Hello everyone! I’m super excited to announce that I have been certified in yet another group fitness format – HIGH Yo!

What is HIGH Yo? It’s the latest format from HIGH Fitness, which I’ve been certified in since 2020 (yes, that was a pandemic purchase for me haha).

The website describes HIGH Yo as:

Yoga inspired, music driven stretching. HIGH Yo was created to help people fall in love with stretching and start including it into their routines on a more regular basis. This lighthearted format incorporates stretching, strength and balance to improve overall health, and show what a difference stretching can make in our lives and for our bodies. HIGH Yo was created to leave you feeling amazing, help you appreciate and take care of your body, help prevent injuries, and maintain overall good health. With HIGH Yo we embrace the fact that every body is different, and we hope to inspire and encourage participants to embrace and love the body they have, both on and off the mat. Most importantly, HIGH Yo is FUN – say goodbye to boring old stretching and say hello to HIGH Yo!

HIGH Fitness website

In the virtual training I did in October, the creator Amber Zenith kept emphasizing that HIGH Yo is NOT yoga but rather yoga inspired. I think she was always careful to make this distinction because she herself is a certified yoga instructor, so she knows how many hours and hour and hours of training people have to put into becoming yoga instructors. HIGH Yo certification was just a one day training, and it’s really more about the stretching rather than the whole philosophy and mindset of yoga.

Yoga hasn’t really been my favorite way to workout anyway. It’s sort of too slow for me, I guess. But I know that stretching is important. So I was excited when HIGH Yo was introduced to the HIGH Live platform last year. Like the rest of my workouts, if I’m not having fun I probably won’t stretch like I should. HIGH Yo was perfect for me to ensure I gave my muscles what they needed, without feeling like I had to force myself to do it. I’m never consistent if I feel that way!

Just like HIGH Fitness and HIGH Low, the class is set to real music that people know and love. Not the royalty-free stuff that most group fitness classes are set to. I mean, that music is fine. But it really never gets me as excited to workout as the real songs do.

Unlike the other two HIGH formats, which have four class lengths, there are only two HIGH Yo lengths: the 50 minute and the 30 minute. The former is a full workout in itself because it has stretching, cardio and strength tracks. The latter is more about full body stretching.

I have anxiously been waiting for the chance to get certified and now I finally am! Who wants to take a virtual class with me? Comment with what days and times work you!

Summer is here, which means that some of us may be thinking about how we can keep on track with our fitness goals. While the weather is often better for exercising in the summer (except in those areas with blazing heat and humidity), the frequency of barbecues, pool parties, and general social activities with friends and family makes it hard to balance everything.

If you struggle to reach fitness goals during the summer, here is a step-by-step process to make sure you’re creating realistic fitness goals.

Exercise can often seem inconvenient. You may need special attire or equipment. And there’s always the problem of time. How can you find any time to change clothes, work up a sweat, and then clean yourself off? You already have to worry about getting things done for work, cooking healthy meals, and spending time with friends and family!

Well, how about fitting in time during the workday to exercise? Many of the moves that I teach in my pilates classes can be done in regular clothes and don’t cause you to sweat any more than you already do during a stressful meeting. So, if you need a boost during the day, simply close your office door (if you have one), choose a few or all of these moves, and get moving! Even if you don’t have an office door, maybe your co-workers will want to join in!

One of the most common pushbacks I hear as a health and wellness coach for millennial women might not be the one that you expect.

“I’m too intimidated to go to the gym. I have no idea what I’m doing!”

Yep, that’s right. Self-esteem can often be the biggest issue that stops a woman from reaching her fitness or weight loss goals. That little voice in a woman’s head that threatens to sabotage our success in everything else in our lives can also encroach on our exercising. The voice sounds like “I can’t do that,” or “I’ll never be able to look like that.”

Trust me, I get it. When I was in college, you wouldn’t catch me trying to pump iron in my university gym—I was too worried I would embarrass myself. Let me assure you, most people in the gym are not focused on you. Like you, they’re also just trying to lose some weight, build muscle, or boost their fitness.

Something I’ve found that has helped my clients build confidence before they even step into the gym are fitness websites that help them gain muscle and skill. All of them offer free workouts, and most of them don’t require any equipment—so you can do it in the comfort of your home without anyone around you. Plus, all of these fitness entrepreneurs are positive and encouraging, which will help with any negative thoughts that may pop up. Then there’s the fact that every single one of these workout coaches is female; talk about girl-power!

As a running coach, I see a lot of people who are motivated to start running during the holidays or New Year because they want to lose weight. They think that losing the pounds will improve their lives significantly.

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be in a healthy weight range, depending primarily on the goal of “looking good” is not a good way to adopt and stick with a healthy lifestyle. If you’re unrealistically motivated by your looks, you may never feel like you look good enough, which will leave you discouraged even after losing the weight. Or, equally upsetting, you’ll fall back into old patterns once you do reach your desired weight.

Part of the reason I decided to become a running coach is because, when I was first establishing a fitness routine in college, I fell into this trap of working out for my looks. But I didn’t see dramatic results in my health until I really connected with my body, respected it, and found deeper reasons to stick with healthy living. So now I’ve made it my mission to help people master fitness in a way that doesn’t focus on toning your butt or developing beach-ready abs.

Here are some of the reasons I encourage my clients to exercise regularly.