Revolution Studio

This post was done in partnership with Revolution Studio, who provided me with a complimentary two-week pass to all of their Houston locations. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this fitness post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

If you haven't taken a spin class in months, prepare to get your tush kicked.

(side note: One of the many - we are talking hundreds of - nicknames I have for my dog Newton is "little tush." Knowledge of this will make you either like me more or less. Jury is still out.)

I was fortunate enough to be able to try Revolution Studio out for two weeks recently. My rockstar friend Lindsay is a yoga instructor there, and she's always posting such inspiring things about the studio, that I had to try it out! Revolution offers my two main fitness loves, Spin and Yoga, so I was totally game!

Last weekend I started yoga teacher training at Black Swan Yoga (YESOMGI'MSOEXCITEDANDTOTALLYFREAKINGOUT!!!!), so I decided that before I jumped into a life of All Yoga All The Time, I'd take my other fitness love Spin out for a spin (see what I did there?)! I attended several indoor cycling classes at their Houston Memorial location (okay, and yes, threw a yoga class in there because how could I not?) because that one is closest to home and work.

The studio is clean, bright, and pretty. The staff are super helpful, energetic, and welcoming!

And when I say I hadn't attended a spin class in months, I mean  M  O  N  T  H  S . And when I say it kicked my tush, I mean  T  U  S  H       K  I  C  K  E  D .

Just ask both my dogs, Tushy One and Tushy Two.

(oh, don't even pretend like you didn't see that one coming.)

All of the classes I took were so empowering, set to heart-pumping, inspiring music (I may have actually cried a little bit during the Pride Day class...), and were such a killer workout! I've taken many many different indoor cycling classes throughout the years. I've absolutely loved a lot, and I've absolutely hated a lot. The spin classes at Revolution Studio rank high on the list of ones that I love! The energy in the room was always so electric, and everyone left with a smile on their faces and totally jazzed about the past 45 minutes.

The yoga classes I took there (I also attended one a few months back at the Houston Upper Kirby location with the Houston Food Blogger Collective) were also fantastic - Warm, sweaty, centering, and inspiring!

If you are looking for a bomb-tastic spin class in Houston, (and if you're looking to add in some yoga as well!), Revolution is not only a one-stop shop, it's a welcoming studio that offers high-quality, tush-kicking classes that make you feel empowered, healthy, and wanting more!

Just ask Newty-New and Tushy-Two!

3 comments fitness, houston, houston food blogger collective, memorial, spin, yoga

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Pure Barre + Hughie's Vietnamese Tavern & Vietnamese Grille: A Recipe for Health and Happiness

Sometimes the most uncomplicated of events can lead to the most magical of evenings.

(especially if there's wine involved.)

But before I get into that, I have to let you know that I'm spending the majority of September traveling outside of Houston - both for work and for fun - starting this Thursday with a family trip to Disney World! I will report back on the trip (and duh food) ASAP, as I did before during previous visits to see The Mouse, but please know that my September posts may be a little limited.

Okay, back to now!

Last Wednesday, my good friend Heather brought me as her guest to a Pure Barre class in Houston's Heights neighborhood. The boutique studio hosts barre/pilates type classes in a gorgeous space. I don't typically take these types of classes (I'm more into yoga and spinning these days), BUT I am happy to report that I had a really awesome time while I was there! The people there (all women that evening) were all SO welcoming and sweet, and of course it didn't hurt that it was "Wine Down Wednesday."

Pictured above is Heather's signature on a bar that celebrates the folks who have taken 250 Pure Barre classes! Pretty cool, aka she's my idol.

Since we had worked out in the Houston Heights area, we decided to grab food somewhere nearby afterwards. Heather had given a glowing endorsement of the restaurant/bar Hughie's Tavern & Vietnamese Grille, so off we went!

This super laid back dive was bumpin' on that Wednesday night. Heather and I sat ourselves at a table and ordered beers from their Wednesday Special - $2 Fire Sales ($2 cans of selected beers).

I opted for the Buffalo Bayou Sam's Daily, which was light, mildly citrusy, creamy, and refreshing!

Heather and I decided to order the restaurant's Vietnamese eggrolls to start. We asked for them to be made vegetarian (our friendly server informed us they had meat in them), and for the sauce on the side to be something other than fish sauce - so they provided us with a sesame sauce.

The 3-bite sized egg rolls were the perfect size for a starter. They were super crispy, and had great popping flavors, with a filling of different pickled vegetables. Wrapping lettuce and carrots around them added a nice freshness, and the sesame sauce was zippy and delicious! This was definitely a great starter.

