Tag: propel water

5 Ways to Amp up Your Social Media Presence + Propel Fitness Festival Recap

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For the third year in a row, I had the pleasure of partnering with Propel for their epic fitness festival weekend. Each year it gets bigger and better. From renting out a sweet spot in Venice and meeting Nick Jonas in 2016, to having a photoshoot in NYC in 2017, to gettin low to Ludacris this year, it’s been quite an epic ride!

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This year, I attended Industry Day prior to the festival weekend launch. Industry Day is targeted towards fitness professionals (trainers, studio owners, etc) and is full of inspiring panels and lots of knowledgeable guests. As a self-proclaimed social media addict, I was most excited for the Break the Internet panel with my friend Katie Dunlop of @lovesweatfitness, Remi Ishizuka of @rrayyme, and Lauryn Evarts Bosstick of @theskinnyconfidential. These ladies have a combined Instagram following of 1.1 million and are all killin it as girl bosses of their own making. I had so many takeaways, but here are my five favorite tips from the panel.

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Five Ways to Amp up Your Social Media Presence

  1. The best way to build your following isn’t by going out and looking for new followers, it’s by actively engaging and building trust with your CURRENT community. If your community trusts you and believes in what you’re promoting, they will be your biggest advocates. They will share your account with their friends just because of how much they love you. This will help you grow your page and make your community even stronger.
  2. Find a niche. See what’s missing in your space and create it. Make good content that adds value.
  3. Always have a takeaway. Your content should educate, entertain, or inspire. Bonus points for content that does all three.
  4. If you don’t have anything good to post, don’t post anything. It is becoming more and more important to put content out there that is really, really good. You want people to stay on your profile longer (Instagram tracks this and it helps you stay relevant in the algorithm), so great photos and captions are key.
  5. Be authentic and do YOU. It’s cliche, but there is only one you in this world and that’s why your community follows your account. Leverage that by showcasing your personality in everything you do.

Industry Day was particularly inspiring, but the real FUN came during the next two days of the Propel Fitness Festival Co:Labs, a weekend of killer workouts + awesome live music all at the beautiful Quixote Studios in West Hollywood.

I spent basically 24 hours at the space spending time with other #fitfriends and, of course, getting realllllly sweaty. I loved the braid bar, meditation space, and massages by Soothe (my body needed that!).

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During the weekend, I checked out classes by Prevail, Pvolve, Training Mate, Get Fit with Giddy, and Nicole Winhoffer. While all were amazing, Nicole Winhoffer certainly takes the cake. Her iconic LA dance workout was done to live beats from Ludacris himself. I was thankful to use my press status to get as close as possible, and even got to snap a pic post sweat. Major fan girl moment!

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If you haven’t had a chance to attend a Propel Fitness Festival experience, they’ll be popping up around the country all summer–stay tuned here. Fingers crossed for another incredible festival in LA next year!!

This post is sponsored by Propel, but all opinions are my own. 

Let’s Get Ugly with Propel in NYC

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What an absolute whirlwind this month has been! From traveling to NYC, to having my mom in town, to apartment hunting, my mind has been going non-stop and I’m thrilled to have a weekend of reflection and relaxation.

I was so excited when Propel reached out to me again this year to be an ambassador for their new campaign, Let’s Get Ugly. The campaign is all about the grittiness of working out, the moment when you don’t care what you look like and are just down to get sweaty and give it your all. I can totally relate—especially in the middle of spin class or when my Barry’s instructor gives the order to start sprinting. For me, working out has never been about looking good while doing it; it’s about giving each work out everything I have and walking out a better, stronger person.

Last year, our ambassador responsibilities were here in LA, so I couldn’t believe that this year’s campaign included a trip to New York City! Since Propel Water has more electrolytes than any other water and replenishes what you lose in sweat, the trip was filled to the brim with workouts!

To start our 48 hours in NYC, we got all glammed up and ready for photoshoots. I opted for light make up (per usual) and a super cute side braid that went into a ponytail. I always have to have my hair up during sweat sessions so I knew this look was most authentic to me.

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We traveled in groups with two other bloggers around each set to get our pictures taken. The photographers were so fun to work with, offering advice on poses, and trying their best to get me to put on my serious face when all I could do was giggle.

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After the photoshoot, we had a full afternoon/evening of workouts. First, we took “The Class” by Taryn Toomey. I’ve taken over 600 classes and this has to be one of the more unique ones. During each song we would only do one or two movements, some small and slow, others cardio intensive. I knew I would be sore for days so the sound bath conclusion was much appreciated.

Once we rested a bit (oh, whoops, we decided to go for rose on the rooftop during our allotted rest time), we headed back to the space for two more workouts—boxing with Prevail LA and yoga with Yoga for Bad People. Boxing was such a blast and I love the Prevail team because they always make everyone feel welcome, no matter their level.

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The Propel team shared with us the incredible new commercial that features Jessie J!!! She was even at the event and spoke for a bit about how important fitness is to her as well. I loved that she was a little awkward and seemed really down to earth.

