Friday Favorites: Workout gear, a top + massage

Happy Friday, friends! Are you having a nice week so far? My week has been pretty good. I’ve been working on some new fitness opportunities, which I’m hoping to talk about soon. I’ve also washed my hair a few times, which is a rarity. What? Too much information in the first paragraph of a post? Well fine then, let’s keep it light and talk about a few little things that are making me happy. If you’re a Bay Area reader, I have a big discount for you at the end, so don’t miss it. And now here goes another edition of “Friday Favorites” …

My favorite new active wear: Lorna Jane

Have you heard of Lorna Jane? On Tuesday night, I was invited to go to my local Lorna Jane clothing store on Union Street in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco for a styling session. Through my role as a Sweat Pink and Fit Approach, I was offered a free outfit in exchange for sharing my experience. Well, that sounded pretty fair to me, especially because I had never tried anything from the Lorna Jane line before and just recently heard about it over the past few months. I arrived in the evening and one of the store’s friendly associates, Maren, introduced me to the brand, walked me around the store, asked me about my style preferences and sizes and started pulling outfits for me.

Colorful scenes from the Lorna Jane Union Street store.

I said I like color and prints and wanted active wear that I could really sweat in, thinking it would be great to have a new outfit or two for teaching classes. I must say that Lorna Jane has the most colorful workout clothing I’ve ever seen. There was so much to choose from. I pulled a couple of pieces, while Maren did most of the outfit creating. She set me up in a fitting room, had me start trying and took my picture in all of the good outfits.

Before going into the store, as I like to do, I read up a bit on Lorna Jane and found out that the company was started by Lorna Jane Clarkson in Australia out of her apartment about 25 years ago, and today there are more than 150 stories worldwide. Lorna Jane wanted to create fashionable fitness clothing that also inspired women to be active, and that’s how the brand’s philosophy, “Move Nourish Believe,” came about, which is now a standalone website. In addition to that, the local stores started a new program called “Swap Shop” in which you can bring in three pieces of gently used workout clothing for a $15 store credit, and all of the used clothing is donated. I brought three pieces with me and took part in the program in order to buy an extra top above-and-beyond the free outfit I was given. Donating old clothes to charity in order to get a discount on new ones? Genius idea, just genius.

Shown above from top left: The pieces I took home from Lorna Jane, and me posing in the Lorna Jane Union Street fitting room in some of the outfits pulled for me.

So if you’ve never tried Lorna Jane, here’s what you need to know.

• It’s pricey, but you seem to get what you pay for.
• The basic Comfort Sports Bra ($60) and Amy 3/4 Tights ($86.99) are the best sellers.
• You can find workout wear and street-wear, and it’s all made for comfort and movement.
• The garments should not be put in the dryer, which scares me a little, but I’ll deal with that when it’s time.
• The sizing seems reasonable. I fit into an X-Small sports bra, size Small bottoms and X-small top, which is comparable to what I wear in other brands, although I usually get a size Small sports bra and top. I will say that the size Small bottoms were pretty snug, so keep that in mind when ordering.
• The clothing appears to be very well-made, and there are a lot of special touches, like a tiny little gem heart on the inside of each garment.
• I was very impressed by the fit and function of nearly all of the colorful sports bras that I tried on, so that was one of the high points, in addition to the fun patterns and designs of the clothing itself.

For my complimentary outfit, I selected the Rogue 7/8 Tights ($94.99), the Adina Excel Tank ($59.99) and the best-selling Comfort Sports Bra, and I purchased the Velocity Excel Tank ($62.99) because I wanted a second top to go with those fabulous green and black bottoms. I’m excited to rock my Lorna Jane workout wear next week. (Why didn’t I wear it yet? Because I always save new things for a least a week or so with their tags on before debuting, just to make sure the first wear is always a worthy one.) I’m really glad I’ve been introduced to Lorna Jane and definitely plan to keep an eye out for more duds. And when I want something else, I’ll be sure to swing by the Union Street location for some more friendly customer service.

My favorite new top: Banana Republic pullover

I’ve been eyeing all of those conversation tops and sweatshirts you see around these days. You know the ones with big, bold, sparkly words across the chest? Well, on Sunday, as Dave and I perused our local Banana Republic armed with a friends-and-family discount compliments of our friend Lexy, I found one. While I wanted to pick up about 25 items from Banana, I knew my closet couldn’t handle it, and I’m getting a pretty good rotation going with my LE TOTE clothing delivery these days anyways. In fact, I hadn’t planned on buying anything at all and was going to let Dave use all of the discount on his work clothes, but one little thing jumped into my hands. 

The Little Black Sweatshirt Pullover from Banana Republic, laid out on my living room floor.

It was very busy in the store that day, and the fitting rooms were super full, which completely deterred me from even considering dresses or pants. So I tried this little beauty on in the middle of the store over my clothes. Yup, that’s how I roll. With 50 percent off, it only cost $30, so I felt like I was getting a good deal, and hey, it won’t take up too much room. I hope to be starting conversations in this pullover very, very soon. 

My favorite new San Francisco service: MassageNow

Okay Bay Area folks, here’s your chance for a discount … As if we weren’t already lucky to enjoy all of the beauty there is between wine country and the mountains of Marin, we’re also lucky that so many great companies get their start here. MassageNow is a brand new start-up, launched just five weeks ago that is designed to help you get up to a 50-percent-off discount on same-day massages at fancy spas and hotels around town. The folks at MassageNow reached out to me about their service, and I was intrigued.

