Neon Yellow

Today is the first day of September and I promised myself I'd start it right by going to the gym. METCON3 kicked my ass today. There was whimpering and a lot of swearing.

The coolest thing we did today was row with our weights and our bench. We placed our heavy weights (mine were 8 lbs and I was embarrassed by my wimpy choice) on our bench, squatted over the bench, picked up the bench and performed rows with flat backs. I'm going to try to remember to work this into more workouts.

You don't need a play by play of how I begged for mercy and couldn't keep up, so I am going to focus on something I noticed - almost everyone in the room was wearing at least one piece of neon yellow apparel. I was wearing my neon yellow C9 Champion for Target shorts (actually I am still wearing them because I was too tired to shower at the gym), but others had on tank tops, shorts, and sneakers. There were a lot of neon yellow Nike shoes - Nike calls this color volt, and I blame the Olympics for this sudden neon yellow shoe craze. I prefer white sneakers with neon accents, but maybe that's just me.

I picked out some pieces that I think are cute so that you too can be stylish at the gym.

Nike Free Advantage

The Nike Free Advantage is a trainer. I really believe that trainers are for the gym and running shoes are for running. You might find it annoying to have to keep track of multiple pairs of sneakers, but I think it's worth it. In a pinch, I will workout in my running shoes though.

I'm not that big of a fan of Nike shoes anymore, but they carry a colorful selection. I hate my Nike Free running shoes, and I don't like how flexible the toe box is because it hurts my toes during boot camp classes, but some people love them. Just because I don't like something, doesn't mean I won't let you know it's available.

lululemon turbo run short

I love the turbo run short but I am poor so I only own one pair. And those were a gift. If you want to buy me a gift, please buy me more turbo run shorts. I love how they don't ride up my butt on long runs and they're pretty short, so they show off your legs.

C9 by Champion for Target compression shorts

These are so effing badass, I need a pair immediately. I'd wear them alone, but you could also wear a pair of black shorts over them so that they peak out. Depending on your fitness level, a grey or black sports bra would look sick with these, or you could wear one of those fancy flowy tanks lululemon is always hawking. I think I'd get my arms trapped, but they certainly look good. The other option is my favorite, buy men's extra small undershirts and cut the arms off. Make sure you cut to the outside of the seam. Now I'm thinking about driving over to Target to get this outfit.

METCON3

Today I went to METCON3 at the Woodbury Equinox. This is my second METCON3 class, and I'm becoming kind of obsessed with it. The 9 AM Sunday class at Woodbury is taught by John Kocaj. I have also attended the 10 AM Saturday class at Roslyn with Steve Ramirez. I really liked both, but I've been told that every instructor's class differs.

METCON3 is a "high-intensity metabolic conditioning workout [that] taxes all 3 energy systems and acts like a fat-incinerator to ensure results that leave you fit and motivated for the demands of your life," according to Equinox's class description. I have found that it is an hour of awesome.

We performed three sets of ten exercises with no very little rest in between exercises. I needed to rest and readjust my shrunken Champion C9 razor back top (okay, maybe it's just too small.) There are thirty seconds of rest in between each set.

Today John had us using a set of heavy weights, a VIPR, and a mat. We did squats, curtsies, deadlifts, a lot of plank work, and rows. I haven't used a VIPR in forever, and I forgot how much I enjoy using this piece of equipment. I also enjoyed when John brought me over the heavier red VIPR because the purple one was too easy for me. Booyah!

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Steves class used a body bar in place of the VIPR and we used a small step. My first METCON3 class was Steve's, and I had just attended a spin class. I thought I was going to die. And throw up. And die while throwing up. This is actually what I look for in a workout, so I was thrilled.

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I like that this class is broken into three sets because the first set is just hard, the second set you get your shit together, and the third set is balls to the wall because you can pass out on the mats in the stretching section of the gym when you're done with a sense of accomplishment.

I was a sweaty mess by 10 AM, showered and dressed by 10:30 AM, and off running errands in a car with no gas by 10:35 AM. If I'm going to be out of bed at all on a Sunday, I want to feel like I conquered the world. That's why I can't do Sunday morning yoga.

Although I didn't do yoga today, John had us to a lot of side planks, including that threading the needle business that really targets my obliques. I should remember to do those when I'm drunkenly doing push-ups in my kitchen. (Sometimes I feel really guilty for skipping the gym to go the bar and then I do push-ups when I get home to justify my behavior. No joke.)

I came home from the gas station (yes, I finally went) committed to not eating crap (I ate Cheeze Doodles yesterday and then worried about my insides turning orange permanently), so I busted out the blender and made a smoothie. This is a smoothie and not a shake because there is no protein powder at my parents' house. What kind of kitchen these people are running is beyond me. Anyway, I put frozen peaches, frozen raspberries, dried rolled oats, coconut milk, and a little honey into the blender and had this tasty snack. Then I ate left over swordfish and spaghetti twenty minutes later.

Forty-five, fifty, and sixty-minute METCON3 classes are offered all over this great city of ours. If you'd like to start going with me, I'm thinking about hitting up 85th and Lex and 50th and Broadway. Comment below or send me a text if we are FIRL (friends in real life, duh.)