Current faves: Climb class, a movie, weekly workouts and more

Hi, my friends! Hope you had a great week and a very happy Valentine’s Day! Ours was good, and we even celebrated Rudy’s 4th birthday. This weekend, Dave’s parents are visiting us, so we’ve got a date in the City, a workout together and a few other things on the agenda, which we’re really looking forward to. 

Now, because it’s Friday, it’s time for some unrelated faves …

Events

Trying out the Power Tower at CB Fit

I love to try new fitness classes!

I’ve been reading more and more about single-piece-of-equipment studios popping up in NYC (the fitness mecca), and I even mentioned these studios in my “Fitness Trends for 2019” post, so I was extra excited to be invited to attend a demo class for a brand new program that just hit in Walnut Creek — the first of its kind in the Bay Area — the Power Tower by Synergy workout at CB Fit — a single-piece-of-equipment workout. 

CB Fit is a Lagree studio that I’ve been to twice before and really enjoyed the megaformer workouts there. Now, they also have a new class offering, called CB Climb, on the Power Tower climber. The class is a 30-minute low-impact high-intensity cardio session, done entirely on the machine.

The demo class event was hosted by a gorgeous fit friend of mine, Christina, and she gathered a few gals to do the workout and also hang out and go through a guided meditation by Alice — such a lovely combo of self-care ahead of Valentine’s Day.

I knew this workout would be hard, because you are constantly moving the whole time and using your whole body, but what I didn’t expect was the variety of moves. While you’re mostly using the stairs of the climber and moving your arms on the handles, there were also portions when we lifted up onto our toes and did tricep dips and did squats too. I’m sure there are a lot more moves you’d see if you went to class regularly.

Overall, I thought it was an effective workout for the whole body — lots of cardio, coordination and even a bit of strength endurance. Our instructor, Dayla, was awesome, and she safely took us through our first session. I was totally ready for it to end when it did, and I think I would like to go back for another round.

A little tip: Sometimes when you try a new class, especially one on a piece of equipment like this (or the megaformer), you may not get the full effect until you try it 2-3 times — this is because you need to make sure you can truly perform the moves with the right technique to get the most out of them.

For my local friends, CB Fit is running a promo where you can get your first climb class for only $10, so head to their site to check it out! Fun fact: This local studio is owned by a beautiful couple, and the woman behind it, Chelsea, used to be a star Vegas performer too — so cool!

Food

Hot cacao dessert drink

I mean, I’m loving this tasty and healthy nightly wind-down ritual, paired with a couple of coconut-covered dates. You can find the recipe here.

Movies

Finally watching “A Star is Born”

Okay, I’m no movie buff, but I know a good movie when I see one, and “A Star is Born” is amazing!

Dave and I haven’t been to see a movie in the theater for more than two years, and we really tried to make it to see “A Star is Born” when it was showing, and it just didn’t happen (like once, we actually had a sitter and went to the theater only to find it was sold out at that time … whomp whomp). So as soon as the option to purchase it at home and watch it on TV came up, we went for it.

This past weekend, we bought it (which originally I would have totally balked at, but I mean, it’s cheaper than going to the movies and paying for someone to stay with Brady), and I L-O-V-E-D the movie — even more than I expected to love it.

It made me so sad though, which I won’t tell you why in case you haven’t seen it, but I was literally in tears a couple of times and then in a funk after it was over, just thinking about it. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga killed it. Anywho, if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it! I’m also loving the soundtrack, which you can listen to on Spotify, and it’s on repeat in our house.

Fun

Rudy’s 4th birthday

I just love this fluffy guy, who turned the big “4” this week. He is soft, playful, snuggly and never not right by my side every single day and night. Here’s to you, Roo Roo. You are the BEST big brother. (Although you are way less than half the size of Brady already.)

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

And now let’s look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: 30-minute CXWORX class and 15 minutes of BODYATTACK, 10 a.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: Practiced BODYPUMP for 40 minutes, 11 a.m.
• Saturday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 10:30 a.m., 25-minute Power Tower class, 12 p.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week, I was back into things on the fitness front and even started teaching a second regular class, with the addition of barre on Wednesdays at 5 p.m., and I subbed too. Yay! I actually felt REALLY good returning to weightlifting after a couple of weeks off and did two BODYPUMPs this week in preparation for subbing that program this week. And of course, a full rest day. (Are you taking at least one rest day every week? If not, here’s why and how you can talk yourself into it.) 

Best reads from around the web

• Best of beauty. This is a pretty cool list of top Beautycounter products published on InStyle — great praise for the company too — and many of my faves are on this list. (By the way, right now, when you purchase Beautycounter’s “Flawless in Five” make-up starter kit, you get a free retractable foundation brush. Find out more here.) 
• Food trends. I’m all for all of these food trends, according to Les Mills. Yes to more plants, yes to fermented foods and yes to snacks!
• Organic. If at all possible, try to choose organic whenever you can, and here’s another reason why.
• Avoiding burnout. I’ve listened to many Dave Asprey podcast episodes, and this guy, the creator of Bulletproof, is an expert in mental capacity, so I enjoyed this little excerpt from his book on how to avoid burnout.

A Lady Goes West favorite archives

• Sweet treat. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a tasty comforting beverage … “Super easy and healthy hot cacao dessert drink (dairy free).”
• Motherhood and wellness. Do you need this one? … “What I’ve learned about wellness since becoming a mom.”

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! Be good! 🙂 

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

What’s the best movie you’ve seen lately?