Recently, I got the chance to try out The Bay Club for a couple of weeks.
Not familiar or from The Bay Area/California?
The Bay Club is a fitness and lifestyle club - think classes, gym, basketball, pool, restaurants, spa - everything. They even have happy hour and wine-tasting events. (Emphasis: wine-tasting.)
I tried out a private Pilates class, did a few workouts, drank several smoothies, and, best part - I got a massage.
OMG.
I (clearly) don't get massages often enough. Which is changing, immediately.
After my incredible masseuse lead with "Were you a competitive gymnast or something? Because your body should not be in the state that you're in", I knew I was in trouble. I have knots in-between my ribs. (To note: I've since been doing yoga 3x a week and it's made a huge difference - which is a post for another day.)
In looking at my current fitness routine, it's um, A LOT. I go to SoulCycle quite a bit, I run, I walk... oh and until recently, I didn't really stretch or go to yoga. I also sit at a computer or am on my phone a lot (such is doing social media professionally) and am known to carry tension in my shoulders.
Whoops?
Natasha told me two very important things I can be doing to help my muscles, my body and my current state-of-being:
1) STRETCH. Every day. Like a minute per muscle.
2) BREATHE. When you stretch, the deeper you breathe, the more oxygen gets to your muscles, and the better it is for your body.
Also, DRINK WATER. But I'm essentially a camel and guzzle enough for half of San Francisco.
My massage was 60-minutes and I walked out just so blissed out.
I woke up beyond sore the next morning but hey, worth it. YOLO.
The club is beautiful - I love it. The locker rooms are clean and spacious. It's huge and never that crowded and the machines are great. There's wi-fi (hello Hulu while I run!) and even a reformer to mess around on when I needed some extra ab work. (Sidebar: I'm a certified Pilates instructor - maybe don't jump on a machine you don't know how to use without proper instruction.)
Thanks for having me BayClub - see you soon!