NOVEMBER – Lacey Stone Fitness

YEEESSS!!! -vember

Gooble GOOBLE… It’s Turkey Time!!! Come to class in November and get your booty in gear before you get stuffed with the stuff’in! Only 2 months left in ‘09 how are you going to end it?

* Dr OZ !

Thank you to everyone for your support! This Segment makes my Top 5 BEST Professional Moments ever. My moment on Dr Oz epitomizes what “Never give up.,” means to me… Remember last month’s story? http://sweatcity.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/rock-tober/
Here’s the segment… Watch what happens http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/bounce-years

* SWEATCity!’s Come Back!

SWEATCity! launched in April 2008 and ran for 1 full year – http://sweatcity.wordpress.com/ . Jessica, my Fiancée, and I put ourselves out there to create a honest/safe place where people could talk about anything from fitness to relationships. We are pleased to announce the a new partnership with www.AfterEllen.com.

October 28th marked the official Launch of “Lesbian Love” on AfterEllen.com. Take a look at our first episode – http://www.afterellen.com/blog/trishbendix/video-lacey-jessica-lesbian-love-101-episode-1 – The VLOG is designed for anyone looking to maintain a successful loving relationship. Topics include -meeting the parents, moving in, first date sex, etc, etc.

OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE; Jessica and I love each other very much and it saddens us deeply how homophobic the world is. We hope by putting ourselves out there we can help gay, straight, black, white, Indian, Asian, green, purple people see that we are all the same. That a relationship is a relationship and love is love.

Lesbian Love will also run on SWEATCity! as well as a NEW Lacey Stone Fitness VLog aannnddd any and all the other exciting happenings Jessica and I can muster up in this Empire
State!

* NEWS

CW11 – I was the Featured Fitness Expert on the CW11 Morning News’s Wake-up WORKOUT! This was a special segment that involved a little Halloween Candy – Check it out! – http://www.wpix.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=ac278ee8-1ca8-47c2-91fc-b5bdfba3bc3d – Thank YOU Kate!

Life & Style – October 28th Issue – I was the Featured Fitness Smarty chosen to talk about Jessica Biel’s Stressful weight loss due to JT… Didn’t you know we were BFFS? Thank you Neda, Aisha, and Jordi!

CYCLE for SURVIVAL – I know I’m early but my parents taught me that the early bird gets the worm! This year I am going to be an Instructor for the Cycle for Survival Equinox Charity Event. This EVENT is for an AMAZING Cause and I’d love for as many of you to be a part of it as possible. I promise to be BRING Energy galore and I hope you and your friends can join me. Take a look! http://mskcc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=cc_home And for yet more info you can email Katie, the Cycle for Survival Coordinator – kotkinsk@mskcc.org

MY EVENT DETAILS:
Date: January 31, 2010
Time: 1pm Time Spot
Where: Equinox Graybar – 420 Lexington Avenue (at 44th Street) – in Grand Central
Why: For a great cause, create a TEAM and sweat for someone’s life… 2010 is going to be the BEST year… “I can feellll it in the air” lalalalal

Money Matters – I’d like to give a shout out to my friend and my Financial Advisor Marcy Rose. Last month I was freaking out about finances and she came to the rescue. She calmly helped me figure out my SEP, my stocks, my everything. I look at her as a “Trainer” for my money. If you’d like to feel a little more piece of mind when it comes to money matters contact Marcy today marcy.rose@smithbarney.com – She ROCKS!

* OCTOBER TopTEN!

Download this month’s MUSIC! It’s a ttreeaatttt… Just Click – http://www.laceystonefitness.com/playlist.htm and download October TopTen! ‘09

1. What’s Up – I Love 80’s – Remix Club
2. Paparazzi – Lady GaGa
3. Falling Anthem – Bad Boy Bill
4. Lollipop (Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix) – The Chordettes
5. Used Somebody (Club Mix) – Kalus
6. Hell of a Life – Hell of a Life
7. Going Out Tonight (The Real Funk Remix) – Lethal Bizzle
8. Thriller – Compilation 80’s – Happy Halloween!
9. Your Love – The Outfield
10. Harmony (Radio Edit) – Pakito

* Travel

I will be going home to Family over Thanksgiving ttuurrrkkeeyyy! Be sure to check Equinox.com for shortened holiday schedules.

