I have been spending a lot of time at the gym, specifically Orangetheory. Many articles will tell you different statistics about how many people give up on their News Year Resolutions within 2/4/6 weeks, but no matter what you read, that means the people still sticking around on February 17th are likely there for the long haul. And unfortunately… I HATE SOME OF Y’ALL.
Here are a few categories of people I wish would quit the gym.
Unnecessary Noise People
Why? Honestly, is it necessary? Because I see you lifting half the weight as me, and there is no reason for you to be grunting. If your weight choice is actually so difficult that your body releases an uncontrollable sound every time, perhaps you need to scale back. Now, let’s talk a little about jumping noises, too. I do not mean the actually sound of jumping. I mean the tiny little yelp that is 100% unnecessary every time you jump side to side or forward and back. There is someone who does this every class. I (kindly) call her “bird sex girl” because it sounds like a teeny tiny parakeet having vigorous reproductive fun for 30 seconds at a time. Once, I was on the treadmill as it was going on, and I thought it was a malfunction on my treadmill and the belt was coming loose but no, bird sex on the floor behind me.
People Who Won’t Swallow Their Water
You heard it here first: water is for hydration. Groundbreaking. Things water is not for: stagnant mouth-holding. Teeth-cleaning. Swishing around. This one is just extra disgusting to me. Why are you walking around the studio with your mouth full of bacteria-laden liquid? It makes no sense. What if someone accidentally knocks you? What happens to the water, then? Just take the water in your mouth and swallow it. This requires no additional explanation.
Every-Weight-In-This-Gym-Is-Mine People
It’s happened to me too – the coach explains an exercise, and you realize you want a 20-pound weight, but your rack doesn’t have one. What do you do? Look around, maybe ask a neighbor to borrow, or just attempt a lower weight with more reps or a higher weight with less reps. What do you not do? Go to someone else’s weight rack and just grab a few. Do you have no home training? If something is not yours, you ask permission. With a “please” and a “may I?” I learned that in kindergarten playing “Mother, may I?” The second these people hit the weight floor it’s like all common courtesy leaves their mind as they are only thinking “MUST FIND A 20-POUND DUMBELL ASAP.” Come on, guys, be normal.
Chatty Cathys
Surprisingly, this is usually the men. They come with their bros and love to just ham it up picking the largest weights on the rack, and usually do the exercises incorrectly. You may be curious how they are doing the exercise wrong when the coach demos every single exercise and little video-people are also demo-ing on the screens all around the room. Well… it’s because they’re too busy chit-chatting to watch a demo, and they think they know best. Don’t get me wrong, I love to work out with a friend. It’s way more fun to have a buddy in class, to shoot “kill me” looks at them when the coach casually throws 10 burpees into a workout. I even sing along to the playlist (often) and congratulate my treadmill-neighbors when they hit a top speed on an all-out. But don’t talk over a demo, it’s disrespectful to the coach and the other participants.
Forrest Gump
Run, Forrest, Run!!! But actually, please don’t. One of the main tenets of Orangetheory is that you’re supposed to keep your heart in the orange zone, not run as fast and as hard as you can the entire time. Each day’s template is designed to maximize your effort and include recoveries. The coach should not need to come over to you 6 times to tell you to stop running. Usually in class while you are walking, the coach is speaking and explaining the next block. If you are running, your treadmill is loud and no one else can hear. And who are you really showing off to? No one cares and it is not a race. There are no medals. If you really want to run nonstop, there are miles and miles of street throughout New York City. In fact, the studio is only one block from Central Park! SEE YA.
The Ones Who Forgot Their Shirts
I admit, most of this is jealousy. I wish I had A. the confidence to not wear a shirt in public and B. the boobs to carry it off. I will be honest, my jealousy distracts me. I love a good matching gym set, but when I just see boobs out of the corner of my eye, it’s hard to look away. I can’t even shame though because honestly, they usually look good. Maybe after all of these weeks at Orangetheory I’ll feel confident without a shirt, too. And the best part – it’s less laundry!
Smelly People
I understand we all didn’t leave our houses for over a year. At home, it didn’t matter if you stank. No one was there to judge you. All the way back in July 2020, they reported that deodorant sales plummeted and ice cream sales soared. Maybe you never raised your arms at home because you sat at your laptop all day. Maybe you didn’t realize that your dog stopped hanging around by your desk. But you absolutely need to be self-aware again if you plan on working out vigorously in close proximity to other humans. A mask can only help incrementally. Unless the entire membership of Orangetheory gets symptomatic Covid and collectively loses their sense of smell simultaneously, you absolutely must do something about it. And until you do, I will give you the stink eye (literally) every time you do an overhead press.
There are probably some annoying people I missed, let me know in the comments.
I am officially addicted to my Peloton. How addicted? Well, I’m currently on a train to Philadelphia and not only am I typing a blog about it, but I’m thinking about how much I miss my bike already. I made sure I did my core workout and cycling class before I got on the train. And I’m already excited about showing my mom all of the classes on the app. Also, I almost switched my trip because I found out it was Peloton Homecoming this weekend and I was going to miss it.
