During lockdown in 2020, Liz Lindenmeier decided she wanted to create something that "had a blend of all my fitness, dance and composition training and background."
"I am a party music girlie at heart so branding my method as a party workout, where the sculpt happened on the beats of the music and the playlist was much more than just to fill the noise — it was all encompassing for me. Specifically during this time we needed to stray away from the heaviness of the world and connect with people through good vibes and music, so I created a space for that with Lit&Lean," the fitness guru exclusively tells Morning Honey.
"Lit&Lean’s motto is come to party, get the workout and skip the hangover. LL’s mission is to provide a workout that focuses on the enjoyment and fun and simply taking your strong sculpted body home as a party favor. I always say to enjoy the music journey and fist pumps and the results will happen," she continues.
Movement has always been a part of the red-headed beauty's routine, especially since she grew up as a dancer. "I suffered from leg injuries early in my career and needed extensive PT and cross training to recover fully. It was here my seed for fitness was planted. I enjoyed researching and creating my own workouts for what my body specifically needed, alongside my dance training. Even as a dancer, I always moved athletically and enjoyed choreography that required more from the body than just floating and looking light. I always loved pushing my body and breaking boundaries with classical dance vocabulary," she shares.
After moving to New York City in 2015, Lindenmeier got certified in barre and taught group classes, resulting in her falling in love with fitness even more.
"I felt a high from leading people in their own movement journeys and feeling empowered from working their bodies. It felt like a calling. I never would have imagined creating my own space to do this because the concept of Lit&Lean is so unique that only time and circumstances truly showed me my way there. It took a lockdown to give me the time to clear my head and dream/create," she shares, adding she extended her experience to sculpt, HIIT, dance cardio and Pilates prior to the pandemic.
"Alongside that, my branding of Lit&Lean is true to my soul. I have always been the girl creating playlists and setting the music vibes for parties or even group warm ups while I was dancing. Having my company be based on music and movement is true full circle for me. I even started DJing a couple years ago as I consider it music research and constantly find inspiration off of beats for new movements and transitions in class," she adds.
After her business took off, Lindenmeier, who recently got married in Mexico, decided to create Bride Beats, a streaming program specifically catered to brides.
"Planning a wedding is a stressful time. It’s easy to get caught up in either not making time to take care of yourself or going on extreme workout schedules and diets. I come from a professional dance background, and when I had a big performance or audition, I would push myself physically to prep and then would get burnt out and sick. Being a bride can bring those same toxic habits for many, so I wanted to create something that took the scheduling off the table and was low impact for the body. These 30-minute workouts leave you feeling good. They have just enough burn and push to keep you fit, are short enough to compliment a busy pre-wedding schedule and won’t leave you overworked or tired to walk down the aisle," she explains.
She continues, "Bride Beats is truly bridal-themed. While each day offers a different body focus, it offers a different exciting bridal theme. i.e., Reception mode — the playlist is curated with all the top wedding reception songs, while Bachelorette-era playlist is the top female power songs and is used for abs day to keep the vibes fun and sexy. Something new — this playlist is alluding to your dating era! Adding these elements to each day of the program is aimed to get the bride truly excited for what’s to come and to continue on with the program each day."
Each day focuses on different parts of the body "so that you can truly reach your max in 30 minutes," she says. "This also allows brides to choose what feels best for their body that day. During my pre wedding week, I would wake up and know that I needed a little more core work or arm work. For a bride who’s wearing a short mini reception dress, they may want to go for the lower body day right before the wedding. It’s customized in its workout plan, but also gives the bride freedom to choose what’s best."
"Low-impact workouts take out the risk of injury or anyone dealing with a current injury. They can be more approachable for people just getting into fitness while still being challenging for fitness fanatics. They provide less recovery time, improve mobility and can be more effective for results as you are often moving at a more even pace to truly work and push through each exercise with better form and intention," she adds.
Ultimately, Liz Lindenmeier wants others — whether you're a bride or not — to feel "strong."
"Bride Beats goes beyond just prepping your body for your wedding, it preps your spirit! With each day having a new bride theme and personalized happy wedding day shout-outs throughout, Bride Beats becomes your wedding hype girl. This program is also available for purchase, stream and download on the Lit&Lean App. If you are a destination wedding bride, this makes access convenient and reliable while away. If you are the run around last minute bride, you can pull out your phone at any time to access the program," she shares.
As for what the future holds, Lindenmeier is looking forward to many more dance parties. "I hope to make the Lit&Lean in real life workout events bigger and better, including adding more party elements and partnerships, sweating in more epic clubs and growing the community in person. I also hope to grow the online community through the Lit&Lean app and show people that their workouts can feel like a party anytime, anywhere," she gushes. "My workout method blends the best of Pilates, barre, cardio and puts it into a sculpt format on the beats of a curated playlist. Lit&Lean has a unique set of movement vocabulary that you do not find in other methods. On top of that, we are the only silent disco party sculpt workout. We hold in person classes inside rooftops and clubs. We swing our sweat towels, we cheers, we have a unique naming of our signature moves that you only know, if you know."
For Lindenmeier, who is a "house and DJ fan," it's been amazing to see how far she's come and how Lit&Lean brings people together. "I see our workout parties grow and get bigger and reach a special niche of people who either hate working out but love Lit&Lean, or young professionals who can no longer club until 3 a.m., or the younger crowd who will come from clubbing the night before but still get their party workout the next morning. Everyone blends and connects on the lit energy that a Lit&Lean class brings. I am proud when people say they find Lit&Lean to be an inclusive and welcoming space," she says. "The best part is hands down the community. I can help someone meet fitness goals, but seeing people connect, make new friendships and find a piece of happiness from Lit&Lean means so much more to me."
If you're interested in checking out the electrifying workout, Lit&Lean recently launched an app — available on iPhone and Android. Over 200 5-55 min workouts with new content is uploaded weekly, and it's only $34.99/month. Check out the app with the code “morninghoney” and get $10 off your first month!
"I really enjoy teaching on Saturdays at The Fleur Room at The Moxy Chelsea and will be kicking off a residency at the Arlo Nomad this May through September," she concludes. "Most recently, I had the opportunity to partner with some amazing brands, including my wedding dress designer Enaura Bridal, Jukebox, Allyoos, IVL Collective, and Vera Wang PARTY, to name a few, to bring a Bride Beats experience to life in the penthouse of The Nomo Soho in NYC! It was one for the books!"