11.25 – 6.30pm – Spin- Greenwich – CANCELLED
11.27 – 6.30am – TheBigGAME! – Greenwich – CANCELLED
11.30 – 6.30am – Spin – Greenwich – Scott Katzenstein

I will be back December 2nd for the Evening Edition of TheBigGAME! Go BIG or GO HOME, HA!

“The actions, thoughts and words that become a permanent part of you are the ones you choose to repeat over and over again.” – Ralph Marston

Happy Thanksgiving!
Lacey

Passion.Patience.Persistence = EXCELLENCE

LACEY STONE
Fitness Professional
Founder of Lacey Stone Fitness, LLC
www.LaceyStoneFitness.com

Attraction to other women…

In this episode Jessica and Lacey delve into the forbidden relationship topic. She’s hot, right? J&L talk candidly about what it feels like, what it means, and how to behave when another woman creates a little controversy in a relationship’s dynamic.

Watch what happens…

Training Lacey-STYLE! :)

BY SARINAMORALES / 21 SEPTEMBER 2009 / 04:30 PM

As a New Yorker, time is everything. We run around like we have our heads cut off. Where are we going? What am I doing? I have class, work and a party at eight. No time to eat, I’ll grab it on the go. Where is there time for fitness?

With a tight schedule, it’s difficult to think you could actually squeeze in time for a good workout session, never mind getting to the gym. In an attempt to keep women on their feet, Nike threw an event at Paragon in New York City and invited fitness trainer, Lacey Stone, to lead an intense workout session. It was a workout I was prepared for, but had no clue what was in store. For those unfamiliar with Lacey’s workouts, you’re in for a surprise. Her whole concept of training revolves around teamwork, which is an interesting spin considering we often deem training to be a one-woman job. Let me tell you a little bit about Lacey Stone.

Super Trainer, Lacey Stone, has been in countless magazines and knows her way around the gym to say the least! She realizes we are all busy, but likes to set realistic goals for women. Let’s break it down. There are “365 days, there’s 7 days in a week, 24 hrs in a day. Lets plan it out,” she says. Her philosophy is, “Anything is possible. There are two sides to fitness, the mental and the physical.” The mental aspect of training is something often overlooked, but something she sees just as important as the physical. “If you’re not motivated, then your not going to be consistent. If you’re not consistent, you’re not going to see results.”

Truth be told, Lacey knows how to motivate the crowd; there were about 50 of us that came to work out and all 50 of us finished strong. Everyone stuck it through and I was impressed at how each person cheered on the next. We started off our work out with a mile run to the park. Then we rocked out a hard 40 minute workout, which consisted of everything from running, pushups, squats (my favorite), jumping squats (oh yes, another good one), lunges, the classic jumping jack and a bunch more that equated to one tired sore little ol’ me by the time I was done.

It’s all about putting the idea of teamwork back into our workouts. Grab a friend and push yourselves. Funny, by the end of the workout, I was not only able to run another mile back, but I felt more energized and excited I got my workout done for the day. Doing an hour workout seems like a lot to take out of your day, but speaking from experience, going hard for an hour will give you another two hours to do work later on. Trust me, your body will thank you. Lacey says “I want people doing their best every single day.” She sure got the best out of me.

-Sarina

For more of Sarina’s awesome posts log onto www.nike.com and click women/nfr And to check out more of my events click – http://www.laceystonefitness.com/events.htm I’d love to have YOU next time!

What’s the problem?

Why are we as women often not willing to express how we’re really feeling until the situation has got so bad that we can’t contain ourselves anymore, until it comes pouring out in tears, or anger, or weird passive aggressive BS?

A few days ago, with memories of our particular fight still fresh (but resolved  ) Lacey and I were eating dinner at a great Japanese restaurant when a couple next to us started to fight.  It’s NYC, the tables are very close together and you can’t help but notice it, as discreet as you try to be.  Seemingly out of nowhere the woman started laying into her husband, very angrily, with a lot of emotion and tears.  I say “seemingly out of nowhere” because it became apparent that she had to of been keeping these feelings bottled up inside her for a long time.  It was one long stream of consciousness.  She didn’t pause for breath. She gave him absolutely no opportunity to respond or to participate in the ‘discussion’.  He, for his part, seemed completely blindsided at first, tried to respond a couple of times. When that had no effect he basically checked out of the conversation and sat there looking a little like Homer Simpson does when Marge is ‘nagging’ him, only hearing “Blah, blah blah” not absorbing anything she says and merely waiting for the noise to stop.

