Extra Fries ... Mmm ... I mean Exercise : How to stay fit while traveling

When it comes to food, I have pretty much zero discipline, especially when traveling. I mean am I really expected to say no to a buttery flaky French croissant while in Paris or fatty yummilicious lamb chops while in Tunisia or scrumptious pasta covered with burrata in Italy? I mean it would basically be offensive to the culture to do that, right? 

So how do I stay fit being a French Fries and Cupcake lover and a travel addict? Trust me it’s not my metabolism. I wish I was that girl. But I am not. I am the normal kind of girl, the kind of girl who gains weight and has to workout to lose it. So here is my secret: I workout extra hard at home, so I never have to say no when I am abroad. I make up for all those “cheat weeks days" before they happen, and luckily, I found a studio that has super fun classes and make me love my workouts. 

But Don’t mistake fun for easy. 

There is nothing easy about Barre, Pilates, Pound, Yogajam, SpiritFit or PopFit. I am drenched in sweat almost just as much in each of these classes, but I do love them and lucky for me, Shine Studio  is conveniently located exactly 3 miles from my home in Cali.

It's hard to say which class is my outmost favorite or which one is the hardest because honestly they are all fun and they all challenge me in different ways. Barre is a choreographed mix of ballet and cardio with weights. Add ankle weights and you are really in for a treat. Pilates is a mix of cardio and floor Pilates. Awesome for lengthening my body. Yogajam is pretty self explanatory. Yoga and music and a lot of abs and sweat in between. Fantastic for my back.

But I think Pound and PopFit are very close to being my two favorites. 

Pound is excellent to let go of any frustration or anger you are feeling without getting arrested. You are basically pounding on the floor with two ripsticks while doing intense cardio and squatting a LOT. And amazingly the instructor Yaya is able to smile and make you smile throughout most of it even though it is super intense.

I broke my first Ripstick three days ago!

And PopFit is a fun, but challenging, dance routine that Hillary choreographs every week to keep us on our toes. Usually, by class 3, I kind of have the routine down and by class 4, it’s a new routine and I am back to step 1, aka being lost, but I love it. 

It also doesn’t suck that the studio has yellow walls, my favorite color and that all the instructors and girls who workout at Shine are cool. No make up and snobs here. Just fun girls and fun times.

Every second Friday of the month, we get to workout and have some bubbles 

So if you are lucky enough to live around South Bay, your life is pretty easy. All you have to do is click here and sign up to try a class and fall in love with it (you can thank me later.)
PS: —  they are running an awesome unlimited special for first time peeps  or you can just try one class for $10. I personally went for the unlimited first time special for $79 and never looked back.

Now if you live in another state or continent, then start googling all the classes I have mentioned and find the right studio for you to go shine at.

As Hillary and Yaya say: We don’t sweat, we shine 😉 #ShineSociety

What did you do today to celebrate Fitness day? 

And no I didn't get paid for this. I am a travelblogger, but since its Fitness Day, I figured I would share with you how to stay fit at home so you don't have to say no to creme brûlée in Paris or Gelato in Rome or another Baklava in Istanbul.

EAT WELL, TRAVEL OFTEN, TAKE PICTURES 

SARA