I timed my latest trip to Los Angeles just in time to miss a giant storm that has walloped Boston once again. I landed Thursday night and have been nonstop ever since.
Friday morning, I woke up 4:30am for a 6am call time with Listerine. I shot a bundh of video back in January with them at home in Boston and this was a final collab. The final product is going to be released soon!
After we wrapped up, I took a nap and then headed out on my 15 mile Boston Marathon training run. I thought it would be challenging to tackle Runyon Canyon. I was right and it sucked.
Afterwards, I was starving. I grabbed a coconut water/green juice and kelp noodle salad from Juice Served Here as well as dessert, a vegan rice crispy treat. The salad was actually from Cafe Gratitude, one of my favorite places to eat at in LA and JSH happens to sell their meals to-go style.
Saturday, I went to check out the LA Fit Expo. It was overwhelming but I was glad I went and got to see my girl Cassey from Blogilates who was performing on stage.
I also stopped by the Essentia booth and met fellow Hydration Specialist, Mike Karpenko!
I saw mighty Casey from American Ninja Warrior, who was just a tiny ball of muscle.
I also saw some bikinis I hope I never have to wear – and I won’t since I will not be doing any bikini competitions any time soon.
The expo also featured some products, food and fitness related that i thought were really cool and will share with you guys in another post.
The entire expo seemed like a ton of lines – just lines every where. I couldn’t believe people were willing to wait in them for free samples and autographs from body builders.
Afterwards, I used my ClassPass to book a yoga class at Agni Yoga with Maranda. It was technically “Power Yoga” but it felt much easier than that which was welcome. I really just wanted a good stretch and Agni was near my hotel. My only complaint is that we did zero hip openers, not even pigeon at the end! Parking on the street was metered but very easy at 4pm on a Saturday.
Sunday, I booked a class at Made In LA per the recommendation of a colleague. I knew it would be different before even stepping foot into the studio and it was. It was a small mom and pop shop. I was late and class started late so that worked into my favor! The studio is straight up in Hollywood. Parking is just $4 with validation.
Andrea the owner taught class standing up with a microphone off the bike – her signature. The music was a mix of classic rock, real rock and throwback jams like Rockefellar Skank which I love. I was super sweaty at the end and definitely was challenged. Unlike FlyWheel or SoulCycle, there is not real choreography or arm work. No dips, booty taps or push ups. We did match our strides with the beat the music the entire class which was what made it so hard. For half of the songs, we just held the beat sitting in 1st or 3rd the entire time, occasionally turning up the resistance. My heart rate was just consistently raised, and we had very little transitions. The class was made up of mostly regulars it seemed but I felt more than welcome.
I do love a good choreographed spin class, but Made In LA was different in a good way. You can’t compare it to Fly or Soul. It was more of a back to basics spin class with good music and a great lead.
Today, I woke up thankful I didn’t have to trek through snow to teach class in Boston. I followed my marathon training plan and did 10 minutes of an easy pace, 30 minutes at a tempo pace of 8:30 mph and cooled down for 10 minutes at an easy pace. I ran about 5.5+ miles!
I refueled with a delicious breakfast from The Chia Co (Not Sponsored). These are delicious! I was supposed to microwave them for 1 minute but didn’t have a microwave so I put it in the toaster for a minute which was stupid, I know, and why the top looks melted.
Today, I shot 4 real time fitness videos for a project that I’ll announce at the end of the month. The weather wasn’t too bad, and neither was the setting.
Now, I’m just praying my flight actually leaves on Thursday back for Boston!
