Workouts & Decaf

I’m the weirdo who wakes up for a 7am pilates reformer class on a Saturday in 10 degree weather and I’m the super weirdo who drinks decaffeinated lattes, only because I’m cold and obviously because I don’t need the caffeine.

I have a gym membership at LA Fitness (which was formerly Bally’s where I was a member since 1996!!) so I pay an outrageously low membership fee, like $15 a month outrageous. I normally go there to use the elliptical or treadmill and sometimes the machines and weights. My exercise routine consists of cardio, weights and core. Running was my main source of exercise until my allergies just made me so miserable that running outdoors wasn’t fun anymore. My main reason for exercise is to feel strong and when I don’t exercise, I get sluggish. As a result, I get cranky so I find that I’m a nicer person when I work out 🙂

The days when I’m not at LA Fitness, you’ll find me at a 7am reformer or mat pilates class or a studio RIP class that involves repetitive weights at a studio called Reformation Fitness in Shaw. I really enjoy the instructors because they challenge you but are also understanding that everyone isn’t at the same level of strength. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to finish a class because I know that I’m getting stronger every time. The class size is small so there’s enough personalization and I feel that I’m not lost in a group. Regulars who attend the classes have formed a community of sorts and it’s nice when you see people improve at their own pace. I’m there 2x-3xs a time so check them out if you want to give them a go!

This contraption is the Chair – you do lunges, mountain climbers, you lay on it, sit on it and all the while, it makes you have crazy glutes and a stronger core!

At the Studio RIP class, you use heavy and light weights and a resistance band – objects that I like to call weapons of mass calorie destruction – I never said that I had jokes 😉

The reformer studio where I nicknamed whatever reformer I’m on as Shenanigan because really, it’s all about having fun when you’re doing leg and arm circles.

Usually after I get out of Reformation, I go to La Colombe for a decaf latte. I enjoy coffee for the taste and for the aroma but not the caffeine. I don’t need it for a pick me up so when I do have regular coffee, I find that I’m a little jittery and a little more ADD than normal. Another great incentive is that Frenchie’s is available there and inevitably, I get some kind of pastry or two! Does that totally negate my Reformation work out?? The baristas acknowledge my decaf weirdness – I even bring my own to go cup – but fortunately, they don’t judge me for my lack of caffeine gene.

The Mister, however is a caffeine drinker. He usually has coffee in the morning and an espresso or some other kind of caffeine beverage in the afternoon. When we’re home, he makes a pot of coffee that has about 6 cups in it! I’m always asking, “who else is coming over??”. I’m so bad about making coffee that I have to ask him about the coffee/water ratio. When I hosted my Ladies Brunch for Toys for Tots, my friend Lauren W gave me a hostess gift of Compass Coffee and the Mister really enjoyed it. So after he finished the tin, we went back there to refill it!

What are your favorite places for workouts and decaf/caffeine??

Reformation Fitness
1300-1302 9th St. NW (corner of N St.)
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 813-3647

La Colombe
924 Rear N St. NW (Blagden Alley)
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 289-4850

Compass Coffee
1535 7th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001