Happy New Year! How do you typically spend New Year day? Depending on my plans the night before….ahem… 🙂 … I like to start off with a late brunch. As the day goes on though I start motivating myself for a New Year = New beginnings. So here we go…let’s think about health and fitness. I know what you’re thinking…. “I start off good every year and then slowing start going back to my old ways around February 1^st.”

If that’s you, let’s really think about what you (and I can do) to motivate ourselves to do better this year. A piece of advice that still rings true to me, is the only way to stick with a workout routine or a healthy lifestyle is to enjoy what you’re doing. There are so many forms of workouts and you should really invest in the ones you LOVE. Choose a workout that fits your price budget, enjoyable, and gives you a really good workout.

Hang5Fitness

Chi@Glance January Spotlight feature is shining the light on a new workout studio coming to the Lincoln Park area in Chicago, January 8th. We had a sit down with Andrea Metcalf founder of StudiosFuse. StudiosFuse is a fitness Co-Op that has 4 unique boutique studios and a JuiceRx bar area. The four boutique studios are:

Kick@55 – Burn 500 to 700 calories in less than one hour while toning up. A certified personal trainer leads you through a series of circuit-style strength training exercises with cardio intervals designed to maximize your caloric burn.
Hang5Fitness – Barre and board surf bar studio. Workout on an actual surf board. Each workout helps you improve your balance and train your core. Four different workout classes to choose from.
Yoga-Space – Offers a wide variety of new age yoga classes. You can also stop by to unplug and enter a guided meditation session when class isn’t in session.
Sproing Fitness – High intensity, low impact soft surface running workout. Less impact than an elliptical and the workout of a treadmill. Technology based heart rate classes. Interval classes and weight training.

There are package deals if you want to work out at all four studio’s or you can stick with whichever one you love. All class sizes are 25 or less people.

Andrea Metcalf

Andrea MetCalf is the founder/Owner of StudiosFuse and owner of two of the studios (Hang5Fitness and Yoga-Space). She is from the Western Suburbs of Chicago, but is inspired by the California Lifestyle and the year long sunshine that fuels her soul. 🙂 Andrea has lived a fairly healthy lifestyle her whole life and that’s continued throughout her career. She was athlete of the year in highschool and was a cheerleader in college. Her health and fitness experience span over 34 years. She started teaching workout classes back in 1983 when Jazzercise was the only group fitness class. Andrea is a Depaul Alumni and brought aerobics to the university and ran the class as a senior in college. You’ve probably seen her on her over 500 TV appearances including, NBC Today Show, Steve Harvey, Good Morning America, CBS, WGN, NBC, and Fox Chicago. She also is a contributor to oprah.com, More Magazine, Reuters Health report among others, and a best-selling book “Naked Fitness.”

Why is Andrea Metcalf founder/Owner of Studiosfuse a Chicagoan YOU should know?

“I’ve been here my whole life. I’ve Had the opportunity to move to New York and LA. There’s something about Chicago that keeps me grounded. It’s being close to my family and being close to what’s familiar. Why you should know me is because I can help you and inspire you to live your best life and not make it hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting organic peas, frozen peas, or can peas, it just matters that you eat the peas and appease yourself.”

I learned soooo much from my sit down with Andrea. I was also fortunate to get a private one on one class with her on the surfboards and get a hard hat tour of the new studio. Let’s just say that workout was fun and really worked my entire body! Check out our one on one sit down interview below. We discuss ways to keep your New Year’s resolution and how to stay fit in the New Year!

Tavi J interview with Andrea Metcalf

Andrea Metcalf and Tavi J.

TJ: How would you say Studiosfuse is different from other workout programs/gyms?

AM: Studiofuse is one central place for a good community of support that has four different expert workouts. Typically you go to a boutique studio because there is expertise there. You know the people teaching are really dedicated to the art. Us having four expert studios under one roof sets us apart.

TJ: For those of us that haven’t always lived a healthy lifestyle, how can we start embracing a healthier way of life?

AM: Look in the mirror and be honest with yourself about your goals. If you really want to start making changes you can, but starting one step at a time. People who quit smoking start by cutting back. Most can’t go cold turkey. What we’ve seen in the research industry is more progress is made when you take small steps in the right direction. Maybe start off walking 10 minutes a day, or wearing your fitbit to get those 10,000 steps. Set real achievable goals. Small steps equal big results.

TJ: You’ve made a lot of tv appearance as a healthy lifestyle expert and work with several organizations like the American Heart Association as a keynote speaker. Why do you feel you connect so well with your audience?

AM: I believe I do a good job at breaking things down. Making things simple is the key. Right now I’m on Fox news twice a month on Tuesdays at noon as a health expert. I enjoy doing the television piece so I can educate and reach more people with a bigger audience. I have produced 3 television shows in the past. One that’s still on is “Living Healthy Chicago on WGN/CLTV. I produced and hosted it for a little over a year.

TJ: You ran a super successful weight loss clinic before where people came to lose generally 100 lbs or more. What key concepts were taught?

AM: I keep reitiering small steps is the way to go. I had three theory’s to focus on and incorporating one at a time:

9 to 11 fruits and vegetable servings a day
35 grams of fiber a day
100 grams of protein a day

Pick one of the 3 and do it for a month. The next month incorporate the next step. The biggest complaint I would get is “Andrea you make us eat too much food.” Doing the above steps will keep you full and speed up your metabolism. When you eat more and more of the right things you have a higher metabolism. Your metabolism slows down when your body is missing the nutrients it needs.

TJ: I know your big on mediation. What is the optimal amount of time to meditate and what time of day?

AM: Believe it or not 3 to 5 minutes you can meditate. It doesn’t take much to get a big result. Morning is better so nothing gets in the way. It’s better to start early than when your ready to pull your hair out.

TJ: We’ve talk about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but what advice would you give to maintaining a happy lifestyle?

AM: Try new things. If it scares you, it’s probably good. Every failure sets you up for your next success. You learn something from failure. You need to let go and forgive yourself.

TJ: In the spirit of New Years I want to end with…what advice would you give in keeping your New Year resolution?

AM: Make your New Year resolution smart, specific, measurable, actionable, have a recovery plan, and make sure you track it.