Two intrepid runner/writers. One race. Your inside peek at the lives and workouts of the LAist Nike+ Human Race Team. LAist Contributors Melissa Moore and Angel Magana talk all about it. Photo by Hamed Saber via Flickr Name: Melissa Most recent 5K (3.1 mile) time: 25.4 Years running: 18 Miles per week: 15-20 Age: 31 Fitness level: Intermediate Shoe: Adidas Normal terrain: Pavement with some trail work Even the best runners find themselves, at times,......

Undoubtedly, some of the best things about living in Los Angeles are our varied terrain, eclectic architecture, landmarks, and fascinating history. That's why when you've hit treadmill and Stairmaster burnout and can't take another day of watching Montel on closed captioning in your gym, taking things outside and into the city's beautiful hills can be a welcome respite from workout drudgery. One great workout walk combines the best of the city with some kick-ass cardio--and......

Today's edition of LAist's Workout Wednesday series was submitted to us by Lori Allen. Need a fast fix to squeeze into those skinny jeans and show off a shapelier rear in time for summer? If so, sign up to take a class at the Bar Method. The exercise program, originated by San Francisco resident Burr Leonard, is based on exercises developed more than 50 years ago by the late German dancer Lotte Berk. The program......

“Good MORNinnnnng!” calls out the voice of trainer Jenna Phillips in the Tuesday sunshine. It’s my first Mission: Possible training session and I’m meeting her, along with several other “agents” at the intersection of Vista and Franklin Avenues in Hollywood for a 90-minute group workout in Runyon Canyon. Phillips has been taking advantage of the Southern California landscape and using it as her gym for the past year. Besides Runyon Canyon, sessions also occur......

With year-round great weather, awesome beaches, and a short drive to the snow, Los Angeles is the perfect place to get sweaty. This weekend's LA Marathon inspired a lot of people to get back in shape. We're right around the corner from May (national fitness month) and summer (the season of svelte). Of course, any workout routine can leave you stuck in a rut. Tired of staring at the same person's ass in spin class?......

I’m a sucker for natural scenery. I like a vast blue sky, a sparkling snow-capped mountain, a breezy sprawling plain. But around Hollywood where I live, I find that exercising in the outdoors often means kicking up dust and breathing in smog, only to take in the beautiful sights of dried out vegetation and dog poop. So when my boyf told me that there’s a place in Pasadena that we could hike to a......

I’ve always been a worker-outer. But lately, as I’ve spent more and more time on the cardio machines at 24 Hour Fitness, I can’t shake feeling that I’m just a hamster on a wheel in a vicious human experiment. To combat my paranoia and possibly find a mentally healthier hobby, I’ve decided to scope out what else LA has to offer in a weekly series, “Fitness for the Easily Bored.” So far, I've explored......

I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions – it just seems like paving the way to letting myself down sometime mid-February. Besides, if I can’t stick to something in, say, June, why would I be able to stick to it in January? But Nike is hoping to push those folks who have fitness-oriented aspirations to stick with it, and is hosting two more “Resolution Runs” this month; tonight (pending weather), and next Thursday,......

Los Touristas de Whittier, Winners of the Stay Puft League's Season Finals I’ve always been a worker-outer. But lately, as I’ve spent more and more time on the cardio machines at 24 Hour Fitness, I can’t shake feeling that I’m just a hamster on a wheel in a vicious human experiment. To combat my paranoia and possibly find a mentally healthier hobby, I’ve decided to scope out what else L.A. has to offer in......

I’ve always been a worker-outer. But lately, as I’ve spent more and more time on the cardio machines at 24 Hour Fitness, I can’t shake feeling that I’m just a hamster on a wheel in a vicious human experiment. To combat my paranoia and possibly find a mentally healthier hobby, I’ve decided to scope out what else LA has to offer in a weekly series, “Fitness for the Easily Bored.” Today, I begin with:......

Photo by Ryan Jesena in his Photo Essay of Burning Man 2007 2007 was a year of incredible growth for LAist. Us, the writers, you, the readers, found and discovered much of Los Angeles and we look forward to even more in 2008 with more hyperlocal coverage, more neighborhood explorations, more local news, more arts and events and more food (got suggestions? e-mail zach(@)laist.com). The most recommended story of the year was Malingering's CrossFit......

