A couple of weeks ago, one of my group fitness students introduced me to the Pact App. I was skeptical but after 2+ weeks in I am hooked. So what's it all about? I am going to give you a little breakdown so you can get to getting paid for working out. You'll thank me later.

So first off, let me say that in no way has Pact asked me to write this review or endorsement. I just think the app is pretty cool and wanted to share it with my fit fam. The Pact app is available from the Apple Store or Google play. The premise is to make a pact to hold yourself accountable to workout more or eat healthier. If you do it you can earn some money- if you don't do it you pay money to other users. Money is often a really good motivator for most people, including myself.
    So once you download it there are a few steps to get it set up. They are pretty easy to follow instructions, so I'm not going to bore you with the details,  but you do need to link a form of payment. I use my Paypal account.

The nice thing about this app is that if you don't go to the gym to get your fitness on, you can still earn money. The screenshot on the left shows how you can check into a gym. You have to stay at the gym for at least 30 minutes. The app uses your GPS location to make sure you are at the gym. Guess what? They verify the gym locations, so Courtney's couch does not a gym spot make.
The screenshot on the right shows you that the app syncs with some other popular apps. If you are a runner you can sync your RunKeeper or MapMyFitness workouts OR if you have a Fitbit like me- you can sync your steps. As long as you hit 10,000 steps for the day you have met your workout requirement. Note: manually entered steps do not count. So you need to wear your Fitbit and it must be charged up. No manually entering your walk or run after that fact.
Now if you don't go to the gym and you don't use any of these apps you can use the motion tracker option in the Pact app.

You can make 2 other types of pacts: Food Logging Pact and Veggie Pact. The food logging pact is done by syncing to My Fitness Pal and it syncs all of the food that you logged for the day, the Veggie Pact requires you to snap a picture of one serving of a fruit or veggie that you are eating. The picture is voted on by the Pact community to verify that it looks like its being eaten and that it really looks like a serving of fruit or veggie. So basically, no, you cannot snap a picture of your Crunch Berries at breakfast time and earn some cash.

I decided to be a little adventurous this week and add another Pact. I added the Veggie Pact. Above is a screenshot of my lunch; an Arugula salad with chicken. If it gets a thumbs up from the Pact Community it will count as one of my veggies. If it doesn't (bummer!) I will have to snap a picture of another fruit or veggie that I am consuming.

So that's the gist of it. If you have workout anyways, this app is a no-brainer. If you are looking for something to motivate you then put your dough on the line. I bet it will get you moving! www.pactapp.com for more info or feel free to ask me any questions in the comments. xoxo court

Last night I posted on Facebook a sweatie selfie after my Insanity Max: 30 workout; Sweat Intervals. Yes, it was 10:30pm, yes, I had just finished instructing Cize LIVE, yes, I probably drove my neighbor downstairs bonkers (Sorry!) I had to get it done.  As I was looking in the mirror last night at the studio I noticed I lost some muscle tone. I was pissed. Mostly at myself but also frustrated that even though I'm working out 5+ hours a week- that is still not sufficient.  That I still need to incorporate my Body Weight Fitness, that I still need that HIIT workout, that I let myself slack.
As I was looking in the mirror I could have stopped right in the middle of class and cried. I didn't,  but I sure wanted to. 
I could not get that bummed feeling of letting my hard work go down the drain out of my head the entire errand run to Target at 8:45 pm, or when I got home and had to pick up the house, put away the purchases, mop the kitchen floor, walk the dogs, and feed the cat. So I sucked it up and got the workout done.
Here's where that thoughtful Thursday comes in:
I may have lost some muscle tone but I have noticed a few other changes. I can jump and Jump and JUMP. I could never do a lot of jacks before and I blamed it on my knees but let's be real- it was the WEIGHT on my knees- and it was the inability to catch my breath. Not this time. I could do open and close jacks, jack cross uppercuts,  plyo jumps with a crossjab, Y planks to pike-ups- basically a whole slew of high intensity moves with no modifier. (A modifier is a low intensity form of a move for people that have knee problems or any other reason they are unable to do the full move) Have you ever amazed yourself? Done something that you never thought you could?  That was me last night.  Flying through the high intensity moves without a hesitation and the actual motivation and mental push- that voice in my head saying, "You can do the full out move, stop being lazy." I have never had that before- that voice used to say, "Yea right, no way, or conserve your energy- if you go too hard you will never get through this workout. "
After a shower and some wind-down time I was laying in bed. I couldn't stop thinking about how far I have come. Three months ago I couldn't have instructed a class while giving verbal cues and breathing- I just didn't have the stamina,  endurance,  whatever you want to call it.  Six months ago I couldn't do any of the moves in Insanity Max: 30 without the modifier and many breaks. So, I may have lost some tone but I have improved in other places. Six months ago I would busy into treats everyone Shaun T said,  "You maxed out " Yes, I cried after every single workout. It was a cathartic release that I desperately needed. I cried out all of my frustration and depressed feelings, cried tears of joy that I made it through another workout, cried because I was getting my own 2 feet back on solid ground and earning back my own self esteem. So how dare I almost break down tonight because I have been slacking?
Weekly, I am telling at least one of my challengers that it is all about small daily improvements and correcting small behaviors one day at a time. I need to follow my own mantra. I need to stop being so hard on myself and make the daily improvements I need to get back to where I was.  
So I'm pledging to push play on my Max: 30 workout everyday.  I'm going to do the full out moves because I CAN do them, I'm going to get my tone back and take my fitness to a level that I have never before.  Why? Because I CAN do it. So can you.
With that said,  I try to blog with a purpose. I try to send a positive, motivating or empowering, message without too much self promotion. So here goes. I'm a real person, I'm human and I make mistakes.  You too. Our journeys aren't always one directional. There are detours, there are freeways and sometimes you make a U-turn without even meaning to. So keep plugging and strive to get a little better everyday. xoxo court

