City Style and Living caught up with self-love crusader Caleigh Rykiss to ask all about all her faves, from self- care to fitness and of course her top picks from the FWD collection.
Forward With Design (FWD), a new active lifestyle brand available exclusively at Sport Chek, is aimed at helping busy people seamlessly integrate fitness into their daily routines. The products are designed to break down barriers to an active lifestyle by helping people transition from one activity to the next – they can help you get ready to go out, or wherever your day may take you, after a sweaty workout.
FWD enlisted Canadian fitness powerhouse Caleigh Rykiss as its official spokesperson for launch. Caleigh is the owner of Body Love Inc. (BOLO) – a one-stop wellness destination in Toronto with trendy fitness classes, a hair and makeup salon, a coworking space and a bar/café.
Caleigh’s self care tips:
- Natural and gentle products! I try to only beauty products that are good for me inside and out. That’s what I love about the FWD line of wipes – they’re 95% natural, sulfate & paraben free as well as fragrance free (which is huge for me as a fitness professional!)
- Nice hands! I don’t spend a lot of time and money on myself these days but something I never skimp on is a fresh and beautiful manicure. It’s something that makes me feel good and confident especially in professional settings. Sometimes boxing can be hazardous for having nice, long nails – so upkeep is key.
- Get rest! Sleep is #1 when it comes to keeping me on track physically and mentally. As someone with a sensitive system and a lot of health concerns I find that a good nights sleep is one of the most crucial components to my overall wellness. I think more creatively, work harder in the gym, am in a better mood and feel just overall fresh and not-inflamed. Optimal sleep time for me is 8-10 hours! I’m basically an infant.
Caleigh’s fitness tips:
- Mix it up! Our bodies need to move differently all the time in order to maintain progress, not get bored or hit plateaus. It’s also not good for our bodies to constantly do high impact workouts – we need some days of lower impact so that our cortisol levels don’t go crazy ALSO it helps keep our joints healthy. That’s why BOLO has such a diverse range of class styles – our members can always move in different ways!
- Lift heavy! Don’t be scared to move some weight. It’s good for our bone health amazing for our base metabolic rates and feels hella good. Worried about bulking? Don’t – lifting will tone and strengthen but it would take some serious Rock style workouts to really look ‘bulky.’
- Love how you move! If you’re doing workouts that leave you feeling depleted, exhausted and unhappy, you’re not likely to stick with it. Find workouts that make you feel energized, excited, confident and happy. A lot of this is finding a great community to sweat with and doing some trial and error to see what your body responds best to.
Caleigh’s Top 3 picks from FWD collection:
- I’m obsessed with the Expandable Tote.Since using it I’ve gone from carrying 2-3 bags with me everyday to just the one. Because it expands to become longer and not wider, I’m no longer the girl body-checking people while walking to work. It fits nicely under my arm without worrying about how much space I’m taking up on the street. I also LOVE that the bags come with reusable laundry and shoe bags so I can separate my dirty from clean stuff without worrying about cross contaminating my clean clothes and items. This is such a life saver when I have multiple changes of clothes in my bag.
- Similarly the Diagonal Zipper Bag has been a game changer for me. It opens from a compact makeup bag to a flat lying rectangular shape so I can see everything in there and also not worry about spilling the whole bag over – especially when I’m doing makeup in the backseat of my uber. #entrepreneurhacks
- The wipes are another innovation from FWD that have made my life infinitely easier. Not having to bring all my cleanser and deodorant bottles with me in the morning to lug around all day, and instead just taking the perfectly portioned wipes I need with me and dispose of them with me when I’m done, is huge. It saves me so much space and weight in my bag. The fact that they’re biodegradable and the packaging can be recycled is also such a plus – I can feel really good about my habits and its impact on the environment.
Read the Summer 2019 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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