Happy Fourth of July! Hope you all enjoyed your long weekends. I enjoyed mine, although I had to work a little each day, especially on Monday. For some reason I have to work over every long holiday weekend — what is up with that?! I did get to spend a good amount of time out in the sun, so being sun-tired combined with stressed from work means Tuesday blags is late tonight. But worth it.

As you might know I’ve tried Blueprint Cleanse twice and Organic Avenue once. What I haven’t had a chance to discuss yet is that last month I tried the new kid in town in the world of the juice fast — Cooler Cleanse. A collaboration between Salma Hayek and Eric Helms (founder of Juice Generation in NYC), Cooler Cleanse officially launched earlier this year. Their history, from their website:

Since 1999, Eric Helms, founder of Juice Generation, has offered the ultimate juicing experience in New York City. In 2008, he received a very specific challenge from friend and fellow juicing devotee Salma Hayek. She asked him to custom-blend the perfect detoxifying drinks: raw, nutrition-packed juices that would improve her cleanses to make them as effective—and enjoyable—as possible.

Using his top-of-the-line hydraulic press, Eric created a rich array of nutritious concoctions from organic, sustainably grown produce. Salma taste-tested and reviewed them all. The process took months as what started as a friendly challenge evolved into a dynamic collaboration to create their dream line-up of detox drinks.

The result of their efforts is a cleansing program that is easy to accomplish, ultra-fresh and absolutely delicious. To complete the cleansing experience, they worked with some of the best nutritionists and vegan chefs in Manhattan to develop additional raw-food menus, always using the premium-grade ingredients on which Eric built the success of his stores.

So it sounds great, but Blueprint Cleanse also sounded great and well, I really disliked their green juice. I drink green juice every day but BPC’s was just too sickly sweet. I think it is the apple. Organic Avenue was okay but the delivery was annoying and expensive. I was excited to try Cooler Cleanse to see if it was any better, since it is very helpful to me to have a juice fast that I like because of my GI illness.

Even though my stomach has been feeling much better than the last few years, sometimes I still feel really badly. A  juice fast helps get me on track again. In fact, right before I had four months of feeling almost completely better, I did a juice fast. I really believe it is a good tool for resetting and getting back on track to a better stomach and healthier habits.

For those of you not familiar, the hydraulic press used to make these juices retains the most vitamins, minerals and enzymes so you are essentially drinking vitamins and nutrition and health and rainbows and unicorns. Drinking your meals also gives your digestive system a break so your body can use less energy digesting and more energy absorbing nutrients and healing. Check out the reasons you might want to try a juice fast.

While on a juice fast, you will miss the act of eating but you will probably not feel hungry. There are SO many vegetables in these juices and they are just so filling. Sometimes I am not able to finish a whole day. I do recommend getting the advice of a professional before starting any cleanse and following the instructions on easing into the fast — and out of it. And please read the SIX BIG QUESTIONS, which has valuable information on who should — and shouldn’t — cleanse.

So last month I checked out the Cooler Cleanse website and decided that instead of the standard 3-Day Cooler Cleanse, I would instead go with something I thought was a fantastic idea — the Custom Cooler. In the Custom Cooler, you can choose exactly which juices you want from their menu. If it is your first time cleansing, I would absolutely recommend going with their 3-Day Cooler Cleanse because the juices (and the order) are carefully selected for the purpose of, well, cleansing. In my case, I’ve been around the juice fast block a few times and I know what I like and I know what I need for my specific stomach problems. And that is why I ordered three days worth of Custom Cooler.

Before I go on I just want to say that I receieved no discount or free cleanse to try. I paid in full because I wanted to try this out.

And . . . I loved it.

Seriously, their Essential Green juice. SO GOOD. Like real green juice. Not sickly sweet or overwhelming or very veggie-tasting even. I read that Salma Hayek went through many green juice taste trials before they perfected their green juice recipe. (The secret ingredient is pear!) I also tried some other juices from their menu.

I really loved the Pineapple & Ginger juice. I drank it on my first of three days and wished I had ordered it for all three. But then I also loved the fruit juices I ordered for the other two days — the Pineapple Mint and Waterlemon Lime. Uh, yeah, how could I not? The Essential Red was all right, not my favorite. I tried the Almond Milk and the Brazil Nut Milk. Both were good and sweetened with dates only, so they weren’t as sweet as other cleanse’s  nut milks I’ve tried on cleanses that contain agave. There is a debate going on about whether agave is good or bad for you so it was nice to avoid that whole issue and stick with a true natural sweetener. That said, these nut milks really are not as sweet as you might be used to, so prepare yourself. While they were a great treat at the end of a long fast day, the “dessert” feeling was a little lost. But I still thoroughly looked forward to and enjoyed the nut milks.

