Oh hello! It’s been awhile.  I ended up taking a semi unplanned break from social media this weekend while visiting family in California.  I brought my Surface with me but was having too much fun to break away. That and the fact that when I turned it on, Microsoft decided there were even more updates that needed to be downloaded for 30 min.

Neil and I made the trip to LA to visit his brother’s family from Thursday to Monday.  Since we covered a lot of ground while we were there, I want to concentrate on the highlights.  Up first on my list is all of the workouts I managed to get in!

In case you are unaware, the weather in Southern California is absolutely gorgeous year round.  It is on our list of possibles when it comes to settling on a final moving destination.  It barely rains, there’s very little humidity, and the temperatures stay consistently wonderful.  Here is a typical day in Santa  Monica:

We arrived on Thursday and on a whim while checking out things to do, I looked for the closest Pure Barre studio.  I have wanted to go to a class here for a couple months, but am too lazy to head into D.C. for it.  I am not a fan of D.C. even though I have lived most of my life about an hour or less outside the city.  It turns out that they opened one right near my sister in law’s office, so we headed over on Friday!

Pure Barre

I have been reading about Pure Barre for some time, but Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers has definitely been blowing it out of the water.  Pure Barre is a low-impact workout that uses small moves to target areas such as hips, thighs, seat, and core.  It may not look like much from the outside, but you definitely feel the burn as you do these movements.

That being said, I feel like some of the movements were too small for me to even see what was happening.  It is incredibly important to keep good form in this class, which is something I became aware of the next day when places were sore that I knew shouldn’t be sore.  I had a really good time and want to go back again which is why I already scouted out a location in NC where we are going for a housewarming next month.

We also lucked out in that it was $5 Fridays for new clients! It is usually $15 for first timers, so see if studios near you offer any special discounts!

Santa Monica Stairs

These stairs are a must whenever I visit.  I think we have gone every time that I have been there.  It is an incredible (free) workout and is always full of people who are gluttons for punishment like me.  The views are beautiful and you will definitely end up sore the next day.  There is even a Wikipedia page about these stairs.  Take note of the controversy section which basically says that rich people are mad that people are swarming outside their mansions.

I couldn’t even get a satisfactory picture of them.  This is not the entire length of the stairs; there are 2 more sets of these.

Active Nation Day

I stumbled across a flyer for Active Nation Day while I was here in Virginia.  I saw the words Santa Monica and happened to read it.  Turns out that this event was happening at a mall right near their house on Sunday! Admission and the workout was free, so we signed up.  Put on by Lorna Jane, Active Nation Day is a celebration of people taking care of their health and fitness and was comprised of a 45 minute workout led by trainer Christina Bullock, then wandering around various stands.

There was a pop up Lorna Jane shop which featured some really cute workout clothes, but at $65 for a sports bra, I had to pass.  I checked eBay for them as I typically do, but even there they were a little too pricy for me.

Free Lara bars!!

Even though I don’t like coconut, these bites were delicious! They were made using a superfood powder by Philosophie which contains loads of good ingredients and has 10 grams of protein per tablespoon.  It is also organic, raw, and gluten free.  Currently they are only on the west coast, so for my east coast friends, head over to their website to put in an order! They are currently running a promotion, so use the code ActiveDay at checkout to save 20%!

We also partook in some fresh flower crowns by The Crown Collective.  This was such a cute idea and they do these crowns for all sorts of events like weddings, birthdays, etc.

We flew back on Monday, which gave my sore body a nice break.  I have been slacking on my cross training, so my body definitely felt the change.  It was nice to take a running break and concentrate on other areas.  There are so many different fitness opportunities in California and I always love being there.  That and food, but that comes tomorrow!

Question of the day: What are some of your favorite cross training workouts? Have you taken a Pure Barre class?