Hike is the new Lunch

In LA, instead of “Lunch this week?” it’s often “Hike this week?”

Meet me at Runyon—the go-to place for a quick 45 minute up-and-down is basically like asking a girlfriend to meet at Fred’s in New York.

Hiking and Runyon in particular are trendy for sure, but what really makes them popular is the city’s devotion to both good health and multi-tasking.
Often, I find that girls want to connect over activities as opposed to drinks.

In New York, a fun ‘big’ dinner on a Wednesday is totally standard.
In LA, the mere fact of convening can prove tricky—You’re in Venice, I’m in West Hollywood… Saturday brunch is probably our best option.
So I find my social go-to’s consistently revolving around, “want to do a Pilates class and maybe grab a bite afterwards?”

Asking friends to combine catching up with working out has been one of the major blessings in my life.
After realizing I was terrible being even mildly hungover, I began to view socializing as something you don’t do just at night, but also on the weekdays.
Many a friendship has developed over workouts at 6 or 7am. There was the “rooster” Soul Cycle class my roommate and I religiously went to on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Though we stumbled to the class half-asleep, it was because of her that I went, and I think because of me that she went. A deeper friendship and tighter bottoms ensued.

As co-workers at a job that glued us to our seats, sitting at dinner together wasn’t exactly our first choice after work. Hence, the idea of Zumba.

When I found out a girl at the office loved to dance, I told her about a studio I knew of but hadn’t tried.
As co-workers at a job that glued us to our seats, phones and computers from 9-7, sitting at dinner together wasn’t exactly our first choice after work. Hence, the idea of Zumba.
It was an audacious first friend-date to say the least. The moves were trickier than I’d expected, and the other Zumba-ers were surprisingly adept. The hilarity of that class was something that immediately bonded us.
We ended up finding a cardio dance class that integrated squats and leg lifts into a sweat-enducing routine. The anticipation of our ‘big night out’ made work on Tuesdays fly by.

Hanging out through a hike, or a post-class coffee can get you to relate in other ways than just a lunch date can.

My boyfriend sometimes jokes that my pick-up line is “Want to go to a workout class together?”
But really, once people start to couple up, the way you socialize with girlfriends evolves.
And, if you’re not co-workers, hanging out through a hike, or a post-class coffee can get you to relate in other ways than just a lunch date can. In some ways, it also feels less taxing.
Ever notice how sitting across from someone requires you to be “on” 100%, versus sitting next to each other which can feel a lot more natural? Almost as if you’re already good friends. Exercising together is the same. When you’re hiking, you take in some of the sights, your breath is shortened so it’s legitimately harder to talk, and just being with someone still feels rewarding. And in an exercise class, by the time you leave, you’ve sweated and exhausted yourselves. You’re you!

Dare I call it friendship intimacy?