My workout regimen is based on location, location, location.

April 15th, 2013 2 Comments

As a matter of fact I have! But that could have been 3 years ago…after so many years of blogging I lose track :)

If you’ve been following me through those years, you know I’ve moved a handful of times – New York, LA, Houston, Mexico, Atlanta. As much as I would like to take my workout with me as I bounce around, I can’t because of the facilities and studios specific to each city. In some ways that’s good so I don’t get burned out and my body doesn’t become accustomed to a routine. As we all know, one of the most important parts of changing our bodies and getting stronger is challenging your body.

The basis of my workout is always the same: cardio, weights/strength, aerobic/zone 3 heart rate/fat burning days, yoga. How I accomplish those things is based on where I am and my heart rate goal for the day (cardio = zone 4-5 for 1 hour, fat burn = zone 3 1 hour). Here is an approximate breakdown of what I do where. If you click the links, you’ll get more details on what my workouts entail.

New York

SoulCycle – 3 days a week = cardio
Blink/Equinox – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Yoga – 1 day a week (haven’t found a studio here yet)

To answer Jaclyn’s question, SoulCycle isn’t enough FOR ME because it misses 2 major muscle groups (chest and back) during the arm segment and doesn’t allow for building muscle with heavy weights. However, the arm section is amazing to tone your shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

Los Angeles

SoulCycle – 2 days a week= cardio
Runyon Canyon – 2 days a week = 1 day cardio, 1 day zone 3
Equinox – weights or group fitness classes (they have THE BEST!), 1 day yoga

**I still haven’t figured out my scheduling of these yet.

Houston

Spinning at fit gym – 3 days a week = cardio
Personal Trainer Cederick – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Memorial Park – 3 mile job, 1 day = zone 3
Joy Yoga Studio – 1 day

Atlanta

BLAST900 – 3-4 days a week = 3 days cardio, 1 day zone 3
Private gym – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Chastain Park - 6 mile jog or walk with weights = zone 3
Spinning at home – 1-2 days a week = cardio or zone 3
Atlanta Hot Yoga – 1 day a week

Mexico

My beach workouts – 3 days a week = 1 day cardio, 2 day zone 3
Gym – 2-3 days a week = weights + cardio
P90x – weights, resistance bands, 1 days a week = weights
Yoga DVD (haven’t found a favorite yet)

Traveling

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Old building, new Penthouse in Beverly Hills

April 11th, 2013 No Comments

Mastro’s Steakhouse, an institution in Beverly Hills known for it’s butter-slathered steaks (my favorite in LA!), second floor piano lounge, and working girl bar, has decided it’s time to restore it’s youth. Back in my college days, you would find twenty-something celebs, agents, and scensters dining there or downstairs begging for a reservation. Such is no longer the case. The average age of the male clientle seems to be about 60. So one day, the boys said, let’s do something with our crowd and this third floor.

They built “The Penthouse,” a more modern fine dining experience with a small bar and spacious outdoor terrace. The terrace is the best part because it’s hard to find nice outdoor dining in Beverly Hills unless you go to a hotel. Another bonus: they stay open until 1am if you’re looking for a nice late night snack.

While you can get the entire Mastro’s menu there, Chef Josef Morphis (with me above) has gone to great lengths to offer you a lighter fare in his appetizer and sushi menu. Our group devoured two seafood towers of about 8 unique dishes. The tuna on some sort of Parmesan cracker you see below was awesome. Prices are a little lower than the steakhouse, but not by much. I’m sorry my picture sucks…

I guess I’ll have to go back and get a better one to replace it. You’ll find me on the terrace, martini and hand. Feel free to join me!

(Full disclosure: Mastro’s offered a media discount in exchange for the review.)

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Food that will M.A.K.E. your day in LA

March 28th, 2013 No Comments

Looks good doesn’t it?!! This lasagna is actually better than good. It’s amazing. Mind-blowing. And meatless. And vegan. AND raw!

Don’t judge, don’t judge.

If I told you it was loaded in fat would that help you believe me that it’s delicious?

The fat comes from the macadamia nut cream and the pistachios. The rest is all raw, organic, refreshing, flavorful veg. That’s what you’ll find an entire menu of at M.A.K.E. - the latest venture from Matthew Keeney – in the Santa Monica mall (more on that later).

My friend and foodie extraordinaire Payman took me for dinner one night and I’ll be forever .

