My 30 Day ClassPass Challenge: A Month in Review

And the Award Goes to: 

• Favorite Barre Class: Cardio Barre, Studio City 
• Favorite Instructor: Adam, Rise Nation 
• Favorite (new) Class in Studio City: Sandworks, Sandbox Fitness
• Favorite (new) Class in West Hollywood: Kickboxing, Brick CrossFit
• Most Challenging Class: CrossFit Horsepower, Studio City and The Sweat Shoppe, NoHo
• Favorite Reformer Pilates: Tie between Pilates Plus, Studio City and Club Pilates, Hollywood
• Favorite Treadmill Class: Pulse Fitness Studio, Sherman Oaks 

I lost 7 pounds and four inches off my waist with my ClassPass Challenge! 

Just kidding. I wish I had the outlook to take one of those before and after photos of me with my sports bra on so you could see the change in my body. Or so that even I could see the change in my body. I have no earthly idea if I lost any weight, or if I even see more definition in my body. I don't own a scale. The truth is, I didn't start this Challenge to lose weight or to even change a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, pre-challenge, I was already working out 4-5 days a week.

Let's take it back to the beginning. When I was in high school I was ultra high-strung, a.k.a 4.0 over-achiver who could barely sleep because I was worried about one thing or another. In college, I was pretty psychotic too. It wasn't until I found exercise my senior year that I was able to channel a lot of my type A, over active mind and body.

I can be categorized as one of those women magazines love to hate because I seriously do have a fast metabolism. One reason this fast metabolism exists is because I am always thinking, always on the go, always moving. I never stop. When I started exercising, my mind became a lot healthier. I found that I wasn't so stressed out anymore; there was a way that for one to two hours a day, my brain only focused on something other than what was happening in my life. 

Of course, like anything, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. When I first moved to Los Angeles I was a bit lonely. Overwhelmed. And also completely overwhelmed with all of the ridiculously good looking people here! I would spend hours in the gym running miles and miles on the treadmill. Maybe that is why I loathe running and gyms now. 

Just like living in Los Angeles took an adjustment period, so did finding my workout grind. Before ClassPass, I would try every exercise Groupon to hit the market. Thankfully ClassPass came along because I wiped out every opportunity in Studio City, if not Hollywood as well. When I found that there was more to working out than just running a treadmill, I began to enjoy the process a lot more. I became obsessed with Power Yoga. Then it was barre classes, followed by Reformer Pilates. 

Although my love for pilates, barre and yoga will never waiver and they will always hold a dear, dear place in my heart, it was time again to open my workout horizons. I wasn't getting enough cardio in. I would find myself doing an easy hike and getting winded quickly. I decided to do the challenge to open my workout horizons so to speak. And get me sweating' again! I also did it because I love to write. 

At times I found the process tedious. Finding the new studios wasn't the problem, I had a list that I had been wanting to visit for some time. It was scheduling these sessions between work, auditions and prior commitments. Also, anything you do in Los Angeles, you have to consider the traffic. There was only a short window everyday that I could travel outside of my Studio City nook to not make it a three hour + time commitment. It took some serious planning. 

There was only one or two days that I found the process of actually writing the review a nuisance. In all honestly, I loved the process of writing and getting my feelings out there. It's been a long time since I sat down and committed to writing something for the span of a month. It was a little difficult to find the different words to describe similar classes. It was also tough when I didn't LOVE a workout. These are all my opinions obviously, and what works for me doesn't work for others and vice versa so I did not like giving any place too hard a time. 

During my month I figured out that I need to do at least one, if not two days of cardio from here forward. The class that surprised me the most was kickboxing. It is an incredible cardio workout and I LOVED hitting shit! It felt so good and it tones and burns at the same time. Kickboxing is a class that I plan on continuing with.

There are a ton of half tread-mill half anything in this town (read reviews for Barry's, Fitmix, Pulse, etc.) and I also plan to try to hit one of these studios once a week. These classes kill so I am being ambitious when I say one day of kickboxing and one day of treadmill class. But I know I can do it.

I also plan on continuing with the blog. But I will only write when I try new classes at new studios. The posts won't be totaling 30 in 30 days unless I do another, different type of challenge. Any suggestions? And don't say no taco bell for 30 days. That will never happen.

Eventually, I want to expand my blog. I would like to do reviews of workouts, but also reviews of new experiences for Angelinos. From outdoor movies, to hikes, beaches, and events. I think doing this will allow me to expand my "fun" horizons and in addition I will get to write and continue to connect with my audience. What do you guys think? Up for some more blabbing?

I hope that you took something away from my 30 Day Challenge. I know that I did. I'm going to continue on with ClassPass, as I still believe there is no better deal in the city for boutique workout classes. There is enough to keep me busy and happy on the app for a long while. 

Thank you so much for sticking with me over the 30 days! I'll be back. 

Now off to my best friends wedding in Virginia!

P.S.- I will still never enjoy Spin class. The End. 

Day 28: 30 Day ClassPass Challenge

YOGA NOHO

5257 Vineland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 91601

http://yoganoho.com

I do not have a photograph of me in a fun yoga pose today. I was literally too “zen” after class to even bother with it. 

I am a big fan of Yoga Noho. I visited there for a Groupon spell about a year ago. I was anxiously waiting for another Groupon or for it to be put on ClassPass and luckily it was added on CP last week.

Love ClassPass, but it was in dire need of some more legit yoga studios, especially in the valley area. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some CorePower, but sometimes, you don’t want to do yoga in a 101 degree room. You just want a normal temperature to get your flow on.