...and then America pants and wheezes after half a block The state fitness data released yesterday found that LAUSD students "are less physically fit than the state average" (Daily News). There's no surprise in that. But you have to admit, it's really lame. We live in California for heaven sakes! This isn't flatland cornfield Illinois where gym class is a required five days a week, kindergarten through senior year (and that state still has......

Monday Paul Krugman discusses The Conscience of a Liberal 7pm @ Central Library Randy Cepuch signs A Weekend With Warren Buffett 4pm @ Dutton's Jenna Bush presents Ana's Story 7pm @ Pasadena Public Library Jason Goodwin discusses and signs The Snake Stone 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Wole Soyninka discusses his work with Mona Simpson 7pm @ Hammer Museum Eduardo Machado & Michael Domitrovich present Tastes Like Cuba 7pm @ Book Soup Maira Kalman discusses &......

I went to my introductory session with Andy Petranek one morning while taking a "sick day" at work. I had been searching for a gym that taught Crossfit, a special brand of fitness recommended to me by a friend. I e-mailed Andy to ask about the class schedule, and next thing I knew I was in my workout clothes and standing in the alley between 14th and 15th Streets in Santa Monica wondering what......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

When we heard that a Georgia couple were sentenced to prison yesterday for the death-by-vegan-diet of their infant son, we got a little bit pissed off: "DAMN VEGANS and their DAMN DIETARY RESTRICTIONS! Now they're killing babies, what's next?? Muzzling tigers so they can't hunt their prey? De-fanging sharks so they can't devour fish? Ruining Christmas???" Then we calmed down a bit and took a closer look at the story: the baby's death was......

Last year, when the Amgen Tour of California cycling race finished in Redondo Beach, Floyd Landis was the golden boy in the golden jersey, the winner of the seven-stage race down the California coast. A couple months later he went on to win the Tour d’ France. Sort of. He crossed the finish line first but may have had a little help from a needle in doing so. Landis says that is not the......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,......

UK supermarket giant Tesco was pressured to take down a link to a stripper pole after a mother of two discovered the item in the Toys and Games section of the Tesco web site. “I’m no prude, but any children could go on there and see it," the 33 year old mother from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire told a newspaper, the Sun UK reported. A spokesperson for Tesco said that the link will remain in......

LAist was on the road last weekend – to the OC and Laguna Beach. While we didn’t run into Kristin Cavalleri and company, we did manage to have a good time despite the fact that we’re a) not rich; b) not blonde and c) not driving a 7 Series. Now, here’s a good tip if you want to do a relaxing summer getaway to Laguna: Stay in Irvine. Most of the hotels in Laguna......

Men's Fitness magazine announced the top 25 fittest and fattest cities in America. Baltimore (huh?) beat out cities like Honolulu, Colorado Springs, Tucson, San Francisco and Seattle to claim the top spot. Where did LA rank in the top 25 fittest, you ask? Well, it didn't. It made the other list. The city of supermodels -- a/k/a liposuction central -- ranked as the third fattest city in America, only topped by Chicago and Las......

LAist isn't one of local sites that slams The Los Angeles Times on a regular basis and we don't want to minimize the significance of our Governor seemingly having a very high-value conflict of interest but is his relationship with Wieder Publications really worth the main lead of the day? The Times coverage of the London bombings has gotten much better as the week has gone on (and slate even notes that they have......

The basketball world won't quite be the same tomorrow when Karl Malone officially announces his retirement. Malone may leave the game without the championship he so desperately sought, and without the all-time scoring record he nearly broke, but the Mailman can take soleace in retiring as the greatest power forward of all-time. Malone redefined his position after years of perfecting the pick-and-roll with John Stockton, but when he came to LA, he redefined himself.......

LAist’s favorite time of year is here…and no, it’s not our birthday. But it’s that time when Men’s Fitness Magazine gives us all the gift that keeps on giving: their annual "Top 25 Fattest and Fittest Cities" issue. As an avid historian, LAist is happy to report that we Angelenos, for the third straight year, did not make the Fattest rankings at all. However, we struggled a bit on the fitness side, barely sneaking......

It looks like it belongs on the island of Maui. It's green and lush and beautiful. Yet it's strictly for the game programmers of Activision, the weight-lifters of 24 Hour Fitness and a variety of business park-ers who spend their 9 to 5 here... Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf #10 3150 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403 Hours: Monday - Saturday 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM Sunday 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM Down......