Living in Los Angeles is a fitness dream. If you want to take a break from the sunny skies and NOT hike in a canyon or do yoga on a beach, there is an endless sea of fun workouts to get you out of the house. We often write about our favorite Class Pass sweats and MORE, but we thought we’d extend the list with even more fun routines to stretch, elongate, tone, and strengthen your bod or just enhance your mood.
Get Sweaty, LA!
We know Flywheel spin classes from West Hollywood, but now they are also located in Larchmont as well as the eco-friendly luxurious outdoor shopping mecca in Woodland Hills, the Village at Topanga Canyon. What we dig most about this spin class is that the ERG and RPMs are on a little screen under each bike, so you no longer have to play the guessing spinning game. Instead of turn to the left 4 times, you turn to ERG 20 or you know you have to get your RPM’s past 100. Show off your sweaty skills by choosing to have your scores appear on the class board. Motivation? Or spin your heart out to Flywheel theme classes called Britney and Beyonce. The Woodland Hills facilities are clean and gorgeous and it may be hard to leave without buying something from their hip line of workout gear. You can even shower on site where they offer all sorts of high end products free for you to use (from deodorant to dry shampoo)to help you get ready for a work day.
Get strong and maintain your balance with surf moves on a bobbing board surrounded by sand, but inside! This class is not easy, and you’ll be sweating in no time. Glance at yourself (for vanity or balance) in the full room mirror as the soft sand gives you a hard body. The indoor sandbox offers a variety of classes like Surfset, TRX, yoga, bootcamp, and more. Find them on Beverly Blvd in West Hollywood or Sherman Oaks.
In Hollywood on the second floor of a dingy parking lot, you will find ladies punching it out with sweat flying in every direction at this training gym. Bring your own gloves or use one of their mitts, and get ready to kick and punch with a partner or a bag in this high fueled energetic class. Expect about 25 -30 minutes of real Muay Thai (kickboxing) conditioning drills. Also, shadow boxing, hand mitt, kicking pads, and heavy bags are incorporated into every hour class. Oh, and the first class is free.
Feel like a kid again next to the barre and remember the days you wish you could be a ballerina. Rewind to childhood as your commands of tendu, passé, plie are ordered. Get long and lean in this pilates/traditional ballet workout where serious girls go to saunter on Beverly Blvd. But, beware, some of the trainers can be really intense although you’ll leave feeling like parts of your bodies you didn’t know existed got a hearty workout.
This Beverly Hills studio offers what I call the excruciating “little movements” class from squashing balls between your thighs to ballet barre moves on your toes. This workout targets the muscles in your arms, thighs, seat and abs to the point of fatigue, then stretches them for relief. Their “Interval Overload,” includes muscle-defining arm exercises, intense thigh and seat sequences, waist-chiseling ab moves, and fluid stretches. Try it if you dare.
Behind Life Food Organic in Santa Monica lies a peaceful outdoor space which offers fitness, meditation, guest speakers and social gatherings. Yoga brought me to this quiet space with palm trees overhead since LaLaScoop Rochelle with Andiamo Body teaches a Monday night session from 6-7 PM. Tone and strengthen your bod while gaining more flexibility as she takes you through various challenging poses. Rochelle ends her class with a nurturing Shavasana and time to reflect.
For even more ways to get fit and sweaty, read LaLaScoop’s Favorite LA Workouts in the April 2016 issue of Focus Magazine.
lalascoop.com 