6 Ways San Francisco’s fitmob Called My BS and Got Me to Work Out

In case you missed the exciting news, it’s Guest Bloggers’ Week! And today Chanda Guerin (remember her?) — a health and nutrition education masters of science candidate, food and nutrition blogger, nutrition and cooking workshop facilitator — is sharing with us the workout that changed her fit life: fitmob.

I’ve always wanted a tight, flat tummy, arms I felt great showing off in a sleeveless dress, and a great butt in skinny jeans. As a naturally small person, I’ve been able to get by with only clean eating and the occasional Saturday night dance party sweating off the week’s excess calories. And then I hit 27 and realized there’s less of those nights dancing until 3 a.m. and my tummy, arms and butt weren’t going to stay put without some work.

The problem: I hate working out, I’m not athletic by any stretch of the imagination, and I don’t have the time or money to put into a gym membership. Oh, and the idea of going to a gym gives me anxiety hives. I have the coordination of an infant learning to walk, so even putting one foot in front of another on a treadmill has resulted in skinned knees and face plants. (I wish that was an exaggeration).

Everyone had suggestions: “Oh, you should try my gym; it’s only $50 per month,” or “Come play a pick-up game of soccer!” Yeah, you’re sweet but gyms terrify and bore me, and there’s no way I could even get my foot to connect with a ball flying at me. And running? Ha, also not my thing. I was in a routine with yoga for a long time, but the membership fees went up and it became inaccessible. I had no idea when or how I could incorporate another fitness routine with full-time work, finishing a masters degree, managing a side gig as a nutritionist, and having a social life of some kind.

And then fitmob showed up in my Facebook news feed. The San Francisco-based social model fitness program called me on all of my excuses. I’ve been working out three times per week for more than a month now, and I can’t get enough. Every reason I had for hating workouts, for wondering how I could possibly make it work financially, and dreading what another birthday would do to my body was eliminated with fitmob’s setup. Here’s why …

Credit: Nicolette Amarillas

6 Reasons Why I Love fitmob

1. Motivational pricing. Memberships, personal training and workout classes were all too expensive for my student budget and were holding me back from taking care of myself physically. The fitmob pricing structure is affordable and motivating: in general, the more you go, the cheaper the per-class rate ends up being!

2. Workout spots all over the city. The locations of gyms and yoga studios have been a pain for me as a city pedestrian. I need something near work or home to make the location convenient — and clearly no reason I can’t go. There are workout meet-up locations in nearly every neighborhood of San Francisco, accessible by foot or public transit.

3. Before and after work, and weekend workouts. Lately, fitmob has added more classes at more times throughout the day. There are weekday pre-work classes and after-work classes that still allow time for happy hour. I was surprised by how great I felt after waking up an hour early to try a Friday morning class before work. Because of the convenient location near home, I was able to work out, get home to shower and walk to work. My favorite start time after work is 6:30 p.m. — I don’t have to rush off from my desk and, if I’m lucky, I have time to fit in some homework before fitness. The 6:30 p.m. time slot also means I don’t have to go home between work and workouts (because I wouldn’t muster enough energy to leave again), and there’s time for dinner and other plans post-workout.

4. Playgrounds, not gyms. I especially love that fitmob utilizes community spaces and public parks for optimal movement, creative workout routines and outdoor spaces for fresh air and sunshine. I’m not stuck on a treadmill or repeating the same movement for an hour in a sweaty small space. There’s jumping and running around, brick walls of parking lots for wall-sits and parks and playgrounds for floor ladders and jump roping.

5. Don’t stop moving. “Don’t stop moving!” is the chant one of the trainers repeats during every workout. You can modify the movement if you have physical limitations or if you’re new to fast-paced workouts, but you can’t stop moving. It’s important for trainers to recognize not everyone in the workout has the same abilities and skill level, and protect the muscles and bones of their clients. If you can’t jump into a squat or jump up for a burpee, step in and up and keep moving. It’s good to know your trainer cares about your fitness goals and body!

6. Booty shakin’ and cheerleaders. After numbers one through four got me to my first workout and number five made me feel safe and comfortable, number six keeps me coming back. There’s nothing like Beyonce bumpin’ on the speakers to make that last 30 seconds of a squat possible. Dance it out, rap along, sing at the top of your lungs — the beats keep me moving and make four minutes of Tabata a dance party. As we’re singing along to Lil’ Wayne (music dependent on the trainer), there’s also constant cheering from the trainer and fellow fitmobbers. Cheers and high-fives for finishing a workout, cheers to keep pushing through and a quiet, encouraging eye-contact cheer from the girl working out next to me when she sees I’m struggling.

I’ve made friends who encourage each other to be fit without being competitive, check in to make sure you’re coming to class and make workouts a fun, social experience. I’m officially a fitmobber and hope to try every class at least once — especially the cleverly named Weapons of Ass Reduction and Drop It Like a Squat. (Check out classes via the fitmob app.)

Have you found a workout that you love as much as I love fitmob? What makes it your perfect match? —Chanda