I love to sweat. Some people cringe at the thought but boy do I love a good sweat sesh. Although there are a variety of factors which affect why some people sweat more than others, I naturally get a moderate amount going. It gives me instant gratification when I am working out. It makes me feel like I am detoxing the old in order to make space for some new endorphins. It explains why I love a HOT yoga class more than cake. As much as I do <3 to sweat I also like to get a little swanky sometimes. My feet are in Nikes about 75% of the time so when I am out of them, I occassionally “slip” (I use that term lightly as it is more like "force") my feet into highly uncomfortable shoes. It never ceases to amaze me that I spend a significant amount of my net worth on shoes that will most likely distort my feet one day. If that happens, I will curse the day that Christian Louboutin was born and have a serious melt down (which will most likely involve even more sweat).
Before I share my transitional look, let's get you sweaty. Now that we have emerged from the NYC polar vortex, I like to take things outside. This work out can be a quickie, about 20-25 minutes total which is all the rage these days. All you need is a jump rope and your fine self. Weights are optional. Most women that I know (including myself), can probably improvise weights with your freakishly heavy purse if needed. A fair warning is that one should not underestimate the power of a jump rope and its ability to make you think you are having a heart attack. It is great for cardio, and it gives your calves a serious burn. I like to use it in-between strengthening movements as a source of cardio.
I tend to jump rope 2 minutes before starting, in-between moves and at the end. If you are total over-achiever, go for 5 minutes to start and 5 minutes at the end. Try to concentrate on bringing your belly button to your spine so you are working your KORE from the get-go and try not to do that double hop in-between jumps which really only makes it harder. If you do it, you know exactly what I mean. One hop will suffice. Check out my wind blown rock-star hair in the below pic.
Rocking a Onzie crop top that I can't live with out. I bought it at Bandier, they now have e-comm! The price point is amazing. I paired it with the first ever pair of printed pants I bought, also Onzie. They started the addiction. Onzie makes a different variation with the same print now. I find it so fun that you can shop on their site by prints. The light weight material is great for the hot and humid days that lie ahead. I'm also wearing a pair of Nike sneaks that are a training shoe. I do not recommend these for running long distances, they are good for strength moves and light running. I like that they are super light and good for travel.
I then chose lunges as my power move. It works your butt and legs which is all I care about after seeing J. Lo, Kim K. and Beyonce in their killer dresses at the Met Gala. You can get your arms in the mix too if you opt to bring the weights. I like 3 pound weights for this as holding up the arms in place requires more work than you think. You can do 3 to 4 sets of lunges total. Start with walking lunges to warm the legs up, approx. 16. After 16, keep one leg in front, bend the back knee towards the ground and lengthen 16 times. When you think you've had enough, go the extra mile and pulse the knee towards the ground 16 times. That completes the first side in a set. Go back to 16 walking lunges and then switch which leg lands in front. In case you are like me and use a calculator every time the check comes at a restaurant, if you do 4 sets of lunges, you are doing approximately 10 to 16 minutes of jump rope (pending on whether or not you have established if you are an over-achiever).
In regards to the lunges, keep your form at the forefront of every move. The knee should be tracking over the ankle of the front leg. You should be working the hamstring of the back leg towards the ceiling when it is lengthened. Place weight into the heel of the front leg when moving through the walking lunges. Really feel like you are activating your glutes to move. Lastly, bring the weights towards my midline and kept them in place almost touching each-other, elbows out to the side. Make sure to relax and bring the shoulders down. If you are outside, life is good so stop looking like you are freezing and let your shoulders melt down. I will also say until I am blue in the face to BRING YOUR BELLY BUTTON TO YOUR SPINE.
In this work out, you will target your glutes, quads, hamstrings and some of the lower legs. It is a great prep for tennis season to both win every game (helps you lunge for the ball) and look amazing in a tennis skirt.
The is a bit of an artistic angle and it is mid movement so I am going to reiterate that you should make sure that the front knee tracks over the ankle and you are lifting the back leg's hamstring towards the sky when lengthening (for the bend and lengthening movement). The back knee should work towards becoming parallel to the ground or as close to the ground as possible pending how healthy your knees are when bending it. Shoulders should also be over the hips so bring your trunk back a bit if you need to. Remember, belly button to the spine.
Now that I have made you sweaty, it's time to get swanky. When I sweat, I don’t look very cute. I have fine hair and not too much of it so I tend to look like a wet dog. That is why in this look, I paired a gorgeous scarf that was gifted to me by an old colleague and friend (thanks Arielle) in order to mask the mess. I am throughly obsessed with the Onzie crop top. I wear it even when I am not going to work out, I didn't get drenched in this work out so I used it in my after look. The built in sports bra makes it too easy to wear. I paired this look with some sweet overalls that I got at Zara. Natalie (photographer and style consultant) says that I need to effortlessly roll them up so I don't look like a farmer (well not in those exact words). I put on a pair of gorgeous yet painful pumps and draped a Helmut Lang androgynous tuxedo blazer over my shoulders. The final yet most important touches include sunnies, and an ever classic Chanel bag. Voila! You are now SMOKIN' NOT SWEATY.
Shoes: Christian Louboutin 2014, Overalls Zara, Blazer Helmut Lang like 5 years ago but he makes similar editions every year, check out this tuxedo blazer, scarf is Valentino and purse is Chanel.
Merci beaucoup Natalie for the gorgeous pics and thanks again Arielle for the scarf that pulled this look together xoxo