Hi there, I’m back!  

The blog was unexpectedly quiet for a few days last week.  

There’s a lot going on in my world right now but I’ll do my best not to go into shut down mode again.

 

So let me tell you about one of my latest adventures…

 

Jamba Juice, Blend in the Good, JambaFit

Last week I was invited to the 4th Annual Jamba Juice #JambaFit FiTrends Expo Event at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica.  It was a great day of nutrition, education and fitness with some bloggy friends and fitness legends.

 

Jamba Juice, FiTrends Expo

Yes, that is THE Venus Williams AND “Body By Jake” on the schedule!

 

For me, it’s always a joy to actually get a chance to meet other bloggers IRL.  I was happy to get this photo with Katy@JoyLaughterSweatMonica@RunEatRepeat, my #dirrtydozen Ragnar teammate, Gillian@That’sG, and a Friday’s Featured Female, Tiffany@RunningHutch before the busy day began.

Healthy Living Bloggers, JambaFit, Jamba Juice, FiTrends Expo

Katy, Monica, Me, Gillian, Tiffany

The day began with a quick warm up with Venus Williams – who was tall, lithe and gorgeous.

 

Venus Williams, Jamba Juice, FiTrends Expo, JambaFit

 

Then we moved on to Pound!  I’ve written about how much I loved the Pound class I took at #FitSocial in Colorado.  This full body cardio workout is like a choreographed drumming session with 1/2 pound weighted drum sticks.  It was a treat to take the class with the gorgeous founders of the workout, Kirsten and Cristina.  I met these ladies at the FitExpo in January and it was lovely to see them again.

 

Pound, JambaFit

Kirsten and Cristina of Pound demonstrating technique and Tiffany giving great face.

 

Next, we had a taste test of 4 of Jamba Juice’s newest Freshly Squeezed Juices –  Citrus Kick (orange and spicy), Tropical Greens ( this was my favorite – I could taste the pineapple most), Veggie Harvest  (I liked the beet taste) and Great Greens (to me this was the epitome of green tasting).  

 

JambaTaste

We followed up the taste test with some information from Carol Chen about what goes into Research & Development to meet the Jamba Juice mission “to inspire and simplify healthy living”.

 

JambaCarol

 

Next, we had a workout session with Pop Physique.  Pop Physique is a barre-type class that focuses on a lot of lower body tucking and ball squeezing with the legs.  With my history of a weak lower back, this workout wasn’t my favorite – although I’ll admit that I laughed a lot during the workout.

 

My blogger buddy, Lindsay@FitandAwesome, was near me on the floor during the workout and I think we both found the class amusing.

 

Pop physique, Jamba Juice, FiTrends Expo

 

After all of that working out, we got a chance to eat lunch and learn some fitness insights from Venus and Jake “Body By Jake” Steinfeld.  It was comforting to hear a Brooklyn accent in the house (thank you Jake).

It was great to put a human face on healthy eating and exercise – Venus hates doing planks (and eating broccoli) and Jake gets up at 3:45 every morning to do his workout routine!  Listening to these two well-known fitness personalities reminds you that sticking to a healthy eating and living routine is hard – no matter who you are!

 

Jake and Venus

 

The last two workouts of the day definitely continued the element of fun in cardio and strength training.

 

Whoever would have thought that hula hooping would be a workout?  Not me, but Gabriella Redding developed Hoopnotica in 2006 and has used it to help her lose 60 lbs after the birth of her second child.  Hoopnotica is about bringing the fun and play back into the fitness arena and Gabriella certainly made that apparent – she was not only hoopnotic, she was hypnotic.

 

Hoopnotica

Hoopnotica brings forth a fun spirit about that makes want to try to hula hoop and have fun no matter what.  I smiled the entire time while I was attempting keep that weighted hula hoop around my waist.  Hoopnotica has DVD’s available and classes in Venice and I’d dare say that Gabriella might be worth the battle against crosstown LA traffic!

 

 

Hoopnotica

 

We were at the beach so why wouldn’t you end a day with a surfing workout?  I was super excited to try SURFSET Fitness – a mechanized surfboard with rubber pulleys to help utilize bodyweight to help mimic the side-to-side balance required for a real surfing experience.  This workout was the shortest – only 10 minutes – and I wanted more!  A complete SURFSET class is 45 minutes long and is aimed to provide some cardio while promoting the building of lean muscle, balance and core strength.  My weak core could use all of the above.

 

Surfset Fitness, Jamba Juice, FiTrends Expo

 

The day ended with an opportunity to take photos with Venus, a generous gift bag and the opportunity to take as many fresh fruits and vegetables as we wanted from the gorgeous display (as seen in the pictures with Carol Chen and Venus and Jake).  It was definitely a fun day of nutrition, fitness and fun.  Thank you Jamba Juice for wonderful day!

 

Venus Williams, Jamba Juice

Venus is an entire foot taller than me at 6′ 1″.

 

For some of my other friends recaps on this great day, see Gillian@That’sG, Monica@RunEatRepeat or Katy@JoyLaughterSweat.  If you have a recap, be sure to let me know and I’ll add it (many people took much better photos than I did).

 

Disclaimer:  I was invited to this event and received juice samples, the 4 fitness classes mentioned and a gift bag from Jamba Juice.  I was not monetarily compensated for this post nor was I under any obligation to write about this experience.  All opinions are my own. 

I’m a strong believer in eating your fruits and vegetables rather than drinking them but I’m human and do occasionally drink juices in moderation for pleasure (not for cleansing or detox purposes).  Are you a juice drinker and if so, how often do you drink juice and what’s your favorite?