Browsing Tag

bay area

Fitness

Barry’s Bootcamp & ClassPass SF Launch

August 7, 2014

Talk about a supreme fitness event! 

Barry's Bootcamp & ClassPass SF Launch

I was invited to a series of launch parties for ClassPass (of which I could only make one sadly) who offer access to the best fitness studios in the city. Currently they offer classes for those living in or near to Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They just recently expanded to San Francisco and to celebrate they held three launch parties. I attended their launch party at Barry’s Bootcamp on Tuesday and I was so excited!! I had heard a lot of great things about Barry’s Bootcamp (primarily how HARD the workouts were) and I was excited to learn more about ClassPass. I am always up for trying new things, and trying new fitness classes is high up on my list of fun and new things to do. 

review of barry's bootcamp san francisco

I arrived to Barry’s Bootcamp (located near the SF Giant’s stadium) and of course I was late … SF traffic + a Beyonce & Jay Z concert at the Giant’s stadium, what can I say? Luckily I had actually arrived juuuust in time, with about 5 minutes to spare before class. There were SO many people that had showed up for the launch party! The energy was contagious and I started getting really excited although still nervous because of how hard the workout was supposed to be. 

review of barry's bootcamp san francisco

Source: http://www.peanutbuttered.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/img_6626.jpg

For the workout, they split us into two groups that would be switching between treadmill intervals and strength training intervals. For those who know me well, they know that I am nottt a fan of running. I was petrified haha!! The instructor announced that we would be doing a leg and butt workout, and the next 50 or so minutes consisted of countless lunges, squats and sprints! They made us use a resistance band to do some butt exercises and I loved that, because I think that resistance bands are very underutilized in most fitness classes. Also, the cool thing about Barry’s Bootcamp is that every class is different so you don’t know what to expect. Although I hate running, I really enjoyed the workout; the music was great, the workout was intense but fun and the room had some awesome lighting going on. My one criticism is that as a first-timer to the bootcamp, it can be a little overwhelming trying to follow instructions on what to do since the instructor does have to switch back and forth between the groups. I highly recommend this workout for those who want a real challenge and are looking for something new and engaging. Pluuuus, a bunch of celebrities such as Jessica Biel, Kim Kardashian and Jake Gyllenhaal are avid fans 😉

review of barry's bootcamp san francisco

I had to rush a bit after class to avoid getting a ticket for parking for too long (SF problems) but I did manage to sample some yummy juices from Urban Remedy and receive a goody bag from ClassPass! I received so many amazing treats including a ClassPass top, EOS lip balm, a birchbox, water bottle, a gomacro bar and some peppermint vanilla gum.

review of classpass san francisco

I am really happy that ClassPass has come to SF and allows people to try out a variety of different fitness studio’s. Variety is the spice of life after all, as they say 😉

Have any of you ever done a workout at Barry’s Bootcamp before? I would love to hear what you thought about it, we can swap stories of how sore we are 😛

Honestly yours,
Alice

Fitness, Health

Mint Studios Spring Open House

April 29, 2014

So I mentioned in last week’s Sunday Summary that I wanted to write a post on the spring open house that I attended at Mint Studios because my brief little summary of it did not do it justice!

Let’s start with this – what is Mint Studios?

Mint Studios offers yoga, barre and pilate’s classes including pilate’s reformer. If you guys do not know what pilate’s reformer, please go and try it right now .. at Mint Studios!! I got to experience pilate’s reformer for the first time during Mint Studios spring open house as they were offering several complimentary classes throughout the evening. My class specifically was called the cardio sport pilates reformer class and it was so fun and upbeat! I have always wanted to try a pilates reformer class, especially after reading about how several Victoria’s Secret models do it regularly 🙂

The actual reformer machine itself is a bit strange to use, especially when you are new and have no idea what you are doing, but it is easy to get the hang of. The pilates reformer machine kind of looks like a bed, with a flat platform called the carriage which moves up and down on wheels within the frame of the machine. The carriage is attached on one end to a set of springs which provide varying levels of resistance (so it can be used for all levels!) and on the other end is a footbar. The machine also contains straps with handles which can be pulled with your legs or arms.

mint

 Image from www.mintstudiospilates.com

The teacher for this class that night was called Lisa and she was great; she made sure to check everyone’s form and to see how they were feeling in general. I was really surprised at how much it worked my core, especially because I thought I had quite a strong core to begin with. I woke up the next day and literally couldn’t stop touching my stomach as it felt really nice and flat, it was a bit ridiculous. I felt as if it had made my core muscles pop, had made them ‘wake up’ for lack of a better metaphor. I would love to try the other pilate’s classes and come back for a full session as the complimentary class I took was only 30 minutes long – but long enough to make me know that I loved the workout.

