Every now and again, it’s time to hit the reset button. Wellness vacations offer a place to fully immerse in a world of well-being. Invited to WellFit Malibu, this sanctuary is where stress is left at the door and replaced with nourishment for mind, body and soul.
My stay included 7 days of fresh, healthy food, hiking, exercise classes, lifestyle education and the best medicine of all – laughter. What could be better?
About WellFit Malibu:
Tucked away in the hills of Los Angeles, Wellfit Malibu is part of the sprawling 130 acres known as Calamigos Ranch. Privately owned by the Gershon family, Calamigos has been “in the business of making memories since 1947” and along with WellFit, offers special events, set location for filming, a lux boutique hotel, a hip café and private homes.
Often referred to as a fitness and weight loss resort, Wellfit Malibu at its core, is a healthy lifestyle program that helps guests cultivate positive habits into daily life. Weight loss is a natural by-product of improved healthy living skills and practices.
My stay included 7 days of fresh, healthy food, hiking, exercise classes, lifestyle education and the best medicine of all – laughter. What could be better?
About WellFit Malibu:
Tucked away in the hills of Los Angeles, Wellfit Malibu is part of the sprawling 130 acres known as Calamigos Ranch. Privately owned by the Gershon family, Calamigos has been “in the business of making memories since 1947” and along with WellFit, offers special events, set location for filming, a lux boutique hotel, a hip café and private homes.
Often referred to as a fitness and weight loss resort, Wellfit Malibu at its core, is a healthy lifestyle program that helps guests cultivate positive habits into daily life. Weight loss is a natural by-product of improved healthy living skills and practices.
What to Expect at WellFit:
- A privately owned, mission-driven wellness retreat
- A beautiful campus mixing Western hip & sleek SoCal design
- A focus on vibrant living versus scale shaming
- Fitness classes lead by leading local experts and friendly and sincere staff that make personalized attention seem effortless
- A 1,500 calorie a day meal plan co-created by a chef and registered dietician
- A variety of evidence-based health education sessions that are not boring
Fun Factoids:
Half a century ago, Grant and Helen Walter Gerson wanted guests to experience Malibu as they did - and share their elegantly rustic lifestyle that they both loved and lived at Calamigos. They also had a clear vision to create Calamigos as a premier property for wellness and healing and their passion for a healthy lifestyle remains to be their legacy. (I love this family mission and find it inspiring!)
- Their son Glen and his wife Mon-Li Gerson began creating, restoring, and building what has now become a hot spot for special events location in Southern California.
- Calamigos Ranchi is a popular place for filming, guests can expect to see trailers and lots of activity. The new TV show that premiered this week, “Strong,” was filmed on premise. The Strong building is still there along with the climbing wall and some of the outdoor obstacles.
Program SnapShot:
The program runs Sunday to Sunday and offers a full schedule of fun activities from 6:30 am until 7 pm. It felt a bit like summer camp – only better!
A Typical daily schedule included:
A Typical daily schedule included:
- Stretch
- Breakfast
- 2-hour hike (Tuesday is beach work-out)
- Lunch
- Strength training/education
- HIIT class
- Water Aerobics/Water Zumba
- Dinner
- Optional spa treatments
- Lights out at 10 pm (encouraged)
Good to Know:
Many guests stay longer to achieve their personal goals. In our group, there were different motivations for being there: training for a once-in-a-lifetime hike to Machu Picchu, recovering from a disease, rehabilitation after injuries, focusing on health a major surgery and yes, weight loss.
Here some general good-to-know info about WellFit programming:
Here some general good-to-know info about WellFit programming:
- It is a well-paced schedule with just enough time in between sessions to change but not enough time to be tempted to take a nap, get sapped into work or feel bored.
- Wellfit’s consistent message is “listen to your body’ so if you need to take a nap, do that. Need an extra healthy snack? Enjoy! Prefer to hit the gym than hike or need to take a day “off”? Not a problem – as a courtesy, just let them know.
- Guests are invited to challenge themselves and there’s no shame if you’re not up to it. More often than not, an exercise can be adapted – if you have a pre-existing health condition, injury or personal worry – so that everyone can participate in group exercise and be successful. This is great because it brings people together and builds camaraderie.
Hiking Rocks at WellFit Malibu!