My Peloton arriving at my door!
It has welcomed me since Day 1.
Me, sweaty on my bike (and shirtless as always)
Even if you are not a pelo person, unless you live under a rock, you definitely know about it. It’s every other commercial on Youtube and Hulu. And you probably know the age-old joke, “how do you know someone has a Peloton? … they’ll tell you.” However, it didn’t always used to be like that. I started going to Peloton class in 2016 in person in the studio! This was WAY before the pandemic and I loved it even back then. In fact, I even wrote a blog about it! Actually, I wrote two from when I rode in the showroom in LA on a work trip. A lot has changed since then. It’s become much more bougie and the production value has increased. The instructors wear FULL makeup and matching Peloton clothes now, and they have bulked up and multiplied. Hundreds of thousands of more people have bikes. But the main reasons I fell in love with it still stand: the bike is super high quality, the community’s motivating, and the playlists are FIRE.
Pre-pandemic, people asked me if I’d ever buy a bike and I said I would never buy one in NYC but maybe if I moved. This was because of the availability of high-quality classes within proximity. But with Covid and studio closures, I really missed spin class. When I got my bike in February, it had been 11 months since I had been on a bike!
Before I took the plunge (the bike is $1800 plus $39/month subscription cost), I did a lot of research. I never take any purchases lightly, but even more than the cost, I wanted to love it. I had a few friends who went the alternative route, buying a regular bike from Amazon and then getting the cheaper Peloton membership at $12/month and riding that way. But the instructors teach to the Peloton bike specifically, using a “resistance” number that is based on their bike. When you take a class on demand, it pops up on the screen where your resistance should be and the bike also shows where you are within that range. That helps for me because sometimes I zone out on what the instructor is saying and I miss the cue. Ok, that happens a lot because I’m singing and dancing. Pretty much every class. I absolutely LOVE the music! I pick my classes by instructors who I know have the same taste in music as me. But Peloton also lets you preview all of the music beforehand. Most times I like a quick overview of the artists but I like to be surprised by the full playlist. They also have artist series, which is so fun. Last week I did the Usher ride and was jamming out the whole time. I’ve done Lauryn Hill, Beyonce, Monica v. Brandy, and many more. I have a favorite instructor (#TeamCody), but I dabble with a lot of others depending on my mood. I even did a barre class recently because it was a hip hop playlist. I usually hate barre but I sort of forgot because I was busy jamming to Trina.
My fav instructor #XOXOCody
Club Bangers with Alex, always a hard class.
Not my favorite instructor but sometimes I switch it up.
Back when I could spin with my friends IRL!
All photos from 2017!
Another reason I’m obsessed with Peloton: the STATS! Peloton keeps track of every one of your workouts, your averages, your PRs (personal records), and you are constantly racing yourself. I am a huge stats nerd and this is one of my biggest motivators. I love to see how well I can do in a class. I am not a competitive person, but when I’m having an off day and I’m feeling unmotivated, seeing that I still burned 300 calories in a low impact class gives me a great sense of accomplishment. 300 more than zero!
I have also found that the different class lengths have completely changed my mindset around workouts. Pre-pandemic, I felt like I wasn’t getting in a good workout unless I did at least an hour at the gym. But sometimes now I am not motivated, or my legs are sore, or I’m just having a bad day. I can hop on the bike for a 20-minute low impact ride between meetings or at 5:30 and I’m still showered by 6. Also, I always feel better after. Just yesterday I made a call for work. He said he couldn’t talk but asked if I could call back in 15 minutes. I said sure, popped on a 10-minute core workout, then called him back.
Speaking of core workouts, I never used to do them because I was scared and intimidated, but the app has so much content that I have been tempted to try a lot of new things. Last month, I did a challenge with Matty Maggiacamo called March Maggic, and it was 5 days of 20-minutes strength workouts all month, with different muscle groups every day. The 20-minute workouts seemed very easy to fit into my life (sometimes after a cocktail, oops), and I did 400 minutes of strength that I never would have done. In April, I did a program called “Crush Your Core” with Emma Lovewell. Did I feel like I crushed my core? No. I crushed my ego and I felt weak as hell. But I did do 2 1-minute planks on Wednesday and I definitely couldn’t do that a month ago.
The main reason I got a Peloton versus a “faux-loton” is because I wanted to spin with my friends! I miss my gym community SO MUCH. And since the pandemic, a lot of my old cycling peeps have gotten Pelotons. I have multiple group chats on Facebook and Instagram where we plan to take certain rides together, or do a long 100-minute ride on a Sunday. I love seeing my friends “on the leaderboard” and giving them incessant high fives. There’s nothing better than being there to witness a friend scoot by you and achieve a PR. (#HighFive!!!) There is even an option to video chat while the class is going on, but I haven’t quite mastered that yet. Plus, I’m usually wearing a sports bra and no shirt (why bother, I’m in my bedroom!) so I don’t love my friends checking in on my sweaty self.
Can you guess which day in February I got my bike?
