Sorority Favorite: The ClassPass

How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions related to health & fitness? Well, if you're like the majority of the world, then you've probably fallen off a bit. Well, we have something that will get you back on track: The ClassPass.

The ClassPass is your cost effective way of trying out the best fitness classes in your area. How it works is you pay a monthly fee ranging from $100-$115 and you have the chance to take advantage of classes at certain ClassPass studios. The only rule is that you cannot go to the same studio more than three times. This is to ensure that you take advantage of all of the other gyms/studios. We love the ClassPass because it makes you accountable. When you sign up for a class, you're committing to attending that class. If you don't show up, you will actually get charged for missing the class. No one wants to lose money so it's a great way to stick to your commitment.

Sign up and let us know what you think! 

A Sorority Girl's Ultimate Workout Playlist 2016

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If working out more was one of your New Year's Resolutions, then we know just how important it is to stay motivated. Music is the best way to keep you energetic at the gym so we pulled some of our favorite workout tunes to keep you entertained. Find our top 10 below and add to the last by including your favorites in the comment's section below!

1. Justin Bieber - "Sorry"
2. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar - "Bad Blood"
3. Kygo ft. Ella Henderson - "Here For You"
4. Silento - "Watch Me Whip, Watch Me Nae Nae"
5. Drake - "Hotline Bling"
6. Omarion - "Post To Be"
7. Adele - "Hello" (good for the cool down portion of your workout)
8. Ellie Goulding - "Lost & Found"
9. Missy Elliott - "WTF"
10. Ellie Goulding - "Something In the Way You Move"

Good luck with your workouts!

5 Yoga Workouts For Beginners

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We just love yoga! It is so calming and relaxing and really helps us to get centered. We are total beginners and really wanted to get some yoga beginners basics so we reached out to Kelsey Lawrence, Arizona Yoga Instructor and an Alpha Chi Omega Alumnae, to show us the ropes. Kelsey shares just how to do each beginner's yoga workout. Whether it's doing yoga at a studio, on the beach, or in the comfort of your home, you can take yoga just about anywhere with these easy workouts. Thanks for sharing, Kelsey!

Cat Cow (Chakravakasana)

1. Begin in tabletop position, hands under shoulders and knees under hips. 
2. Inhale and arch your back. Leading forward with your heart (not your head), shoulders on your back and chin tucked. Press down through your hands and feel your heart opening. Keep your shoulders relaxed, opened, and broadened. 
3. Exhale and round your back like a cat. Tucking your chin in towards your chest and exhaling all of the air out of your lungs. 
4. Repeat 5 times on your breath. 

This pose is extremely beneficial for back pain. It moves your hips and spine and squeezes out the kidneys. When leading with your heart, feel the expansiveness and opening of new possibilities!

Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

1. Begin in tabletop position. 
2. It is important in this pose to angle your hands in the right angle in order to protect your shoulders. 
3. On your mat, widen your arms to where your pinky fingers are touching the edge of the mat. Make sure your pointer fingers are pointing forward. 
4. On your next exhale tuck your toes and push back, raising your seat into the air with your feet hip distance apart. Push back through your hips while being mindful not to hyper-extend your straight arms. 
5. Try and turn your shoulders out ward. 
6. Ground your heals into your mat and if not, bending the knees is a beautiful way to practice this pose, especially if you have tight hamstrings. 
7. It allows pressure to be taken off the hamstrings and lower back and you are able to sink deeper into the posture. 
8. Breath here for 5 breath’s. Long inhale and extended exhale. 

This pose relives stiffness in the heels, strengths ankles and legs. The abdominal muscles are drawn towards the spine and the head relaxes and drops down, allowing the heart rate to slow. This is a very exhilarating pose and brings energy to your body. If you are feeling tired or groggy during the day, drop everything and get into down ward dog or some sort of inversion. The energizing benefits from this asana help to sustain energy and is much more valuable to your health compared to sugary energy drinks.

Warrior B (Virabhadrasana B)

1. Begin by standing on your mat; exhale and step your left leg behind you about 4 feet. Have your right toes facing forward and your left back foot angled about 45 degrees. 
2. Bend into your right leg; keep your knee over your ankle and breath. 
3. The outside of your back foot should be pressed into the floor and feel grounded. 
4. Feel the strength of your legs and the beautiful earth supporting you. 
5. Engage your abdomen, tuck the sacrum down, and try keeping the right knee over the ankle, not letting it dip inward or outward. 
6. Breathe here as long as you feel comfortable or for 3 breaths keeping your gaze at your right hand. 
7. Straighten your right leg; bring your left to meet the right and switch sides! 