As a fitness professional who is always sore, I really should get more massages. I hadn’t had once since a few months ago at Equinox and was very excited to try out the MassageNow service. I selected a 4:45 p.m. one-hour full-body massage appointment on Sunday at the W San Francisco at the Bliss spa. I’ve had drinks and dinner at W San Francisco before, and it’s a very swanky spot. Having a massage there for $60 is a major steal, as the regular price is around $129 for the service. 

Some shots from my massage experience at the W Hotel’s Bliss spa.

To secure my appointment, I simply went online to the MassageNow site in the mid-morning on Sunday and booked my complimentary service (yes, the MassageNow people kindly let me try it out for free), and headed out to the spa when it was time. My massage was great. Very relaxing and just what my sore muscles needed. Even better, when I was done, I didn’t even have to check out, because booking through MassageNow takes care of everything for you.

Here’s what you need to know about MassageNow:

• It’s free to sign-up.
• You can go to the site daily at 10 a.m. to see what appointments are available that day.
• A one-hour massage is just $60, with an additional $12 gratuity. (That’s about a 50 percent discount from the regular price of most massages in San Francisco.)
• You pay for your service ahead of time on the site, so no money changes hands at the spa.
• When booking, you’ll know the general location of the spa, but not the spa name.
• You can sign up for email alerts for particular days in the future, so you know when the open appointments are listed.
• There are about 15 high-end spas around downtown San Francisco currently active on the site, but MassageNow will be expanding its footprint as early as next week.

To do a little research, I went on the site for several days to check the availability of appointments. During the week, many appointments are open starting around 11 a.m. and going through the evening, all in the downtown San Francisco area. However, on the weekends, being that is the most popular time for people to book services, the appointments are fewer and mostly in the afternoons. However, as MassageNow continues to expand, I expect many more appointments to appear daily.

That being said, I like the whole idea around MassageNow. I’m all about treating yourself to wellness services, and massages have a major health benefit, especially when it comes to loosening up your muscles. I’m also all about saving money and getting things for a deal. So if you’re going get a massage, why not try for a major discount at one of the nicer places around town and book it day-of through a service like this?

Discount alert for Bay Area readers! Now here’s the big discount for Bay Area readers: You can get your first massage on MassageNow for just $30, all the way until the end of November. (The regular price is $60.). To redeem, all you have to do is use this promo code: ALADYGOESWEST. Go to the site, put in your email, and then choose the day you want to be alerted to return to the site and book your appointment. It’s that easy. And hey, if you do try it out, please let me know!

My favorite links of the week

It’s possible you missed a few good things on the interwebs this week, so here are some of my favorite reads:

• This one is just so helpful and a few of you responded that you tried it: How to massage your muscles using just a lacrosse ball
• A 20-minute no equipment bodyweight workout and a sample outdoor bootcamp I taught last weekend: What is the trendiest way to work out?
• My guest post on another blog: The top five health and fitness mistakes people make
• The history of my eating and pictures of food: Stories about food and yesterday’s meals
• An entertaining list of random facts and blog talk: Fun facts about me and blogging tips

There you have it! Is this world’s longest post? Because I had more favorites to share that I guess I’ll save until next week.

So today is not my average Friday. I’m going to hit up a full-body Barry’s Bootcamp class this morning, do some work and then Dave and I are welcoming an out-of-town visitor who is just popping in for the night. Because of that, I decided to find a sub for my evening BODYPUMP class, (which I never do, so I hope my Pumpers forgive me), and we’re going out for a little fun. But I’ll be up bright-and-early tomorrow morning to teach BODYATTACK, then I’m heading to a little afternoon fitness event and laying low in the evening as Dave is off working at a basketball game. On Sunday morning, I’m teaching another outdoor bootcamp in the park, and I’m hoping for a big crowd and clear skies. That’ll be the weekend. If you want to keep track of my weekend escapades, follow me on Instagram, where I tend to check in with things that don’t make the blog. I hope you all have a lovely day! 

Read more fun Friday Favorites 

Are you a fan of these “Friday Favorites”? If so, see below for previous editions or visit the the link-up hostesses, Heather, Clare and Katie. 

1. A snack, a purse and a ritual
2. A delivery, a bra and a guy
3. A sweet, a wine and a read
4. A drink, a gadget and a plan 
5. A time, a bottle and a powder
6. San Francisco edition
7. Beauty edition
8. Beach vacation edition
9. Hidden meanings
10. Kicks, a book and a bowl
11. The very best sweatshirts
12. Party hosting and froyo
13. Fourth of July daytime activity
14. Beauty basics edition
15. Workplace edition
16. Shopping, sales and a show
17. The foods I always buy
18. Sushi, a game and pants
19. Fitness apps
20. Delicious and healthy products
21. Comfort, fitness and function
22. Beauty, buddha and blog events
23. Dining, the city and gift ideas
24. POPSUGAR, sweets and such
25. A bunch of fun stuff
26. e-book, food, picnic and tunes
27. A link, a superfood and a mask
28. Pants, shoes, food and links
29. Dining, protein and goodies
30. Shopping, events and a book
31. A gym bag, pumpkin and juices 

Questions of the day

What’s something that you’re loving lately? How often do you get massages? What are you doing this weekend?