I know, I know. You were soooo worried that ihabl was over, done with, kaput. But not to worry, it’s just another case of broken laptop, busy life, the usual excuses. How is everyone? I feel like I’ve missed A LOT. And I’m excited to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and catch up on each and every one of your lives. Because believe it or not, this little space of the internet that I call my own has really created a community for me, and I feel invested in all of your lives. Some of you got married, moved, got injured, took vacations, accomplished crazy fitness feats, and I don’t even know about it! Not cool! So just know that I’ll be around now. Especially for the holidays. There’s just too much goodness to share this time of year 🙂
That being said, what’s been happening since I ran the marathon, oh, a MONTH ago? The day still feels like a dream sometimes and I often forget that it even happened. As many of you remember I became a NASM certified personal trainer this past summer. Well, now I’m going to be putting that to use! In early September I joined the training staff at Sweat Chicago, a HIIT studio in the Gold Coast of Chicago. I am just about done with their internship program, learning the programming of the workouts, proper form, techniques, how to use the mic during class, etc. so soon I’ll be teaching classes #likeaboss. It’s exciting, especially because I had gotten so used to straight cardio and now I’m blowing up like the hulk (or at least it feels that way after Monday’s arm workouts!)
Another new development is that I was promoted at lululemon and am now part of the management team. There are no words to describe how ready and excited I am for this change. When I look back to my first few weeks at lululemon I thought I’d never want to leave my role on the floor because, to put it simply, it’s just too much fun! But now that I know our store like the back of my hand, it just feels right that I’ll now be part of the business on a logistical level. It also means that I get to help all the newbies with their personal development in the same way that I was helped. And that is one of the greatest things about lululemon: they invest in and love on their people.
Needless to say, these two new job opportunities + a spontaneous trip to DC made for an eventful October. Luckily November settled down a bit and now my days are just a little more filled. Filled with management meethings, time on the floor, emails emails emails, Sweat shadow sessions, and of course my own workouts. Thank goodness for a planner, that’s all I’m gonna say.
I’ll just end here for today to give me a chance to catch up with all of you! Tomorrow I’ll share a fun thing I’ve been experimenting with thanks to Sweat (although if you follow me on social media, which you should, you already know exactly what I’m up to!).
Have a great Tuesday everyone!
i had a big lunch 
This is all so awesome! Congrats girlie!
Thanks so much! Lots of exciting stuff ahead!
YAY for your promotion! ABOUT DAMN TIME. And I want to come and take a class from you… but yeah… that ain’t happening for a while. ONE DAY THOUGH. Really really happy and excited for you–get it, girl.
ONE DAY! You will be the star of my class 🙂
Im sooooo excited for you Lauren! What a great October. Lulu and Sweat – 2 of my favorite things. Lets get together for Brunch (Blue Door?) in December 🙂
Absolutely! We should get a small group of us to go ice skating and get hot chocolate or something. Last year that was the most fun thing I did in December!
so much goodness in this post!! excited to hear more about your new positions and ventures. xo
Thank you Shawna! I can’t wait to catch up on your fabulous life too 🙂
Oh! So you’re the one with Sweat Chicago! I’ll follow you for sure. Glad you’re back. You’re one of the bests.
Too kind!
Yay! So glad to have you as part of the team. Also, I love that planner!
It was way overpriced at Paper Source but I fell in love with it!
#treatyoself
Yay, congratulations on your promotion! Sounds like it’s been pretty awesome for you these past couple months.
It’s been a whirlwind! Glad to see you haven’t given up on me haha can’t wait to catch up with you!
I can see why you weren’t blogging! That’s a lot of stuff you’ve had going on! So jealous you went out to DC – even though I’ve been twice in the past two years, I already want to go back again. I love love love that city.
DC is my favorite city to visit! The energy there is electric.
If I didn’t have you on FB/Snapchat, I would cry.
Congrats on both parts though- You are a machine!
Haha thank goodness for 24/7 social media 😉
I saw that planner at a local boutique and would’ve bought it, except I had already pre-ordered a Whitney English Day Designer. I want all the planners! Haha. Glad to see you’re back 🙂 xoxo
Planners are an addiction! Haha. Glad you’ve stuck around these parts 🙂 can’t wait to see what’s up with you!
Congratulations!!! Why types of classes will you be teaching? Do you recommend the NASM program? How long did it take you? How much $$ did it cost? Sorry for the questions haha, I’m interested.
I really liked the NASM program! It was comprehensive and very science-based. It’s supposed to take six months but it took me a year. It cost me around $600 for the textbook and online tools. I’m teaching HIIT, so bootcamps, basically :). I will say that, like anything else, I feel like the only way to really know a profession is actually doing it. I feel like I’ve forgotten a lot of the facts that I learned, but having that credential is imperative, at least in the US, and I’ll learn as I go.
Thanks for the info. I have wanted to do this for a while but thought it would cost a lot more! This is actually affordable. Can you customize what type of trainer you are? Like weight lifting v. running v. sport based?
Massive congratulations Lauren! Definitely onwards and upwards! Everything sure does work itself out does it!? 😀
Thank you! And yes, absolutely. Something I’m sure you’ve learned with everything after your move!
Congrats on the promotion! And welcome back!
Thank you! It’s good to be back! And I’m happy to see you’re still around these parts 🙂 I can’t wait to read all about what’s been new with you!
Congrats on your big promotion! I love that you’re getting to do 2 things you love with working at Sweat Chicago and also Lululemon. Livin’ the dream 🙂
And I spy an Apple Pie Larabar- my fave!
Yeah! I’m so happy with the life I’ve built up. Livin the dream for sure! I’m so happy to be back so I can catch up on your life as well!
So happy for you!! Congrats on the new jobs! It sounds like you have a great thing going for yourself!
Thank you! Yeah I’m so excited about these cool gigs!
Congrats! It looks like all your hard work and taking the risk by quitting your job was so worth it! So happy with you! You are an inspiration for those of us who haven’t taken the risk yet!
Thank you so much those are such kind words! I wish I could go back in time and reassure my past self that everything turns out pretty kickass, but that’s the hard part of taking risks…you can’t! You’re a risk taker too, making big moves and all 🙂
Congrats on your promotion AND new job!! That’s so exciting!! You are a beast!
Thanks! It’s definitely all falling in line 🙂
Well it sounds like you’ve been and are staying busy! But I totally get you about feeling like this is a community. I feel the same way!
It’s so true!
AHH Congratulations on your promotion!! This is so exciting!
Thank you!!
Congratulations on all of the excitement!!!
Thank you!