This is a very powerful pose. You are toning your quads and hamstrings as well as your core. It also prepares you for other challenging yoga poses. Mentally focus on the path you want to be on. Find strength in grounding in the earth and that energy will guide you. A beautiful mantra for this pose might be: There is no path to peace, peace is the path.

Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)

1. Begin on your back. Tuck your chin a little into your chest and breath. 
2. Tuck your pelvis under and bring the insides of your feet together and slowly move your legs closer to your body until you feel a stretch in your hips. 
3. Rest your arms beside you palms up to receive energy. 
4. Your legs will look like they are in the shape of a butterfly. If the sensation is too much, you can place a blanket under each of your knees for support. 
5. Lie here and breathe into your hips for 5 deep breaths. 

Hip openers are so important because we hold so much of our tension in our hips. There are issues in our tissues! When you consciously focus on expanding into that tight area you are not only stretching the fascia you are consciously letting go of anxiety, and who doesn’t want that!! Focus on your breath in this pose and if it hurts you can always back out of it. However, I challenge you to breath through the pain and notice how quickly it subsides and how good it feels.

Childs Pose (Balasana)

1. Time to rest. Begin in tabletop position. 
2. Bring feet together and widen your knees open so that you are able to bring your buttocks towards your feet. Exhale and slowly rest your torso over your thighs so your forehead touches the mat. 
3. Extend your arms forward and breath. Another variation for this pose is to keep your arms bent or relax them next to you on your sides. 
4. Close your eyes and lengthen your breath for a deeper form of relaxation. 
5. Breathe here for 5 breaths and enjoy the stretch into the back of the torso 

This pose helps relieve stress and anxiety, as well as helps with dizziness and fatigue. Flexes the body’s internal organs and keeps them supple, and lengthens and stretches the spine. It normalizes circulation throughout the body and calms the body and mind.


Enjoy these poses and I hope they bring you peace, love and beauty to your life.


Namaste

Sorority Girly Exercises

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With summer halfway over, anyone else not as motivated to work out? When going to the gym or personal trainer starts to lose its luster, we are a huge fan of at home workouts. Of course, we are no expert in the best exercises to do at home, so when we stumbled across Girly Exercises (@girlyexercises) on Instagram we were more than obsessed. The workouts they showcase can be done right at home or at your office! It's amazing how many workouts you can get in with a simple chair and mat! Follow them on Instagram for free and simple workouts!

Staying Fit with the Fit Bit

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Catchy name, right? After we did the update on our phones a while back and noticed that our phone was tracking our footsteps, we've been paying better attention to how active we keep ourselves throughout the day. Apparently, you're supposed to get in 10,000 steps a day believe it or not. Well, unless your phone is with you, your footsteps can't be tracked, so we got wind of an even better tracking device: the Fit Bit! The Fit Bit is an awesome device that looks like a wristband. As you keep it on your wrist it tracks your total steps, showing you your average amount of steps and comparing it to other days that you've walked. The Fit Bit also keeps track of how many miles you have walked and how many calories you have lost. But, that's not even the heart of it all! It can also track your weight change and your sleep patterns! We are even thinking of taking advantage of the competitive feature where you can compete with your friends and family. It has a leaderboard to reflect who is taking the most and least steps.

Talk about motivation! We can't wait to see how much more in shape and healthy we can get! If you're currently using the FitBit, share with us your experience in the comment below!

5 Booty Workouts

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Admit it: you want a perfect booty. While we don't believe in absolute perfection, there are ways to achieve a decent behind and with the help of some of our fitness favorites like Athletic Form (@trainathleticform) and Instagram fitness sensation, Massy Arias (@massy.arias), we have managed to stick to a great Booty Workout regime to get our booties in great shape for spring and summer! Below are the workouts we recommend to shape those coconuts accompanied with videos on how to perfectly do each exercise:

• Dead lifts 

• Squats

• Stability Ball Leg Curl

• Donkey Kick Raise

• Stair Climber (Stair Master)

Happy {booty} workout!

5 Best Pre-Workout Foods

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If there is anything we have learned, don't go straight to the gym without fueling your body! When you see people uber sweating at the gym, it is because they have properly eaten throughout the day giving their body that extra jump-start to kick off those unwanted calories. We have come up with the 5 best pre-workout foods for you to consume before you hit the gym.