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I was so sad when the amazing trip was over, but thankful to get to meet and spend time with a group of strong, friendly, and fun women. I am thrilled to report that the Propel Co:Labs are coming to LA. I’ll be sharing more about how you can get in on the fun in the coming months so look out for an exclusive invite!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Propel Electrolyte Water, but all opinions are my own.

Propel Workout with Gunnar Peterson Recap

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You know those things that you look forward to for so long and are so excited about? There is nothing worse than when they pass by so quickly.

My second workout with celeb (read: Kardashian) trainer, Gunnar Peterson, has been something I’ve counted down for months. I was eager to meet the NYC Propel Ambassador gals and spend some more time with bloggers-turned-friends, Whitney and Gwen. With the anticipation bubbling, I didn’t even want it to start for fear that it would end too soon. Well, I was right. Although it’s over, I am so thankful for such a great experience and can’t want to share the deets with you!

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Five Things I’m Loving Lately – July

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Ah! I am so sorry I have been extremely MIA recently. But I promise it’s for a very legitimate reason and not just because I’m a slacker (eh, maybe a bit of both). I got a new job! I’ll spare you the details but I’m still working in nonprofit, however now on the marketing/outreach side of things instead of programs. I just finished my first week and so far so good—I love it! Hopefully with all the craziness settling down, I’ll be back to my normal Tues/Thurs posting schedule. And I do apologize for my absence.

To fill you in on some updates let’s get down to the five things I’m loving lately, July edition.

Weddings

The best (and sometimes maybe worst?) thing about summer in your late 20s is seeing many of your closest friends tie the knot. My husband and I were in Connecticut last weekend where we witnessed my Memphis roommate of three years tie the knot. It was so amazing being able to see her and celebrate such a special day—and let’s give it up for the mac and cheese bar and bacon wrapped scallops that made the trip even more worth it! We’re heading to another wedding in Miami next Friday where I will get a new sister-in-law (yay Jessica and Justin!).

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Fellow blogger babes

One thing that I absolutely love about having a blog is being able to connect with other bloggers via social media and IRL. I am SO excited because next week we ALL get to come together for BlogFest in downtown LA! I’ll be going with my fellow Propel ambassadors, Whitney from To Live and Diet and Gwen from The LA Girl. It’s always a good time when we get to hang out and rep one of our favorite workout accessories together. Drinking Propel during and right after an intense fitness class, run, or gym sesh is crucial because it replenishes the electrolytes you lose when you sweat.

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McDonald’s iced coffee

I’m obsessed with a good deal which is why I’m shocked and upset that I just learned about this promo going on right now. Buy one get one free iced coffee!!! Dreams do come true! I will say, the promo is only good Monday-Friday (when coffee is most necessary, duh) but I can’t find anything about it online so hopefully it’s at your local Micky D’s too. My tip is to be very specific with how you want it prepared or you’ll leave there with more cream and sugar than anyone can handle. (PS yes, I did get fries, I went to Carrie’s Pilates Plus that evening so I don’t feel guilty. Also I gave the “get one free” to a coworker…nothing like making new friends by giving them free coffee!)

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Squarebars

The lovely people at Squarebars sent over a sample pack and so far I love them. I had tried them in the past and didn’t enjoy the flavors I had chosen at Vitamin Shoppe but now that I have an array, the cherry chocolate is my fav.

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Training Mate

I always found the parking situation at Training Mate to be daunting and typically didn’t seek out the classes but that all changed when they opened the Stud(io) City location. I’m not absolutely addicted to Luke’s class. Whenever I go in there tired, upset, or just not in the mood, I come out on cloud nine still laughing from one of the awful jokes. If you haven’t been, go, first class is free.

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This post is sponsored by Propel Electrolyte Water, but all opinions are my own.

What’s in my Gym Bag?

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Many people are shocked to hear that I don’t plan my workouts ahead of time. Remember when ClassPass started limiting class reservations to four at a time? Yeah, I had no clue it happened because I wait until the last minute to book every class. I never know what kind of mood I’ll be in or what time I’ll need to leave the office, so around 3:00 every day, I start perusing to decide what sweat-scapade will have that night.

There are a few downsides to this. First off, since so many people do schedule ahead of time, it can be kind of difficult to get into a class last minute. The longer I wait, the more they fill up. It’s the worst feeling when I finally make a decision only to find out the class is now full!

It can also be a pain because of what’s required for each class. Barre requires sticky socks and longer leggings and I enjoy wearing baggy shirts and need tennis shoes for bootcamp. The worst is forgetting a pair of socks and then signing up for spin class!

For this reason, every morning I pack my bag full of anything I might need for the night’s workout. I’m not very high-maintenance so this is what I typically include:

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  1. Sneakers
  2. Sticky socks for barre and Pilates
  3. Regular socks for spin or bootcamp
  4. Headphones in case I go on an outdoor run
  5. Sports bra
  6. Leggings
  7. Tank
  8. Propel to replenish electrolytes after class
  9. Dry shampoo

What do you keep in your gym bag?

This post is sponsored by Propel Electrolyte Water, but all opinions are my own.