6/18/16: ivivva Coast to Coast Summer Festival in Boston

Disclosure:  Although this post has been generously sponsored by ivivva Coast to Coast Summer Festival, the opinions and language are my own. 

My daughter is extremely active.  She loves to baton twirl and dance and it keeps her very fit and busy.  She is on competitive teams with both baton and dance and it makes her work hard.  I was extremely excited when ivivva invited us to their Coast to Coast Summer Festival for Boston at Gillette Stadium!  This awesome festival connects girls through movement and empowers them to dream big!  Plus the event is FREE!  You heard that right, it is free!

What does every young girl like to do?  Shop of course!  When we arrived we started out with some shopping in their pop up shopping area.  There were lots of cool ivivva tops and bottoms to chose from.  Lauren loves comfortable clothes that she can do splits in, hand stands, and turn in.  She loved the feel of all of the ivivva clothes and especially liked the sports bras.  ivivva is a word meant to embody the strength and beauty in all girls and is inspired by active girls just like Lauren.

ivivva is created by the same people as lululemon so you know they will be high quality.  Their clothes come in sizes 6-14.  You can shop online or find the store nearest you at www.ivivva.com.  At the event there was even a dressing room for her to try on some outfits.

I love that ivivva is co-created with girls!  Their designers listen to girls’ feedback and ideas and design what they need.  Their stores are community spaces that quickly transform with moveable fixtures to host complimentary events like dance, yoga, run clinics, and a variety of athletic classes so girls can try new activities, make new connections, and have fun we encourage girls to test out the gear they are trying on, and they have the space to let them move and see how it feels.

Lauren picked her favorite colors purple and teal.  The purple tank she is wearing is sold exclusively at the event with limited quantities.  She also got some cool shorts, a sports bra and matching headband.  The sports bra is now her favorite as she says it is so comfortable.  I know she will be wearing it with her leotard to dance class and to baton under her tank.

After we were done shopping and Lauren was all suited up we moved on to some of the activities.  Outside there was face painting and a fun little photo station.  Lauren loved taking a picture with an emoticon and tried to make the same face as it.

Everyone was so welcoming, especially the Boston Pride Women's Hockey Team!  This first-ever all women’s professional paid hockey league, the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), officially debuted in October 2015.   In March 2016, the NWHL’s Boston Pride defeated the Buffalo Beauts to win the inaugural Isobel Cup.  They spent time talking to Lauren and asking her what her favorite activities are.

Lauren also got to chat with a Patriots Cheerleader.  Lauren's teacher used to be a Patriots Cheerleader so she talked to her about that.

This festival is hosted between June 17 – July 23.  The 4 major stops on the tour are Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and will host up to 500 girls.  The festival started with some free play.

The program started out with an inspiring message from the Boston Pride's forward Jillian Dempsey.  I enjoyed her talk and encouraging girls to try hard and also to thank their support system all around them including their parents, coaches and more.

She talked about her experience growing up and getting to be on the first-ever all women’s professional paid hockey league.

After this inspiring message the girls got to do some yoga.

There were also some snacks and drinks for the girls if they needed a break.

Each girl was given a card to put what their dream was.

Lauren put "To become a professional baton twirler".  I sent this to her baton coach who was very excited to see this.

All the girls got to put their dream up on to the Dream Boards.  Some girls went up to the microphone to share their dreams with the crowd.

Last but not least was the crowd favorite, POUND!  Girls were given Ripstix and had a rock out workout!  This was awesome to hear and be a part of.

This was a type of exercise I had never seen before and it looked so fun!  It is a cardio jam session where you have fun making music with the sticks! 

POUND was founded in 2011 by two female drummers, and now has over 7,000 instructors, teaching in various gyms and studios, worldwide.  For more information go to: www.poundfit.com.

Here is some video to get a feel for what this was like!

Make sure your daughter makes it to this wonderful festival!

Find them on Social Media:

Instagram: @ivivva_coasttocoast #ivivva #ivivvasummerfestival

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivivvacoasttocoast/ 

Find our more and register today at www.ivivvasummerfestival.com 

10/18/13: Fit 4 Fall with Planet Shoes

Just because the weather is getting cooler and we are putting on more layers of clothes it doesn't mean that it isn't a great time to get in shape.  I was extremely lucky to be picked to be a Sole Sister by Planet Shoes for their Fit 4 Fall Campaign.  To help me reach my goals I got these wonderful New Balance Running Sneakers.