This, my friends, is one of the most extraordinary “cheese” plates you’ll ever devour. All made from nuts. Here we have chipotle (top), cheddar that tastes like a pepperoni (center), and truffle nut cheeses. They are so silky smooth you’d never guess they were derived from a crunchy nut. Those crackers on the side are Almond fennel flax (I believe). Thankfully they sell them by the bag so I could bring them home more to eat with guac and jam. All of those were gone by the end of the meal.

Bottom line, the food at M.A.K.E. is not for vegans, it’s for people who enjoy rich and delicious food because if I hadn’t told you what it was made of, you would have been perfectly happy to eat it and never ask. And yes, they do serve beer and wine; a solid selection I might add.

If you love the food as much as I do, you’ll be happy to know they have a Culinary Institute on-site where you can learn to make two vegan dishes and devour them with wine for $85. Considering their menu prices, that’s not a bad deal. Aside from the pricing, there are a couple of drawbacks to M.A.K.E. that I am going to ask you to overlook on your first visit.

First of all, it’s located on the top level of the Santa Monica mall in “The Market:” a collection of really great cafe and deli style vendors offering their unique take on food. There’s a farm-to-table comfort food, fine cheeses, a wine shop, and a nice patio to enjoy it all. Honestly, the cafe style reminds me of one of those cut-out cafes you would find in a mall in Europe amongst designer clothes. I am always pleasantly surprised at home good the food is at those.

The menu is a bit pricey but the food is wildly sophisticated (in a good way) to the point where I would like to be in a nicer setting. The decor of M.A.K.E. is right on target for San Fran chic, but looking out into The Market takes away from the ambiance. That being said, if they can start to pack the place with a solid crowd, you might not notice that much.

I say it’s a must for an LA local. Go with an open mind and enjoy the food. You WILL NOT be sorry. Then you’ll return to “The Market” for all of the other fun things it has to offer.

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The Truth About SoulCycle

August 6th, 2012 1 Comment

I’m writing a piece for The Huffington Post about visiting spin studios when you travel. It’s a fun thing to add to your itinerary and helps you stay in shape while you’re on the go. SoulCycle, the wildly popular NYC spin studio where I taught from 2007-2009, seems to be the source of the resurgence of private spin studios.

It’s hard to articulate the SoulCycle experience – dark room, loud music with a heavy beat, Swinn bikes lined up close together, inspirational instructor, dynamic ride that you can only do on an indoor bike – all of that sounds predictable. But the SoulCycle ride accesses some part of you that is screaming to get out and play! In the darkness, you can open yourself up to a personal journey and catharsis I’ve never felt in any other group fitness class. (Read one rider’s experience here). With this final piece and flawless branding, they’ve created a cultish following that packs their studios every hour and generates tons of press to the point that SoulCycle seems perfect.

As and instructor there for 3 years and a person who knows that nothing in life is perfect, I thought I’d give you the honest-to-goodness truth about Soul Cycle.

1. The ride is in fact the most exciting, uplifting, and fun fitness experience I’ve ever known. Period. It’s not THE HARDEST; it ‘s the one that keeps you mentally in shape to keep up your fitness routine. In other words, worth every penny.

2. If you allow yourself to let go of your to-do list in your head and get lost in the ride, you will change as a person.

3. Riding as a “posse” and not doing your own thing, you will ride harder and get stronger. Follow their instructions and learn how to ride their way.

4. Spinning does not make your legs “bulk up.” Think about it, it’s thousands of repetitions with light resistance that tones your legs, not make them huge.

5. Their many movements to make the class more dynamic and fun helps to isolate muscle groups, strengthen your core, and pull in your waistline.

6. All instructors are not created equal, but they’re pretty darn close. I like: Stacey, Laurie, Kym, Lori A, Janet, Melanie, and Sue.

7. You can’t rely on the class to be your only source of fitness. Even though the class includes an “arm segment” where you use weights to tone your muscles, it’s a cardio workout and you need to lift weights on other days.

8. You don’t burn as many calories in a spin class as you think you do. According to my heart rate monitor, I only burned around 420 per class (45 minutes), which is what I usually burn when I lift weights for 1.5 hours. In an hour BLAST900 class, I burn 600 calories.

9. FlyWheel was started by one of the founders of SoulCycle, Ruth Zuckerman, who I love and admire as a woman. I used to take her class often because that woman has serious soul. Ruth had to change the game to make her Flywheel different. By adding a computer to the bike, your ride focuses on RPMs and the power you are actually exerting. There is a big screen overhead so you can see how you compare to others in the room. The ride itself is in no way as introspective or as fun, in my opinion, but it’s challenging. If you don’t know SoulCycle, FlyWheel is a solid ride I bet will be a 100 times more exciting and productive than whatever your gym offers.

