• +24 Superheroes

I'm totally looking forward to taking a break from biking tomorrow :)
Biked to the gym today. It didn't feel like I was going that slow, but my average speed when I got there was really slow. I think that's a combination of the heat and the fact that my legs hate me right now. I took BodyArt at the gym but really all I wanted to do was lie on the floor and stay there. On the way home I stopped for brunch at Sun in Bloom, it's a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn and it's really good. Then, because I told my friend we would bike in Prospect Park today because I canceled last night, I went to the park. We did 3 loops of the park. The surprising thing was that as slow as I was (and I was slow), she was slower. I guess that means I'm stronger than I think I am. I also stopped into a bike shop today to try some single speed bikes. I love them. The bike I tried had drop bars. I never used drop bars before, so it took a little getting used to. I noticed a difference in the weight between that bike and mine right away. And the hill I went up was easy. I want a new bike!

Oh, and can anyone who's doing the Thousands challenge tell me how they are counting their side planks?

• +20 Superheroes

National bike to work day. It meant there was free breakfast when I got off the bridge. Also that there were so many more bikers than usual.

• +30 Superheroes

I was supposed to take Bi-Polar today. Marc was teaching hip hop (the class before bi-polar), but I guess he had to leave early for something because Brooke was teaching. I wasn't in the mood for that. So I went upstairs to work on the thousands. I met Marc there stretching. Then I also met Buffin foam rolling. We had a chat about SW, thousands, and the upcoming trainer vs trainer challenge. I didn't get too far with the thousands, but at least I got my first dips done.

• +8 Superheroes

I had a scary episode this morning on my bike commute to the gym. The driver of an Access-a-ride opened her door as I was coming down the street. In my mind I saw myself hitting the door and flipping off the bike. I moved out of the way just in time and just my handlebar knocked into the door. But it was really scary and I was shaking for the next few blocks. The rest of my day went fine. BodyArt was good. Today was more stretching than usual, which I always need. On my way home I stopped into the bike expo for the 5 boro bike tour. I am not doing the tour this year but for the first time they had an expo with vendors and information. It was fun and I got to bike on the East River path which I never do.

• +10 Superheroes

Mile High Club: we started with the Fat Burn setting for warm up. Next we had to run a mile at 4.0 incline. I am sore from yesterday and had to walk parts of it. When each person finished their mile we had to pair up and do four shuffles across the gym. Then run another mile at 2.0 incline beating the previous time. I didn't finish the 2nd mile. It was so hard for me to run.
TRX: This is my last TRX class for a while. Fall semester starts on Friday so instead of the gym I'll be sitting in Ecology class on Wednesday mornings (only because it's a required class). All the squat things were painful to do because of my bike soreness.
Buff Yoga: I will still take this class regularly because on Wednesdays my schedule ends for the day at 11:35am. There were only about 10 people in class today and every so often Jess would stop and wait for me to catch up with everyone.

• +30 Superheroes

I haven't been taking as much yoga since Jess stopped teaching the Monday class and Krystal noticed a difference. She said I should be taking the class with Carl. But I took yoga yesterday and this morning I wasn't in the mood for a 90-minute class and I don't really like Carl's class. So I didn't go there and took STAR Treatment instead.

• +30 Superheroes

Because I didn't think I would have any real workouts while in LA I figured I would just write one general post when I got back. But today deserves its own post. In the last 2 1/2 years that I have been a Crunch member I have been to LA about 6-7 times and I never made it to their LA location. Until today. It is so weird driving to the gym. Everyone parks in the parking lot-which btw was $10.50 for an hour and a half, insane-and then takes the elevator to the escalator to get to the gym which is in a mall. When I got there I asked about classes and the guy at the front said there was a spin class and a bootcamp-like class. My friend didn't want to take spin so we went to the other class. Crunch LA has a HUGE (spacious) locker room. That was the only part of it I saw aside from the group fitness room. The class: as soon as I got in there I could tell it was very different from NYC. Completely different vibe, not as interactive as NYC. We needed a mat, step with two risers, body bar, and really light weights. The instructor got started right away and said he is not nice, his job is to be mean, and make you work, there are no breaks, and he won't be insulted if you walk out. We started by running up and down the step which seems like it's easy enough but I was having a hard time with it and when he said to do it with your arms up my shoulders were in so much pain. My friend tried to leave after the first 5 mins. He told her to stay. She stayed another 10 mins before walking out. I stayed. We did at least 10 planks. The break between exercises was running up and down the step. Every time he saw me slowing down he would come sit down next to my step and just watch me which of course would make me go faster. It was an insane class. The instructor is insane. He was yelling the entire time, running around, punching the air. Definitely an experience. I introduced myself after class. He said his name is Adam and again explained to me why he has to be mean in class. He agreed that people work out differently on the east and west coasts. Then he went over to my friend and asked why she walked out. She said she has a cold and felt like she couldn't do it. He said that's not a reason to leave. I guess now I can't complain when a class is too hard for me now because it's never been as hard as this one. The rest of my numbers are just general pushups/crunches, etc. I've been doing randomly throughout my vacation.