well+GOOD from NYC came to Boston for a Sweat Series bootcamp.... My first one!

The big question: would I do it again??? Keep reading, and you’ll find out!

Raise your hands- how many of you have done a fitness bootcamp before?? 🙋🙋

Yes?

This post is full of links to help you get more of the experience I’m sharing here in this post – links to well+GOOD, Follain, and more.

Well last week I joined you all with the launch of well+GOOD in Boston for a morning of intense workout with Emily Susen, cold pressed juice from Mother’s Juice in Kendall Square, and natural beauty products from Follain, for an exclusive event at Athleta with other motivated women. Fun, right?

I found out via the Follain instagram @shopfollain and blog. Follain had been named in the well+GOOD blog, publisher of the Boston city wellness guide, and eventually I came across this event.

I love Follain, I like working out, and I wanted a kick start to spring exercising, so I was so excited to participate and looked forward to it all week.

Since I wouldn’t have found out about this awesome event if it wasn’t for Follain, let me tell you why this beauty and skincare company is unique and a must-visit shop for Boston.

Follain is a terrific little gem in the South End neighborhood of Boston, just south of the Newbury St and Back Bay areas on Dartmouth. The first time I ever got a facial in Boston, the aesthetician had helped work on Shamanuti’s activated charcoal cleanser and soon I was using it for two years exclusively. As I neared the end of the bottle, I wondered, where was this great cleanser sold? I wandered in to the Follain boutique while walking to work one day and found the cleanser, and discovered this natural beauty place had just opened (a couple of years ago). They’ve been doing tremendously and I’m so proud of their commitment to Boston and to natural beauty. They will open a store on Charles St. on Beacon Hill soon, as well as in Nantucket.

The founder, Tara Foley, is so friendly and a real model of a local business woman who is down to earth and cares about her customers. I met her years ago when she first opened and it was just her at the shop. Since then, they’ve expanded and have attracted the attention of many interested people who want to treat themselves, their men, and their babies well without any of the harmful and toxic things that are hidden in cosmetics and skincare products. I’ve been coming back to try fragrances, cosmetics, soaps, and recently a stress relief candle and deodorant creme. She was at this event too, to share her fun swag bags that I’ll share below, and to root for us jumping, kicking, and sweating at the Athleta store.

There really isn’t a store like Follain. Check them out!!

Now, let me walk you through the Sweat Series morning…

Doors opened at 9 am, so I got here around 8:40 and at least 20 ladies were already in line. It was chilly. brrr! Newbury St. was otherwise pretty quiet and only a few suited up people strolled along. Lisa, one of the well+GOOD editors, came down from NYC to welcome us to this event. When we got in and signed in, everyone set up their mats and got ready to stretch and work out with Emily Susen‘s Bootcamp – she teaches at Recycle and Barry’s Bootcamp. Emily was great – she kept us going fast and strong throughout the hour workout but was also encouraging.

If you look hard, you can spot me in there 🙂

What was the workout like?

We stretched, we did side kicks, we jump-squatted, we planked, we did sit ups and push ups, superman push ups, bicycles, twists, and lots more using only our body weight. It burned as we shaped muscles and pulsed movements at a very quick pace with multiple reps, and I felt it the next couple days, but it felt so good to have tried a challenge for myself that paid off and gave me a sense of accomplishment. 🙂

Tara from Follain brought in some relaxing, refreshing products, including some lotions, candles, scrubs, sprays and more – perfect post-workout. I stopped by later in the week to pick up a couple of the items she brought for us. From Mother’s Juice, I had a watermelon juice (called OH.EM.GEE), and a beet juice (called THE CURE) and didn’t get to try the kale juice. We also took home Maple Water… Interesting, right? I haven’t tried it yet.

And then, we were done at 11 am. Having only had a banana before, I was starving, so I had a little protein, a little carbs, and a little cappucino from The Thinking Cup across the way. Post-workout, smiling, caffeinated, and loving the roomy and sturdy tote bag. Thanks!!! Inside the Follain gift bag: