Hi friends :) First off, I want to wish my wonderful friend and business partner Pascha a very happy birthday! This has been a wonderful and crazy last few months, and I'm so very grateful to be doing this with you :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did :)

Mine started with an awesome morning Monkey Ninja Bootcamp--shout out to Beverly, Damon, Josh, Kristin, Lashunda, Kattt, Beth, Noa, Rebecca, Joanne, Daniela, and Samantha. We jumped, lunged, chopped, crawled and sweated our way through an intense calorie and fat burning workout--no guilt eating later for us :)

Afterward, I joined my family at my parents' house--we had a small gathering this year, my parents, my husband Doug, my lil' bro Jase, and my step-daughter Ava. Major props to my mom who had been cooking and preparing food for a couple days. I joined in helping her as soon as I arrived. My main contributions were a pumpkin pie and preparing and cooking the green beans and brussel sprouts.

A few pics of some of our food....

Lastly, I'd like to share a few things I'm thankful for, as well as some of the things my family is thankful for (we shared what we were thankful for during dinner)....

1. My family--there is nothing more important to me than my family. I appreciate how close we all our and how accepting everyone is. We are notorious for always having a good time, filled with laughter, joking around, lots of food and drinks.....my friends love coming over for celebrations because my family is just that fun.

2. According to Ava, my 10 year old step-daughter--"I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my pets and the planet Earth." Well said little one, and well rehearsed. Her response, "I know, we had to recite this in class."

Luckily for her, when she recited what she's thankful for, she had no idea what was coming. Something else to add to the list--dessert :)

3. My mom told a touching story about seeing a woman at the grocery store helping her daughter out of the car. She said the litte girl was probably about Ava's age and had cerebal palsy. Seeing this woman made her feel very grateful for everything we have. It's not perfect, but it's plenty.

4. "Margaritas!" A little out of character, but that was my dad's response. He spoke the truth though, maybe even what we were all thinking in the back of our heads, margaritas are something to be very grateful for.

See that bottle of tequilla behind the turkey...um yeah, so we have a thing for  margaritas. We'll keep working on that bottle the rest of the weekend :)

All joking aside, I'm truly grateful for the love and support of my family and friends, for the amazing oppportunities I've had thus far in my life, for my health, and for being able to do what I love--share my views on fitness and health with all of you. Thank you for being a part of my life :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hey everyone! Happy Wednesday! Mine got off to a great start with an awesome TRX Power class--way to go Beverly, Kristy, Scott, Rebecca, Susan and Pascha!

While I wasn't able to get in a video of today's class, I was busy sweating away, here's a clip from last week's same class with a few different people. Last Wednesday I was taking a rest day....I somehow have a few ribs out of alignment (wtf?!)....so I've been trying to take a bit more rest here and there. You're probably wondering the same thing I have been....how does one go about knocking multiple ribs out of alignment without falling off a roof....I'm still working on the answer to that one :)

[wpvideo rLiCOfKC]

If you've been following my blog, you've probably started to realize that I'm a huge advocate for letting loose and having fun....all the hard work and dedication of training hard and eating healthy has to have its rewards. For me, it's about enjoying the pleasures of life while maintaining my level of fitness. However, sometimes I get carried away....this past weekend was no exception. I ended up going out to eat 4(!) nights in a row....not normal for me AT ALL. I celebrated my best friend's birthday on Friday night....here's a photo of how it went down.

Many, many margaritas :) The following 3 nights my parents were having a mini-vacation and staying in SF...and invited us to dinner 3 nights in a row. Wow, I'm one lucky girl. My parents are so much fun and we had a great weekend. Lots of food, lots of wine, lots of laughs :)

And last, I have to recap on my chronicles with my clients' pets. Here's a video of Kit....if you read my blog then you know she is having a love affair with my gym bag.

[wpvideo mN8AtWQI]

And here is a photo of Rudy, another client's pet.

....isn't he handsome? He's so sweet and despite his size vs. my size, he always tries to sit in my lap. He's definitely not a "lap dog." I'm usually covered in dog fur by the time I leave their house...and doggy kisses :)

Hope to see you all in class soon! Please feel free to leave me a comment ;)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi everyone! I hope your week is off to a great start and that you all had a fun Halloween weekend!

Our Halloween party went awesome....my inner Martha Stewart appeared....and trust me, it's been a while :) I bet most of you didn't even know I had an inner Martha Stewart....at least that's what one of my clients told me. Here's some pics to recap the party. According to the 10 year old girls, "it was the best party of the year!" (I know, I know, how many parties do they really go to? Whatever, it's still a compliment :))

Maybe the best decoration I did was the creepy, bloody hand....I made two, the other was in the cauldron floating around.

So yeah, I had a little fun with this. The girls all had awesome costumes, had a dance party (10 year old girls' dance party, it was good...), decorated and devoured cupcakes, danced some more, ate frosting by the HANDFUL (no joke), climbed up the huge magnolia tree in our front yard, and carved pumpkins.

