Sweat Guide: Los Angeles (A)

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A guide for people who love to sweat and eat.

Okay, I am confident that the Sweat Guide: Los Angeles will have to come in parts. I have committed to visiting the city yearly since my sister relocated there two years ago. I LOVE L.A. It's so different from Chicago between the weather, the lifestyle, and the people. I can't say that I would ever move there, but I love visiting and would love to have work that took me out there regularly. I also like visiting because so many of my good friends have built lives there so I get to link up with folks often and create new memories.

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Y7 Studio: Y7 is the studio whose stairs you see all over instagram that read: “Started from the bottom now we're here.” The best thing is that the space, people, and classes live up to the hype. I plan on revisiting with friends when I'm there in a few weeks. I took a T-Pain versus Akon class because every Wednesday they do a head-to-head hip-hop class for their members. It was not only amazing to be a part of the community but the flow was AWESOME.  General pricing.  Swaggy ambiance.  TIght space for a big flow (depending on the instructor, time, etc.) so you will be close to your fellow yogis.

Pilates Plus (Studio City): Okay, L.A. Is not short on pilates studios. Seriously, they're on every corner. I practice Lagree here in Chicago so it was great to take a class while away. If you visit the homepage of their site it looks SO dramatic. The space is the opposite, it's welcoming and comfortable. Like most Lagree studios, there are a limited amount of spaces so book early. It's always great to take in a low impact and low sweat class while away because it doesn't suck your energy for too long after the workout so you can get back to vacating your day-to-day.  General pilates pricing.  Pay close attention to the instructor for a good time.  Easy to find.  

Soul Cycle: Okay, by now, your city probably has a Soul Cycle studio. And if that's not the case, you've probably read a bloggers opinion about the SC Tribe (usually negative—so annoying). Well I love Soul Cycle and I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I have never had as an amazing experience as I did at Soul Cycle WEHO with Angela Davis. If you love your soul, your mind, or your body, make booking a bike in her class a priority in your life. Everything I'm saying, without saying anything (lol), will make sense once you do.  Pricier class.  Not your average spin class.  Tight space as it is for all SC studios (imo).

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Santa Monica Beach:  These past two years, I realize that I spend a lot of my time in Studio City, West Hollywood, and DTLA.  On my first visit, my sister and I jammed out to Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star in the carpool lane down to the pier.  You guys, what a sight.  The air changes from classic pure air to this salty, ocean spray kind of feel on the skin.  It was sensory overload for me, personally.  It's worth it to do a few things:  carry a towel, wear comfy airy clothing, and walk along the beach.  In the sand, or not, up and down the pier, or not; check out the yogis and muscly men and women getting it in at the park.  If you need a break from the coast, then walk up and down the promenade to people watch and hit up some coastal stores, and restaurants to kill time.

West 3rd Street: West Third is a fun shopping area in West Hollywood where you can find a mix of chain, but mostly local, mid-range to lux brands with all sorts of fun store fronts.  I like the area for it's food options and discovered it when going to Benefit to get my complimentary birthday eyebrow waxing (lol) my first year visiting.  Y7 studio is nearby and it's a stones-throw away from Melody Ehsani's shop on Fairfax (not really, but I LOVE to walk when I visit new cities).  Go with the intention of shopping local and eating some fun snacks.

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Joan's On Third: So, I was actually on the hunt for the second Alfred Tea Room location after a workout one day. I also like to walk. So I made it all the way there to be greeted by a “Coming Soon” sign after a 2 mile walk. At that point I was hungry and had no chill in me. Enter Joan's On Third. I saw plates and everyone seemed to be buzzing. I ordered the cobb salad (NOT my norm) and maxed. Seriously, so delicious. It's a place for grub and cute little artisan things. I think it's actually owned by a woman named Joan, too. #facts, lol

Juice Served Here: There's this nasty rumor that people who live in L.A. Are phony. I really think that people who say this are just hard to get along within real life, lol. (And my sister lives there and she's amazing!) When I walked into JSH it was because I was hungry and Lemonade was closed, lol. So I go in, the team is kind and overloads me with suggestions and a juice or two to try later and share with my sister. I discover that one of the employees is from Chicago and, real talk, the shops manager was the coolest chick. They have a variety of fresh made and takeout drinks to try.  So. So. Yummy.

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I still have so much to share about L.A. this should get you through about 48 hours of play.  Keep your eyes open for Sweat Guide: Los Angeles (b) and a few others in between.  Enjoy!  Have an incredible journey through all of tinsel town.

Melissa

Workout #34

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38:100

I had the idea to write about this for almost two weeks.  And here I am finally doing it.

In my journey to accomplishing 100 workouts I knew that there would be a few mountains and a lot of molehills.  For example, as I write this, I am potentially going to be dealing with a knee injury thanks to an accident I had with my boyfriend on the couch, lol.  (I feel like most athlete-type fitness fans ALWAYS hurt themselves; doing nothing, at any given moment.)  On this day in particular, the day of workout #34, it was an interesting day.  Read on for more...  

It was a normal day.  Like any other day.  And I originally planned on doing my workout that morning before heading in to work.  Alarm goes off and as I began to rise, my inner voice says:  "OR...Or...you could sleep IN.  Huh?  Huh?" *nudge nudge*  I say to myself.. "Girl!  You right!" and pull the covers back over my body and close my eyes to enjoy an extra hour of sleep.  I go to work and am complaining in my mind all day about how much I don't want to do this workout when I get home.  (I'm actually working on my inner voice through meditation over the past week and a half.  More details soon.)   So I get home from work and chill, eat dinner, watch t.v. (I never watch t.v.--I was desperate for a distraction.), and I lie there.  Just staring at my ceiling.  Knowing that my laptop was calling.  

I am kinda doing the Barre 3 #ALLin challenge.  Barre 3, to me, is the most amazing barre method in the whole entire universe. *Vera from Harlem Nights voice*  To kick off the year they are doing a five-week fitness challenge.  Since I am doing Soul Cycle and Studio Lagree, I am not doing five classes a week as planned and I'm not eating every meal in the cookbook either because cost.  Because I live with another human.  Because I don't want to cook every day of the week since we split the cooking responsibilities.  (I like a snatched waist.  I also like living life.)  Unfortunately, Chicago does not host a Barre 3 barre studio within its city limits.  Very unfortunate.  The great thing is that the studio does online classes that you can subscribe to and do in your own living room.  They're SO good.

So I'm chilling on my couch.  T.V. blaring in the background.  Scrolling on Instagram.  And I finally shout in my head:  Get up!  Get it done!  You guys.  15 minutes in to the workout I was feeling so strong and the sweat was really starting to build.  45 minutes into it, I was verbally exclaiming that I was glad I got up and did it.  By the hour mark I'd decided to add the triumph to my Insta Stories and not until then did I realize that it was 10:30PM.  I cleaned up and scurried to bed, but I learned a few valuable lessons on this day.

1.  Some of that negative self-talk at work was that "I was going to fail horribly at my goal of 100 workouts."  That "I had missed so many by now and I knew that it would come to this"... Wrong!  I was actually coming off of the appropriate amount of rest days and was/am still on track to reach my goal.

2.  Just do it.  (Self explanatory.  Thanks Nike.)

3.  Keeping perspective when the odds seem stacked against you is vital.  

4.  Calm TF down.

5.  Self-scanning will help break through the wall more quickly.  Seriously.  Understanding where the "stop" is and why it's happening.  Taking a few moments to think about it will save you a few hours or days.  

So here's to the next 59 workouts (Lord willing) and here's to you and whatever journey that you are on for yourself.  Woo!

 

Melissa