Would I do Cooler Cleanse again? Definitely. Would I choose them over their competitors? Yep.

I really enjoyed their juices, the convenience of their delivery and the fact that they offer a Custom Cooler ($60/day — but think about buying a few margaritas and dinner!).The typical 3-Day Cooler Cleanse ($58/day) contains six juices a day. This is the sample menu.  They also have a 5-Day Cooler Cleanse for the more ambitious of you and a Raw Cooler ($62/day), which delivers a full day of delicious raw-food meals and drinks. And if you do the Raw Cooler you get SMOOTHIES. They look so good. You can read about the different types of cleanses here.

Want to try Cooler Cleanse for free?

Enter for a chance to win a FREE 3-day Cooler Cleanse.

Here’s how:

• Leave a comment here telling us why you deserve a 3-day Cooler Cleanse (one entry)
• Leave a note on Cooler Cleanse’s Facebook wall telling us why you deserve a 3-day Cooler Cleanse (two additional entries) – don’t forget to Like them!

Be creative! Or be honest. Or be . . . something. There is no random number generator at work here —  I will work with the Cooler Cleanse team to select a winner (your extra entries mean your answer gets has more weight) and I will announce the winner here on Tuesday, July 13. You must be a US Resident to enter, and if you are selected as a winner and live outside the NYC area, you will have to select a cleanse date beginning after July 19 when nationwide shipping begins.

In NYC and want to try a juice fast and save some cash? Get 10% off your Cooler Cleanse with the discount code ESSENTIALGREEN. This code is valid through July 19 for NYC local delivery only. I’ll be using that code for myself.

Okay, so remember — leave a comment here and on Facebook for a total of three entries to win a free 3-day Cooler Cleanse! This prize is worth $189 with delivery or $174 with pickup. Good luck!

[All photos taken from the Cooler Cleanse website]

Thank you to everyone who entered to win a free class at YogaVibes.com in my YogaVibes giveaway!

I used the Random Integer Generator and the winner of one free YogaVibes class is . . .

Kara from Kara’s Marathon.

Kara said:

Tweeted!
I want to try Core Fusion Sport!

Congratulations Kara! Please contact me and I will send you a free class code. Everyone else — enjoy 20% off ANY  YogaVibes purchase using the code dorivibes20 at checkout. It is a fantastic way to try Core Fusion or yoga for a great price. Let me know if you try it!

A few weeks ago I was in my favorite Core Fusion Yoga class and the teacher Kayleigh mentioned that there is a Core Fusion Yoga class online — and that she is in the video! I was really confused as to what she was talking about. I ran to my BlackBerry to email myself the website she told me — YogaVibes.com.

One of the first things I did when I got to work was visit YogaVibes to see just what Kayleigh was talking about. And what I saw surprised me!

There were FOUR full length exhale classes! Click the links below to view a preview of each on YogaVibes:

• Core Fusion
• Core Fusion Yoga
• Core Fusion Sport
• Music Yoga Flow

What! How is this possible! I viewed previews of each class and started Tweeting to make sure everyone knew the good news — you can now experience “live,” full length Core Fusion classes even if you don’t have access to a studio. I am obsessed with Core Fusion and all other exhale spa offerings. The workouts are not boring, they’re kind of fun and they’re extremely effective. I could never stop doing this and go back to a regular gym membership again because the results I get from Core Fusion are just unreal.

A brief rundown of the class offerings on YogaVibes (links go to official descriptions):

Core Fusion:

A full body strength workout that combines Lotte Berk, ballet, yoga, pilates, interval cardio training. Tones, strengthens and stretches the entire body - arms, thighs, glutes, abs/core. I do this 3-4 times a week and it transformed my body! Read more here. This class is taught by Elisabeth Halfpapp, co-founder of Core Fusion.

Core Fusion Yoga:

The first half is like a vinyasa flow class set to awesome music, while the second half focuses on strengthening and toning with small, targeted movements. This class taught me to truly love yoga, and is a cardio workout in addition to a yoga and strengthening one. I leave sweating each time! This class is taught by Elisabeth Halfpapp, co-founder of Core Fusion.