10. The SoulCycle family is not as inviting as you might want it to be. All of the staff works hard and efficiently. If you want in on a more personal level to join the inner circle party, you’ll have to make the effort to get to know the instructors and the other riders. When you do, you’ll appreciate the connection.

When I write the HuffPo piece you’ll have more perspective on what other studios offer in different cities. Unfortunately there’s not a lot out there that’s why you should make an effort to spin when you travel to the big cities. If you’re in NYC or LA, you now know where to go :)

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I say pass on Palm Springs for your city escape.

May 18th, 2012 2 Comments

My friend Emily, who just came back from a girls’ trip to Palm Springs, said before she left she checked my blog to see if I had a guide to the town. I felt terrible because I hadn’t written my thoughts after my 5 day trip there for New Year’s Eve.

To put it bluntly, I’m not a fan. The town is old, the hotels are needlessly expensive, and there isn’t much to actually do there…I love to lounge, but I also like to be active and do things I can’t in the city. As a retreat from LA where you would have your own house, I could see how Palm Springs delivers, but as a visitor, I wouldn’t go back again.

We stayed at The Parker, a Starwood Resort property that is regarded as one of the best hotels in town. It’s like the Chateau Marmont or Soho House – a great place to eat, party, and be seen amongst the celebs, but not a cozy place to hole up and sleep because it’s simply old. Even though the interiors were renovated 2 years ago by Jonathan Adler, the mod rooms still felt musty and lacked 4-star accommodations. The showers were smaller than mine at home; there was no mini bar to grab a late night snack; the old school tv’s produced a picture that looked like a game of tetris. I don’t usually watch tv on vacation, but when you’re there for 5 days, it’s nice to take a night off and watch a movie, ya know. The vintage books and posters were charming, but not enough for me to suspend my discomfort.

Thankfully, the rest of the property was delightful. The famous Norma’s (from NYC) was creating their standard masterpiece plates for for breakfast and Mr. Parker’s was dark and equally decadent for dinner. The grounds were what you would expect from Palm Springs: lawns lined in palm trees, small sitting and swinging areas to lay out and read, and a big fire pit to keep guests warm at night.

The tiny pool surrounded by greenery took me back to what I believe would be the 70′s. This retro aspect I really enjoyed…as long as I made it there by 8:30 to reserve chairs before my workout.

At night, the lounge centered by a fireplace and the tiny 8-seat bar were good places to hang out while we waited for our table, but not sufficient enough to enjoy a meal there.

Other notable hotels would be The Ace Motel, just like the one that hails from NYC, where the hipsters stay and play. There is a Viceroy that appears luxurious and the contemporary Hotel Zozo that didn’t get much lip service but looks interesting. We chose the Parker for its history and charm, big mistake for the price.

Nearby in Palm Desert is the La Quinta Golf Resort which houses tons of private condos, cute casitas and villas populated with visiting couples and families, and common areas where everyone gathers to either chat, relax, or play games. It’s like a little town inside their compound! We played golf, finished the afternoon by the pool with ritas and pulled pork tacos, got a massage at the spa, and then dined at Morgans, a glorified average steakhouse where the older crowd congregates and the young people come to celebrate. Southerners of all ages seemed to be the majority of the visitors at La Quinta so I fit right in.

As for the town, it’s so far past it’s prime. From what I hear and saw with my own eyes, the gay male community is still loving it. I have no idea where the shopping is people rave about. I found a Crazy Shirt store and the ice cream shop where they made the first date shake. That was about it. Woot.

Golf is a big deal in the area. I opted for La Quinta’s PGA West golf course, which was challenging, but not as pretty as others I’ve played. The critical factor for me was the heat. It was almost unbearable!

If you’re looking for fine dining hit up the hotels. As I said, Mr. Parker’s was exactly what I was looking for: dark atmosphere, trendy people, and delicious food. The Ace has a surprisingly healthy diner for breakfast and a fun bar scene where you can shoot tequila and sip on boutique beer with the cool crowd.

I guess these reasons explain why people spend so much time at the spa in Palm Springs. There just isn’t much to do. Or that I saw anyway. I don’t have a list for you, but they all seem pretty nice to me.