Research shows that being in nature improve physical and emotional health. (Check out the Reconnecting with Nature and other top wellness travel trends here.) Hiking a key component to the WellFit experience. There are lots of cool hikes from ruins of famous mansions, to the Mash set, to creeks and waterfalls, ocean views to an older western film set and hiking locations change daily.
Monday is the hardest day with an “assessment” for the hiking guides to determine fitness levels and plan hikes and staffing for the remainder of the week. That was the toughest day for me and I kept a pretty good pace covering five and half miles in a little over 2 hours, but boy, was I pooped.
What I found to be totally impressive is the amount of expertise and planning that goes into coordinating these hikes with the vast differences in fitness levels from beginner level to fitness junkie and in between. Guests hike at their own pace and are never left behind. During my week, there were three groups from runners to slow pacers – and often the ratio was 1:2 guide to guest ratio.
Hiking is a calorie burner that you can do practically everywhere. Wearing a Fitbit, I walked 10,000 steps usually before 10 am in the morning, which meant my calories for the day, were already spent. Pretty awesome!
Monday is the hardest day with an “assessment” for the hiking guides to determine fitness levels and plan hikes and staffing for the remainder of the week. That was the toughest day for me and I kept a pretty good pace covering five and half miles in a little over 2 hours, but boy, was I pooped.
What I found to be totally impressive is the amount of expertise and planning that goes into coordinating these hikes with the vast differences in fitness levels from beginner level to fitness junkie and in between. Guests hike at their own pace and are never left behind. During my week, there were three groups from runners to slow pacers – and often the ratio was 1:2 guide to guest ratio.
Hiking is a calorie burner that you can do practically everywhere. Wearing a Fitbit, I walked 10,000 steps usually before 10 am in the morning, which meant my calories for the day, were already spent. Pretty awesome!
Quick Interview: Damon Botsford, Hiking Manager, WellFit
Explain the hiking guide selection & training process at WellFit?
Other than the obvious love of the outdoors, we look for applicants who are dependable, knowledgable, dedicated, compassionate and most of all, relatable. Guides must be able to "step into guests hiking shoes" and understand the difficult challenges they often times face on their journeys to fitness. Being in good shape also helps with the job, but it's not a requirement upon applying.
The training process involves First Aid and CPR certification, instruction in hiking techniques, hiking safety and wildlife awareness, and familiarization with our extensive trail roster. Some guides also have the opportunity for additional training to test for a commercial driver's license, which is required to drive our passenger vans.
Do you have any tips you'd like to share on best practices for hiking? Or hiking and weight loss/improved fitness?
Always be prepared with the right gear! That includes a good pair of hiking shoes and socks, appropriate clothing for weather conditions, a hat, sunscreen, hiking poles, first aid kit, fully charged cell phone, plenty of water and a map or good knowledge of the area.
To improve your fitness level, sometimes you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid to try new things, and most importantly, hang in there! Fitness is a journey and it doesn't always come easy. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. While never easy, it does get easier with time and anybody can do it!
What are some of the most popular Wellfit hikes and why?
Our most popular hikes are trails that offer tough challenges as well as beautiful scenery. Two such hikes are the Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountain range, and Solstice Canyon. Both hikes offer challenging terrain as well as stunning coastal views and beautiful lush scenery.
Other than the obvious love of the outdoors, we look for applicants who are dependable, knowledgable, dedicated, compassionate and most of all, relatable. Guides must be able to "step into guests hiking shoes" and understand the difficult challenges they often times face on their journeys to fitness. Being in good shape also helps with the job, but it's not a requirement upon applying.
The training process involves First Aid and CPR certification, instruction in hiking techniques, hiking safety and wildlife awareness, and familiarization with our extensive trail roster. Some guides also have the opportunity for additional training to test for a commercial driver's license, which is required to drive our passenger vans.
Do you have any tips you'd like to share on best practices for hiking? Or hiking and weight loss/improved fitness?
Always be prepared with the right gear! That includes a good pair of hiking shoes and socks, appropriate clothing for weather conditions, a hat, sunscreen, hiking poles, first aid kit, fully charged cell phone, plenty of water and a map or good knowledge of the area.
To improve your fitness level, sometimes you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid to try new things, and most importantly, hang in there! Fitness is a journey and it doesn't always come easy. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. While never easy, it does get easier with time and anybody can do it!
What are some of the most popular Wellfit hikes and why?
