Austin Weekend

Downtown Austin (Westin hotel lobby)

I just spent a weekend in Austin with old friends and it was really fun. We all flew in from different cities around the country to catch up while hanging out somewhere new. We stayed in an Airbnb downtown and nearly all our activities were chosen thanks to recommendations from friends and colleagues...

Life Lately: F is for Fog

Is it fall?

#Fogust Activities: As summer wraps up I've been enjoying myself around San Francisco - riding a bike through Crissy Field and over the Golden Gate Bridge over to Sausalito, cheering on the Giants at home games, and hanging out at the Pistahan festival. Some days I have to wait a little longer for the fog to burn off to see the summer sun, and sometimes my outfit screams more autumn than summer, but overall it's a champagne problem, so I'll take it.

Finding (or Faking) Balance: NYMag's "How I Get It Done" series featured San Francisco's own Audrey Cooper, editor-in-chief of the Chronicle. My favorite quote:

“Gosh, you look really tired,” and I’m just like, "No, I’m just not wearing eyeliner." - NYMag

Food: I've fallen in love with these pancakes that need just 2-ingredients: eggs and bananas. They are ridiculously easy to make and are just sweet enough that you don't need syrup on them, either - though of course you may still want the syrup. I make a couple days' worth of breakfasts and reheat them each morning for a protein-packed meal. The recipe gets points for being Whole30 compliant, too. Check it out over on The Kitchn. 

Finances: This article on how Hillary Clinton became the breadwinner early on in her family life was something I really appreciated, in the sense that she wanted them to have security and wasn't just relying on someone else to fulfill or provide for that need. I'm sure a lot of people have a complicated relationship with money, though fortunately they won't all have to be written about in a major newspaper.

On a less serious note, I heard a great story from a Bay Area couple with kids. They were in a store buying sports equipment for one of them, but one of the items wouldn't scan correctly and the mom was investigating via her smart phone what the correct price should be. But her kid, frustrated at how long it was taking, insisted that they just buy it at whatever price since, as the kid said, "Mom, we are perfectly wealthy!" We were all howling. The mom, of course, did find the right price online, and the store honored it.

Workouts & Wellness: a ClassPass Review

one of my favorite stretches

Like many social media sites/apps/other tech innovations, it's almost hard to believe that ClassPass has been around for only a few years. The gym pass subscription service was started in 2013 by a couple genius women who understood that people want the variety available with all these specialty workout classes springing up, but may not want to be tied down to one boutique studio at a time (the post from Ignite Your Health is good to keep in mind). "Wellness" is a booming business now in addition to just being an all around healthy concept for your life.

Last month, there was an awesome promo and I finally took the opportunity to sign up. The deal for the 10-class edition for the Bay Area (normally $115 but $30 for 1 month with the promo) was too good to pass up. To quote a friend's usual joke, "You can't afford not to buy it!"

My recent exercise regimen has been jogging and weekend Pilates, so I used ClassPass to extend this to other types of exercises. Turns out the website is an amazing search engine for gyms, boutique studios and classes - I knew San Francisco was into fitness but on ClassPass I found so many studios I'd never heard of before. The studios and classes I attended were:

• Core 40 - 1 Foundation class
• BodyRok - 1 Sculpt class
• FightFit Training Center - 1 Krav Maga class, women only
• Row Club - 2 classes: RowGa (rowing & yoga) and regular rowing
• Body Chemistry - 1 Pilates class... but I've gone to this studio a lot, so it was out of habit, not exploration
• Rogue & Saint - 1 Board to Ball, cross-training class
• OMpower - 1 TRX class

Now that was only 8 classes, because I went to 2 other classes outside of ClassPass: another Pilates class at Body Chemistry with a friend and also, my very first Soul Cycle class, which I went to with a bunch of friends, including a couple other newbies - endorphin addiction is best shared, after all.

How did I pick the first batch of classes? Since I enjoy "regular" Pilates, I wanted to try Core40 and BodyRok on their megaformers. I'd always wanted to learn rowing, since one machine provides a full body workout. The cross-training class at Rogue & Saint was pretty cool and it had been a while since I last took a TRX class, which I really like. Finally, I chose the Krav Maga class so I could start learning something practical, too. All the classes were fast-paced and challenging, and while I would want to pay more attention to form and technique as I go on, the classes would be good cardio and strength-training sessions.

It wasn't always easy making it to class - but it's just a fact of life now that you really do have to schedule time for yourself and for your workouts, and not just watch celebs work out on Snapchat. It was fun trying out so many places, but since I am also running more often now and have some travel coming up, I put my ClassPass membership on hold for August ($19/mo to hold). At first I was incredulous that I had to pay for the hold, or risk a hefty reactivation fee, but then I realized the $19 "hold" still allows one class for the month. That was reasonable enough for me, although, if and when I do cancel ClassPass, the reactivation fee pretty much deters me from ever coming back. But for now I do plan to come back, and I'll just switch to the 5-class model afterward to accommodate my own non-ClassPass workout plans. Accommodation - another fact of life.

I've written before how I like switching up my workouts, so I think ClassPass can make that easier. I could see myself eventually settling on one or two studios, however, once I find the instructors I like best and the schedules that mesh with mine. I've gone through periods of busyness/laziness when it comes to fitness, but over the past few months I've tried to be more consistent and I've noticed results in my health and energy, so I'm using ClassPass to leverage this momentum. Any class or workout suggestions are most welcome in the comments.

tl:dr: Pros of ClassPass: good search feature; access to a variety of studios; pricing can be good if you're going to utilize it; month-to-month flexibility in changing membership level; ... Cons: limited in how many times you go to one studio each month; frequently being 'new' at studios; learning the styles of new instructors; watch the pricing, beware of the class cancellation and reactivation fees