Elevated Fitness

Today I’m joining in with Raven and Kristen for their new Inspire Me: Healthy link-up as I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk about something that has become a big part of my life over the last two months–our new gym!

This pic is from their website

In the beginning of June, a new gym opened here in South Lake Tahoe called Elevated Fitness. I saw their ads on Facebook and was intrigued by their website and the fact that they were a carbon-neutral gym. I am very interested in things that are eco-friendly (hence the “green” in the title of my blog!) and since my hubby is a tree-hugging Oregonian (kidding…sort of), I knew that we had to check this place out. Conveniently, it’s only located about 10 minutes from our house which is honestly such a godsend because not having a gym close by is something that has really bugged me about Tahoe since we moved here. Most of the gyms in the area are a good 20-30 minutes from our house and that makes it tough to make it a regular part of your routine when you have to factor in an hour commute! I’m someone that really enjoys being active and having an outlet to workout as I feel like it’s just something I need to do for my physical and mental health, so I was absolutely thrilled to have a brand-new gym open so close by. 

Elevated Fitness is not a chain, but it was started by this couple David and Bridget, and it’s totally different from any gym I’ve ever been to. First of all, they both have extensive personal training backgrounds and really know what they’re talking about and give you a lot of personal attention. Second, there are no traditional cardio machines like treadmills or ellipticals as those use tons and tons of energy so they do not fit in with the green model they have for their gym. Instead they have all sorts of different pieces of equipment like monkey bars/pull-up bars, TRX straps, kettlebells, sandbags, big tires, and other torture devices (kidding…not really). They also have spin bikes, however, their spin bikes all have generators on them so you actually create electricity while you’re pedaling and the electricity that’s created is greater than what the gym uses…hence, carbon-neutral. They used a lot of recycled and eco-friendly materials in the construction of the gym, and I love that they’re conscious of the planet.

These are Viprs and we use them for burpees, all different kinds of squats, and other exercises

As for the workouts? They are challenging and full of variety! They offer two types of circuit style classes, Strength and Conditioning. Strength class focus on doing circuits with heavier weight and is a rep based class, where as Conditioning uses lighter weights and is a time based class where you do an exercise for 30-60 seconds and then rest for 20-30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise in the circuit. I love that the classes are always different, and the exercises incorporate all the muscles in your body instead of just working on specific part giving you a better, more efficient workout. And because they also offer spin classes, and I like to mix those in from time to time as well and it’s nice to have that option. 

Plug-out spin bikes that generate power!

The of the opening of this gym actually came at a perfect time for Cam and I in our quest to get healthier this year. When the gym opened, we had been eating Paleo for a few months, but were not really working out too much. As you may or may not know, many people who eat Paleo also do Crossfit (you can check out this article for more info) and so Cam and I had been toying with the idea of checking out Crossfit as well. However, the Crossfit gym in Tahoe is really far from our house and really expensive, so we were a little hesitant. It was right around this time that Elevated opened, and it just seemed like a much better option for us so we went ahead and joined that instead. From what I know about Crossfit from friends and other bloggers, there are a lot things about Elevated Fitness that are similar–both workouts incorporate a lot of functional movement training, exercises are scalable to an individuals fitness level, and the workouts vary from day to day. However, Elevated definitely has a different approach than a typical Crossfit “Box” in that there are no scores, you’re not timed, and you’re not competing against your fellow gym-goers. I know Crossfit has a much more competitive element that some people love, but Elevated is more about everyone pushing themselves individually while really focusing on doing each move with correct form. David and Bridget walk around all class and are constantly adjusting form in order to help prevent injury, and that personal attention is one of the things I really love about the classes. And I like that there isn’t the pressure of having the amount of weight I lifted or the amount of reps I did compared with everyone else in class.

My other favorite thing about Elevated? The fact that it’s something that Cam and I both really enjoy and can do together! This is seriously a first for us when it comes to working out. Sure we both enjoy hiking and skiing, but when it comes to the gym, we could never really get in to the same things. Cam never wanted to go running or take group fitness classes, and I was never interested in playing basketball or other sports with him since every time we tried my lack of coordination lead to me getting hit in the face with the ball and running out of the gym crying. (I wish that were a joke, but it’s actually happened multiple times…what can I say, sports are not my thing!) But we both really love both the circuit and the spin classes at Elevated and it’s great to be able to go together.

I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my muscle tone and overall fitness since joining Elevated in the beginning of June and I’m excited to keep making progress! For me, the whole point of going to a gym like Elevated and trying to eat Paleo most of the time is really about trying to be healthy and do what’s best of my body…and if I get in great shape in the process, so be it! One really nice thing that they do for their members is once a month they do a functional movement screen and a body composition analysis for you. The movement screen analyzes your movement patterns to identify areas that you might need to work on improving your form or gaining more extension in certain parts of your body, while the body composition assesses not just your weight but a bunch of other things about your body including your body fat %, your water levels in your body, your muscle mass, and other areas. Cam and I both did our body composition screens last night before our Conditioning class, and the results were really interesting and we both got printouts of our results (that may or may not be hanging on the fridge). While my weight, BMI, and body fat % were all within healthy ranges for my height, I was a little shocked at how high my body fat % was! I realize that women have significantly more body fat than men, but still, it’s something I’d like to bring down a little bit. That’s my goal now and in doing this, my weight very well may stay the same which is totally fine. But that’s what I thought was so cool about the body composition analysis is that it goes beyond just the number on the scale to give you a more in-depth picture of your health. I’d just like the ratio of muscle to fat to a little better, and I was able to talk to Bridget (who is also a nutritionist) about things I can do to work on it. I love that I can keep getting assessed each month to see how my body composition is changing, and I’m excited to continue seeing progress and getting stronger!

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This ended up being a much longer post than I anticipated, but I’ve been meaning to talk about our new gym and how much we love it for awhile now! I still 100% believe that diet is absolutely crucial to how you look and feel, because you can’t eat like crap and then think you’re just going to go work it off…that’s not how it works! At the same time, I think that working out and breaking a sweat multiple times a week is so important to your overall health and well-being, and I thankful that we’ve found a great place to do that here in Tahoe! Xoxo