“Be humble. Be grateful. Give back. Share. Pay it forward. Chase your dreams. Go for it. And take a moment to realize where it’s all from.”
The Sweat for Smiles “Planksgiving Pilates Party”, made possible by Athleta, in support of City Harvest was a blast! Guests enjoyed the Fall Festive-themed Fitness Bash which included a challenging Planksgiving Pilates Workout by celebrity yoga and pilates instructor, Kristin McGee, a speech on Wellness for the Holidays by Sweat for Smiles’ Wellness Contributor – Dr, Maggie Cadet, healthful and festive “Fit-Bites” – including an apple cider bar, grateful goodies for all (an awesome raffle plus favors!), and mingling among other fitness-minded friends. In cased you missed the party, take a look at the party recap.
For A Great Cause: City Harvest
Generous guests at the Planksgiving Pilates Party provided cans of food as well as a suggested funds donation to City Harvest. Sweat for Smiles and Athleta selected this charity as the benefactor of this fitness fest because of it’s importance to our local NYC community, especially during the holidays. City Harvest helps support the hungry in New York. “Nearly 20% of New Yorkers currently live in poverty, struggling to afford basic necessities such as rent and medical care and put food on their tables. City Harvest helps feed the nearly 1.4 million New Yorkers facing hunger each year.” For more on City Harvest and other great causes supported by Sweat for Smiles, please visit our Give Back page.
Fit Bites: Festive and Healthful
Guests indulged in healthful sips and bites before and after Kristin McGee‘s Planksgiving Pilates Workout. Sips included Ubr water, Matcha Green Tea – Strawberry Lemonade, and a homemade Apple Cider Bar, with pomegranate seeds, cinnamon sticks, and orange slices as garnishes. The breakfast bars – a HIT – were generously provided by Gastronomie 491. They included the following ingredients: Oatmeal, Bananas, Brown Rice, Syrup, Golden Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Flaxseed, Wildflour Honey, and Cinnamon. We tried out a similar but more simplified recipe and loved it. Here’s the recipe: The 5 Ingredient Granola Bar.
The bright pink and fall orange colors set the uplifting seasonal mood for the event. The fall-festive, orange and white polka-dotted plastic mason jars were a huge hit! Everyone loved how perfectly fun and practical they are!
I customized the white cups at the hot apple cider bar with festive maple leaf stickers that I found at a local stationary store. They were a simple and chic way of upgrading cups on a budget!
Work It: Planksgiving Pilates Workout
Style It: Chic Comfort All Day
Wearing stylish fitness gear to the gym can be the ultimate motivator in helping you get there and rock your workout! Kristin McGee and I were thrilled to wear Athleta at the Planksgiving Pilates Party, in support of City Harvest. We both love the style selections and we also found the leggings and tops to be flattering, comfortable and supportive before, during, and after the Planksgiving Pilates Workout.
I wore the black and sparkly High Rise Crackle Flow Chaturanga Tight and their racerback Fastest Track Tank in Cherub Heather (a really light pink) which has ruching and grippers at the bottom. Both items are made of awesome material that was really comfortable through Kristin’s pilates session and post-workout too. Kristin wore a black maternity top paired with the flattering and contoured Excursion Tight in Black Heather which has an extra-wide waistband (comfortable) and continuous loop drawstring. These tights are designed make you look great all day from your workout and beyond.
Grateful Goodies for All: Fitness-themed Raffle Prizes and Favors
Planksgiving Pilates Party Raffle: With every donation of 2 cans to City Harvest, each guest received a raffle ticket to win the following amazing prizes!
Vira Sun – Teal Sunnies with Silver Mirrored Lenses: I LOVE my Vira Sun sunnies because they’re really lightweight and stylish, perfect for how active I am on a daily basis. They have a ton of different colors too. Take a look – Sweat for Smilers get a special discount.
MyWraps – Core Collection Headphones in Silver and Gold: These chic headphones double as a chic go-with-everything bracelet! This accessory, which doubles as a chic go-with-everything bracelet, comes in a few colors.
Funktional Wearables – GEO Rose Gold Cover for a Fitbit Charge. What a stylish way to wear an activity tracker!
PerfectShaker – Wonder Woman Shaker Cup: These fun and inspirational shaker cups come in many other designs (including other super heros!) and are BPA free, dishwasher safe, leak free, lightweight, and made of high quality material.
Fabulous Fitness Favors: As a “thank you” for their support, Planksgiving Pilates Party guests were thrilled to receive a beautiful Athleta favor bag including generous items from Athleta (a water bottle), Fashletics (inspirational statement necklace), MotionMatcha (beverage samples), City Harvest (shoelaces) and Kristin McGee (Information on her new book coming out in January, “Chair Yoga”).
And thats a wrap! Follow Sweat for Smiles on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter for more fitness inspiration and info on upcoming parties. Please check out our new PERKS page for special discounts for Sweat for Smilers. Happy Holidays!
Sweat. Give. Sparkle!
Ashley