The End of Bar Method Month

I can't believe it's been 30 days since I started this challenge, and I can't believe I finished all 15 classes! I feel amazing and kind of really proud of myself for sticking to it and really pushing myself each class to do better.

I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel from when I first started. I'm able to push myself further, sink down more in Thigh, crunch more in Abs, and even do pushups on my feet instead of my knees. Plus, I haven't had any more trouble with my shoulders, my hip flexors, or my knees, all of which had caused me pain in the last several months. My body just feels really great, less creaky and crunchy and jiggly, overall!

It seemed appropriate that for my final class of the challenge, the instructor was Mimi Fleischman herself - the owner of Bar Method Los Angeles, and sister of the founder of the Bar Method! I felt really honored and lucky to be in her class, as she doesn't teach very often anymore. She was, of course, amazing, which I'm sure is why all the instructors at Bar Method are also so amazing! They are a huge part of why I love and keep coming back to Bar Method.

After 15 classes, you think I'd be sick of Bar Method classes, right? Wrong! Here's a twist ending - I actually have 6 more classes to take, from a series I had purchased previously! Woo hoo! However, instead of taking them 3-4 times a week, I'm going to just do a couple times a week, and combine them with Zumba and other classes. I really enjoyed dedicating 3 to 4 times a week to exercising, and I want to keep up that pace. 

Halfway Done with Bar Month!

Monday marked my 8th Bar Method class of the month - just over half of my 15 total goal! I almost can't believe it because it's gone by so fast. I'm not even bored of class yet; I actually still look forward to going! I've gone every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and took a class last Sunday!

I've been trying to do the harder options the instructor gives for some of the exercises, to push myself even further. I feel like at this point I really should, to challenge myself. I do feel stronger and more capable. 

At the beginning of the month, I measured various body parts to track the change. I meant to wait until the month was over, but I couldn't wait and measured my waist and found out that I've lost 3 inches! My muffin top is now a bran muffin. It's amazing the way it can change your body, and so quickly. 

7 more to go!

Week One is Done!

And week two is here! I've had the whole weekend to rest up, and I'm ready to go! I'm planning on the same Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule as last week, with an additional Saturday or Sunday class this time. I'm actually looking forward to class tonight, something that doesn't always happen with me and workouts. I'm feeling a tiny bit stronger this week, so I know I can push myself a bit harder this week. Yikes! Here we go....

2 Down, 13 to Go!

I took my second of 15 Bar Method classes last night! I was still a bit sore from Monday's class, so I knew it was going to be particularly brutal. After a rough day at work, I was ready to shake it out. And boy, did my thighs perform their own personal earthquake. Ashley Glenn put us through a workout that had people uttering audible 'JESUS' and 'WOW's. She was actually the instructor at my very first Bar Method class, so I kind of <3 her. She actually remembered me when I checked in!! 

I'm trying to start a non-matching sock trend at my studio. This is only partially because I often can't find matching footy socks and just grab whichever ones are clean. As you may or may not know, Bar Method requires you to wear socks only, so they are of the utmost importance. The ones with the grippy soles are the best, but I only have one pair of those. I have dozens of footy socks with various cute patterns. Yesterday, for example, I wore one polka-dot one and one striped one. There was actually another girl in class doing the same thing, so I think it's going to catch on.

One Month of Bar Method Classes!

In which I try to take 15 Bar Method classes in 31 days. 

Bar Method had an 'August Commitment Sale' offering a series of 15 classes to be taken during the month of August. I've been super slacking on my fitness as of late, so I thought this would be a good way to get back into it in the most painful, yet somehow still enjoyable, way possible. My goal is to go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then once on the weekend for a couple weekends. 

Last night was my first class. I really pushed myself and felt amazing and incredibly sore afterwards (and today!). As usual, 15 minutes in, halfway through Seat, I was thinking to myself, "I've made a huge mistake." But I pushed through the pain and persevered, and also didn't die.

The teacher, Kym Hoy, was absolutely fantastic - she was everything that I love about Bar Method teachers. That's one reason why I prefer Bar Method over other barre classes I've tried - the instructors remember everyone's name, and will call out adjustments and praise throughout class. They're also very hands on and will help you move into exactly the position you should be. This is SO helpful, especially if you're new and have no idea what you're doing, and sometimes even if you do. 

One down, 14 to go!!

Comic Con 2014!

I'm hoping that writing a post about Comic Con will help keep me from sliding further into post-con blues! This was my 11th year attending (!!!) and, as usual, was unlike any other year. Thinking back to my first time, I can definitely see a lot of changes, both bad (much more crowded, longer lines) and good (more off-site events, more organization). But since I've been attending for so many years, and because this is one I attend with not just my boyfriend, but also my aunt, mom, and best friend, it holds a very special place in my heart. SO anyway, on to the recap!!

WEDNESDAY:
AKA Preview Night! This is the best time to check out everything in the exhibit hall since there are no panels or other distractions! First off, we had to go to the Town & Country to pick up our badges. Once they were acquired, we walked around the Gaslamp District, which was already kicking off the week. The new Sean Bean show, Legends, was handing out USB drives in the shape of a Sean Bean driver license. They had a code on the back which, when entered into the combination of a suitcase by 2 guys in suits and sunglasses, as seen in the picture below, could win you a variety of prizes. While in line, we saw one guy win something. He was quickly taken away, so I have no idea what he won. None of us had the winning combo, but hey, free 2g flash drive!




