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Posted by Ali Evans | Dec 22, 2021 | Glowing Review, Sponsored, Town Square
Welcome to the last Glowing Review of 2021! If you’re new here – Welcome! Glowing Review is an exploration of self-care, health, wellness, and beauty. I have loved sharing my experiences with you this year and I can’t wait to continue in the New Year. I hope you have felt empowered by this column and found at least one thing that helps you relax and unwind – even if it’s not something I’ve written about in Glowing Review!
I’m excited to share that Glowing Review has a fabulous new sponsor, Monarch Brow and Facial Studio! You may recall I visited Angela for an eyelash lift in one of my earlier columns. She’s an incredibly talented aesthetician and she is professionally certified in microblading. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, my appointment is already booked and I’ll be telling you all about it soon enough.
This edition of Glowing Review will be slightly different than previous columns. We aren’t going to focus on one specific treatment or experience. I want to talk about a health and wellness topic that always floats around this time of year – New Year’s Resolutions. I have found New Years Resolutions can be a healthy way to commit to making a change with reasonable expectations, but I know anytime you decide to change up your diet or exercise routine, there is always the risk of harmful thoughts creeping in.
Let’s get this out of the way first – I’m not very fit. I enjoy walking my dogs, but one of them is almost 17 years old and he’s not exactly setting a pace I can’t keep up with. I recently purchased a Peloton and have managed to hang zero articles of clothing on it so far, but I’m probably not winning any foot races anytime soon. If you’re reading this and you’ve ever tried a new fitness regimen and failed, I’m right there with you, friend. I think as long as we keep trying, that’s the most important part of this conversation. I have tried several different approaches to fitness and I’ve concluded that the best routine for any of us is the one we can make a commitment to. Your relationship with exercise should be a healthy one and if your mental health isn’t fit, that will effect your physical fitness too.
Small group fitness can be a great wait to commit to a routine, make new friends, and feel accountability towards your goals. I personally have had great experiences at two local fitness studios that I recommend trying out – Eat the Frog Fitness and SPENGA.
Eat the Frog Fitness offers a certified personal trainer leading your class, as well as a virtual trainer on screen to help with things like keeping up with form and repetitions in case you’re like me and forget how to count to ten when you’re out of breath. It’s definitely a challenging 55 minutes, but you’re always encouraged to move at your own pace. You wear a heart rate monitor that keeps track of calories burned, so you feel very accomplished when you’re done. I also think it’s helpful to know that the Cardio options at Eat the Frog are either a rowing machine or a stationary bike. This makes for a low impact workout that you can stay committed to without a big risk of injury – a huge difference maker for me.
SPENGA is a combination of three types of exercise – Spin, Strength, and Yoga. A 60-minute session at SPENGA is made up of 20 minutes of each. I found this helpful because I could focus my efforts into the current goal, and not be caught up on how much time was left. Kicking off a session with an awesome spin session from an enthusiastic instructor helps set the tone for the hour and ending with 20 minutes of relaxing yoga is a great way to wrap it up. At SPENGA, you aren’t competing against anyone but yourself. I highly recommend trying SPENGA if you’re someone who likes mixing up your fitness routine and needs an hour-long workout to fly by.
These are obviously my two preferences, but there is no shortage of exciting options when choosing a local fitness studio; CrossFit, Orange Theory, F45, Barre3, Club Pilates, Burn Boot Camp – the list goes on and on and they are all great options. Shop around and pick the place that feels the best for you!
Whatever you do when it comes to health and wellness, new year or otherwise, please keep your goals reasonable, attainable, and healthy. Consult with your doctor before embarking on any fitness journey and make sure your mental health is staying fit too! Whatever your goals may be for 2022, I’m rooting for you!
I’ll see you in the New Year for another Glowing Review – the Monarch Signature OxyGeneo Facial!

As an accomplished painter and sculptor, Angela Hugghins brings an artist’s eye to her work transforming how the world sees her clients’ faces. A professional aesthetician since 2000, Angela launched Monarch Brow & Facial in 2016, providing expert skincare treatments, organic facials and lash and eyebrow tinting. After intensive training under Francek Prsa and the pioneering Serbian Master Microblading artist Branko Babic, Angela is one of only a handful of professionals in North Carolina fully certified in PhiBrows microblading.
The Monarch studio is an intimate space, designed for private, personal attention. She uses only organic, hypoallergenic and sustainable cleansers and makeup, providing treatments and simple-to-follow guidance to achieve great looking, healthier skin with a minimum of regimen at whatever budget you can manage.
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