The lobby area

Saturday was an INSANE work day for me. I was producing a new app for Intel with my boyfriend's company. I will try to add photos of the event in a post even though it has nothing to do with my workout challenge. I spent my whole day with the Rookies in the NFL though, so maybe it does! It was an incredible experience, but I woke up at 4 am and then worked a 16 hour day. I slept in on Sunday (by that I mean 9 am- I am typically an early riser). I wasn’t up for a crazy workout. I wasn’t even sure I would get anything in I was so beat. 

By 11 am I was already sick of watching The Kardashians (two episodes is about all I can take). I saw a class at 11:45 and also saw that Leo was instructing. He was one of my favs from when I used to visit Yoga Noho. I figured I would brave the outside world. 

Yoga NoHo is in the heart of the bustling area of North Hollywood. There are tons of restaurants and shops near by if you want to grab a bite after class. One of my fav’s is Republic of Pie. Check it out if you want to blow the workout you just did with a delicious piece of pie or yummy latte. That being said, parking around the area is horrible. Give yourself an extra 10 minutes for class here. Even on a Sunday.

When I used to take Leo's class, I was shocked by how small the class numbers were. I think the most ever in my class were 5. The word about Yoga NoHo must have gotten out because there were about 17 in my class this morning. My best kept secret in a secret no longer.

We began class a little late. Leo goes around the room and asks everyone their name and then asks why they are there today. I feel myself tightening up a little here because were already starting 5 minutes late and then we gotta chat. When there are 17 people in your class, conversations can get lengthy, you know? Aren't we all for there for typically the same reasons? Work out, sweat, become centered, get zen, ect. I try not to get too uptight and become that calm and collected yogi I am supposed to be, but I WANNA DO YOGA NOW. Luckily, we got into the flow and I forgot about the talking because the class was amazing. 

The larger of the two studios of practice

Leo automatically makes me feel calm. When his class begins though, you are in for a real power flow. Vinyasa style yoga is my favorite type. His power flow class level 1-2 is definitely more on the side of a 2 so don't be fooled if you think a level one might be too easy. It was incredibly intricate and a fast paced flow. 

We spent a good 55 minutes flowing and spent the last ten minutes upside down practicing handstands, inversions, etc. And ended with some stretches. I hadn't been doing any hand or head stands for a good minute because of my challenge. Leo saw the mistakes I was making right away and came over to offer suggestions about my proper arm placement. Class is only supposed to be one hour, but it will definitely run over. They should change the time to 75 minutes because I remember from my previous classes that I never left before one (class begins at 11:45). Luckily, I felt so freakin' good after my class that I could have cared less if we were running over. 

I adore Yoga NoHo and I am thrilled that ClassPass has added them into their rotation. In addition to Vinyasa styles flows they offer a variety of classes, including restorative (a candlelight class is not to be missed!), Hatha, Yoga Sculpt, Medley, and Pre and Postnatal. You can find a class that fits your style here. I also love Chelsea's Yoga Sculpt classes offered on Fridays at 11 am. 

If you find yourself in the North Hollywood area and need a solid stretch and sweat and just want to feel GOOD and comfortable. Check out Yoga NoHo. See you on the mat!

Day 26: 30 Day ClassPass Challenge

World Champion Cardio Boxing 

10500 Magnolia Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91601 

Unfortunately I won't have any photos for this blog today. The photo police came after me. 

Class was going quite a bit overtime today. I was getting a bit antsy because I have to be at work today at noon, the class was supposed to end at 10. It was 10:08 and we were still getting instructions to keep going. With no end in sight, I really had to jet. I kind of got a weird vibe when I said I had to leave, even though class was running quite a bit over. I asked to take a photo before I left but I was told no photos while class was still in session. Which I respect, but the way it was handled was a little weird. She told me I had to schedule a session to take photos....OK.

The word "cardio" is the name of the game for this class. It was more like Cardio Bootcamp with punches thrown in. I was a little disappointed because we did not do one kick throughout the entire class. I cannot help but compare World Champion Cardio Boxing to my experience with Brick and it was quite different.  

This workout WILL make you sweat. If you are trying to get cardio in or if you are trying to lose weight, this is the place to come. You will be jumping, squatting, doing sit ups, burpees, push ups, jumping jacks, ect. You will take few breaks. You're heart rate will sky rocket.  But again, it reminded me more of a bootcamp workout than a true boxing workout. Because I am a boxing expert mind you. ha!

At Brick Boxing we were learning combinations. We were sparring with partners. We were incorporating kicks, blocks, bobbing, knee strikes. We did none of that today. We hit the bag a lot. It was all punching the bag as fast as possible. No combinations. No technique. It was pure hit the shit out of that bag. 

On a positive note- I was motivated. If I ever stopped for a second I had a trainer on my butt telling me to push through. I always felt like I had to keep going. On that note, there were three trainers instructing us today. It was a little confusing to be honest. The class began with an instructor, who I really liked a lot and then mid-way through the owner, Norris, joined in. He is the World Champion of the group. Then another 10 minutes in and Tanya (I believe) joined in too! It's like, whoa. Lots of hands in kettle here. I actually can't remember how that saying goes. 

World Champion Cardio Boxing, I really wanted to like you! If I had not taken my first boxing at Brick, I think that I would like you. But I cannot help but compare. If you want a cardio bootcamp, with a good sweat, by all means had to Cardio Boxing but if you want to learn to BOX then go to Brick.  

And don't ask to take any photos ;)