For our main course of food, Heather ordered the restaurant's shaking beef, and I went with the spicy lemon grass tofu, with a fried egg on top for good measure.

Having already been a card-carrying lover of the restaurant's food, Heather of course enjoyed her entree - and I absolutely loved mine! Pan-seared tofu with lemongrass, sliced jalapenos, bell pepper, and onion was served with a bed of steamed rice, tofu sauce, and a kale vinaigrette salad. The tofu itself was lightly crisped on the edges and soft on the inside, and the flavors were filled with lemon, smoke, and spice. The vegetables added another layer of heat, and the runny egg brought a nice softness to it. And kale-hater that I am, I actually enjoyed the salad! (Heather was in a state of shock). This dish really was fantastic!

An evening of a good workout, good restaurant food, and quality time spent with a good friend in Houston cannot be beat. I definitely recommend checking out Pure Barre for a fun workout, and Hughie's Tavern and Vietnamese Grille for delicious food and great drink prices. Both located in Houston's Heights neighborhood, they create a recipe for one great night!

Some enchanted evening.......

Leave a Comment asian, bars, beer, dinner, fitness, food, gyms, heights, houston, restaurants, vegetarian, vietnamese

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My House Fitness + A Giveaway!

This post was done in partnership with My House Fitness in Houston, who provided me with a complimentary workout. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this gym post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

(Psst, Houston residents -- Scroll down to the bottom for an exciting giveaway!)

A couple of Saturdays ago, I started my morning off bright and early like this:

Despite me having had a *little* bit of wine the night before, I ended up muscling through (pun totally intended) and having a fantastic workout at My House Fitness!

My House Fitness is a boutique gym that is new to Houston and Richmond. I attended a class at their studio in the Heights. My House Fitness also offers community-centric trainings for every fitness level, as well as nutritional and lifestyle support. Specialists take an individual approach by helping gym-goers with personalizing their goals, providing them with measurable progress, and encouraging them to have fun in a non-intimidating environment.

The intimate space is incredibly laid back and welcoming. Chris Markos, who owns the Houston Heights gym with his wife Lyndsey, greeted me with a smile and great enthusiasm. I quickly found out that the other folks attending the class with me were equally as enthusiastic and super chill. My House Fitness is the opposite of a pretentious gym, that's for sure!

The class I participated in that day was their "Games" class, which was basically one hour of adult recess. And yes, it was absolutely as awesome as it sounds!

On that particular day, we were divided into two teams in a challenge of hangman - meets Wheel of Fortune - meets a circuit training class. We were given a card which had blanks on it that would eventually become a sentence. Several stations were set up with letters or hints face down. To receive a letter or hint, we had to complete the exercise assigned to its station. 10 burpees? You get an R. 30 mountain climbers? I'll take an S, Trebek.

(Yes I realize that's Jeopardy. You get the idea).

And look at that exquisite form I've got going on!

Photo: My House Fitness

Just kidding, please don't, I look like a gremlin. Also, WHERE ARE MY PUPILS.

The game was SO much fun, and while I definitely got a great workout, I was having such a blast that it didn't seem like actual work (though my thighs were whistling a different tune the next day)! And nbd my team (TEAM GRYFFINDOR) won the challenge, and the prize was a week of free small group training for everyone on my team!

Photo: My House Fitness

My House Fitness is a wonderful new addition to Houston's workout scene. I cannot stress how comfortable everyone made me from the second I walked in, what a great workout I got, and just how fun the class was! And even after the hour workout, everyone hung around for a while after to socialize, a definite indication of what a positive environment this place is. If you're into community-oriented, personalized, humble, FUN workouts, My House Fitness encompasses all of those things and more!

Here's where the Giveaway comes in:

I decided to give my week of training to one of you all so you could experience the awesomeness of My House Fitness for yourself. HOWEVER, Chris and Lyndsey are so wonderful, that they agreed to DOUBLE the training! This is such an AWESOME deal, y'all. So, one lucky Adventures in a New(ish) City reader will receive two (2) weeks of small group training (which includes their games class!), twice a week, totaling in four (4) sessions at My House Fitness in the Heights, located at 1507-A West 18th Street, Houston, TX 77008. To enter, go to the giveaway box below, and log in with your name and email address (this will not be posted publicly). Once logged in, click the "Enter Contest" dropdown, and then the "Enter!" button. One entry is allowed per person, and only Houston-area residents are eligible. The contest starts NOW - Wednesday, July 27, 2016, and it ends on Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 11:59 pm CST.