An example of a Sunday Stack with friends. Many classes in a row! Lots of cals burned and high fives given.
The weird thing about my Peloton obsession is, I got the 3-month free trial of the Peloton app when I was in Texas and I only did 3 classes in 3 months. Now, it’s normal for me to do 3 classes in a day! I’m not sure what changed, but I love the variety. I also feel a bit more like my normal life living in my own apartment, so I can prioritize my workouts more than I could in Texas when I wasn’t living in my own space. I’ve done 206 workouts since I got the bike on February 9th: 112 cycling classes, 50 strength classes, 39 stretch classes, and a few outdoor runs and walks.
I was nervous I wouldn’t get my money’s worth, but that is certainly not a worry anymore. I put the bike in our bedroom so it is literally the last thing I see before I go to sleep, and the first thing I see when I wake up. The real question is, will I continue to use it after the gyms open back up? I’m not sure but I definitely think so. It’s so easy and I love it. Also, I can ride with my friends all over the country. Do you have a Peloton bike or work out on the app? Drop your LB name in the comments!
Last week I posted about the types of classes and instructors that annoyed me, but this week, I am going to write about something more positive and more useful – the workouts I love!
Specifically, below I will link you to my favorite instructors and classes, and I’ll give you the quick rundown for why they are simply the best during quarantine. This post is a doozy, I apologize for my verbosity. Bookmark it and come back to it when you’re ready to work out!
RECAP from last week. Things you will not find in my recommendations: instructors who yell at you or call you out. Things you will find: positive rays of light with fun, engaging workouts and BOMB playlists. Here we go!
When to find him: 5 pm ET, varies by week but usually always Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and they stay up on his IG for 24 hours after. After that, you’re out of luck, they aren’t saved anywhere.
What you can expect: The most fun dance party ever. He doesn’t even call it a workout, he calls it a party and that’s exactly what it is. But you will also burn calories, get a sweat on, and have a hell of a time. The party usually lasts 30-40 minutes, begins with a warm-up, and then goes into 4-5 semi-choreographed routines. They include moves like “sprinkler,” “Tiger King,” “Robot,” and “Clap for the doctors cheer for the nurses.” There are also more conventional moves like grapevines. He has a few signature phrases like “bake those cakes, put those cakes in the oven” (aka squats) and “pump it for Jesus” (aka body rolls).
His wardrobe is UNMATCHED. I’m talking rainbow EXTRAVAGANZA. Crop tops, cutoff shorts, and neon leotards. And every live usually concludes with a wig-change and confetti. There are rainbow flags, capes, fans, disco balls, you name it. It is a legit CELEBRATION.
My favorite part of his workout is his ATTITUDE. OMG y’all, Mark comes to SLAY. His huge laugh makes me laugh. He smiles the entire times as he switches sunglasses 7 times. He tells us “you are enough,” “you are KILLING it.” He is very honest about mental health and sometimes admits when he is having a hard day. He says “it’s ok to not be ok,” and always reminds us to “be gentle to ourselves.” There are no expectations. He always says that if you feel like just watching and sitting on the couch, that’s ok too. But within 3 minutes, you’ll be up because his energy is contagious.
I should warn you he’s usually 5-7 minutes late, but y’all, he’s doing this FOR FREE so I cut him some slack.
This reminds me, his workouts are 100% free but he mentioned his Venmo/Paypal for the first time last week. Since his parties are the best part of my day and I have danced with him about 45 times since quarantine began (he used to have dance parties 7 days a week), I sent him a donation. It is by no means expected but if you feel inclined, I’m sure he would appreciate it. The photo below is all from one single dance party. And it wasn’t even all of his costume changes!
When to find her: IG Live is sporadic whenever she feels like popping on (more on that below), but her subscription and Youtube videos are available whenever.
What you can expect: Positivity and smiles that you can’t help but smile along to. Specifically, she is known for her dance cardio workouts and jump rope workouts. Her tagline is “Jump Skip Smile” and she does just that. She has recently gone a bit viral because of her unfortunate circumstances – her husband, a famous Broadway actor Nick Cordero, was in a coma from Covid-19 for more than a month and he had his leg amputated (Hashtag: #WakeUpNick) The AMAZING news is that he is showing signs of waking up and things are looking up! (Hashtag: #NickIsWOKE) Why do I share this? Because despite her husband’s illness and her 10-month-old, adorable baby named Elvis, she has continued to be positive, and has continued to jump, skip and smile. Her daily Instagram reminders to move our bodies and to not take a single day for granted has been great motivation for me. She never yells, just encourages. And every day that she has great news about her husband Nick, she goes on Instagram Live and teaches fitness classes to “give back” to the world for all of our support. One time she did a 35 minute dance class that I loved so much I did it twice and screen recorded it before it disappeared from her Instagram Story. I’ve done it twice again since then!
She is also known for her “Dancer Arms” series, which I have been doing every day for 3 weeks. Only done to one song (5 minutes or less), I dare you to attempt getting through an entire song without dropping your arms. 3 weeks in and I am FINALLY getting there! You can find them on her IGTV, Youtube or subscription service. Anyone has time for 5 minutes! Sometimes I do it before bed when I’m already in PJs!
