Sara Kirsner, founder and designer of Doie Designs, has created fabulous, eco-conscious clothing made out of bamboo! These clothes are cold washable, hang dry, softer than cotton and incredibly comfortable. The clothing is a combination of bamboo jersey and 100% silk.

“Bamboo fabric is incredibly soft and has a natural sheen to it. It is naturally anti-microbial, which means that the fabric actually prevents bacteria from growing on it, resulting in clothing that remains odor-free longer than other fabrics. It is naturally breathable to help keep you dry and comfortable. Bamboo fabric stays around 2 degrees cooler in hot weather and can also keep you warmer in cool weather.”

A note from Sara about her hobbies and fitness:

I grew up in Northern CA, so I always loved to go hiking or on long walks outside. Here in New York I do a lot of cardio classes, at the gym, like kickboxing, and I also do Pilates at a Pilates Studio. I exercise for both physical and mental health reasons. I will be moving to Los Angeles next week and I plan to do a lot more outdoor activities- like hiking in Runyon Canyon.

Doie Designs has been in business for three years and can be purchased online as well as some boutiques across the country. Click here to find a store in your area.

Doie Designs has been featured in Yoga Life, Family Circle, and Nashville Lifestyles, just to name a few. I am a firm believer in less is more. One quality piece of clothing that looks fabulous is better than 10 cheap cotton shirts from Target. The price is worth it!

Here are a few of my favorites:

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Smart women who lead passionate lives pursuing their dreams inspire me. Lisa and Julie are living their dream. As college roommates the backpacked New Zealand, bungee jumping in Queensland and crazy nights in Vegas; they eventually landed back in Colorado to raise their families. As with many of the smart women clothing designers, they saw a void in the availability of well fitting workout clothes for pregnancy and beyond. If you’re a mom like me, you can totally relate to this. When I was prego, I had one pair of pants that I wore to workout and to work in. There was no such thing as running skirts for us “pregos”. I just ended up wearing a larger size in regular clothes- maternity clothes really STANK. These women noticed this and designed their own! You are so lucky now!

Check out the Oxford Maternity Skort. The waistband is wide and flat and has a drawstring. There’s a side pocket on the inner short and the shorts are LONG enough for those thick thighed women (ME). The length of the skort is wonderful as well- not too short but not too long. It’s a great all day, any activity running skort for pregnant women and beyond.

The Oxford Skort for the rest of you is here!

Born Fit has an amazing motivational website as well. I love the Born Fit quotes, such as, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” Ursula K. Le Guin.

Readers, do you have a special product that you wore during pregnancy? What was your activity level while pregnant?

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So, just because you just ran 5 miles doesn’t mean you are done with your workout! You need to recover properly with good hydration and a stretching routine. If you miss the window immediately following a workout by not hydrating properly, you are basically telling your body that that workout didn’t mean anything!

“In fact, instead of getting stronger, your body will be fighting an uphill battle, struggling to rebuild the muscle tissue and maintain halfway decent immunity.” (Athlete Education Series, P. 1 Hammer Nutrition)

Inappropriate fueling post workout can lead to prolonged muscle soreness, opportunity for getting sick more often, and your muscle tissue doesn’t repair properly.

What happens when you do recover with good nutrition.

1. Storing muscle gylcogen so you have more available

2. Repair and rebuild muscle tissue

3. Maintain strong immune system

Please check out the following article on Hammer’s site. Endurance News #50.

For all of you chocolate milk lovers who think that it is a great recovery drink, it really isn’t. It’s really hard to compare chocolate milk to an actual recovery drink. The statistics don’t line up well. Bottom line, athletes need more protein and carbohydrates than fats immediately following a workout. Hydrate properly post workout with a QUALITY performance recovery drink. (I prefer Hammer- but they are not paying me to say that!)

What do you drink post workout?

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A silly post for all the things I’d like to see invented for the active, athletic mom that I am.

1. I am an avid exerciser and need to wear my heart rate monitor when I run. HOWEVER, I always get nasty welts/blisters/chaff burns from the combination of the strap and the jog bra. The bra must be moisture-wicking, BOMB proof, and does not chaff my arm holes either. As yet, my best bra (CW-X extra Firm hold) does not solve the HR monitor strap problem.

2. A cup holder for my Mountain Bike. We do a lot of riding around town on the weekends and I’d surely would appreciate a way to cruise home with my speciality drink held securely on my bike. No spillage allowed.

3. Flash cards. I need flash cards that are laminated, BOMB proof (nobody can destroy them) for weight training. I have the equipment, I can carve out the time, but, I need routines written down and illustrated for me. Something I could grab and go do! Preferably the cards would come with multiple routines with various levels from beginner to advanced.

4. A DateBook. I need a datebook that has a calender, blank pages to write down all the food I put in my mouth, tracking of my workouts, as well as space for grocery lists, to do lists, etc.. It needs to be stylish looking on the outside- but very functional on the inside.

5. Stylish clothing for bike commuting that are also incredibly functional. My Lole top worked great today because I realized it had a pocket in the back for my cell phone. However, my really cute skort shorts were too short underneath- which lead to my inner legs to rub on the saddle- ouch!

6. Misters. Kid friendly misters for those hot rides around town in the trailer.

7. Ice packs that go around the neck to lower core temperatures while exercising.

If you could invent anything, what would it be?

If you’ve seen something like what I’ve listed here please feel free to comment so that I may go check it out!

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Now, that I got your attention, let me introduce BECKONS organics. Founded by two mothers, Amy Sather and Becky Prater co-owners of BECKONS organics. These ladies have been designing clothes together since 1987. They’ve designed snowboard clothing, dance costumes and children’s wear. BECKONS has been around since 2005 when Amy and Becky found it to be the right time to start their own clothing business. “Their two passions quickly merged when they realized the need for comfortable, flattering, eco-conscious clothing that could transition directly from the yoga studio into people’s daily routine.” These ladies had my body in mind when they designed these clothes! I put on my clothes in the AM and take them off in the PM- and I almost always (unless it’s a REST day) do some form of Pilates or yoga throughout my day. I love that these clothes transition to my life perfectly. I also love the LOVE skirt (skort) designed specifically for yoga. Very cool!

Here’s a few reasons for buying organic:

“Our biggest challenge is that people do not understand what organic cotton clothing is. We need to educate the public on the benefits of organic cotton and the problems associated with conventional cotton,” states Becky Prater.

Organic Cotton feels softer

Organic Cotton is farmed without harmful pesticides. 7 of the 15 pesticides are “known carcinogens” by the EPA. By farming organic it prevents harmful substances from getting in our air, water or soil.

Builds healthy soil

Respect of water resources

Here are some of my favorites I found on the website. Let me know what you think!

And my personal fav..the Love Reversible Halter. It’s so cool that if you get syrup on it from your child, you just flip it over to the other side and wash later! Fit is perfect- not to tight, but fitted enough not to need an extra bra. Great for low impact activities or just daily life!

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