Now I use this example not to apportion blame, or to take sides. I firmly believe that the only two people who truly know what is going in a relationship are those two people themselves.  My point is that however justified this woman’s anger and upset was, the way she had let it build up and then come pouring out was completely unproductive and inherently upsetting and unsatisfying to them BOTH.  I know; I’ve been very guilty of it myself.  I’ve let unexpressed anger and resentment build to a point where I lose my love and affection for the person, to the point where they only hear about it as I’m breaking up the relationship. In my mind it was “beyond saving” but in truth I hadn’t even given them a real chance to rectify the situation.  Sometimes it can be the other person who wants to leave because they can no longer bear the sniping, the passive aggressive, “tit-for-tat” behavior and dishonesty that the long-term inability to communicate your feelings to your partner often results in.

Here’s the thing; arguing with each other for the sake of it, or because you’ve had a bad day is missing the point. If we need to vent we need to ‘phone a friend’ and vent, not head home and pick a fight with our partner about something completely unrelated.

But expressing our genuine hurt, feelings of inattention, of being disrespected, or an outright difference of opinion is VERY IMPORTANT.  I would go so far as to say that it’s essential

Your feelings are valid, my feelings are valid, but here’s the kicker…. So are theirs!  If we hope to gain any clarity, any real resolution, any true chance to move forward in life together and not apart then we have to see it as a process.  There’s a reason why the other person is behaving the way they do.  Often when Lacey and I talk things out we discover that the upset has resulted from us having different opinions, different perceptions of what something is OR isn’t.

So it’s all very well and good for me (and I’m using hypothetical examples here people!!  ) to say that I’m feeling insecure, or that I’m angry because I feel disrespected, but unless I can go further and say what WOULD help me to feel differently, and actually to think about how much of that is Lacey’s responsibility and how much is MINE.  I also need to hear what Lacey’s understanding of what security in a relationship feels like.  It may be very very DIFFERENT!  She may be doing absolutely everything that her life experience tells her a relationship is about.  So her understandable response to me being inexplicably angry about that could be frustration and a feeling on HER PART that I don’t listen to HER or that I don’t pay attention to all the GREAT stuff that she does and the way she makes me feel.

Unless we’re able to talk THAT out we don’t move forward and we just run around in ever smaller and more frustrating circles until someone bails out. 

So we talk it out.  And then we talk it out some more.  And short term it can kind of suck because it means that we BOTH have to take some responsibility for our actions and inactions.  There’s no blaming the other person wholeheartedly for everything that is wrong in our life.  Unless your partner is emotionally/physically/sexually abusive… in which case YOU GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM STAT! Then there is no right and wrong.  If they regularly behave disrespectfully towards us, then unfortunately WE have allowed an environment to be created where that is OK. It’s not.  But by choosing to stay we are communicating that it is acceptable on some level. We deserve more than allowing ourselves to be treated that way.  It’s your life, so TAKE IT BACK.

I know what is non-negotiable for ME, what I as a woman need and want and DESERVE from my relationship.  And I accept that that means I have to treat Lacey as I would wish to be treated myself, because to me that is the single most effective way to judge if something is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.  If I lost my temper because I was tired ad sick, would I want to be forgiven?  Yes.  Would I be OK with my partner dogging around on me? HELL NO, so you better believe I know that means I can’t and won’t do that to her.

Love and lust and fun are all wonderful and amazing and kind of essential to a good relationship, but I don’t think that any of those things are enough to make a relationship last happily without COMMUNICATION.  We’re all just people trying to do the best we can, and that includes them, not just us.  So we have to TALK to them and just as importantly if not MORE so, we need to genuinely LISTEN.

So why is it so hard?  What mind shift do we need to take within ourselves to make honest, respectful expression of our feelings something that we take pride in as women and men, instead of something to fear??

Beat those Winter Body Blues!