In addition to this fabulous and hard core (pun intended) workout class, there were several San Francisco local vendors present too. Project Juice in particular caught my eye because Brandon, Project Juice’s community wellness manager and health coach, was there and handing out samples of the juices they make. Although I do not regularly buy juices, I certainly note their nutritional value and enjoy drinking them on occasion for a healthy pick me up. My two favorites in particular were the D-Tox juice and the Mint-Chip Shake. When I tried the d-tox juice I was honestly expecting a rather bitter and unpleasant taste but on the contrary, it was really refreshing and sweet! And I think the mint-chip kind of speaks for itself .. it tastes like a mint chocolate chip shake but is much healthier 🙂

photo 1 (8)

Got to sample these lovely juices!!

photo 4 (5)

Ensoma Spa were also there offering complimentary brow waxes (which I missed out on due to a dinner date, boo) and there were free protein bars from Premier Protein. I took home the mint chocolate protein bar (obsessed with this flavor combo) and it was delicious, although it perhaps was not as ‘wholesome’ a protein bar as some others. But still pretty tasty honestly.

I am so glad I found out about Mint Studios spring open house! I love finding out about health & fitness events, and hope to attend more in the future. I had a very fun night and I hope some of you try out their classes soon. If you do, let me know which ones you did!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Fitness, Health, Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: Kayla Itsines Week 9

April 27, 2014

What a wonderful week this was! I hope the same goes for all of you lovely people too.

Kayla Itsines Week 9

I have now finished week 9 of Kayla Itsine’s bikini body workout and OMG .. I do not understand how I got through it. Weeks 9-12 differ from the first 8 weeks because now you incorporate 1-1 HIIT session (for an explanation of what HIIT is, click here) and the strength circuits are now fully targeted on certain parts of the body. It is such an amazing feeling to have such sore legs, arms and abs every single week. You get through one week and you think ‘surely next week, I won’t be as sore’ but you are, every single time. I love it, and I cannot wait to show you all my progress at the end of the 12 weeks. It may not be as dramatic as some of the others, but I am noticing the difference, and that makes me happier than you could know.

Whilst I am on this fitness thread, I went to a fabulous spring open house held by Mint Studio’s in San Francisco! I am planning on writing a dedicated post to the event, so for now I will give you all a quick recap. Mint Studio’s offers pilates, barre and yoga classes, and were offering free classes for the night, and had partnered with vendors such as Project Juice, Ensoma and Premier Nutrition to bring a host of complimentary goodies. I was particularly enamored with the healthy juices offered by Project Juice and definitely plan to try more! I tried my first everrr pilate’s reformer class and now I know what all the fuss is about … my abs are SORE, even now two days later, and it was such a fun and new way to workout. Can’t wait to try it again. Who wants to go with me?!

Kayla Itsines Week 9 BBG

This photo is from Mint Studio’s website and is an example of the hardcore Pilate’s Reformer class I did

Kayla Itsines Week 9 BBG

 Mmm, all the juices I got to sample from Project Juice!

My relationship with food has also become so, so much healthier. Instead of constantly worrying about the occasional slip up, I have a much more balanced approach to eating and just living life in general. I do not binge anymore (everytime I was presented with a tasty and ‘bad’ food I would eat it until I felt ill) and I genuinely look forward to making healthy meals and doing my food preps at the start of the week. Obviously I still have moments where I feel a little guilty, but I am usually able to stop myself eating more than I need too. I love how I have been able to shape this aspect of my life and I am so grateful for it; your body deserves to be nourished with the correct foods and kept active and in shape. I am not a fan of the whole ‘food is fuel’ thing because come on, our bodies are not machines. They are unique and INDIVIDUAL creations that require personalized attention, and only you can know what foods and exercises truly make your body flourish. That being said, I think that I do tend to eat a bit too much sugar (foods with sugar in them, I’m not knocking back tablespoons here lol) so I think I may post some of my meals in next week’s Sunday Summary as a way to keep me on track .. we will see.

That’s all from me this week! I am curious to see how many of my readers are living in the Bay Area, so please leave me a comment below if you are. I would love to meet up with you all at some point, maybe for a gym date 🙂

And as always, if you have any questions or requests for posts please either leave me a comment below or shoot me a message at honestlyfitness@live.com

Honestly yours,
Alice