The exhibit floor was full of fun things like this Hunger Games: Mockingjay area, where you could get your picture taken with a peacekeeper straight from the movie. Smaug presided over the Hobbit/Weta booth. Thankfully, he did not breath fire.

Oh hey, Joe Manganiello and Joe Manganiello's abs, promoting his new fitness book. Speaking of pecs- I mean, books- there were a lot of book publishers giving away free books!! It was probably one of my favorite parts of Preview Night. I managed to grab 3 books, which I'm very excited to start reading. 

Lots of awesome cosplay abounded, like these cool cats. So many Elsas and Annas from Frozen (only one Jack Frost, unlike every other con I've been to in the last year, for some unknown reason). 

 

THURSDAY:
The first real day of the con! We volunteered bright and early, and then were free to roam. After a quick look at the exhibit floor again, we took a look at the Simpsons-themed Bayfront/Hall H lawn. Lines were long for everything (what else is new at Comic Con?!), so I really only walked by. I don't know what was going on in this Homer dome, but it took a really long time for them to finish setting it up. There was also a carnival game where you could win a blow-up sprinkle donut, blue cotton candy as Marge's hair, and a candy shop. Nearby, a Gotham zip-line had a line that apparently lasted for upwards of 3 hours, so that was not to be for me either.








That night, we attended a Hero Complex party thrown on the roof of the Hotel Solamar. It was pretty awesome with an open bar (omg yes) and pool cabanas where I saw Michael Rooker, an Imax-sponsored giveaway of Guardians of the Galaxy phone cases and Hercules tank tops for posting a selfie with a hashtag, and a photobooth complete with superhero/space themed props that gave you not a photo, but an actual flipbook of the seconds they were filming you!!! I haven't been to many Con parties, but I thought this one was fantastic!







FRIDAY:
Friday would have been our Hall H day, but it was not to be. This year everyone in the world got together and decided that getting in line for Hall H at 3pm the day prior sounded like a great idea. I disagreed and was not allowed in. No offense to anyone that does camp out in line, but my pampered princess butt just cannot handle it. Oh well. Instead we viewed the Hall H panels from the playback room in the Omni (let's keep this our little secret because it honestly was not a bad way to get to see most of the big Hall H panels. The room was not ever maxed out, it was nice and air-conditioned, and we didn't even have to wait in line. So, shhhh). We got to see Bones (which I don't watch, but Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz aka Angel were very entertaining), Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones. The one downside of the playback room is that they don't show the clips, but those are up online in a minute anyway, so it's not that big a deal, really.


After the playback-ing, we walked around outside the convention center some more. The Hilton across the way, which had the Terminus sign I posted last time, also had an actual Terminus map, as well as Terminus' other signage from the show.


We DID make it into Hall H for one panel, though - the annual Kevin Smith panel! He showed a trailer for Tusk, and it looked pretty great! This is the first year, however, that we haven't spent at least one whole day in the big H. 







SATURDAY:
Again, there's no way in hell I'm waiting outside for 24 hours for Hall H, so once again it was playback room to the rescue! This time we saw the Simpsons and Once Upon a Time panels (which are actually from Ballroom 20), and the Warner Brothers panel (with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavil, and Gal Godot making an appearance for Batman v. Superman, Channing Tatum for Book of Life, George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road, and the Hobbit with Stephen Colbert hosting). We also checked out the Nerdist panel, which featured the editors of a lot of the different sections of the Nerdist.com site. I listen to approximately 37,000 of the Nerdist Industries podcasts, so you might say I'm a fan.

Khalessi's dragons and Pokemon trainer Ash, together at last

SUNDAY: 
We started off Sunday with the Sesame Street panel! They showed 2 skits from upcoming shows - one with Elmo attending NumeriCon (obvs a parody of Comic Con!) and one that was a trailer for Star Smores. Murray Monsters, Grover, and Cookie Monster himself were on the panel, along with their puppeteers. There were a lot of muppet fans in the audience - Gonzo and Fozzie were there, along with what appeared to be a bird from Disneyland's Tiki Room. It was probably the cutest panel I've ever been to, with audience questions not only from kids but also adults who loved the show. 

The next panel I saw was a Quentin Tarantino one for Django Unchained. If that doesn't show the dichotomy of Comic Con, then I don't know what does. Really, we were just there early for the Buffy the Musical sing-along, though! For the 4th year in a row, Nicholas Brandon, aka Xander, showed up to see how much of his song he remembered and to do the Snoopy Dance. What a good sport!

Then it was good-bye, Comic Con 2014! See you in 347 days! I may not have waited in very many lines this year, but the longest one was definitely the 5 freeway back to LA. The normally 2 hour drive took me 3.5 hours!


SWAG:
The swag was somewhat light for me this year, and I didn't buy all that many things. I got 5 Funko Pops (Sookie and Alcide from True Blood, Maggie from Walking Dead, Silent Bob, and the Hulk); a She-Ra sword/letter opener); a seal in a bunny suit (or is he being eaten by the bunny? Unclear.); Funko Disney Minis; and a mystery bag from a booth I can't remember that had a cute cat, seahorse, elephant with wings, and a mini lunch box (you know how I love a grab bag, and this one was great!). Swag-wise, I got a Disney Princess sticker book, those 3 books I talked about earlier, a Hercules tank from the Hero Complex party, a Grumpy Cat temp tattoo, and some other miscellaneous things.

Bonus Care Bear!