Winter is definitively here again, at least in NYC and once again I am somehow surprised by the fact that I am craving heaps of carb-loaded comfort food.  Every year it catches me unaware; my jeans start to get just a little tight and I am forced to realize that I am unconsciously using the weather to justify moving less and eating more!  I walk our dog a lot faster and for less distance than during the rest of the year.  I’m tempted by the idea of hot chocolate because somehow I try to tell myself that it’s a drink, rather than several melted down candy bars!!  And now that the festive season is officially underway, I have to fight the urge to write off the entire 5 weeks between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.  It’s not a good situation

So here are my own personal body maintenance tips for surviving Jack Frost without completely busting out of my skinny jeans!

Soup, soup and more soup!  It’s got to be the ultimate cold weather friend; done right it fills me up and warms me from the tip of my toes to the tip of my Rudolph red nose   And by “done right” I mean no “cream of” type soups.  Yes they might have vegetables in their names but they pack a right-hook full of calories without us really noticing.  Much better are any and all tomato or stock based soups; I just had a yummy carrot and artichoke one   Also wining major points for that warm and cozy feeling without breaking the calorie bank are the Thai soups such as Tom Yum, or the Japanese Miso soup bases.  Just avoid the coconut milk that some Thai soups are laden with…as delicious as it is, it’s basically like adding heavy cream to our food.  I eat some kind of soup at least once a day in the winter….either as an accompaniment to my meal (which really fills me up fast), or as my meal itself if it’s a lovely thick, chunky soup with loads of vegetables and beans in it.

When I’m craving a hot afternoon pick me up from Starbucks (or whichever coffee shop is available) I could give in to one of those scrumptious sounding concoctions which contain more calories, sugar and fat than you really want to think about.  Like the aforementioned hot chocolate, eggnog, or a pumpkin spice something or other, each and everyone rocking a cute little hat of whipped cream.  Now I’m not saying NEVER but EVERYDAY is going to do some damage to my goals. So instead I try and sample all the different herbal teas that are available; some of which are so sweet that I have to double check to make sure there hasn’t been sugar snuck in there; any of the fruit teas and especially those containing berries or passion fruit. They really take the edge off my sugar cravings and warm me up at the same time.  Another favorite trick of mine is to just order a large extra hot steamed soymilk: warm, cozy, a nice dose of good protein and virtually no sugar. That’s what I’m talking about!

I don’t like to weigh myself; partly as a hangover from my days of body obsession, and partly because I don’t think it gives me the most sense of how my body’s doing.  I workout hard and consistently and I have a lot more lean muscle on my body than anyone ever thinks! So I weigh more than I think   So instead of getting upset because my ‘number’ isn’t what I read about what some celebrity weighs in some magazine I have this pair of jeans with absolutely ZERO stretch in them.  I don’t even wear them out so they never get baggy, they just sit in my drawer and from time to time I get them out and try them on.  If they’re on the snug side I know I’ve got to shake my booty more in the gym; run with my dog more, and get honest about whether I’ve been lazy about my eating. This works SO much better for me than the scale; muscle WEIGHS a lot more than fat, but it takes up much LESS room on the body. So you can get heavier but your size can get smaller as you replace fat with lean muscle!  It’s fun

The other thing I notice about winter and my body is that it’s a LOT easier to ignore what my body’s doing when its covered from head to toe with lots of warm layers of clothes all day every day.  So if I ever find myself all comfortable on the couch under a blanket and telling myself that I don’t really need to go to the gym because ….”it’s just sooooo cold” guess what I do?

I get myself up and I put on my bikini and I stand in front of the mirror.  This never fails to work as a last ditch attempt; if I think I look good I want to KEEP looking good. And if those work holiday parties and Hors D’oeuvres are starting to catch up with me; and my body then nothing tells me the truth faster. I get a visualization of the warmer months ahead and how I want to feel good then and I GET TO THE GYM!

Silly as it seems it never fails for me

Do you have any thoughts or suggestions that you have found to work for you in surviving the long cold days of winter?

 

How to deal with STRESS

Is it just me or does everybody seem more than a little stressed out right now?   The world economy is struggling and we’re all more concerned about the state of our finances than we used to be. This stress can manifest itself in any number of ways; not least in how we choose to let it affect the way we treat ourselves and our bodies.

After a stressful day in the office it may be even more tempting to go and drown our sorrows in the local bar instead of hauling ass to the gym.  A few more glasses of wine than usual, or a fat laden takeout might take the edge off our sharpest concerns but it’s a temporary relief and all our worries are still there in the morning, only now they’re accompanied by a hangover, indigestion or bloated remorse. 