I used to be a Group Fitness Instructor.  I taught Step, Strength Training, Cardio Circuit and Abs classes and worked out sometimes 2 hours a day.  In fact I taught a Step Class the day I went in to labor with my son Evan.  I thought I would share some Fitness Tips with you and hope that you will continue this journey with me to get Fit 4 Fall.

1.  Try out a Group Fitness Class at your gym.  It is amazing how motivating it is when you take a class regularly and have friends waiting for you in class and checking in if you are going.  This can be anything - Zumba, Spinning, Step, Strength Training.

2.  Try to set a goal to run in a road race for fun.  Start with a 5K which is 3.2 miles.  Get a buddy and start training.  Start slow and short distances and work your way up to longer distances.  Fall is the absolute best time to run outside.

3.  Try to incorporate some strength training.  Try it every other workout.

4.  Start slow, in a past life I was in great shape.  Now that I have two kids that keep me hopping it is much harder to find time to workout and I am not in the same shape I used to be.  Learning that I can't do what I used to is difficult but priorities change and that is ok.

5.  Try to squeeze in a workout when the kids are in an activity.  I often see friends go out for a run while their daughters are at dance, or run around the field while your child plays soccer, or workout if the facility your child is practicing at has a fitness area for adults.  Just because your child is doing the activity it doesn't mean you can't be active too.

6. Get outside - Rake leaves, go apple picking, enjoy a fall day at the farm.  This will get you out an about moving around.

7.  No matter what, HAVE FUN!  Make exercise fun and you are more likely to stay with it.  Sometimes half the battle is just getting to the gym or lacing up your running shoes.  Once you get started you won't want to stop.

Check out Planet Shoes and set your goal and reach it!

Disclosure:  I received these New Balance Sneakers as a Planet Shoes Sole Sister.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

8/26/13: Hoopersize Fun Get Fit, Have Fun, Hoop It Up

My daughter loves to Hula Hoop.  For some reason from the time she picked one up for the first time it was natural for her and easy to do.  She even won a Hula Hoop Contest at the School Family Picnic. When I saw Hoopersize from KidTribe which combines Hip Hop and Hula Hooping together I knew she would be a fan.  As you can see here with the smile on her face she loved it! Their tag line says it all:  "Get Fit, Have Fun, Hoop It Up". 

This is how it looks as packaged.  The Hoop needs to be put together but is super easy to do.

Lauren was able to put it together herself.  The Hoop is super sturdy and has a larger diameter making it easier to Hoop longer and do tricks.

 Once she had it put together it was right down to business.  Lauren has perfected hula hooping so she was excited to learn some cool new tricks.  But don't worry, if you don't know the basics the DVDs will go through that first before moving on to tricks.

 The two DVDs it comes with include many tricks and cool music for kids to practice to.  Plus it comes with a CD of music to practice to.

 Fitness guru Kellee McQuinn or "Miss Kellee" has taken the beloved hula hoop and added hip-hop hoop tricks.  Her company, KidTribe, prides itself on delivering “edgycation” to today's youth in a time when digital toys and stranger danger keeps kids off the front lawns or running around the neighborhood. 

Did you know that hooping burns approximately 210 calories per 30-minute session?  KidTribe’s program is a full body workout the tones and strengthens every major muscle group as it builds cardiovascular health, hand-eye coordination, focusing ability, and creative self-expression. But kids just think it’s fun!  I know Lauren did! 

Here is some video of Lauren in action with the DVD:
  KidTribe is so popular for its infectious routines that it has been a staple at the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013! Almost double the number relished the 2011 Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play festival in DC and an amazing 65,000 families are expected at the much-anticipated Nickelodeon 2013 Worldwide Day of Play in NYC. Over 3.5 million kids and teachers have participated in KidTribe’s award winning school assembly program, called the Hoopapalooza Fitness Concert. 

Lauren was having so much fun and can't wait to make up a routine of all her new moves.  Here she is jumping up while Hooping.

 Here is Lauren showing off her criss-cross trick.

 Now taking it down to the ground.

 She made it.

Hoopersize is being sold first online at http://www.kidtribe.com and soon at specialty stores nationwide for $39.95.  For more fun in every household, additional hoops can be purchased without videos or CDs for $24.95 plus shipping and handling.

 "Get Fit, Have Fun, Hoop It Up"

Like KidTribe on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kidtribe

Follow them on Twitter:  @kidtribe

Disclosure:  I was provided Hoopersize for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.