You’d think after flying back from The Netherlands Monday night and then working all week I might’ve wanted to take it easy this weekend… but it’s me so that would just be silly.
First, I convinced my friend to join me for Trampoline Cardio Sunday morning, which is one of my new favorite workout classes. In addition to tramp cardio, I was planning to spend my Saturday training parkour, but then I saw a post on Derek Hough‘s Instagram account about an awesome community fitness event that him and sister, Julianne Hough, were putting on. Elle is going to kill me, I thought, but I tagged her anyways, “Pleeeeeaaaaase can we do this?!” She agreed. (And yes, we still went to tramp cardio the next morning which was painful but worth it!)
For those of you who don’t know Derek & Julianne Hough, here’s one of my favorite clips of the incredibly talented dancing siblings:
Amazing, right? So of course I couldn’t wait to go workout with them! These two inspire me so much. I love spontaneous decisions, group workouts, and awesome people so it was kind of a no-brainer.
Elle and I arrived early to register and find parking. There was a good crowd but not too bad – more than 50 but definitely less than 100 I think. The workout started at Pulse Fitness Studio with strength & conditioning, then we ran 2 miles (or ran / walked for 2 miles…) to get to the next workout spot – Just Dance Los Angeles. There, we danced (or tried to find our rhythm / laughed at ourselves) for the rest of the workout.
The strength & conditioning was awesome – challenging, but awesome. We split into two groups because we couldn’t all fit in the studio. I was in the outside group to begin with where we did partner workouts for 30 seconds at a time before rotating to a new station. For example, Partner A holds a plank with legs wide while Partner B does ski jumps in and out of Partner A’s legs.
Inside, we were led by Mark Harari in an ass-kicking group workout with a classic energetic, heart-pumping workout soundtrack. Derek & Julianne sweat it out alongside us, stopping only to run around the room to pump us up, shout words of encouragement, and give us high-fives as we pushed through the workout.
When it was over, we all cheered and headed out the door for the 2-mile run down the road to Just Dance. Elle and I ran the first mile and then I couldn’t quite take the heat anymore (also, I’m a wimp when it comes to running) so we walked/ran the rest of the way.
By the time we arrived at Just Dance, I was dripping sweat and panting like crazy. We were handed mini water bottles as we walked in which made me irrationally happy in the moment. I finished the water in about .2 seconds and then took a minute to breathe before jumping into the dance workout.
As I jumped in, I remembered how bad I am at dancing… I spent the entire time two steps behind, nearly (or actually) stepping on my friend’s feet, and laughing at myself as I attempted the kicks and turns, trying to follow the beat of the music. Honestly though, I didn’t care at all. I was having so much fun and sweating A LOT. Killer workout. Great vibes. Great energy. I was happy.
When it was all over, we took a group photo and Derek and Julianne said a few words before saying goodbye. They put this event together at the very last minute, posting literally the day before on social media to invite everyone to join them for the workout. In light of recent events, they wanted to create an opportunity for people to get out and move and, most importantly, to feel good. I loved their saying, motion equals emotion. How you move impacts how you feel, and I completely agree with them. When I get out to move, I feel amazing. Thanks, guys!
Post-workout with Derek Hough at the MOVE INTERACTIVE event
Ninja Girl in Training 