Apparently I have a very calm exterior: maybe it’s the English ‘stiff upper lip’   Some people who know me personally are visibly surprised when I admit to being prone to anxiety.  When I was younger this anxiety would present itself in debilitating full-scale panic attacks, thankfully those days are long gone but the lessons that I learnt to be able to deal with them still hold true for me today.

I always try to stay focused on the immediate present.  Futurizing can very quickly lead to catastrophizing. Here’s an example of catastrophizing; don’t worry I got permission to use this  Lacey came home in the middle of the day today because the gym headset was broken so she needed to get her personal one.  Already stressed out about her heel injury, she started to worry that she wouldn’t be able to teach as much, which escalated into a panic about not making enough money for us to have kids in the future.  Just for good measure she decided to freak out that when we did have kids she would have to be at work all the time, never get to see them and that our children wouldn’t love her. Yep, she took it there and that’s called catastrophizing

When we are already pushed so far out of our comfort zone it can be hard to imagine any of the multitude of POSITIVE outcomes that there are sure to be as well.  Instead, think about whether your worry has actually happened. In this very moment, is there a crisis?  If yes, then what’s the first small thing we can do to start to alleviate it a little?  If no, then think if there is something that could make us feel a little more prepared; less vulnerable, should it happen?  Focus on today. 

So Lacey and I talked it out (I’d just flown back from a job in LA), and by breaking it down she was able to see that; as of right now her heel is feeling better and will heal if she continues to treat it right, that her career will not be negatively impacted by this and is actually inspiring her to incorporate some new ideas and innovations into what she does.  She reminded herself that we were not planning on having children for a good 3-5 years and that many things can and will evolve before that: That our children would not be lacking for love, support, encouragement or anything else, that I would be there financially, and in every other respect: and finally that she would adore her children and they’d adore her right back. I’m biased, but it’s very hard not too

However bad the situation we find ourselves in, I always work hard to remind myself that NO situation is best managed from a state of panic.  The best, most effective, most comforting and assertive actions come from breathing deeply and evenly.  Remember to breathe.  Sometimes in the middle of a hard day I find my inner voice telling me to “Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.”  It’s unbelievable how such a simple action can help clear my brain from the fog of panic.

Lastly I always refer back to an acronym that I learnt when I first went into recovery. H.A.L.T.  It was taught to me in the context of not “picking up” which refers to resorting back to my abuse of drugs or food to cope with life, BUT I think it holds incredibly true when it comes to handling stress in the most productive way possible.

“Never let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.”

Eat nutritious food that supports your immune system and helps you power through the tough times.  Express your anger appropriately and honestly to the RIGHT person, or failing that the heavy boxing bag at the gym!  Don’t suffer through your stress in isolation; share your feelings with a friend, talk it out with your therapist, call your mom, anything but let it swirl around your head until you feel crazy.  And finally, I can’t tell you how important I believe being well rested is for dealing with stress well.  Try turning the TV off an hour earlier so your brain has time to calm itself before bed, try to go to bed at the same time every night, limit stimulants like caffeine after mid-afternoon.

Stress is unavoidable in this modern day world, but in learning how to protect ourselves from its worst effects we empower ourselves beyond measure

Do any of you have some stress-busting strategies that work well for you? 

 

Welcome to SWEATCity!

A FITNESS plan that creates lasting change is about so much more than working out and eating right. To change your body you MUST clean up all the garbage in your life.

A great body is not just about your Workout Plan and Healthy Eating. YOU Know this! Until you tackle the issues of your life you will never be happy in your body. It’s not about the Treadmill and Salads, we wish it were that easy. ULTIMATELY: It doesn’t matter how hard you workout and what you eat if you don’t feel good inside.

SWEATCity! is posted Bi-Weekly to help YOU find a way to keep your BOOTY Tight and your Life SSSWWEEETT! Lacey & Jessica have made it their mission to find a way to stay fit, well rounded, and happy while maintaining a loving relationship in New York City!

They want to share with you their insights on Dining OUT, Working Out, Relationships, Money, Sex, and much more. SWEATCITY! is about being the best you can be in all areas of your life, not just fitness. We live in a Hard-Core City. A City that forces YOU to Go BIG or GO HOME!

SWEATCity! looks forward to sharing our stories with you and hearing yours. The more people that come together with a common vision the faster everyone’s dreams will become a reality!