**Bonus: If you go over and like my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram, and/or follow me on Twitter, you get a bonus entry for each social media follow. Just click the dropdown on "Like My Facebook Page", "Follow Me on Instagram," and/or "Follow Me on Twitter," then click "Enter!" for each one that you follow! This is applicable for existing followers, as well as new ones.

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Because you need more recess in your life.

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SoulCycle Houston

This post was sponsored by SoulCycle, who provided me with a complimentary class at their Houston studio. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this fitness post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

It's pretty clear to anyone who reads this blog, or who has known me for even 30 seconds, that if there's a [safe] health craze that people are super jazzed about, I'm checking it out.

Enter: SoulCycle.

When I lived in NYC, I started hearing a lot about SoulCycle, and what I heard was mostly that people absolutely loved it because of its high energy classes accompanied by motivating music. I never tried it though, so fast forward to now; SoulCycle opened it's first ever Texas location here in Houston a few weeks ago (!!!!), and I decided to give it a shot.

Located in Houston's Upper Kirby/River Oaks area, the stark, sleek, fitness studio contains full locker rooms, showers, and a room with 56 stationary bikes, fun lighting, and walls adorned with motivating health and fitness phrases.

I was lucky enough to take a class that day led by Chanelle Lagace, who is the face of the new studio. This incredibly bubbly, welcoming, and energetic (I'm not kidding, I'd kill for the amount of energy she has in just her left pinky!) woman led a 45 minute heart-pumping class that was essentially a bumpin' dance party (she kept referring to it as "happy hour," which was entirely fitting).

Photo: SoulCycle

And because who better to explain SoulCycle than Chanelle, she was kind enough to answer a few questions I had! So I'll let her take it away:

What was the reasoning behind placing Texas’s first SoulCycle in Houston?

SoulCycle is always looking to open in active and vibrant communities like Houston. The energy is amazing, and we are so excited to finally be here! Keep an eye out for future Houston locations.

What do you feel sets SoulCycle apart from other fitness studios and workout regimens?
SoulCycle makes exercise FUN. It’s about finding joy in movement. We ride to the beat of the music, in unison, as a group. The combination of inspirational instructors, epic spaces, rocking music, and dark candlelit rooms allows for a truly transformative experience.

SoulCycle is a full body workout. Riders engage in high intensity cardio (burning between 500-700 calories in 45-minutes), while also toning their upper bodies using hand weights and core-engaging choreography.

SoulCycle isn’t just a workout, it’s a total mind/body experience. In addition to the physical benefits, it also benefits the mind through mental and emotional release. Instructors deliver inspirational messages that leave you feeling stronger and more powerful after every ride.

SoulCycle is a community. Our clients and staff rely on and support each other. It's much more than just a workout studio!

What drew you, personally, to SoulCycle?

The music. When I could hear the music blaring out of the studio in Bridgehampton, NY it was instant love. Not to mention the crowd of people who came out of the class dripping sweat all while smiling. From that day I knew I needed to be a part of the SoulCycle community. 

I know you’re new to Houston – What are some of your favorite things you’ve gotten to do/see/eat so far in town?

There are so many things to do! So far, my husband and I enjoy taking our 10 month old baby girl to the park where she can crawl around and be inspired by all of the other kids running around. She loves it! I also love all the different shopping areas. I love to decorate, and Houston has such great home decorating stores. As for eating, in just a month I think I have eaten Mexican food for almost every meal. It's so much better in Texas than it is up North!

(Kim's Note: We couldn't agree more with that last statement!)

What would be your biggest piece of advice to give to a SoulCycle beginner?
Don’t be nervous or intimidated - you can take class at your own pace! And don’t beat yourself up if you can’t keep up with the pace or choreography on your first try – it takes practice! Our studio staff and instructors are incredible at making people feel comfortable and welcome. We will walk you through everything!

So there you have it! Houston has such a fantastic variety of health and fitness studios, and SoulCycle is a great new addition to the scene. While it isn't necessarily an inexpensive fitness option, it may be worth you're while if it ignites you in the same way it does its countless enthusiasts. The positive, great workouts (and not to mention heart-thumping jams) are definitely a fantastic way to get physical!

Photo: SoulCycle

Get physical, physical...

Leave a Comment fitness, gyms, houston, river oaks, upper kirby

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Houston ClassPass

I've been on a fitness kick lately.

