santa monica beach

Beach Travel

6 Perfect Ways to Get a Santa Monica Beach Body

Want to get the perfect Santa Monica beach body? Go to Santa Monica. (Photo: Getty Images)

It’s well known that Los Angeles is home to some of the most beautiful people in the world. A majority of those can be found in the equally attractive enclave of Santa Monica, the picturesque L.A. community that boasts an array of ways for clued-in locals and discerning travelers to get toned, buff and tan. Whether you want to sweat it out while hiking in the mountains or get toned in a zen yoga studio, here’s your ultimate guide on how to properly get ready for swimsuit season, Santa Monica-style. You’re welcome.

1. Take a Hike

Here’s a fun fact that is sure to get you moving: the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is spread out over an expansive 154,000 acres, making the it the largest urban national park in the world. With its Instagram-worthy views and a seemingly countless smorgasbord of trails, you’ll want to explore every inch of it.

2. Hang Ten

Santa Monica and surfing are a quintessential pairing and with its gorgeous beaches and chill vibe, no trip is complete without getting your Hang Ten on. Sure you can go to one of the crowded tourist spots, but for a spot a little less hectic check out the sandy beach located off of Bay Street. With easy as pie parking, it never gets too crowded so you’ll only have to worry about the waves at hand. With a lifeguard tower nearby to boot, this spot is the perfect locale to get your swim on as well.

santa monica beach skateboarding
Skate boarding at Santa Monica Beach. (Photo: Getty Images)

3. Go From Surfboard to Skateboard

The art of skateboarding was born and bred in Southern California, and Santa Monica takes full advantage of this with The Cove, a 20,000 square foot skatepark that boasts anything and everything someone looking to get some sweet air would need. From ramps to rails, bowls to stairs, The Cove is the perfect place to Cowabunga it up.

4. Walk It Off

Sometimes you just want to take a nice leisurely stroll instead of dripping sweat. Luckily, Santa Monica is one of the more walkable areas in the City of Angels. Obviously a trot around the community’s famed pier is a must, or you can take a chill trek down the nearby Ocean Front Walk, which depending on your energy level you can take a just a few blocks, or all the way south to Venice.

5. Take a Badass Cycle Class

With the threat of sunburns and all that sand getting in your eyes and mouth, maybe being outside in the elements isn’t your thing. Enter Vie2 Cycling Studio, which encourages a quality fat-burning workout in their comfortable studio just a short jaunt from the beach. Vie2 capitalizes on the country’s cycle craze (see: SoulCycle) and takes a regular old gym spin class to the next level. Vie2 first timers get their first class free, but if you’re planning on spending some time in the area they offer an introductory two-week trail period.

6. Get Yoga-licious

With a lifestyle as laid back as SoCal’s, the area is the perfect place to zone out and get your zen on. Bhakti Yoga Shala capitalizes on that groovy vibe with a studio they appropriately dubbed “The Heart of Yoga in Santa Monica.” Located within an earshot of the Pacific, Bhakti boasts a litany of daily donation-based yoga classes designed to get your blood pumping and inner-peace revving. Namaste, indeed.