Work brought me back to Chicago, except in the suburbs this time. Before arriving, I emailed a few gyms nearby. After my interactions with Brad, the owner of Absolution CrossFit, I knew it was a gym I had to stop by. Absolution CrossFit is a brand new gym, literally! Their doors officially opened a couple days ago, on Tuesday! I actually had no idea they hadn't open yet until I got there last Friday, but that's on me. Lucky for me, I was able to sneak a visit in before they officially opened!
About a month ago I was asked to be a part of the review team for Cave Cravings' Paleo/Primal snack delivery service. I was pretty excited about doing this review. With many delivery services available in the Bay Area for lunch, groceries, etc, I've been waiting for one focused on Paleo/Primal foods. In a nut shell, Cave Cravings is a service that delivers a variety of Paleo snacks, monthly. For those with busy schedules like me, Cave Cravings' monthly delivery service will save you some major shopping and research time. You know, like reading labels in the aisles of Whole Foods and such. I like the Cave Cravings service for two main reasons: 1, Paleo snacks available at work so I don't munch on chips or other crap in there and 2, exposure to the different vendors who make the Paleo snacks. You get a nice variety of products to sample from. If I like something from one of the vendors, I'll order it separately, else, it's just enough to taste.
Feeling the need to work off the excessive amounts of croissants, ice cream and macaroons I’ve consumed while in Paris, I decided a stop at a gym was in order. Reebok CrossFit du Louvre was literally 400m away from our hotel so a visit there was hard to avoid. After my unfavorable experience at Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave in New York, I really did not want to visit another Reebok CrossFit gym. However, I decided to be open minded this time because I was in another country and the convenience.
Before leaving Toronto, I wanted to visit Academy of Lions. While researching gyms in the Toronto area, I read a lot of really great reviews of Academy of Lions. They are also home to weightlifting world champion and record holder, Alex Varbanov. With a lot things going for the gym, I decided to go out of my way a bit and make this visit happen.
