workout, fitness equipment On Monday, I called up a friend to go for a quick hike some local trails. I live in the LA area so the network of gradual paved to more steep dirt trails in the surrounding hills are a real life saver to escaping the urban jungle. At one of the more scenic parts of the trail, I took the picture seen above. Everyone in the area knows about this place so it is almost a workout just finding parking. After circling the streets for 15 minutes, I found a spot on the curb at the bottom of the hill. Walking the few blocks uphill to the trailhead was a great start to the workout. After passing some people doing yoga in the grassy patch at the start, we picked up the pace and started climbing into higher elevations.

It is great getting above the city, amongst cactuses, palm trees and desert greenery. I am completely sold on going outdoors for a workout. It is so much easier to push myself when there is more at stake. For instance, hiking farther up means better views or playing outdoor sports like basketball means competition. There is so much more motivation with these sorts of workouts. While I still use traditional fitness equipment in the gym, getting outside is a nice change of pace.