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Now that I am fully back to my regular schedule of working out after a month of knee inflammation and having a terrible cold. I wanted to share with you some of my current favorite workouts I am religiously doing these days. Today I wanted to dedicate this entire post to my Bandier girls, Amanda, Megan, and Lauren. And my favorite duo, Sarah and Natalie. They are fun, fit, full of energy, and give one butt-kicking of a workout.

 

Amanda Kloots

I have mentioned Amanda on the previous fitness guide about being obsessed with her class called The Dance. I am still obsessed and go every week when I can. During my month hiatus The Dance was one that I truly missed going to and couldn’t wait to get back into. The reason I have Amanda back on my guide list is because I wanted to talk about her other two classes: The Rope and The Body. 

I have gone to The Rope a few times. It’s Amanda’s original class that started it all for her. It’s jump roping and using it as a resistance band. It’s a pretty tough class and I am not the best at jump roping I quickly learned. The little girl in me is very upset.  I was never a double-dutch professional and when I jumped roped I would leisurely do the double jump in between. In The Rope you do single jumps, a few tricks if you feel advanced enough, and speed jumping. It’s fun to try but…. well…the rope scares me. I whipped myself one too many times. I do love the resistance band portion and my arms were definitely sore the next day. I did notice my jump rope ability improved each class. I will go back to The Rope, I do enjoy it, it’s just not going to be one I frequent. Some people absolutely love it– I say give it a try. Tis to her own.

The latest class that Amanda has created is called The Body. It’s about using smaller weights and using your body as a weight. I love this class! Unfortunately I have not been able to attend as much as I would like because of my schedule, but I do love it.  I think we forget we have the biggest tool for fitness- our body. As a dancer growing up I used only my body as an instrument to strength. You don’t need weights or bands, you can just use yourself. It’s not much of a high intensity class as The Dance or The Rope, but you will still get a good workout in– and she does add a little cardio.

Megan Roup

I discovered Megan’s class The Sculpt Society through Bandier’s Instagram account, and then I saw she was training Arielle, from Something Navy. I decided to try her class and see what it was about. I knew it incorporated cardio and small weights, something I could handle. It’s so much more than that. It’s fast past, high energy, and lots of fun! It’s like having a party but you just so happen to have a weight in your hand. I love it!!  Like I crave going. Do not let the 3lb weight fool you, I am always sore the next day. It’s a full body workout mixed with dance cardio intervals between the upper body and the lower body. Movements are usually done to the rhythm of the music which makes it feel more like I am dancing than lifting weights. I am starting to frequent Megan’s class and I highly suggest trying it yourself. She teaches at Project by Equinox and Bandier.

 Lauren Duhamel

I first took Lauren’s class called  Legs by Lauren when she did a masterclass with Amanda a few months ago. It was 45 minutes of The Dance and 45 minutes of Legs by Lauren. I instantly loved Lauren’s approach to working out. It’s slower pace which means you really have to engage all of your muscles. It’s muscle isolation, lengthening, and toning. Harder than it looks! Trust me you still get a sweat-worthy workout even though it’s low-impact. It’s pilates meets weight training. You do the class barefoot, use pilates equipment like the resistance ring, resistance bands, and small weights. Her class is amazing and you are going to see great results.

Sarah Grooms and Natalie Reid

Ok, so I am a little bias when it comes to these two because they are my friends. BUT their class is amazing and they are amazing! Raise your hand if you want to look like a Rockette? I know I do! Both Sarah and Natalie are NYC Rockettes and they have their own fitness and wellness blog called City Fit Life (that you should be following!). Sarah is from Ohio and we have a lot of mutuals friends but did not met until earlier last year when I started taking classes at Body by Simone— how crazy is that?! Natalie I met also through taking classes at Body by Simone. Both were trainers there until they branched out on their own creating The City Fit Life workout. Dance cardio, small weights, and an arm series— is it ok to cuss out your friends during a workout? It’s tough, but lots of fun! You are going to get a great workout in that will target all areas of your body. It will leave you sore and leave you wanting more. What I love most about these two ladies is that they are all about babes supporting babes and positivity energy. You can tell they are happy to be doing what they do and that energy is contagious! They teach at Project by Equinox.

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