While I pride myself on living an active lifestyle, I can admit to things becoming a bit stagnant over the winter. Now it’s time to break out the sneakers and hit the ground running though. Spring has sprung folks, and that means Summer waits just around the corner. Luckily in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are fortunate to have a host of classes and parks that double as gyms waiting in our backyards.
Orange Theory Fitness
If you like numbers and accountability, this is the spot for you. You track your progress throughout the class stats board at the front of the class. If your slack – there’s no hiding it in this place. Let that pressure push you throughout your workout. As Cassandra Pisone says, “You’ll bring your heart rate up on their treadmills, rowers, and TRX and free weight circuits to push yourself to a workout of epic proportions. Their FiDi location is perfect for those who work downtown and want to sneak in a lunchtime workout—or blow off steam after a long day at the office.”
Workout on the Hill
With all this nice weather, I would be remiss if I didn’t include at least one outdoor workout class. Not to mention we also have our fair share of hills. That’s what makes Workout on the Hill a perfect San Francisco workout regimen. If you like variety, it’s great because as described here, the class “combines professional lifestyle coaching with a variety of changing fitness classes in Bernal Heights, including endurance cardio, yoga, circuit training, cardio boxing, and weight training.” The diverse boot camp also includes coaching and a community to support you on your fitness journey, which is great for people who need a little added accountability.
Salt
Since opening, this gym hotspot received a lot of love and buzz. Don’t let Salt’s soft exterior fool you though. It pushes subscribers to their limits with fun, smoothly choreographed classes. They specialize in a full-body workout, aiming to hit on every muscle group. As Katie Sweeney says, “Founder Melissa Boyd’s signature class is Barre Fight and it’s a fantastic fusion of cardio kickboxing and barre work. The cool thing is the 60-minute workout flows like a dance class. You start with a warm-up that includes difficult plank holds, move to a 12-minute energetic choreographed boxing routine, transition to a traditional barre set, and finish the class with a final high intensity interval cardio push, core, and cool down.”
If these don’t sound quite your speed or if you just want to try them all, you should check out class pass. While it’s not a workout, it gives you access to a whole host of options.