If you read my previous post “Pack With Me: IDEA World Blog Fest” or have been following along on my Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve spent the past four days in Los Angeles participating in a few intense workouts with the Propel Blogger Squad and celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson. I landed Wednesday afternoon and spent the rest of the day enjoying the gorgeous California weather outside by the hotel’s rooftop pool. I made sure to hit the hay early in preparation for the following day’s super early workout.
BEACH WORKOUT – DAY 1
I awoke bright and early at 4:50AM on Thursday morning and after throwing on my colorful athletic wear, headed down to the lobby where a bus took myself and the other bloggers to Santa Monica beach. I had no idea what Gunner had in store for us and felt super nervous since my primary form of fitness has always been yoga. When we pulled up to the beach parking lot and I saw Gunnar’s Hummer sitting in the middle of the space all souped up with various attachments (like battle ropes, bungee cords and resistance bands) I knew that I was in for a brutal circuit workout.
Around the vehicle were kettle bells, sandbags, weights, agility ladders and more workout equipment that I wasn’t very familiar with. After a brief run-through of what each exercise entailed, Gunnar and his assistant trainers split us up into pairs and helped us through two rounds of 9 different stations.
There was plenty of Propel Electrolyte Water on hand to fuel our workout, which of course Gunnar kept reminding us about with shouts of – “Remember to HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!”. I’m not gonna lie, I had a difficult time getting through some of the workouts but thankfully Gunnar and his team were super approachable and very patient.
The agility ladders and sandbags were my favorite, but I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the battle ropes! Props to fitness fanatics who make this exercise look easy – because I can guarantee it’s anything but.
After we finished our circuit workouts, we were able to climb all over Gunnar’s Hummer for photos and then headed to a delicious breakfast at Shutters (an adorable beachside restaurant) before making our way back to the hotel for Blog Fest. The rest of the day was spent attending various blogger sessions, venturing through the gigantic IDEA World Expo, exploring The Broad and downtown L.A. with Bay (who tagged along for the trip) and then an evening dinner and drinks with a few of the bloggers.
EXPO WORKOUT – DAY 2
I woke up Friday morning feeling sore yet surprisingly pumped for the next workout. This time Gunnar was leading a workout in the IDEA World Exhibition Hall with about a hundred participants, myself and the Propel bloggers included.
This may have been the most intense hour workout in my life – with over 4 different “quadrants” that consisted of about 4-5 different exercises each. Gunnar and his team had us jumping, planking, lunging, crunching, pulling on resistance bands, running and sweating like crazy. There was a whole section that one of his trainers called “a** domination”… so you can only imagine what my glutes and thighs felt like afterwards.
Thankfully, I managed to get through the whole thing with lots of laughs and very sore abs. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the Propel bloggers, meeting up with an insta-friend for alcoholic bubble tea in West Hollywood and deep-fried Oreos in Koreatown, lounging by the pool, and having drinks with the Propel bloggers at our hotel’s rooftop restaurant.
Overall, I had such an awesome experience and feel so grateful to have met so many like-minded, amazing women. Be sure to follow my fellow Propel blogger ladies to see more pics from the conference: Evann / Aly / Gwen / Whitney /Rachael
Check back this Friday as I detail my experience at another workout with Propel in NYC. Until then, sending you lots of love!
*Note: This post was sponsored by Propel. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible! ~ Mel
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