Here’s a jump rope workout. She even sells her own ropes that say Jump Skip Smile on the handles.
She has a GoFundMe page for her husband, and I feel like I am giving back to her by subscribing to her workout service. It’s only $9.99/month. To be honest, I haven’t used her subscription much, but I use her Youtube and IGTV videos constantly.
The Fitness Marshall
Where to find him: Youtube for free single song workouts, or you can join the Booty Army (lol) with 60-minute workouts and membership prices go from $4.99/month to $14.99. The more expensive tier includes 60-minute sweat seshes with 15 songs each!
When to find him: Whenever you want!
What you can expect: SUPER cardio and FUN choreographed dances. These are actual dancers so some of the moves may be fast or tricky, but he has a lot of modifications for all fitness level and his energy is amazing! Also, great for all body types and fitness levels, very empowering, and you can just do a single song at a time for a 4-minute cardio blast! He has a few toning videos, too, but he’s mostly known for his cardio.
Here’s a playlist for a “full sweat set” aka 13 songs to make a full workout!
305 Fitness
Where to find it: Mostly Youtube, (search 305 Fitness), but they are EVERYWHERE. Even Tik Tok.
When to find it: LIVE daily at 8 am and 12 pm ET. But they also keep these up on their Youtube channel so you can do them whenever! There are so many videos up there both from before Quarantine taped in their studio, and from recent, usually taped in the founder, Sadie Kurzban’s, backyard. Look out for the cameos when her husband joins her, pretty funny.
What you can expect: Heart-pumping cardio fun and toning. It is usually a combo of 15-20 mins of nonstop cardio, then adding some toning, then a choreographed hip hop section. And they always have BOMB playlists. They do a lot of theme playlists, and usually you can expect some bad words (beware for kids). But they also have some for kids, like today they did a Disney theme! Highly recommend if you want to engage with the instructor in the comments and feel like you’re back at the gym. So many options to join in live!
Katie Austin
Where to find her: Instagram @KatieAustin and Youtube Katie Austin, and she does LOVE Tik Tok, too, but not really for workouts. She also has her own app! There is a 7-day free trial, and then it is $9.99/month. Her Youtube and Instagram are FREE though.
When to find her: Live Schedule varies, but if you go to her IGTV or Youtube, you can find a PLETHORA of workouts in the vault and play them as many times as you want.
What you can expect: On Youtube, she has everything from light body weight toning, abs and booty, to barre, to cardio dance and retro workouts. Her name may sound familiar… remember Denise Austin? Aerobics queen from the 80’s?? Well Katie is her daughter! Denise still looks AMAZING (“all natural!” as Katie always reminds you) and last week for Mother’s Day, they posted daily workout videos together. Speaking of Denise, you can follow her on Youtube, too, for low-impact aerobics and more videos with Katie. My favorite part of Denise’s workouts is her super-throwback phrases like “waistline trimmer” moves and when doing glute toning exercises, she says, “Squeeze!! If you don’t squeeze it, no one else will!” CRINGE but also LOL.
I personally don’t subscribe to Katie’s app, but if you do, you’ll find even more content there including workout videos, a daily workout calendar, recipes, challenges, etc.
Peloton
Where to find it: They have their own app! You can follow workouts on the computer or phone/tablet. Also, they had a 90-day free trial at the start of quarantine but I think it may be back down to 30 days. Take advantage! After that, it is $12.99/month.
When to find it: Classes are available to stream 24/7. The instructors are now streaming live from their homes, but the tech issues abound. I highly recommend their on-demand classes from BC (Before Covid), there are thousands.
What you can expect: Professional quality filming, SUPER fit and attractive instructors, and a little bit of everything!! This is not just about their super expensive bike. They have toning, tabata, stretching, yoga, outdoor coached runs, treadmill workouts, and dance cardio! As you can probably sense from above, I have been mostly doing the dance cardio, but one day I had 10 minutes between calls and did a KILLED HIIT workout. I was panting and dripping by my second call. Many of their workouts require 0 equipment. Perfect for quarantine! The bets part of Peloton is the production value. They literally base their business model from streaming. Their recent classes from instructors’ homes are pretty bad, but the ones from BC are awesome! No Zoom glitches, perfectly clear cuing, and some classes have live DJs spinning!
When to find them: 24/7, or whenever you don’t annoy your downstairs neighbor with your stomping
What you can expect: A workout for your body and your mind. Step is not for the uncoordinated. It is SO fun to be mentally challenged in a workout in quarantine. It is the only way I can take my mind off of the outside world. One hour classes pass in the flash of an eye. Or is that just sweat in my contacts…
But for real, my favorite thing about quarantine has been rediscovering Step. I used to own a step when I lived in Florida, but in my tinyhome aka NYC apartment, it’s not really an option. The first week I “moved” to Texas for quarantine, I considered buying a step and it seemed like a crazy $55 purchase but I took the leap and I have never been more happy with a purchase. I use it at least two times a week, and with Texas getting hotter every day, I will probably use it even more!
