Summer is Here – Let’s Get Sweaty!

I know that many people consider the start of summer to be Memorial Day weekend at the end of May, and also that the official start of the summer is June 21 (the summer solstice). But for me, Independence Day is when I finally feel like summer is here. It’s hot, it’s sticky, and I’m fortunate enough to be headed out to Blake’s house in the Hamptons for the weekend, along with Ashley and Theodora!

Unlike seemingly everyone else in NYC, I haven’t been out to the Hamptons before. However, my family and I used to go to Riverhead (way out on the tip of Long Island) every summer to stay with friends who are lucky enough to live there year round. I loved our time out there – it was always so relaxing and peaceful. I loved running around with my playmates on the beach collecting shells(I basically lived in swimsuits the entire time I was there), then coming in for a yummy dinner of clams and corn on the cob. And if it rained, no matter – we’d stay inside and play with American Girl dolls all day!

Now, I’m pretty sure we won’t be playing with American Girl dolls this trip, but I’m quite excited about what my friends and I have planned instead that I consider “adult playtime”: work out! These days, it wouldn’t be a vacation without the chance for me to be as active as possible. Exercising always makes me feel so good (hello, endorphins!), and I love having uninterrupted time to do a bit more of it rather than rushing to fit it in like I do most weeks. I’m very excited to sweat with my best friends, and the Hamptons is sure to provide a gorgeous setting. And to try some new summer workouts, I’m excited to announced that I’m partnering with FiTMAPPED to promote their FiTCRAWL that is going on for the month of July!

FiTMAPPED is an app that uses your phone’s GPS to find gym/studio classes filtered by location, time, activity, price and membership type (i.e., whether you can just walk right in or if you need a membership). You can book right through the app (no matter what the studio), and rate and review the class afterward. There isn’t yet an Android version of the app (coming soon, though!), but I’ve been using the website to see what classes are available and read/write reviews. It’s nice to have all the class info in one place, and it’s also been a nice way to discover some new studios. Stay tuned, because later in July I’m going to have a whirlwind week where I go to a different studio every day and review them all for you! There are so many neat and innovative workouts these days.

For the month of July, FiTMAPPED is teaming with SELF Magazine to promote the healthy version of a bar crawl – a FiTCRAWL! Haha, I love it. The FiTCRAWL starting next Monday, July 8, and continues through Friday August 2. FiTMAPPED has created red, white and blue zones from its map of Manhattan, and the Hamptons will be a bonus zone for those lucky enough to get to the beach! Each week, the FiTMAPPED blog will announce participating studios in each zone that will offer a discounted class price to FiTCRAWL participants (valid for that week only). I am pretty psyched about the studio discounts – working out in NYC is so expensive, with most boutique studios now charging astounding $34 per group class! Since I’m going to be home this month quite a bit (for jury duty and a staycation), it will be a huge help to get a discount on classes and have a chance to take classes along with others who like the social aspect of meeting friends for workouts.

The first week’s participating studios are already posted here, and I’m excited to see some great spots on the list. I’ve already tried several classes at Revolve Fitness, a spin studio in Union Square (review coming that whirlwind week of July). Meanwhile, Physique 57 is hosting the FiTCRAWL in both Manhattan and in the Hamptons. I’ve never taken Physique 57 before, but I’ve heard great things from a lot of their devotees, and I’m also going to check out their studio in Bridgehampton to see for myself tomorrow morning – woo hoo!

To make the FiTCRAWL even more exciting, FiTMAPPED will be sponsoring a sweepstakes where participants get points for each workout they do and check in on social media. Each workout/review gives you another entry to win awesome prizes from FiTMAPPED, and many of the participating studios will be doing their own giveaways as well. More details about the contest specifics will be announced on July 8th, but I’m pretty excited about getting rewarded for doing something I love to do anyway.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Hope you too can enjoy a balanced day of working out, eating yummy barbecue with friends and family, and joining in a toast to the fireworks and our great nation in the evening 🙂