1. A Banana--if you plan on doing some hardcore cardio in the form of running, then you want some potassium running through your body. Consider a banana or two as they're filled with lots of potassium to help with muscle recovery.
2. Yogurt parfait w/ berries--Berries are the perfect antioxidant and plain, greek yogurt is a nice mix to help make this snack more full.
3. Hard-boiled eggs-- 1-2 hard-boiled eggs are an awesome source of protein prior to the workout.
4. Shake with whey powder--Mixing into any shake or smoothie you blend up is great for added protein in your system and will help with muscle develop.
5. Salad--You can never go wrong including greens into your pre-workout meal. Greens in a salad can offer you loads of fiber, vitamins, and minerals which all support a healthy body.

These are just some of our favorite pre-workout snacks. What are yours? Share with us below in the 'comments'!

EDM Workout Playlist

Nothing boosts your workout quite like the right music, so we've put together a playlist of songs guaranteed to pump you up... especially for the EDM lovers out there.  Co-Founder Ali is a devoted Kaskade fan, so naturally we had to include a little from him, and lots of other favorites too!  For those of you who went to Electric Daisy Carnival this past weekend (or wanted to go), these beats will take you right back to EDC.  Go hit the pavement, the gym, have a dance party, and get that heart rate going!

Press play below for our EDM Workout playlist... and be sure to check out our TSS Summer 2014 playlist on Spotify too!

What songs motivate you for a workout?  We would love to hear below!

5 Ways To Stay Motivated At The Gym

So you've finally mustered up enough energy to take your little butt to the gym, but how do you stay motivated once you get there? We know just how hard it can be to get to the gym and once you get there, you want to make it worth your while so we came up with 5 different ways you can stay motivated while you're at the gym.

#1. Make a Workout Playlist
Remember when we shared with you some cool Pandora workout stations? There's nothing like some cool beats to help you weather the gym storm! Set a time frame as to how long you want to be at the gym, then develop your playlist around that. For a little something extra, divide your music according to the workouts you will be doing. For example, if you're going to be doing cardio for 10 minutes, put on some upbeat music; if you're going to have a 5 minute cool-down/stretch session put on some chill music. This will help the workout go faster!

#2. Sign Up For a Class
Taking classes is a great source of cardio so look up all the classes being offered at your gym and commit to taking one. Our favorites are Zumba and Pure Barre with an occasional spin class here and there.

#3. Take a Friend
The greatest way to commit to a workout is to have someone holding you accountable. Taking a friend to workout with you pushes you to not only make it to the gym, but also to have a bomb workout because you will have someone rooting for you.

#4. Get a Trainer
Having the courage to sign up for a gym membership is only half the battle. Getting a trainer will help to give you that boost to stay on track with your fitness goals. A trainer motivates you throughout the workout and only pushes you toward getting the results you want.

#5. Workout When Your Crush Is There
No, seriously--what better way to stay motivated at the gym than when your crush is working out too. Eye candy during your workout is an added bonus ;-)

Happy Working Out!!

Meet Alicia Our New Health & Fitness Contributor!

We have very exciting news that we just couldn't wait any longer to share with our readers- meet our new Health & Fitness contributor, Alicia!  We're all about eating healthy and working out... but we're not exactly fitness experts.  Alicia is the perfect addition to our team!

A few times a month, Alicia will share all of her tips & tricks on eating healthy and working out.  Bonus... she even has yummy and healthy recipes in store for us too!  Read her bio & interview below, and get to know Alicia personally!


Bio:

Alicia Holmes is an Arizona native with an intense love and passion for health and wellness.  She serves as a health coach, personal and group fitness instructor, a fitness model, and has a passion for what she does.

Alicia’s thirst for knowledge about health led her to the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  There, she became a certified health coach, with the intention of helping to improve the quality of life for others through nutrition and overall wellness practices. 

Given her athletic background in competitive gymnastics and cheerleading, coupled with her extensive knowledge of physical fitness and performance, becoming a fitness trainer was a natural step for her.  For the last four years, she has been training clients on a personal level, and has recently started instructing group fitness classes as well.

Upon meeting her, it's apparent that she finds true joy in being able to inspire others to improve their health and happiness.  She loves sharing her knowledge of nutrition and fitness!

Interview:
1. How did you get into health & fitness?

"It’s been a journey, but my dad’s cancer sparked my interest in nutrition.  I have a blog post on that on my website.  Years later I started marketing for an organic supplement company, and also began fitness modeling.  That’s when I realized I couldn’t quench my thirst for knowledge on anything health related."  

