Tag Archives: review

I Would Be So Buff If I Rowed Every Day

One of my favorites thing about this blog (and now my job) is the ability to try out a bunch of workout classes. It’s like adult playtime!

This morning, I had the opportunity to try CityRow. 

Let me first say: I did Uplift Strength Monday and Uplift Cardio yesterday. I. am. sore.

Moving on.

Remember how I fell in love with yoga last year because I found an AMAZING instructor, Annie? Well, she just opened a hot new rowing/yoga studio.

Pretty!

It’s already been profiled in Well + Good and the New York Times. From the attention I’ve seen rowing workouts getting lately, it looks like they will be A Thing in 2014. 

City Row

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few months ago, I tried a rowing workout at CrossFit and loved it. I don’t currently belong to a gym, but I would always remember the rowing machine being the redheaded stepchild that nobody ever used. When I was burnt out on every other machine, I’d go over to the rower and give it some loving for a little while, and every time, I’d forget what a good workout it is.

This morning, we tried their Signature Row class, a 50-minute class that alternates intervals of rowing and strength moves. I couldn’t see any kind of clock, but I’d assume each interval was about six minutes long?

During the rowing intervals, we’d alternate between steady-state rowing and sprints. At the end of each interval, before moving on to the mat, we’d rack the rowing bar thingy (technical term) and do some rowing without our arms to stretch our legs out a bit.

On the mat, we’d do push-ups, lunges, squats (ow, ow) and yes, even some rows. 

I’ve tried a lot of classes in my day, some hard, some easy, but very few where I think “damn! I would be STRONG if I did this class all the time.”

The rowers were on the Indorow, which makes a really cool, wave-like sound. You can’t really hear it during class because of the music, but it’s a cool idea. 

City Row Views

Oh, and the view is terrible, right?

Shaun Jenkins City Row

Our instructor was the super-charismatic Shaun Jenkins. I would like to have a quarter of the energy of this man. He was funny and engaging as he literally bounced around the room.

Annie is teaching a Row and Flow class – 15 minutes of rowing and 30 minutes of Vinyasa that I am DYING to take as soon as my schedule allows. 

NewImage

For now, I’ll just take pics with her.

What’s your favorite neglected machine at the gym? Have you ever taken/would you take a rowing class? 

Blue Apron Taught Me a Little Bit About Cooking

My cooking skills are pretty limited. I’m sure I could be a decent cook if I tried, but by the time I get home from work, cooking for one person, cooking some elaborate meal is not a priority. Eating immediately is.

Most of my meals are so, so simple: some sort of protein, some sort of healthy-ish starch and some sort of veggie. Whatever. It works.

I’d heard of Blue Apron, and it sounded super-fancy, expensive and way beyond my basic cooking skills. It’s a delivery service where all the ingredients are delivered straight to you for three meals that serve two people for $60. One of my coworkers is friends with one of the Blue Apron people, and she had some free meals to give out, so I thought it was totally worth a try.

I got a box before the holidays, and made the Mexican meal because it was the easiest, and my favorite, and froze the rest.

Another box came the other day, and once again, I went for the Mexican. If you are what you eat, I am a taco. This dish was a Mexican tortilla soup. I was sick; it was Mexican. Perfect.

IMG 3316

Each meal comes with these handy-dandy recipe cards. (I threw out the recipe cards with my first box, and if you do that, you can still access the recipes on their website.)

 

Also, their social media person is ON POINT.

It’s really hard to not just eat the cheese, you know?

 

Blue Apron Recipe Card

They give you really easy-to-follow directions, illustrated at each major step.

I like that the service teaches you new techniques and ideas, as well as gives you plating and styling ideas. 99% of the time I’m cooking for myself, but these are still good things to know.

Blue Apron Tortilla Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m happy with how the finished product turned out. I’ll never be a food blogger, but I made something tasty, and it really wasn’t that hard. Also, there is avocado in it. It is hard to go wrong with avocado. They said it was two portions, but I’ve already had two servings, and there is plenty left for a third…even after snacking on some of it on tortilla chips. And I don’t have a dainty appetite, so it’s impressive how filling it is.

I actually won’t be continuing with the service just because it’s pretty rare for me to have time in a week to make three pretty involved meals like this, but it’s a really cool idea. What I’m not crazy about is that you sign up and are automatically renewed every week, rather than opting into it when you want it. I get it from a business perspective, but I’m not ready to commit to it yet. #commitmentissues

They ship to all of the East and West Coasts, and some of the states in the middle, but not all of them. (Sorry, guys.)

Would you try a service like this? How comfortable are you in the kitchen? (How did you learn to cook?)