Core Fusion Sport:

A cardio + toning class using a weighted ball (or hand weight if you don’t have one). Incorporates jump backs, pushups, planks and twisting movements. This class is taught by Fred DeVito, co-founder of Core Fusion.

Music Yoga Flow:

This is not a Core Fusion class but it is one of the most amazing yoga classes I have ever taken — and it is taught by one of the all time best Core Fusion teachers, Erin Jacques. Her taste in music is impeccable and she is as sweet as she is inspiring and motivating. The class is like a vinyasa flow. I am constantly impressed by her song choices and I’d love for her to give me some playlists one day. I encourage anyone who loves yoga or wants to get into yoga to try Music Yoga Flow!

Here’s how YogaVibes works:

• You can pay $10 to have access to one class as often as you want for 14 days
• You can pay $20 per month for unlimited access to 5 classes
• You can pay $25 per month for all classes unlimited

A really great deal for what you are getting! And if you are a workout DVD fiend and/or don’t have a gym membership, this is a really fantastic price. And you can save 20% off any item from YogaVibes.com, including a month membership, with the following code:

dorivibes20

Yes, it sounds dirty and yes, I kind of like it. But really, just type that code into the YogaVibes site for a great deal.

And I am really excited to announce that one person will win a free class for one month!

Want to win? Do any or all of the following for one entry each:

• Visit YogaVibes.com and browse through their class offerings: 
  Tell me which class you’d like to try the most!
• Tweet this:
  Win a free #CoreFusion or yoga class from @dysterious and @yogavibes http://tinyurl.com/22nuhbj
• Link bank to this entry on your own blog

I will announce the winner in a special non-Tuesday post on Friday, May 21. And I will be back next Tuesday with my Healthy Kidney 10K race recap!

Wow! Thank you all so much for entering my Exhale Core Fusion Lean & Toned DVD giveaway. I am beyond amazed by how many people wanted this DVD. The post itself got 119 comments which made me feel very special and like a real blogger, and so many of you shared the love on Twitter, Facebook and your own blogs. I was especially surprised to see how many commentosr aren’t bloggers – I think this really attests to the power of the Twitters as I had some help from the Exhale Twitter accounts!

If you live near any of these areas, consider following the Exhale Core Fusion location near you for special offers and general great information: New York, Santa Monica, Dallas, Florida, Chicago, Boston, Venice.

Before I announce the winner, I want to let you know that Core Fusion Lean & Toned officially went on sale today on Amazon.com. So even if you didn’t win, I recommend trying the DVD yourself. It costs less than an actual class and actually comes with a pass for a free class inside!

I used the Random Integer Generator to select the winner.

The winner is #22 (this includes comments and the other ways to enter) and was a Twitter winner — @alihoffer!

Congratulations Ali!  Please send me your address and I will get the DVD to you!

But here’s an interesting fact — Ali was not the original winner. At first, this was the integer that was chosen:

So I went to my Excel list of entrants to see who won. And then I cracked up.

For those of you not familiar with Rachel’s blog Shedding It and Getting It, you should check it out because she is intelligent, honest, hilarious and real. But a few things made me burst into laughter here:

• Rachel is obsessed with Core Fusion DVDs! She participated in my Core Fusion Challenge in the beginning of the year and took it up a notch by continuing it (after seeing amazing results) with variations of all the Core Fusion DVDs. She just started her Core Fusion Challenge 3.0 by mixing it up even more. She was holding out buying Lean & Toned because she wanted to see if she won this contest.
• The number is significant. Rachel’s blog is about Shedding It (ie, Core Fusion DVD) and also Getting It (hence the significance).
• And the real kicker is that Rachel just secured herself a copy of Lean & Toned yesterday.

As soon as I chose the winner, I BBMd Rachel to tell her the news. I had to tell her, it was too funny. Of all the entrants she would happen to be 69 and that 69 was chosen?? You can’t make this stuff up. After a good laugh, Rachel graciously offered her prize back up for selection. She did win fair and square, and could have used this extra copy as a gift for someone else, but Rachel decided that one of my readers deserves it — although she is honored to have been number 69. So Ali — it’s actually Rachel you have to thank!

Rachel’s also hosting her own Core Fusion giveaway so check it out. Also, do yourself a favor and watch every episode of Shed Theater – be prepared to laugh.