My favorite instructor on Youtube is Kat Gates-Buettner. Her advanced routines are SERIOUSLY advanced. I taught step for years and even I am a little confused by them. That said, it’s a great way to make time fly. She also has basic workouts and even did one using a doormat for people without a step in their homes or with bad knees. HIGHLY recommend. There are other instructors with great step routines on Youtube, too, but it may take some culling. Here’s another great one.
I also started using the BurnAlong App because my favorite instructor of all time (and friend), Judy Bremner is on there. BurnAlong has a 30 day free trial, and is $14.99/month after. If you get the free trial or membership, search for her. I used to take her classes at LA Fitness when I lived in Florida, and one of my favorite things about quarantine is taking her classes again! Don’t forget to follow, rate and review, that’s how instructors make money! I watch on my laptop not on my phone so it is easier to see.
If you’ve made it this far, you may have used up all of your time you had set aside to work out today. But bookmark this page and check out the workouts tomorrow or this weekend. Let me know in the comments what you think. Also, let me know if I’m missing any of your favorite workouts! I’m always up to try something new. But remember my ground rules, no yelling, only laughing and sweating.
As a fitness instructor, this quarantine is hitting me hard. Not only am I losing hundreds of dollars every month the gym is closed, I’m losing hours of moving my body and I’m missing a critical part of my social life at the gym. All of these things have had an effect on my physical and emotional health, but what I’ve found has affected me most is the loss of my gym crew. I MISS PEOPLE! I love teaching fitness classes, I find joy in helping people meet their fitness goals, choosing news songs for playlists, catching up with the same people twice a week, and sweating out the stress of the day.
And I’m writing this blog so that you can learn from me and you don’t need to do your own research. The first few weeks of quarantine I was struggling to find a balance between work, fitness, and happiness, and I am still working on it. Work is incredibly overwhelming, stressful, time-consuming and emotionally draining, and that’s why finding my niche with at-home workouts was even more important to me. I tried a lot of different things – types of fitness I hated and loved, formats of classes I hated and loved, and instructors I hated and loved. I have so much to say that I’m splitting this post into two parts. First, more generalized types of classes and instructors I love, and later this week, my actual favorite classes and links to where you can find them.
I was especially motivated to write this post now because I follow so many instructors and gyms on social media and most of them have been IRKING me. I discovered the joy of working out in college, but I didn’t always look at it in a healthy way. There was a time in college where I counted every calorie going into my body and every minute on the elliptical. I was at the gym 5 hours a day. Psychologists agree that one factor that impacts disordered eating is a sense of control. When other things in people’s lives feel out of control, eating and exercise are two things that can easily be monitored and controlled. And that is why so many fitness instructors and “fitfluencers” now are annoying the hell out of me.
Things are HARD right now. Stressful. Uncertain. But fitness instructors should not be capitalizing on that to sell classes. I understand that fitness instructors whose livelihoods are depending now on online classes seem OBSESSED with proving that their programs create results, visible abs, visible biceps, etc. But I worry that people see these milestones and feel like it is the only goal to strive toward. With vacations and plans canceled for months, people are looking for things to aim for. And more time on their hands, all they need to do is take 4 fitness classes a day and they can get abs! YIPPEE! Great goal! I see people gloating about “tripling” (i.e. taking 3 classes in a day). This is not something to gloat about. I have been there, that’s how I know. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t create goals for yourself, or set something to strive for during these crazy times. But the unhealthy way I see it portrayed on Instagram is troubling me.
This is not a post about disordered eating or disordered working out, it’s about how I came to find joy in the endorphins of working out, how I am finding that joy during quarantine.
I already told you the main thing I am missing from the gym is my people, so it may seem counter-intuitive that the first thing I am recommending is a solo activity… RUNNING! I know, I know, you never thought you’d hear this from me; I literally own a shirt that says “I hate running.” I recently wrote about my January run streak and how I’d never do it again. But I can’t stress how much fresh air and alone time can help elevate my mood. I have been running often with my fiance’s sister. We run a couple times per week together. But when I am feeling really down, I have been lacing up my shoes, cuing up a playlist of my favorite jams, and taking it to the streets alone. As much as I love my fiancé and his family, it can be nice to quiet my mind and surroundings for an hour.
I have had many friends and strangers tell me they wished they could run, but they can’t run more than a few minutes without giving up. They ask what the secret is and it’s simple – just run as long as you want! And when you want to stop to walk, do that. Especially during these crazy times, adding extra pressure on yourself is not going to help anything. Just get outside, breathe fresh air, listen to some awesome music, or podcast, or audiobook, and stop when you want. Or don’t. It reminds me of the Forrest Gump quote:
That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of the town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on goin’. – Forrest Gump
But not everyone wants to run or walk. And soon it’ll be way too hot in Texas for me to run, too. The only way some people will work out is when someone is giving them structured advice in the form of a class. The great news is, there has never been a better array of classes available online. But that doesn’t mean they are all equal.
