Tonight begins one of the Jewish high holidays - Yom Kippur. If you're not Jewish or if you just don't know what Yom Kippur stands for, it's a time right after the Jewish new year to reflect and 'atone' for your "sins." 

I'm not a very religious Jew, I don't go to synogogue often, but I do practice Jewish traditions and I especially like to observe for Yom Kippur. I don't like to think I'm a sinner, and I'm definitely not a perfect being, but for me it's a good reminder to reflect on the past year, set a tone for myself for the upcoming months ahead and really set some intentions of where I would like to see myself in the next year. 

Get out of your comfort zone.

Working  full time now and adjusting to adult life has me even more so 'reflective' at this time of year. I feel SO lucky every single day that I get to come into work every day with a group of extremely talented people and then I can go home and teach my fitness classes and hang out with my main squeeze. It's a fun life, but I tend to get in my little 'comfort zones,' and I think that it's important at these times to realize why it's so important to get OUT of my comfort zone - personally and professionally.

This is the perfect time for me to start setting some new goals, not only because it's Yom Kippur, but also because my second quarterly review at work is coming up very soon. I've been working at Group Two for 5 months now (how did it go so quick?!) and I finally feel that I'm really getting the hang of things! It's time to challenge myself a little more. I'm excited to grow my knowledge in the advertising industry and keep learning new things. I have some specific goals but this isn't a work blog so I'll spare you the many specifics. 

In terms of personal goals, I have a few. I definitely want to grow my experience in the fitness industry. I've been teaching consistently about 1-2 times a week, but lately I've just been craving more. I don't know exactly what's next, but I want to eventually get my personal trainer certification and start networking a little bit more to take advantage of the awesome fitness scene in Philadelphia. Last night I met an instructor who teaches spin at a women's prison. How cool is that?! I also am determined to finish my first half marathon on October 31!

On another note, I'm determined to keep family on top. We're all spread out now. Womp. It's not so easy to hop in the car to drive home anymore, so I have to be more conscious about picking up the phone. Family is everything. 

Reflect.

With all of the above being said, I always like to take time to appreciate the past year and think of everything that I was able to accomplish. I'm happy with where I ended up after graduating and who I get to spend my days with. Life is really such an adventure! #RachelsDeepWordsOfWisdom.

Real time now - the Pope is coming to Philly this weekend and it's already a mad house here. There are porta-potties lining JFK Blvd. We're expecting 1,000,000 people. YIKES! The preparation is intense.

XO - Rach

Let's chat!

What are you excited for in the next few months?

How do you plan ahead and make goals? 

How often do you talk to your family?

Helllooo there!  Today I'm sharing something new - a foodie swap! What the heck is a foodie swap? Well, if you're into blogging, you may have found that it's really about growing your community, growing a following and connecting with other bloggers. However, what I think a lot of us fail to do on the reg (I am totally guilty,) is blog in our own little bubbles - not quite connected with the other talented and unique bloggers. So Georgie created this fun concept called a "foodie swap" where a group of us bloggers are paired up with another (blindly) and we go out and put together a fun little food care package. 

Packages are fun, and so are letters - especially when they include surprises! I couldn't wait to find out who my foodie pen pal was and eagerly checked my mail every single day after work until my package came!

My Swap Box:

My foodie swap buddy was Liv, from healthy-liv.com! I was so happy to open my package to find it filled with a few of my favorite things plus an adorable note. Trader Joe's caramel cheddar popcorn is kind of amazing, and I'm SO happy she included it because I would usually go for the plane Jane popcorn and not buy this kind. As you can see from the photo, I couldn't even wait to take a photo without tasting it...

I'm also so happy Liv re-introduced me to Trader Joe's fruit bars. The only ingredients are fruit. In fact, I picked up like ten more today when I went shopping! I also received some Larabars, Kind Bars and Trader Joe's Brownie Crisp (amazing!!!)

THANK YOU Liv!! I hope you enjoyed your swap box! 

You can check out what I sent to Liv in her post. You should also take some time to check out her blog - she's a college student at UNC, an inspirational runner and she makes delicious recipes!

XO - Rach

Good morning!  I've got a great, pinnable workout to share with everyone this morning. Yesterday morning I taught my Super Circuits class in Old City and I was so surprised with the turnout! I usually have a small class of about 5-8 women, but yesterday I had about 15 people - even a couple guys. I love the energy that a bigger class gives off. 

Before I taught, I had to down a 16 oz of Wawa's Pumpkin Spice Coffee...if you haven't had it GO GET IT NOW. Their pumpkin spice coffee is better than any other coffee places. And way cheaper. 

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. This Super Sweaty Circuit Workout consists of 4 different circuits and a little core burnout at the end. Each circuit is designed to focus on a specific part of the body. I think this one got us all sweatier than usual because after each circuit, that muscle group was a bit fatigued. 

For the elevated side squat, you simply have one foot on the bench and you bring it down into a squat and then immediately come up to raise your opposite leg. I demo this one in the short video below! The chest press and skull crusher combo means that you will be laying on the bench. You start with a basic chest press, turn your palms to face each other at the top and then go into a skull crusher (tricep extension.)

The alternating reverse lunges to a single leg deadlift are also in the short video below. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite exercises! Single leg deadlifts are an awesome exercise not only for your hamstrings and glutes, but also for your core and stability. This combo movement is a great one to ease you into doing single leg deadlifts because it will take some of the balance challenge away by adding the lunges in. 

Here's  snippet of some of the moves this video is also on my Instagram - with a little better quality!):

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpWc4xiE-LQ[/embed]

On another note, who's celebrating Rosh Hashana today? I'm making a dinner tonight for Michael and I and we are going to FaceTime my family in Florida. Sad that we can't be all together but technology kind of makes it possible! I'm making a turkey breast, matzoh ball soup and this honey cake. I'm excited. 

Michael and I just walked to our local coffee shop (at the train station) for some lattes and I'm about to head out for a long run in this BEAUTIFUL 70 degree weather. It's starting to feel like fall and I am so happy :) After that I'll get cooking.

I LOVE SUNDAYS!!

XO- Rach

What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday?