The Westfield Workout Wednesday series in Century City concluded its run last week on Oct. 29, closing out a weekly program that promoted physical activity and healthy living.
Through much of the summer and fall seasons, Westfield Workout Wednesdays created a means of free outdoor exercise sessions led by some of L.A.’s top trainers as the brainchild of a partnership between Westfield and Venice-based fitness app BurnThis. The Century City mall hosted an intensive, instructor-led class every Wednesday at 6:30 pm for the past few months, located and timed for the members of the workforce seeking a way to exercise after office hours.
The final workout class of this season was led by Brett Hoebel, famed as the creator of the “20-Minute Body” as well as for his time as a celebrity trainer on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”
Hoebel spoke about how Workout Wednesdays grew to be a notable presence in the world of fitness.
“I’m psyched to be here,” Hoebel said. “Some good friends of mine, Tony Horton and Shay Kostabi, were both here recently. It’s kind of our little ‘fit fam’ that was guesting this place, and it’s been really cool.”
Hoebel noted some of the highlights of the Workout Wednesdays, including the al fresco aspect as well as the community-centric environment.
“This is really fun for me: I get to be with my team and I get to do something outside,” Hoebel said. “I also love the fact that you get people from the community out. I have a little talk about ‘sweating with soul,’ which discusses taking the fitness from the ‘I’ to the ‘we’ and becoming part of the community, and this event is it. It’s really nice that Westfield is putting on these weekly events; I’m proud to be a part of it.
BurnThis co-founder Monica Johnson was also present at the event as a friendly and approachable representative, eager to interact with the attendees and answer questions. As a figure who oversaw the birth and growth of the workout series, Johnson reflected on the program’s journey.
“Westfield Workout Wednesdays was hugely and extraordinarily successful,” Johnson said. “I think the coolest thing about this series is that people that started coming fell in love with it so much that they kept on coming over and over again.”
Attendees likely continue to come due to instructors like Hoebel, who emphasize teamwork and encouragement among the class-goers.
“Energy is contagious,” Hoebel said. “I usually say to everyone in my classes: give it 100 percent. Inspire the person next to you. If you want to be inspired, go out and inspire, and it’ll come back tenfold. I tend to turn the group around and make the front row the back row.”
Hoebel will have a DVD launch at the end of May as well as a hardcover book released in March. He also guest teaches indoor cycling at Flywheel and has begun talks about teaching at a local gym, although plans have not been finalized.
With the series coming to an end, loyal attendees can keep up-to-date with BurnThis happenings by checking the application regularly.
“We’ve got some really cool events coming up next year in L.A.,” Johnson said. “We ask that everyone check our app on a consistent basis, because we do things everywhere, from the Grove to an amazing space called General Assembly in Santa Monica.”
Johnson also expressed her sentiments toward the venue of the workout sessions.
“It was cool to be part of the first al-fresco fitness experience at this shopping center,” Johnson said. “Westfield lends itself to be the perfect place for this because it’s an open space. It’s centrally located, so a lot of celebrity trainers want to teach here because it’s such a beautiful space to teach in. I’m sad that it’s ending, but hopefully we’ll have future partnerships with Westfield.”
For more information about BurnThis, visit burnthis.com.
For more information about Westfield Century City, visit www.westfield.com/centurycity.