In honor of Tasty Tuesday, Fall- like weather, the ever publicized pumpkin-everything & those that are thinking "can a girl just get a cheat day?!" I am sharing with you a cheat treat recipe: Clean Eating Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are also 21 Day Fix Approved! What? Whoop!

I made these for myself and the twins I nanny and they are very yummy.  They are a little chewy but you do get sweetness from the chocolate chips and the maple syrup.  If you are looking for a super sinful treat- this isn't it. If you are looking for a simple guilt-free cheat treat and you ate caught up in all of the pumpkin craziness- these little cookies are for you. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
29 oz can pure pumpkin
1/8 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups organic flour preferably whole wheat or almond flour
2/3 cups dark chocolate chips (semi sweet morsels if you must )

Combine all ingredients except chips in a bowl and spoon mix or use your stand mixer.

Once blended through,  fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop in tablespoon sized drops onto your cookie sheet.  Put into the oven for 10-15 minutes. You want them to darken in color, (you will see from the pictures the difference) but you don't want them to start to dry out on top. So keep an eye on them. 

Okay, now for you 21 Day Fixers: 2 cookies is 1 yellow and 1 orange. Remember, this is a great so you are using it as a yellow substitute.  Not to be exceeded 3x/week.

Well, hello there. Its been awhile. Turns out, I am just not very good at this blogging stuff. Ever feel like you have so much to say but not know how to put it into words? That's me in a nutshell. A lot has happened since my last post. When I left you I was getting ready to depart to Summit in Nashville, I had just registered for 18 credits in grad school, and registered for my personal trainer certification program. Here I am over 2 months later and I can happily say that I had an amazing, life-altering experience at Summit. I learned a lot about myself, made a few new friends, learned the difference between a business relationship and those that are truly my fit friends and regained some perspective and independence.  I am happily plugging away at this semester and am really enjoying the challenge as well as getting back into the swing of time management. Unplugging and abstaining from Facebook, text, tv, etc has proven to be a bit of a challenge for me- if I could just lock up my cell phone while I am trying to get my school work done I would be loads better off. I am managing though.
So on to the Thoughtful Thursday part. Today and for the better part of a week I have been reflecting on just how far I have come this year. Almost 40 pounds down, 2 5ks, and 2 live group format certifications under my belt and I still can't believe this is me. The girl that even when she was at her skinniest- could never run distance. This past weekend on a whim I decided to run the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department's Firefighter 5k. I knew there was going to be a hill, road race, and trail race and I really wanted to challenge myself. Granted, I did not do as well as I wanted to, but only 4 minutes and 18 seconds over my PR is not too shabby considering I have never run such a steep hill as that or done any trail racing. Oh, did I mention it was 90 degrees out with killer humidity? Yeah. Regardless, I finished. 1 year ago I would have never signed up, never mind the fact that I went by myself, ran by myself and had no one at the finish line waiting for me. Ya know what? I didn't care. I have come to realize there are certain things that you need to do for yourself and not everything you do has to be for the public consumption. Sometimes a personal pat on the back just needs to be enough.
Last night I taught my first Turbo Kick cardio kickboxing class. I had an awesome group of ladies that were there to be challenged, have a great workout and have fun. I couldn't have asked for a better group. Today, I'm a little sore, a little tired and a lot happy. 5k on Sunday, practicing all week for Turbo, Turbo class last night, and tonight I'll instruct Cize. I'm still alive. I don't think I have ever been in such great, heart-healthy shape. I may not be exactly where I want to be, may not look exactly how I want to, yet- but 6 months ago I could have never taught the class I did with jacks, kicks, burpees, and sumo squats while talking, instructing and BREATHING.  Pretty amazing feeling. My thought for this Thursday: feeling like a rock star.  Be healthy and happy. xoxo, Court