Happy girls, no? Therefore, I'd say the party was a hit :)

Yours in Health (and apparently cupcakes :)),

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness

p.s. While the girls were up in the tree, I decorated a few cupcakes myself :)

Hey everyone! Happy almost Friday to you! Probably will be Friday by the time you read this :)

So this week has been kinda up and down for me. There's been a lot of great things, but I've felt pretty run down all week. I think I hit a wall....and really needed some extra rest. Thankfully, I had a free hour yesterday due to a client being out of town, and I was able to hit the sauna at Iron Works...yeah, I totally fell asleep. But I woke up feeling really rejuvenated...sometimes a little extra rest does the trick ;)

But I'd rather focus on the positive things....so here's a recap in photos and videos.

We have a new studio mascot, first discovered last Saturday. She's stayed around all week, hanging out by our front door. And yes, she's still alive, she was crawling around just earlier this evening.

Awesome Sunday sunset, captured from my living room:

This never gets old :)

I had to take a photo of my second favorite cat (1st favorite being my own of course :) ). Her name is Kit and I'm pretty sure she's having a love affair with my gym bag. For 3 years I have been going to my clients' home to train them, and Kit just can't get enough of my bag. She loves to rub herself all over it, get in and hang out. She gets a bit embarrassed when I try to take her picture, so I have to be covert about it :)

I wouldn't want to hurt my kitty's feelings, so I've gotta post a pic of her too. She is not as sweet as Kit, she bites and scratches....but I love her anyway :)

Cute, huh?

I also wanted to give a huge shout out to all our students and clients! We have been so impressed with everyone's pushups this week! It's been really awesome seeing you all break your records day after day....lovin' it!

Here's an awesome clip from this evening's Monkey Ninja Bootcamp, you guys killed it!

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We're finishing getting ready for a Halloween party for my daughter and her girlfriends this weekend. She's very excited....and I've got a lot of baking left to do! Call me crazy, but I couldn't bear buying her a whole bunch of junky, processed candy for the goody bags. Instead, I signed myself up for making homemade Halloween treats to put in the bags....you know, in all my spare time :) It's a win win--I feel better about knowing that the homemade treats have quality ingredients. She's happy because even though she would love a bunch of candy, she knows that homemade treats always taste better in the end. I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow evening :)

I'll let you know how it goes :)

Happy Weekend and Happy Halloween!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness

Hi everyone :) Here we are again, successfully made it through the mid-week hump. Which means the weekend is on the horizon :) I hope your week has been great so far. Mine has been pretty rockin'--some great workouts, funny conversations, inspiring words and healthy food. Not too shabby :) Here's what my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at Iron Works did today, pretty tough, definitely awesome.

As you know, our winner for last month's "Highest Class Attendance" challenge was the awesome Rebecca Merino, with a whopping total of 28 classes. That's right, 28 solid hours of hard-core exercise....pretty inspiring, wouldn't you say? It was a very tight race, and while we could only give away one prize (a gift certificate to the awesome masseuse Adrienne of Mend in downtown Berkeley, website http://www.adriennesaltzbergcmt.com/), I also wanted to give a shout out to Kattt Atchley, our runner-up, attending 27 classes!

In the spirit of letting these fabulous women inspire you, we invited them both to do a quick interview to share with the rest of our students/clients. Thankfully, they both agreed :)

Here are the questions we asked, along with their answers. Be inspired ;)

1. How long have you been coming to The Fuse Fitness?

Rebecca: "Since it opened, but before that, I was going to Kristin's Saturday Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at the park."

Kattt: "I have attended classes since the last week of June."

2. What are your favorite classes and why?

R: "I take TRX, Bootcamp, and Metabolic Surge regularly.  But my favorite class has to be Yoga Tune Up.  After a week of doing all the other classes, it feels like heaven to massage and stretch the muscles.  However, I love Yoga Tune Up because of the other classes.  So if I could only take one class a week, I'd have to go with where it all began for me, Saturday Bootcamp."

K: "My favorite classes are power yoga, pilates fusion, monkey ninja, slow flow yoga - from intense to subtle. I like the classes because I always feel better *afterward* and I like the feeling of accomplishment. I like the "I did it!" feeling. As I've developed stamina and feel more secure in the poses and movements, I am learning (and enjoying) how to increase the intensity. Also, through doing these exercises, I am learning anatomy, and beginning to understand my body in new ways through these exercises (e.g., incorporating breathing, and using core muscles, especially my gluteal muscles)."

3. What Fitness goals have you set for yourself if any and have you achieved any of them?

R:  "I don't really have any specific fitness goal. I primarily workout because I love the feeling of being in shape and the adrenaline rush after a tough workout.  Also, to be honest, I like to eat.  I love Little Star Pizza, onion rings, and pretty much anything sweet.  I don't go crazy everyday, but come Friday or Saturday evening, I definitely don't stick to any diet that The Fuse would recommend.  I guess my fitness goal would be to keep working out so I don't feel guilty about some of my nutritional choices."  Rebecca, don't worry, we love to eat too :) A cheat day is always welcome after a week of hard work, sweat and discipline.

K: "I achieved my early goals: my clothing fitting and increased energy. My long term goals are strength, increasing intensity, and learning how to relax after working out."  Kattt, just what we love to hear, clients/members/students ninja-kicking one goal after another...keep up the good work!!

4. Tell us something interesting about yourself.

R: "In the spirit of Halloween, I read Bram Stoker's Dracula at a much too early age and have been scared of vampires ever since.  Most people have fears of spiders, heights, or things like that, but I'm just afraid of a vampire floating into my window while I sleep.  Aly likes to sneak up behind me with fake fangs and freak me out.  Lesson learned, never tell a 9 year old what you're afraid of."  Alright, now I know what to dress like for class on Halloween! Thanks for the idea ;)

K: "I am a visual artist working with pen and ink on paper. I am an experimental vocalist, composer, keyboardist, and combine disciplines into performance, which means I have my own artistic language. I also have an electronic pop laptop band called "The Atchleys", with my husband Kenneth; and "Kattt and Ron" with vocalist Ron Heglin, which is more meditative. I have performed work in art galleries, dance lofts and bars."  Wow Kattt, so cool! Very impressive :)

Well there you have it friends, the words of our two most dedicated and very inspiring members. Let it be motivation to push yourselves in your workouts, today and everyday. Whether it's going to that next level of intensity in Metabolic Surge or letting your mind/body center itself and calm in Slow Flow Yoga, work hard! Nothing in life is worth it if you don't give it your all. Know what I'm sayin'? :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! There seemed to be a lot of birthday parties happening this weekend. I'm always game for a really good party, and what better way to get down than celebrating the awesomeness of your friends and family. Everyone is always in such a good mood at birthday parties--you just don't find groups of people happier than that :)

Our food of the week has been chosen, and I must say this is probably one of my all time favorites. Drum roll please. And the winner goes to....the avocado!!! I could have a party just because I love avocados so much--like I said, I'm always game for a party. Although it probably wouldn't be as fun as a birthday party, but you never know.....Imagine that every food and beverage served had to include this amazing fruit. Um yeah. Sounds heavenly :)

Loaded with heart healthy fats, 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid, avocados are super healthy. Which is great, because in our house we go through at least 2 a day. Mixed into salads, made into guacamole (don't even get me started on this--I have a serious addiction), put on sandwiches, served with eggs, or eaten all by itself, avocados are just so darn good. I'm going to share my secret (not for long!) recipe for guacamole--friends and family always insist I bring this to every get together or party.

Guacamole--serves 4-5 people

3-4 medium avocados (I prefer Hass avocados), mashed up (I use a potato masher, works great!)

a quarter to a third of  a red onion (depending on your taste preference as well as size of onion), diced small

1/3 bunch of cilantro, chopped finely

1 tomato, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely

salt to taste

Tapatio hot sauce to taste

juice of half a lime

-In a medium sized bowl, mash the avocado. Add all other ingredients through jalapeno and mix together. Add salt and hot sauce to taste. Add lime juice last (helps keep from turning brown on top). Enjoy (I know I always do :) )

Please feel free to share your favorite way to enjoy this awesome fruit! Avocado party in the near future? Might just have to make that happen.

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hi everyone, So each week we choose a seasonal, nutrition packed food to highlight, and include a few recipes throughout the week using this ingredient. This week we have chosen the delicious, juicy mango.

Check out these nutrition stats: The nutritional value is per 100 g (3.5 oz) and rich in many phytonutrients and antioxidants. It is high in fiber, vitamin A, C and E (25%, 76% and 9%) and vitamin B6 and K(11% and 9%). Let's not forget the pulp and peel which has Omeg-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids!

So far we've picked two delicious recipes that host this tropical, summer treat. Since they're not our original recipes, I'm going to post the link to each. The first recipe, Spinach, Avocado and Mango Salad can be found here: http://www.eatingwell.com/reci​pes/spinach_avocado_mango_sala​d.html. The second recipe, Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa, can be found by clicking this link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-mahimahi-with-mango-salsa-10000001940993.

We'll be back later this week with a dessert recipe featuring, you guessed it, the mango :) Enjoy these recipes and let us know what you think.

Yours in health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new blog! Our studio, The Fuse Fitness, just opened 5 weeks ago! It's been a very exciting and crazy journey and we are so pumped to share this experience with all of you! We want to invite all of you to join us on this journey. We will share fitness tips, workouts, playlists, recipes, fitness challenges, and nutrition challenges, as well as personal stories about ourselves and families. We would love for you to do the same. The blogging process becomes more fun the more involved everyone gets. Please check out our website, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com to check out our class schedule if you're interested in taking classes. And welcome to our fitness family :)

Yours in health,

The Fuse Fitness