2. How many times a week do you workout?  What do you do?

"I try to get a good work out in at least 3-4 times per week.  Sometimes it’s more, and sometimes I just don’t have the time.  I love group fitness classes though, especially bootcamp style workouts.  The energy is awesome and I get such a killer workout.  For fun I also love hiking, hot yoga, and swimming."

3. What is your go-to snack when you're in a rush?

"Fruit, but I also try to always have my homemade protein bars or bites handy; sometimes a girl needs a little more than a banana!"

4. You have gorgeous hair- what's your secret?

"Thank you!  I don’t really have a secret, but eating as healthy as I do does help to grow strong, thick hair.  Also not washing it everyday if I can avoid it, which is convenient for my busy lifestyle."

5. What is your favorite part about working and eating healthy?

"My favorite part about working out and eating healthy is definitely how I feel.  I haven’t always been so healthy, I look back and it’s like night and day.  I have so much energy, I feel vibrant and alive.  I hardly get sick, and I sleep like a champ."

6. What's the worst diet you've heard of and why?

"That’s a tough question to answer.  There are so many fad diets out there that are pretty extreme.  I believe in moderation.  No carbs?  No fat?  95% protein?  Are you kidding me?"

7. What's 3 things you always carry around in your purse?

"I never go anywhere without lip balm and snacks.  Those two are easy.  Hmmm…  Floss!  I always have a travel size floss on me."

8. What's one of your favorite workout classes? 

"I really like doing Amenzone workouts, they are really challenging, but I love that.  And the workouts are different every single time, so you never know what to expect.  Except that I will definitely be sweating.  A lot.  I also really love hot yoga."  

9. One food you cannot live without.  Why?

"Just one?!  I feel like I have tons!  Right now I guess it would be bananas.  I have been having at least one a day lately.  But they are so tasty, and healthy.  And they are perfect before or after workouts, in my protein smoothies, and they are so portable."

10. What do you think is key to living a healthy lifestyle?

"Having fun with it.  If you make eating healthy and exercising fun, it’s easy to maintain.  We all like having fun.  But the second you start to take things too seriously, it tends to all fall apart.  Go hiking or make a healthy dinner with a friend; find a way to really enjoy eating vegetables by experimenting in the kitchen.  Eat cleanly, but have a treat now and then. Don’t sweat it if you miss one workout.  It can be easy to get carried away, but if you enjoy yourself, your meals, and your workouts, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is easy."

We Love Athleta

On Ali: Pants, Hoodie.  On Karen: Pants, Top.  All clothing c/o Athleta.

We don't know about you, but having cute new workout gear always motivates us to stay active.  We get super excited to hit the gym, pavement, or yoga studio when we have a fabulous outfit to rock while working up a sweat!  That being said, we were happy when we came across Athleta's stores in our area (yes, there's one by both our Scottsdale office & our Seattle office!) and we tried on their great workout gear!  

On the top of our list?  Athleta's pant selection.  Not only are their pants comfy, but they have lots of style too.  Check out Ali's paisley print pants... we are obsessed!  We fell in love with their pants in fun patterns; they were also very flattering when we tried them on.  Fun, flattering, and functional!  Athleta's product is designed in-house for female athletes, by female athletes-- and it shows.

To complete the outfit, we also love Athleta's variety of tops and hoodies.  Ali's grey Batwing hoodie even has thumb holes... too cute!  Karen's vibrant purple space dye top pulls the whole outfit together with a pop of color, and fits her to perfection.  We love the space dye look for athletic gear!

To check out an Athleta store near you, click here.  Not only do they have stores in Seattle & Scottsdale, but they have locations all across the country... including Newport Beach, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica for our California girls!  Athleta is actually opening 60 stores by the end of 2013, across the US!  Of course, you can can shop 24/7 online too.  Thank you to our friends at Athleta for helping us put together this post-- we love our new workout gear!  Namaste.

Birthday Cake Protein Shake {Recipe from Dashing Dish}

Protein Powder: Lean 1.  Sweetener: Truvia.  Sprinkles: Betty Crocker.

In the search for things to eat that are both nutritious & delicious, we're always on the lookout for a tasty new find.  Protein shakes have become one of our staples for healthy eating (especially on the go!) and just your average vanilla or chocolate shake can get a little bland after time.  Well boring protein shake no more, we found the perfect way to spice it up!  Oh and did we mention, it tastes a lot like our favorite decadent treat... cake batter!!

We found this fabulous cake batter protein shake recipe on one of our favorite sites, Dashing Dish.  The recipe is post-workout perfection, or as a great healthy treat for anytime.  The shake reminds us of a thick and creamy cake batter ice cream milkshake.  For your vanilla protein powder base, we really enjoy the taste and consistency of Lean 1.  Sprinkles are optional, but we sure think that they add to the fun!  We love the idea of adding flavor extracts to protein shakes to kick the flavor up a notch, such as using almond extract in this recipe.

If you're looking for more creative protein shake concoctions, look no further than Dashing Dish.  With a few extra ingredients, protein shakes can be transformed into lots of fun dessert flavors!

Special thank you to Dashing Dish for the yummy recipe, and for letting us feature it on our site!

7 Best At-Home Workouts

1. Power Jack
2. Foam Roller Push-Ups
3. Side Plank Crunches
4. The Reverse Lunge
5. Plank Kickbacks
6. Power Jack
7. Foam Rolling

Oh the gym, how we wish we could visit you more often! With our super busy schedules, we always feel guilty not making it to the gym. A lot of the time we find ourselves working from home, so it dawned on us that maybe a better solution to ditching the gym is bringing the gym to us with some quick and easy at-home workouts. TSS Reader and one of our great friends from Arizona State University, Estela, is a Fitness Specialist so we asked her to share with us some simple at-home workouts that will help keep us in shape.The best part of all, is that to complete these workouts, you only need four things: comfortable workout shoes, a foam roller, an exercise mat, and your body!

Estela numbered each workout in reference to the order it should be performed. For workouts #1 and #6, she recommends using those two workouts as a warm-up and to finish as a cool-down when you complete exercises #2-#5. For every exercise she suggests doing 10 - 25 reps of each without rest, repeating 3-5 times depending on your fitness level (please consult your doctor or trainer). 

Ok, so we lied, you actually need five things to complete a workout....CUTE WORKOUT CLOTHES! Estela is wearing her favorite workout apparel brand: Lululemon, however, for a more affordable price, she recommends trying Ellie. 

Try out all the workouts and let us know which one is your favorite!

For more fitness tips, email Estela at estela@power1k.com. 

Reader's Favorite Fitness Instagram Accounts

*The photos in this graphic are not the property of The Sorority Secrets.

The other day we were talking about how we get motivated to workout, eat healthy, and overall stay in shape and we all admitted that we have a Fitness Crush. A Fitness Crush is someone who inspires you to get up off your couch and whip your butt into shape (or at least attempt to!). A lot of our Fitness Crushes we found on Instagram and we just knew that there had to be more influential fit Instagrammers out there. Last week, we asked you, our readers, who your favorite Fitness Instagram accounts were and many of you shared some awesome people. We wanted to highlight a couple of these accounts that are inspiring a lot of you each day!

@angelicakathleen: We love how dedicated and motivated Angelica Kathleen is. She describes herself as a National NPC Bikini competitor, full time college student/intern, and a Team ProSupps Athlete. Her passion for fitness is seen throughout all of her photos where she highlights her journey toward competing and all the foods and drinks she takes to stay fit. 

@littlebblog: Otherwise known as Brittany, Brittany is "FitFluential" as she describes on her Instagram page. We love Brittany's Instagram because she highlights her regular routine life amidst eating clean and going to the gym. Her account makes you feel motivated to have fun while still maintaining healthy habits. Also check out her personal fitness blog here where she shares clean eating recipes and awesome workouts!

@karenakatrina: Karena and Katrina are another set of influential Fitness Instagrammers. Karena and Katrina are trainers and promote the idea of toning it up through their site, " Tone It Up". What makes their page really motivating is they encourage a community of sharing fitness and nutrition. Their bright spirits and playful demeanor make you feel like you can be just as happy and in shape as they are.

Who is YOUR Fitness Crush? Share it below as we would love to hear! Check out the rest of your favorite Fitness Instagram account choices on our Instagram: @thesororitysecrets!

It Girl Trend Report: Fab&Fit

Working out and being fit is something that should be a priority for everyone.  Sure, we may feel lazy and unmotivated but sometimes a cute pair of running shoes or a cute workout gear can really boost your motivation to workout- we like to call this being “Fab&Fit”!  We personally like to get our motivation from our dearest friend and blogger, Lauryn Evarts’ blog, “The Skinny Confidential”.  (Meet her here!)

For this week’s It Girl Intern Trend Report, we asked our It Girl Interns to snap a picture of their favorite workout item!  

What are some of your favorite work out items?  Instagram and mention us! @thesororitysecrets