making houston sweat
This Houston duo will add fun to your 2018 fitness goals
It's a staple of the new year: the desire to start fresh, and set new fitness goals. Health and fitness studies show that it often helps to work towards these new goals with a fitness partner, to stay on track. Using this idea of an accountability partner, Houston bloggers Karinn Chavarria and Cori Scherer created Find Your Sweat.
Find Your Sweat started as a 30-day challenge where Chavarria and Scherer sampled different workout options across the Houston area. The duo aim to show that fitness can be fun and exciting — that anyone can find a workout that they'll enjoy. CultureMap caught up with the women to discuss how people can go about the process of finding a new workout that suits them.
CM: The two of you first connected through social media, right? What was the motivation to start Find Your Sweat?
Karinn Chavarria: Yes, we met through Instagram and connected instantly. I originally tried a yoga challenge with my roommate, but the results weren’t really there. I wasn’t really motivated anymore fitness-wise, so we thought of a 30-day challenge to try different workouts. I wanted to help my roommate and other people find their fitness passion and show that it’s not as hard as it may seem.
Cori Scherer: For me, I was in a rut. I had zero motivation and I wanted to try something new. Karinn and I both have athletic backgrounds, but that’s not the case for everyone. People get intimidated and don’t know where to start, so we wanted to help encourage people. Get out. Try something new. Everybody starts somewhere. Don’t make it a chore.
We really wanted to “humanize” the gym; it’s an inclusive community. Find Your Sweat is about finding your passion and your version of a healthy lifestyle; healthy living and enjoying life without limiting yourself. Balance is key!
CM: How can people decide what fitness routine/exercises are best for them?
KC/CS: It takes some trial and error, but you just have to get out there and try. So many places offer the first class for free. Also, it’s important to give it time. Just because you do not see immediate results doesn’t mean that you should stop or that it’s not working. Grab some friends and go for it.
CM: What did you both learn while doing the Find Your Sweat Challenge?
KC: I learned that I can’t do it all by myself. I also learned that it’s important for me to understand myself and realize that people bring different things to the table.
In regards to fitness, I have a lot of work to do, but I am in much better shape that I thought. Even deeper, I learned a lot about my own willpower. When you want something bad enough you’ll go work at it and make it happen.
CS: Well, I am naturally a control freak, so I learned to trust more. Health and fitness-wise, I learned that I eat WAY too many desserts! (both laugh What you eat controls everything! I also learned that I’m more coordinated than I thought, and that I can’t “go hard” every day.
We both learned more about working as a team, and it’s amazing to see another person bring something out of you that maybe you didn’t even know you could do.
CM: What are some of your favorite workouts? What do you recommend that people try?
CS: The perfect workout combo for me would be a combination of strength training, Pilates, boxing, and yoga.
KC: I prefer to do a mix of yoga and cardio.
We tried a lot of fun classes that people would really enjoy. Dance class at Dance House Fitness, boxing class at Baby Bull Boxing Gym, a trampoline class at Define, an elite training class at The League, and so many others.
We also had self-care days. Mental and emotional health are important factors that people sometimes forget. A self-care day doesn’t have to have a big price tag, but just needs to be time that you dedicate to yourself. Life happens.
CM: How are you growing Find Your Sweat? What’s next?
KC/CS: We plan to do more challenges and host quarterly events. The goal is really to bring the community together through fitness and fun. It’s about connecting, supporting others, and being social; an experience.
There are a lot of creative, talented, and driven people in Houston; we want to bring everyone together and do something impactful. Our website will be a hub for positivity and all of our events and updates will be posted.
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Follow Karinn (@feedthecurves) and Cori (@corischerer) on Instagram for more of their fitness journey.