I have always worked out pretty regularly, but I've kicked up my fitness routine a notch recently. Maybe it's because I just feel better when I'm staying active. Maybe it's because I'm quickly realizing that - well into my 30th year of life - my metabolism ain't what it used to be (because life is a cruel, cruel b). Maybe it's because Ryan Gosling is encouraging it. Realistically, it's probably a mix of all three (but mostly the third one, tbh).

I had been a member of a yoga studio for almost two years and recently discontinued it, replacing it with workouts in my complex's gym downstairs, runs around my Houston Heights neighborhood, and home yoga practices. As I mentioned in my post on OrangeTheory Fitness, though, I'm kind of lazy when it comes to working out on my own. So after hearing a lot of fuss about ClassPass from my friends (namely, my friend Sarah, who is alllll about it!), I decided to give it a whirl!

ClassPass is a nationwide program that has established itself in Houston, and it's one of those brilliant ideas that makes you go, "Gah, why didn't I think of that?!" Different cities have different rates, but how it works here is you pay a monthly fee of $89 (which was the same price of my yoga membership, and honestly is cheaper than a lot of boutique studios I've checked out here in Houston), and you get access to all participating gyms and studios, with the ability to visit each place (this is per entire business, not studio location) up to three times in that month. And trust me, there are so many wonderful gyms that partake in the program, you definitely get your money's worth! (FYI, ClassPass did not endorse this post in any way, I just want to share with you a program in Houston that I'm a fan of!)

So how did my first month of ClassPass go? Once I hit my 30 days (which will be tomorrow), I will have attended 15 different fitness classes at a variety of gyms in Houston. Here are some of the highlights:

I took my first ever CrossFit class at CrossFit EaDo. I've always been curious about CrossFit, moreso for the tight-knit community it always seems to create, than for the fitness aspect. This particular "box" (that's "gym" for all you non-CrossFitters out there!) was clean and ginormous, and the trainers were SO nice and welcoming. Channeling my inner noncompetitive lazy person though, and only having a willingness to jump up on the < 5 inch boxes (actual boxes, not "boxes" - Think J.J. Watt style), I realized that I'm just not a CrossFit gal. *sigh* I'm just not self-motivated enough when it comes to fitness goals. But if you ARE a CrossFit person, I really do recommend CrossFit EaDo!

The newest yoga kid on the Houston Heights block is Austin-born Black Swan Yoga. The flow class taught by Carmen has come to be one of my favorites. The room is slightly heated, and her class is challenging, different every time, set to music, and spiritual. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say the room itself that you practice in is one of the prettiest yoga spaces I've been in. It's light, airy, and has changing neon lights circling the perimeter of the room that are hypnotic and incredibly soothing.

Black Swan Yoga and RIDE were both sort of the impetus for me joining Houston's ClassPass program actually. Historically I have hated spin classes with a fiery passion and spent the entirety of each class counting down the seconds until the torture was over. After much convincing, I attended Will's class at RIDE with my friend Lindsey one morning, and I was instantly hooked! To be sure, there are still moments where I'm fully convinced I'm going to die, but then I quickly recover. The classes are insanely challenging, but also incredibly fun. Loud, motivating music is blasted in a dimly lit room, and each song brings you something completely different, including a few sets which utilize weights. It's fitness to the max. I love love LOVE RIDE!

Studio Fitness in the Heights offers open gym time through ClassPass, as well as a variety of classes and CrossFit. The gym itself appears to be a refurbished old garage, and yet it somehow manages to combine the best of both worlds in terms of style - appealing to those who like that grungier gym feel (not me), while at the same time welcoming people who are total snobs and want to work out somewhere pretty (me). In terms of classes the gym offers, Stephanie's HIIT class is an insane bootcamp-style workout, and it's my total jam. I also took Carlton's kettlebell class one morning, and that was a great workout as well!

A recently joined member of the Houston ClassPass scene, YogaOne offers a wide array of different styles of yoga classes. Last week, I took a sonic flow class at their uptown location, as well as a sonic hot 60 class with Anna at their Heights location, which is now one of my new favorite classes! It combines vinyasa flow poses I'm used to, as well as ones I'm less familiar with from Bikram. Definitely a class for someone who's familiar with yoga, it has minimal cues from the instructor (who practices alongside everyone), and it takes place in a - I'm not kidding - 100+ degree room. And I LOVE it. Last night, I took it again, and the theme was 90's music, aka the dream. Here's me in my sweaty disgusting glory, post sonic hot 60:

Snapchat: newishcityhou

Also worth noting - Another class I really like is Joy Yoga's wake up class taught by Jana!