It is no secret that I love everything Core Fusion. In January and February, I embarked on my Core Fusion Challenge – to really amazing results. I’d never had such success with workouts before this. But Core Fusion changed my body, changed my entire outlook on exercise (I now love and crave it) and it changed how I approach situations outside the classroom in my everyday life.

While I did my Core Fusion Challenge at exhale spa taking live classes, many of the people who participated along with me used the Core Fusion DVDs. I actually own them all myself, and I use them when I am traveling or when I feel like doing a short exercise at home. Each DVD is broken up into five 10-minute workouts that you can do all at once, or split up whenever you want.

The stars of the DVDs – Body Sculpt, Pilates Plus, Pure Abs & Arms, Thighs & Glutes – are Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp, Core Fusion co-founders, husband and wife, and also my teachers at exhale. They actually got married the same year I was born! They’re on the screen, doing the exercises and the movements are explained with their own voiceovers. Unlike other exercise DVDs, they aren’t irritating or mean or cheesy. Fred and Elisabeth explain each exercise, any variations you might want or need to do, and the benefits of each movement. Very calm, very chill – yet the workouts are VERY tough.

So those DVDs are all awesome. Seriously, I cannot recommend them enough. But now they decided to take a new approach with their next few DVDs and make them more like a live class – like the classes I take multiple times a week at exhale spa.

So far, they’ve filmed three of these class-like DVDs – and one of them, Core Fusion Lean & Toned, comes out on Tuesday, May 4! Being the Core Fusion aficionado that I am, I got my hands on an early copy (tip: they are already on sale at exhale spa locations). I’ve seen this DVD twice so far. The first time, I watched it in bed on a Friday night like a movie. Core Fusion really is just that entertaining to me! And the second time, I did as much of the DVD workout as one could do in a tiny Manhattan apartment with no living room.

I was excited about this DVD because it is marketed as being like a live class. Even more exciting is that in the DVD with Fred and Elisabeth are three of my favorite Core Fusion teachers! So if you get this DVD, you’ll be watching the teachers whose classes I take the most.

So what did I think of Core Fusion Lean & Toned?

I liked it! I think that for someone who doesn’t have access to live classes or can’t afford/doesn’t want to pay for them, this DVD will definitely give you a good feel of what class is like. That said, Lean & Toned is not exactly like a live class as I thought it would be. It was like a compressed version of class – as if someone held a full-length class at both ends and squeezed it in.

Lean & Toned goes something like this:

Warm up (leg/arm lifts)
Pushups
Reverse Pushups (tricep dips)
Forearm Plank
Weights (for biceps, triceps, shoulders, back)
Thighs  (ouch)
Abs (flat back/round back against a wall)
Glutes
Abs (pretzel/curl combo)
Stretch

That is a lot to pack in 50 minutes! The movements are fairly nonstop so it does work up a sweat, although the stretching in between creates a nice feeling of balance. That said, some parts did feel rushed, like the plank and arm weights sections, which were much shorter than I expected. I also never saw the pretzel move interspersed with the abs curl position, as was done here. I was confused by the pretzel (imagine sitting with one leg bent in front of you and one straight or bent to the side) being here at all since there was already a glutes section, and this pretzel was intended more for abs. Just something I haven’t seen done in class. One final difference is that in class we do glutes right after thighs. In the DVD some ab work falls in between those sections, although a little birdie told me that was a production error.

All in all, this is an excellent workout DVD and you will get the idea of a Core Fusion class. If you decide to order the DVD, you will need to own a set of light weights. I’ve been doing Core Fusion for months and I use 3 pound weights. You also need a chair to hold on to for the thighs segment, and a wall with space to lean against for flat and round back abs.

Want to try Core Fusion Lean & Toned for free?

I’m giving away one copy of this DVD thanks to the awesome people at Acacia, the company that produces all Core Fusion DVDs along with many other workout DVDs (one of which I will be reviewing next week!).

You will receive one entry for EACH of the following:

1. Leave a comment telling me what body part you want to strengthen with Core Fusion and why
   Ex) I want so strengthen my arms so I can finally open the tightly closed bottles of POM Wonderful the company sent me
   
2. Tweet this contest! Copy and paste the following into your Twitter:
   Win the new #CoreFusion Lean & Toned DVD from @dysterious: http://bit.ly/ajVW5w
   
3. Link back to this contest in your own post and let me know in the comments section. Don’t have a blog? Post it on Facebook and let me know!

I will randomly choose a winner via the Random Integer Generator on Tuesday, May 4 – the day the Core Fusion Lean & Toned DVD officially comes out!