Here’s the type of instructor I do NOT want to be anywhere near during quarantine: Anyone who yells. Period. Do not tell me I can do 15 more squats. You don’t know what I went through today. You don’t know that I spoke to someone who lost both of their parents this month and took a 20% pay cut that day despite having two mortgages because they can’t sell their current house in this market. Maybe today I can’t do 15 more squats. And do NOT tell me that I need to turn my video on for Zoom. I have my video on for Zoom ALL DAY for work. If I don’t feel like having someone watch my form today, then I will leave your class. And guess what, I have done that! Now is not the time to waste energy on things that bring me down and not up. Which brings me to my next point.
Here’s the type of instructor I DO want to be near during quarantine: Someone who smiles. Someone who says, “we’re in this together.” Someone who says, “I had a hard day today, but I’m so glad we’re here together now.” Someone who says, “have FUN!”
Now let’s talk a little about class format. Technology can be hard. I get it. There will be tech problems. But Zoom workouts??? It’s a HARD PASS for me. I have tried a couple different classes on Zoom and WebEx, ALL BAD. Every. Single. One. As a fitness instructor, ex-musician and ex-dancer, music matters. Music must go with moves. I am not an AMRAP girl. I am an 8-count girl. Nothing irks me more than an instructor who cannot count. So, if an instructor is counting but the beat doesn’t match with the voice, I will leave. I left 3 BollyX classes because I was so frustrated. I left a bootcamp class. One class I stayed in, but I put my own music on from Spotify. Now, if I sign up for a class and I see it is taking place on Zoom, I just don’t go. I may lose money but it’s not worth the stress and frustration.
That still leaves a lot of options, though! Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Peloton, BurnAlong and Youtube! None of those options allow the instructor to see you, so it’s less interactive, but you can still leave comments. Also another benefit, no one can yell at you because they can’t see you!
I will post later this week about my favorite instructors and formats during this time. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot of dance cardio, workouts I can get lost in where time passes quickly, and instructors who focus on positivity and fun. I sent an extensive list of links to my great aunt and she has been dancing and Zumba-ing around her house for a month. I can’t wait to tell you all about my favorite online offerings so we can do them “together!”
As you may remember, the only Spin class I will pay for is at Peloton (usually). I’ve written at length about the experience of riding live in the studio, but I had never had the experience of being an “at-home rider.” That all changed last Friday. I wasn’t at home, per se, but I was in the window, for many passersby to see and wave at me, and I did get to watch Emma Lovewell LIVE from 2,783 miles miles away. That’s an exact number.
Last week, I traveled to Los Angeles for work (more on the trip later), and on my first day there, I stumbled upon a Peloton Showroom. If you did not know, Peloton has only one studio, in Manhattan, but they sell their bike worldwide, and they livestream the classes from New York all over the world. They currently have more than 25 showrooms in the USA, where they sell the bikes and apparel. When I accidentally came upon the showroom in Santa Monica, I absolutely had to go in, but not before taking a photo to post on my Instagram story.
When I walked in, I met Deano, the nicest salesperson I’ve ever met. He laughed about me taking a photo for my insta-story, and we chatted for more than 30 minutes. I knew it wasn’t just a sales pitch, because we discussed right away that I wasn’t buying a bike. I told him I lived in a New York apartment, and therefore it was the size of a closet, and therefore a Peloton bike would have to take the place of like, a couch or a table or both. He motioned to the corner of that store and was like “haha yea, your apartment is probably like, this big.” HAHAHA. LOL. SO FUNNY. But for real.
Anyway, Deano and I talked about how the company was a unicorn, and how it somehow grew rapidly by finding a niche hole in the market that needed to be filled. I told him that I only had the experience of riding in the studio, and how I had never ridden the bike with the big screen. (The bikes in the studio have littler Ipad mini-sized screens, since they don’t have to show the video of the instructor.) He told me I should come in to take a class live in the window. And I knew I had to, simply because of the blog. And also because of snapchat. And Instagram. Oh, and also because it was my favorite price: FREE!
Two days later, I popped into the showroom, and Justine and Christopher (equally as nice as Deano) were there to fulfill my window-riding dreams. They gave me spin shoes in my size, a water bottle and a towel, and Christopher promised to take many Instagram-worthy pics. I was ready to roll. I logged into my account (LongLegsBigCity, DUH), and I was off! I took Emma Lovewell’s live DJ ride, where the DJ spins the tunes and we follow Emma’s cues. It was so fun, especially because people were walking by the showroom windows the whole time, pointing and gawking, and I just waved to them like a princess. A very, very sweaty princess.
SO sweaty in the window!
Right before I did a princess wave.
Check out Emma (and me waving in the reflection!)
One of my worst outputs ever. I guess I was overheated!
Pros:
I got an amazing workout.
I got to feel famous riding in the window.
I got bombass pics for Instagram.
I had an awesome experience I could blog about.
I got a free Peloton workout!
