The Lateral-Lululemon Connection

A look inside Lateral Fitness

I've walked past lululemon athletica locations enough times to note that each shop chooses a local yoga instructor to teach their weekly community classes. I've taken enough group fitness classes--and maybe even cyber-stalked the local lululemon page--to find some of their workout favorites (they'd flock to ambassador Gideon Akande's Breakfast of Champions and Shockwave classes when he was still a trainer at Equinox). Not that I wouldn't expect the lululemon employees to find the latest and greatest workouts, instructors and trainers in the city, but their studio selection for the month of May has me dancing at my desk.

Lululemon chose Lateral Fitness, the posh River North boutique gym that opened in February and would easily land on my Top Gyms list if I were to create one. Lululemon not only named them the 'studio of the month' but the 'studio of the quarter' meaning Lateral will be highlighted from now until July and their yoga instructors will be leading the free Sunday yoga class at lulu's 900 N. Michigan location.



You see, I'm a huge fan of Lateral Fitness, and not only because the owners used to train at another gym I frequented. Co-owner Erik Marthaler kicks my butt during an hour of Recruit, a high-intensity workout where you start sweating within the first minute of jumping jacks. Co-owner Scott McWilliam has me thinking about all the quirks in my body and how his MAT expertise might be able to adjust, i.e. fix, them. Reading the class descriptions on the schedule makes me hungry for more workouts, and specifically, more hard-core workouts that me and my sorry-looking muscles have been missing after skiing all winter.

Thanks to a promotion between Lateral Fitness and lululemon it sounds like I might be able feed my exercise frenzy sooner rather than later. Lululemon shared a coupon code (lulumay) to save on a Lateral Fitness workout, and Lateral Fitness announced that they'd be promoting one of their signature classes each week. Free workout? Score!

Up first: QuickFit. I don't know what I'm in for--I'm the one who'd register for a workout, then read its description--but I signed up anyway. For this girl who's desperately trying to get back on the workout wagon--a wonky back will do that to you--the 30 minutes of cardio and strength intervals sound all too perfect. And it helps that the classes are kept on the smaller side to provide more individual attention--and more modifications for me if I can't jump, run and move like I usually do. I'll report back after class,.

Until then, try QuickFit for yourselves. It's offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:15 p.m. at 314 W. Superior, Chicago.

Photo courtesy of Lateral Fitness.