Fitzness.com
I just returned from what could have possibly been my favorite fitness event of all time. Jamba Juice hosted one of their now-famous PopUP Fitness Events in Chicago and I was lucky enough to take part. What IS a PopUP fitness event you ask? Well, basically, the funky folks of Jamba Juice book an amazing venue somewhere in the US (last time with got funky in Los Angeles) and offer eight different crazy creative workout programs to introduce fitness pros and media to. Why do they do this? Because Jamba Juice is all about healthy food products and making fitness FUN! They’re not satisfied with just serving up nutritious smoothies, breakfasts, snacks and more. They want to ensure their Jamba customers also find a way to love exercise, active movement and living life fruitfully. It’s an uber-cool philosophy which ended up with yours truly doing yoga on a paddle board somewhere out in Lake Michigan. Amazing!
I’m going to share my coolest finds and hopefully you’ll find a way to partake wherever you live.
Breakfast: Berry Cherry Pecan Steel Cut Oatmeal – A high protein, high fiber start to our day. Delicious nutritious and convenient. I ate two.
Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga: Yep. Just like it sounds. Standing and kneeling on a paddle board is far easier than it sounds, and doing yoga was … pretty chill too. In fact, doing my downward dog pose out on the lake with a beautiful Chicago breeze on my bum, was something I immediately added to and checked off my Bucket List. I had no idea that was something I even wanted to do, but once I did it … I knew it belonged on the list of my life’s highlights. If you live anywhere near the ocean, a lake, spring, canal or other decent sized body of water … check in to this. What a wonderful way to work out on a Sunday morning. Group and private lessons are available everywhere. Check out KayakChicago.com if you’re ever in the Windy City!
Battle Ropes: Training with battle ropes yields amazing results in muscular endurance, cardiovacular conditioning and fat burning. We used long heavy tug-of-war style ropes to train with and they left us all huffing, puffing and desperately trying to wiggle the pain from our shoulders. Cool stuff. You’ll likely get the chance to play with these if you sign up for any CrossFit or boot camp class in your area. Check out HustleFitness.com if you’re ever in the Chicago!
Break! Fruit Refreshers with Coconut Water were passed out to keep us from collapsing in the 95 degree heat. With less than 210 calories in a 16 ounce cup, they were a welcomed guest in our day. I tried both the Watermelon Splash and Tropical Mango flavors. Yum!
Juicy Athletic Moves was built around the principle that a “happy soul is a healthy soul”. It other words, it’s an uber funky dance class choc full o’ gyrating and thrusting which is gobs and GOBS of fun. Instructor, Neda Soderqvist, makes the folks in Malibu, California happy happy clams by ensuring workouts are always fun and always challenging. I enjoyed the great music and the fact that she was constantly pointing at her private parts to let us know what should be shaking at the moment. Awesome fun. If you’re ever in Malibu, California … go visit Neda.
CaveMan Fitness: This was basically a CrossFit style workout with lots of heavy things to lift and swing around. Most importantly, my pal Jenn Walters from FitBottomedGirls and I went undefeated in the tug-of-war. Whacking tires with sledgehammers and tossing 40 pound bags of sand will both get you fit and prepare you for an Apocalypse. Visit CoreFitnessChicago.com to train like a caveman if you’re ever in Chicago.
Bollywood Groove: Shaking everything to high-energy Indian rhythms was crazy fun. Ironic to me that a culture so concerned about covering up and being conservative could shake it so hard and get so wild on the dance floor. This type of workout is perfect for both beginners and advanced fitness levels because it’s mission is to provide an entertaining dance workout which participants can easily modify. Jai ho! If you’re in Chicago, enjoy a fun class at BollyGroove.com
CircEsteem: If climbing on your friends, and waving your arms around like an acrobat sounds like a good idea to you, then you’ll love this stuff. Shockingly easy to do, our instructor Rachel had us up in a human pyramid within 15 short minutes. It was pretty darn neat, and would absolutely be the workout for those who hate working out. It keeps your mind occupied on the task at hand vs. how many calories you’re burning. When in Chicago, stop by CircEsteem.org to give this stuff a try!
Parkour: You’ve probably seen Jake Gyllenhaal doing this in a People magazine before. Parkour is a workout which entails people creatively using items in their own environment for fitness while traveling from point A to point B. For example, while jogging at the park, you may vault over a bench or do a somersault down a hill. The nice part about Parkour is that it’s traditionally done outside of a gym setting. Do you like walking or jogging outdoors? Try going under, over or around various things in your path to add elements of strength, plyometrics and balance training to your cardio session. You might even want to yell “Parkour” when doing the whacky stuff. Visit ParkourWays.com when in the Windy City.
Break! Make it Light Smoothies cooled us off after a long day of training in the sun. With less than 200 calories per 16 ounce cup, they’re a treat I will choose instead of dessert, often. I sampled a variety of flavors and loved them all.
[flagallery gid=24 name=Gallery]Check out the photo gallery above to get a better look at our group participating in all of these neat fitness classes and stop by Jamba Juice sometime soon for breakfast or a refreshing summer treat!