Cons:
My knee has been bothering me a lot lately, so I couldn’t pull the big numbers on the leaderboard that I am accustomed.
Emma is a relatively new instructor and I hadn’t taken her before, she isn’t my favorite. How does she ride with her hair down and not get sweaty?? It’s very irksome.
I don’t love riding with headphones on, it’s one of the best parts of group fitness, feeling unencumbered and still having loudddd music.
I realized, after sweating buckets, that I had never once ridden a spin bike in full light before. Not only were the lights on, but the doors of the store were open, I was in the window, it was afternoon, AND the bike had spotlights on it because I was in the window! It was SO HOT. I was chugging water the rest of the day to rehydrate.
The best three parts about the at-home rider experience vs. the studio:
They track your best output in real time, so you can constantly chase your own best numbers on the leaderboard. For example, at 10 minutes in, it showed my best output at 140, and I was hovering at 80. I told you it was a rough ride. Anyway, it’s very motivating to chase your PR throughout the class.
When you ride at home, you are on the leaderboard with hundreds to thousands of riders at a time. It’s awesome! In the studio, you are only on the board with the 60 people in the studio. Peloton literally is a noun that means “the main field of cyclists in a race.” And the point, according to their website, is for “riders in a peloton to work together, conserve energy and perform better because of one another.” This is easier achieved when you know you’re in it with 1000 other people!
Beyond the ride! They had a 5 minute post-class stretch, and they have other classes like arms and abs classes that you can’t see in the studio, but you can see at home. I tried to do the stretch, but it was a little cramped in the window space. Maybe next time.
Yesterday I got back to New York, and of course I had to take a Peloton class in the studio with Cody. I got the big numbers I didn’t manage to get on Friday, and I feel like some of that is because I feed off the energy of those around me. Also because Cody is the BOMB. Long story short: It’s an awesome experience if you don’t live in NYC, and it’s incredibly unique, but if you can get yourself to the studio, DO IT!
Check out the photos below, Christopher did a great job!
What’s better than a night of Spinning with your favs from the gym? A night of Spinning followed by a night of DRINKING! DUH.Last night we had the first in hopefully a series of #SpinAndSip nights at Brazenhead in Brooklyn. This night was in the making for almost two months. With all of our busy schedules, my constant weddings, etc., we finally settled on October 19th as the inaugural night. I must have said that date 100 times in my classes in the weeks leading up to it. I’m sure you all tired of my constant blacklight photos and boomerangs on Instagram to promote it. The night has come and gone, and it was as fun as I imagined. We started with a BOMB@$$ All 90’s #tbt playlist in spinning (you can find it here, FOLLOW ME ON SPOTIFY!), and then we headed across the street for some libations.
I visited two bars in the area to check what kind of drink specials I could finagle, and Brazenhead won out. I went to law school around the corner, and I had hosted multiple events at Brazenhead before so I knew they were game. Specifically, I hosted multiple nights of Sex Ed Trivia for Law Students for Reproductive Justice. Lingerie, pleather knee-high-boots, garters, etc. Anyway, as usual, I am getting off-track. The point is, Brazenhead is a great space, with a neighborhood feel, TVs, and a cute outdoor space in the back. PLUS, the manager, Sasha, said she would give us wristbands and extend their happy hour pricing for us from 8-10 pm. HELLO $6 gin and tonics!!
First Stop: Spinning!
2nd Stop: Brazenhead and Wristbands!
RESERVED, B*TCHES!
#TeamDodgeYMCA! Love you guys.
Unfortunately, they don’t serve food (besides free bar snacks, like pretzels), but the manager said she didn’t mind if we brought our own food. A couple of people picked up real food for dinner, but the real MVP of the night was Jeannine, who brought snacks for everyone. In true elementary-school-teacher fashion, she brought pita chips, carrot sticks, and hummus. What a champion.
We ended up having 16 people show up, including 3 instructors (myself included). #TeamDodgeYMCA! Brazenhead was so hospitable, I could not have asked for anything more. They gave us wristbands, the bartenders were awesome, and they even reserved a huge circular booth for us in the front of the place. We played a few rounds of “get to know you” games, learned each other’s names, learned how many years we had lived in New York, a learned a fun fact about each of us. I revealed that I once brought a snow cone machine to sleep-away camp #fatkidforever. Best of all, we got to hang out with each other off the bike.
It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again. Next time, I expect an even larger turn-out! Now accepting all suggestions for the next hashtag: #SpinAndSipTake2#SweatThenSwig#SpiritsAndSpinning#SwoleSippers
FitForFreeNYC strikes again. This time, in a dance-cardio-sweat-my-butt-off-but-my-face-hurts-more-than-anything-from-smiling way. And it was my favorite price: FREE! BollyX is my new favorite thing. Read through and I will link you to more free classes popping up around NYC through the rest of the year!
Two weeks ago, after my experience with free yoga through FitForFree, I saw another free workout pop-up on Alexa’s instagram, BollyX, and I knew I had to go. When I signed up, I did not know much of what I was getting into, besides that it was a Bollywood-inspired dance cardio class, and that they were “celebrating body empowerment & self love.” I was game right away.
