In this Year to Flourish, my health & fitness routines have been the foundation for success in everything else. When I work out regularly (like, every day if I can), I am much more liable to eat better, sleep better, have more energy and just feel a lot more positively about my body. That leads to a more positive mental outlook, which begets more motivation towards my goals. From there, I'm unstoppable. I've still got some work to do, but this routine I've been in as of late - a weekly mélange of Zumba, CrossFit and hot yoga - has done some wonders in my progress and outlook. I stand up straighter, fit my clothes better, I can feel my back and core muscles getting stronger (finally) and my cravings have curbed big time.

(L) That post-hauteyoga shine. (C) Chelsie, Paula and I after another great Zumba class. (R) Green smoothie after a challenging CrossFit workout. Follow me on SnapChat at JessEstrada206 for daily workout check-ins and other nonsense

One thing for sure is that I need to switch up my workouts often to keep from getting bored. This past Saturday, Kaisa of KaisaFit invited me to her monthly Saturday group HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class. I loved every minute of it! It reminded me of HIIT classes I used to take, but "Kaisa-fied" (that's a word. She uses it!) to challenge you no matter what your athletic ability might be at the time. 

For those of you who follow her on Instagram and are curious but intimidated about working out with her, I assure you there's nothing to be anxious about. The class was full of athletes of all ages, body types and experiences, and Kaisa was so good about giving us 3-4 different levels for each move we did. I pushed myself to do the most challenging level, and if I couldn't do it or got fatigued, it wasn't a thang to move down a level. We powered through four rounds of circuits and closed with a lightning round of tabata (20 seconds doing a move as fast & often as you can, followed by 10 seconds of rest.) I definitely felt the soreness in my glutes and back afterwards, but that's how you know it worked. Hurts so good!

Follow Kaisa on Instagram and Facebook for details on the next group HIIT class. Read all of my posts in The Year to Flourish here.