Our most popular hikes are trails that offer tough challenges as well as beautiful scenery. Two such hikes are the Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountain range, and Solstice Canyon. Both hikes offer challenging terrain as well as stunning coastal views and beautiful lush scenery.
Exercises Classes: Something for Everyone
One of my goals outside of losing weight was to feel strong again and that’s why I loved the strength training and cardio sessions. Varied classes included a beach work out, circuit training, kick boxing, Zumba water, and water aerobics. Sure there were moments, when I thought I couldn’t possibly do it. But the great thing is if you try and dig deep enough, you usually can.
Check out our interviews with the Hiking and Nutrition Experts at WellFit here.
The Food at WellFit Tastes Good & Looks Pretty!
The menu plan centers around 1500 calories each day co-designed by a chef and registered dietician. Breakfast choices include: yogurt with granola, oatmeal with fruit and nuts, eggs, vegetables, toast and avocado or Ezekiel bread with almond butter and a banana. Lunch and dinner includes daily specials and other choices such as chicken salad with pita or veggie burger. Lunches always start with a broth-based soup and both lunch and dinner offer a salad bar. Dinners ending with a sweet treat. There are morning and afternoon snacks packed with protein combos like apples and peanut butter, cheese sticks and almonds, eggs and celery.
I was lucky to snag one an awesome healthy pizza recipe from Chef Rodolfo and will be sharing in an upcoming post!
Comfy Cabins & Enchanting, Charming Campus
There are comfy, cozy cabins with front steps leading to a cute porch. A welcome change from a traditional, ho-hum hotel room.Contemporary wood furniture provides a good amount of space to organize belongings. Free Wi-Fi and a desk were perfect getting work done (yes, I brought work with me). The flat screen TV was a nice amenity hardly used. Cabins come either with private or shared bath and are close together. Twinkling lights, trees and porches equipped with a chair gave a friendly neighborhood vibe.
The main building houses guest reception, dining hall, lounge area, spa, offices and shop in a contemporary wood and glass structure. A switchback walk way lead to the pool, hot tub, cardio and aerobic gym and beyond are winding paths leading to the lodging area.
The property is enchanting. Wooden banisters artfully made from tree branches added to the rustic feel of the ranch. A string of vertical twinkling lights grouped in trees giving a magical feeling when the sun sets. There’s an old fashioned merry-go-round, cows, the Strong building mentioned earlier and quaint red buildings with white trim used for filming. The nice part – is nothing is off limits and you can walk about and explore to your hearts content
The main building houses guest reception, dining hall, lounge area, spa, offices and shop in a contemporary wood and glass structure. A switchback walk way lead to the pool, hot tub, cardio and aerobic gym and beyond are winding paths leading to the lodging area.
The property is enchanting. Wooden banisters artfully made from tree branches added to the rustic feel of the ranch. A string of vertical twinkling lights grouped in trees giving a magical feeling when the sun sets. There’s an old fashioned merry-go-round, cows, the Strong building mentioned earlier and quaint red buildings with white trim used for filming. The nice part – is nothing is off limits and you can walk about and explore to your hearts content
Hurray! WellFit Malibu is Dog Friendly!
If you are a dog lover, you will understand how incredibly awesome it is to be able to bring your fur baby along for the ride! Oh my gosh, how great to have Sunshine be with me. Ok...maybe it took a little extra effort to get up earlier to walk her, use my breaks to check in and keep chugging along at the end of an active day to give Sunshine a good walk but boy - I loved every minute we were together! It would not have been the same with out my Sunshine.
Two Thumbs Up! Can't Wait to Go Back to WellFit!
The nice thing about writing a blog is being free from editorial constraints. Herein lie my impressions, feeling and observations about WellFit. I’ve been to those that focus on pampering with heavy emphasis on spa treatments and conversely hard-core fitness to the point of exhaustion, pain and puking (not me but other guests!). Thankfully WellFit was neither of those extremes
WellFit Malibu provides an opportunity to disconnect from daily stressors and connect with a like-minded community out in nature. If you want to feel well, be well and look well – this is the place to be! It’s a place I want to go back to – again and again!
WellFit Malibu provides an opportunity to disconnect from daily stressors and connect with a like-minded community out in nature. If you want to feel well, be well and look well – this is the place to be! It’s a place I want to go back to – again and again!
Like these boots? I did! Check out my product review on Ridgemont's Monty Hi boot here.
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