ClassPass is a great way to integrate a variety of different classes into your fitness routine, as well as give you a taste of what Houston has to offer in terms of studios and gyms. I have thoroughly enjoyed my past month with ClassPass, and I will definitely be continuing on with it for the foreseeable future! If you'd like to try the unlimited ClassPass out for a month, feel free to use my referral code. <~~By clicking that link within the next 6 months, you will receive $20 off of your first month of unlimited ClassPass classes (and I'll also receive $20 off as well)! With a variety of classes - from yoga, to spin, to CrossFit, to barre, to kickboxing, and more! - ClassPass is a great way to get your money's worth and explore what Houston has to offer in the fitness world.

Ride...for Gosling!

Leave a Comment east downtown, fitness, heights, houston, uptown

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Orangetheory Fitness

This post was done in partnership with Orangetheory Fitness in Houston, who provided me with a complimentary workout. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this fitness post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

I like to eat food. Like, a lot.

But my health is also incredibly important to me, so I have learned that when it comes to food, moderation is key, and when it comes to fitness, working out consistently is necessary.

However, I have to admit that I am naturally lazy when it comes to working out.

Don't get me wrong, I will absolutely consistently work out 3-5 times a week. But do I push myself when working out on my own? HA. I am completely content chilling on an elliptical for 20 minutes with a magazine and calling it a day. Which of course is certainly better than nothing, but if I want to feel/see progress and truly push myself, that ain't gonna cut it.

I'm also not naturally competitive. If given a "modified" option in a workout, nine times out of ten, I take it (see above, re: laziness). All that aside though, I am a goody-goody, Type-A teacher's pet (I'm becoming more and more likable by the second, aren't I?), so even though I am lazy and non-competitive, I do well in a fitness class setting because at the end of the day, I'm going to do what I'm told to please the teacher.

Cue Orangetheory Fitness.

Last weekend, I was invited to experience a class at the Orangetheory Fitness studio located in Houston's Town and Country area. I brought my friend Jaimie along for the ride (errr run...and row...and weight lifting madness....HELP). Several other Houston food bloggers were in attendance like my friends Erika, Shanna, and Felice, and I also had the pleasure of finally meeting the gals from Its Not Hou It's Me!

Wait, pause for a second - How hilarious is it that they invited a bunch of Houston food bloggers to take a fitness class? WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL US, ORANGETHEORY FITNESS????

The classes at Orangetheory Fitness are unlike anything I've ever done before. When you arrive at the studio, you are provided with a heart rate monitor to strap around your chest-ish midsection (okay, I'll say it, under your boobs) to wear during the duration of the workout. It's all based on your heart rate, and pushing you into the "Orange Zone," which creates "Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption" (EPOC). According this philosophy, if you spend a certain amount of time in the Orange Zone, doing bouts of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), calories will continue to burn 24 hours after your workout.

I mean, isn't that the dream?

snapchat: newishcityhou

You want to spend as much time as possible in the orange or red zones (as long as the red zone isn't indicating you're about to pass out), but also reverting back the other zones (grey, blue, green) every now and then to keep your heart rate jumping around. Throughout the duration of the class, they have your "zones" displayed on a screen so you can see how hard you're pushing yourself.

Photo: Integrate Agency

I felt like I could not get out of orange/red to save my life!

The orange-hued room is set up with treadmills, rowing machines, and weights/props. With loud, bumpin' music playing in the background, your instructor guides you through each set - from treadmill to rowing machine to weights to treadmill to treadmill to weights to treadmill, and so on. You could choose to be a runner, jogger or power walker on the treadmill. I started as a runner and - due to some hip flexor issues - ended as a power walker on a steep incline. Which, newsflash? Still insanely hard.

Photo: Integrate Agency

The workout was incredibly intense, and incredibly fun! Even though it included burpees (WHY, ALWAYS WITH THE BURPEES.), because everything was constantly changing, it kept me motivated and on my toes. In the end, Jaimie and I survived, and we each burned over 700 calories!

After the workout, we were provided with nourishing food from Eatfitters, and an email was sent to each of us with our results from the class.

I had such an awesome time at Orangetheory Fitness, and I'm so glad to have gotten the chance to experience one of their classes at their beautiful Houston Town and Country studio. If you want a killer workout that is bound to give you noticeable results, I definitely recommend it!

Photo: Integrate Agency

^ Look at all those happy, smiling Houston food bloggers, blissfully unaware of the ass-kicking their about to receive.

1 comment city centre, fitness, food, gyms, houston, town and country

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