Here’s my bottom line for Palm Springs: We had a nice time. For me it wasn’t about the places as much as the company. That being said, I always take my critical eye with me so I can relate my experience to you. Obviously from this breakdown, I wouldn’t send you there. I can recommend at least 5 places to visit over Palm Springs for a relaxing getaway. In fact I did for the Huffington Post, see the slideshow here. To name a few: Santa Ynez Valley, Northern California, The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Austin, Charleston, Greenwich, Sedona or even Phoenix!

Now, if I’m crazy and I missed the charm, feel free to write that in the comments. I couldn’t see everything in one trip, especially when I was trying to relax by the pool :) Your thoughts and suggestions are not only welcome, but also encouraged here!

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Find new group fitness classes around you in one click.

May 14th, 2012 2 Comments

I am a HUGE fan of group fitness classes these days because I just can’t motivate myself to go to the gym. I never thought I would feel that way, but here I am, looking for excuses every day. So, to combat this and get in a solid 1 hour workout, I carve out the time in my schedule for my trainer or a class.

GoRecess.com is a new site that instantly locateds the kind of workout you’re looking for near you. You put in the type of exercise – yoga, cardio, bootcamp, spinning, etc – your location, and the radius you are willing to drive (or even better jog or bike!). GoRecess then creates a detailed list like you see above. Such a great concept because I’m always looking for a way to change up my workout.

Also, most studios will offer their first class for free, so if you’re on a tight budget, you can jump around for a while while you save up some cash and settle on your favorite.

If you’re in one of the cities I frequent, I reccommend these studios and gyms:

New York:

SoulCycle - where I used to teach spinning
Equinox - take the 30/60/90 class
Physique 57 - Total body toning. Will get your booty tight!

Los Angeles:

Soul Cycle - just opened in WeHo!
Equinox - group classes are totally worth the membership
UpDog Fitness - for spinning and yoga. Take classes from Colin and Reilly. Meredith for yoga.
Fitness Factory - “garage” style hideout where celebs train. Sam Upton is the best!

Houston:

Fit Gym - where I teach spin
Next Level Fitness - smaller and more affordable gym. I train with Cederick and box with Jason
Joy Yoga - my favorite yoga in Houston!
Yoga One
Cura Yoga
Define - like Physique 57/barre method. Great for toning.

Atlanta:

Blast900 – most intense full body workout you’ll ever have
Eclipse 1 on 1 – training only. I love Jeff and Julius.
Stellar Bodies - SPX training
Urban Active Gym

Austin:

Pure Gym

I know I’m missing some; I can’t hit them all! Please share your favorites in the comments below. If you use GoRecess.com, let us know if you were pleased with the class you attend.

(P.S. Sorry for the blurry picture. PC’s just don’t have the same quality of screen grab as a Mac. I’ll replace it tomorrow!)

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Looking to cleanse before summer?

April 19th, 2012 No Comments

Hi Beth, here’s my post which will tell you and link you to all you need to know about cleansing! I also suggest this post which answers reader concerns.

The biggest thing you need to know is NOT to freak out when you feel hungry. Just drink more juice and you’ll find it’s more filling than you expect.

Start easting vegetarian two days before the cleanse. Schedule a colonic for day 3 (Libbe or gravity machines are the best). After the cleanse, try to eat raw and vegan for the first day, and then vegetarian for two days afterwards. And stay away from processed sugars!

BluePrintCleanse is generally the best for new cleansers. If you’re in NYC, I also love Organic Avenue because it’s a lot more hearty. Those in LA have the pleasure of the RedCarpetCleanse which has the best juices in my opinion. Read here for more on each. Recently, local cleanses are popping up. In Atlanta, you can try Arden’s Garden, which is amazingly cheap for the good quality of the juice. Houstonians can try Snap Kitchen, but I don’t like their juice line up (too much fruit, not enough veg.)

Let me know if you have any more questions!

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The New LA Restaurant Hit List

March 22nd, 2012 No Comments

As much as I love the classics (original Katsuya, Trattoria Amici, Pace, Matsuhisa, Spago, Urth, Beverly Hills Hotel, Mozza etc. See some of my recs here.), I am always seeking out the newest foodie hotspot when I visit Los Angeles.

A couple months ago I wrote “5 Restaurants That Get Locals Out of Los Angeles,” all of which would align with the “Casual City” section of bon appeitit’s “So Cal, So Good: Where to eat now in LA” list from last month’s edition.

For descriptions of these joints, read the full article here. I’ll just provide you with a quick list you can reference on the fly.

Casual City