened its third and largest location in Grant Park (next to Six Feet Under).  It’s a tough decision in the afternoon – coffee and sweets or beer and chips – but it can be done.  Right now Octane is outlet-less, but I’ve put a word in with management to open at least a couple! Here you’ll also find a bigger bar and a bake shop that makes delicious things you should enjoy but eat sparingly.

Others you need to know:

  • Lure – The new hot spot with great fish and a fun scene.  Or so I hear. The decor and patio look amazing and the location should make it successful.
  • Spence – Top Chef winner Richard Blais’ new place is a let down in terms of both food and decor.  On paper it should be perfect; hopefully the execution will come around.
  • F & B – From Holeman & Finch, this french bistro is already bustling in Buckhead.  I haven’t tried it yet.
  • Cib0 e Beve - Way up north on Roswell, this cozy Italian spot is not new, but no one really knows about it.  Sit at the bar and tell Matt and Justin I sent you.
  • Abbatoir – This chophouse has been around even longer, BUT it’s got a new chef.  I should say THE chef: Tyler Williams of Baccanalia (Altanta’s best restaurant) to make the food more approachable.  It worked.  I love it!
  • Aria – Another one that is not new, just wanted you to know it’s still alive and kickin’.  The food was fresh, not too heavy, and all-around fabulous.

 

 

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I finally bought a new pair of running shoes!

May 21st, 2012 1 Comment

 

After much deliberation and hunting, I finally bought a pair of Brooks running shoes to carry me through the summer. Some of you suggested them so they were on my list to try.  It was love at first slip on I tell ya.  I’m not a big runner, but with all of the upcoming travel and my twice a week Blast900 classes, I’ll be running more and need something more supportive than Nike Frees, which they just brought back on the market.

Here’s what I like about the Brooks PureProject shoe: The sole is light and almost as flexible as a Nike Free.  Inside there is substantial cushion so I land softly and a noticeable arch support that makes it fit like a glove.  The design is not my favorite but it’s tolerable.  I had to search for this color combo because it’s now discontinued.  The purple one would have been fine, but I have a purple pair of Nike Lunars I wear to lift and lunge in.  (It’s super sturdy.)

On the Brooks website, they have a quick Shoe Advisor questionnaire that will help you decide what model is best for you.

During my search, I kept my eyes and ears open to see what other people are wearing.  Readers and Blasters have a huge love affair with Newton. I wasn’t a fan of the “Action/Reaction” technology that propels you forward.  You can see the elevation in the right photo. They have two different levels of lift, but both were too aggressive for me.  It’s meant for a runner who lands on the front of their foot and I am pretty heavy on my heels.  Plus, the shoe didn’t fit as snug as the Brooks.  It’s too bad, because like all of the other women who own them, I LOVE the colors!

In Atlanta, Newtons are to running shoes as Lululemon is to workout clothes.  Great quality, fun female-friendly colors, and have become a trend. In fact, Deka, where they have the largest selection of Newton’s, is right next door to Lulu in Buckhead!

I think it’s hysterical that right after I tweeted one of my instagram pics above, I got this response from @Blast900.

Asics are also making a comeback in Atlanta.  The shoe is too stiff and not at all cute which took it out of my consideration quickly.  Houstonians love Nike Frees.  Again, I think it’s the colors because most of the women I see wearing them are just lifting weights and not running.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions!

 

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Find new group fitness classes around you in one click.

May 14th, 2012 2 Comments

I am a HUGE fan of group fitness classes these days because I just can’t motivate myself to go to the gym.  I never thought I would feel that way, but here I am, looking for excuses every day.  So, to combat this and get in a solid 1 hour workout, I carve out the time in my schedule for my trainer or a class.

GoRecess.com is a new site that instantly locateds the kind of workout you’re looking for near you.  You put in the type of exercise – yoga, cardio, bootcamp, spinning, etc – your location, and the radius you are willing to drive (or even better jog or bike!).  GoRecess then creates a detailed list like you see above.  Such a great concept because I’m always looking for a way to change up my workout.

Also, most studios will offer their first class for free, so if you’re on a tight budget, you can jump around for a while while you save up some cash and settle on your favorite.

If you’re in one of the cities I frequent, I reccommend these studios and gyms:

New York:

Los Angeles:

  • Soul Cycle - just opened in WeHo!
  • Equinox - group classes are totally worth the membership
  • UpDog Fitness - for spinning and yoga.  Take classes from Colin and Reilly.  Meredith for yoga.
  • Fitness Factory - “garage” style hideout where celebs train. Sam Upton is the best!

Houston:

Atlanta:

Austin:

I know I’m missing some; I can’t hit them all!  Please share your favorites in the comments below.  If you use GoRecess.com, let us know if you were pleased with the class you attend.

(P.S. Sorry for the blurry picture.  PC’s just don’t have the same quality of screen grab as a Mac.  I’ll replace it tomorrow!)

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