First of all, you guys know I am a wedding-guest-extraordinaire (7 in the past year). But absolutely nothing compares to the Indian wedding I attended four years ago. SHOUTOUT RIMA AND VARUN! They had a horse, the most beautiful bridesmaid saris, but best of all, the DANCING WAS AMAZING. I remember sweating up a storm on the dance floor, killin’ it at all of the moves I had practiced in my room ever since The Pussycat Dolls remade Jai Ho for the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. I have been cultivating my love for Bollywood for years.
Getting to Waterside Plaza was a pain and a half, involving a subway, a crosstown bus, and three queries to three separate security guards and a lifeguard. I felt like I was actually traveling to India. Or at least a quarter of a way across the globe. But ultimately, it was worth it. And I’d definitely do it again. In fact, I already signed up for 3 more classes!!
This class was everything I hoped for AND MORE. Meredith Higgins, a BollyX Global Community Manager, was subbing the class, and she was the BOMB. Check out her Instagram! According to her bio, her motto is “take life by the lady balls and ‘Get Shit Done!’” Hell yes.
It was like Zumba on crack, but with better music. It combined strength, dance, jumping, cardio, body rolls, smiles, and LOTS of shoulder shaking. According to their website, which I didn’t look at until this morning, it’s a high intensity cardio workout with “heart pumping beats of Bollywood,” that make you “feel that muscle burn and unleash your inner swagger.” Spot on. There were a lot of cardio songs, but there was also a song for lower body toning, and one for upper body toning. Those Bollywood stars must have some JACKED shoulders! On their “about” section of the BollyX website, it boasts a 500-800 calorie burn per session. According to my Fitbit, I only burned 415, but I feel like that can’t possibly be true. I was sweating like crazy! And more than anything it was SO FUN. My face hurt from smiling and laughing.
Toward the end of class, we broke into 2 groups and Meredith taught us a “performance” song, where it’s only 90 seconds of choreography, and you’re supposed to give it your all, like you’re leaving it all on the dance floor. We did the routine twice together, then she split us in two, and we performed for each other while clapping along for the other group. Meredith led each of our groups through it, and then we performed it facing the front! You can even see a clip of it in her video here. I, unfortunately, wore neon yellow so you can’t miss me messing up all the moves. But at least I was smiling the whole time! WHAT A BLAST. ABC News did a piece on it too, if you don’t want to watch me, specifically.
Luckily for you, there are pop-up FREE classes throughout the rest of October, November and December in New York and throughout the country! Go to Eventbrite and search for Free BollyX, or click here for the New York ones at Waterside Plaza, where I was!
Check out our awesome boomerang from after class with Meredith, I think we can now be considered BollyPros.
I have been teaching Spinning classes for 11 years. During some parts of my life, I was teaching 4 classes/week on the bike. And I made the playlist for Every. Single. One. Y’all remember Kazaa? Napster? They were after people like me. JK. I downloaded allll of my music legally. 😉 Anyway, I digress. Monday, that all changed; I didn’t make the playlist, Tim did!
Tim has been attending my Spin classes religiously for a year. I thought it was longer, but it’s just because he never misses a class! When his sister was in town, he even brought her along for the ride. Literally. (I crack myself up.) Anyway, Tim had never made a playlist before, but after attending nearly 100 of my classes, he wanted to try it out. I had faith in his musical choices because he tends to win round after round of Name That Tune when I challenge the class. I figured if he could identify Taio Cruz with less than 1 second played, I was in good hands.
Sure enough, he pulled through. He sent me the full playlist on google play music, and I transferred it to Spotify, where I have an unlimited membership. See? I’ve transformed into a good, law-abiding citizen. Tim knows I love a good spattering of K-pop in my class, but unfortunately the only song he picked that I couldn’t find on Spotify was Energetic by BOA. Truly unfortunate because it is a JAM. Not to worry, I subbed in another K-Pop song in its place: New Face by Psy, the lyrical genius who brought us Gangnam Style.
The playlist featured some of my favorite artists including Busta Rhymes, Major Lazer and Ariana Grande. He also included some songs I had never heard of before by great artists, like Alphabeat by David Guetta. Tim told me the drills he thought would go best with half of the songs and left the other half to my spin drill expertise. I played the new songs through about 4 times until I felt comfortable cueing them, then I called it a day. So much less effort on my part.
We had a blast, and I had to do so much less work! Since I had been promoting the class for weeks on Instagram, I had to appease my followers. Accordinglyyyy, after class we took some awesome photos and boomerangs to commemorate the occasion and post on all the social meds. Duh.
If ANYONE wants to guest DJ in the future, send over your playlists! I even take requests for single songs. The only thing is, I always reserve the right to VETO. Maroon 5… never gonna happen.
I am a workout fiend but there’s one workout I never do: YOGA. The reason being, I am one of the most inflexible people you will ever meet. I’m talking, I can barely touch my toes. However, with all of the running and spinning that I do, yoga is probably the one thing I need the most! So how did I end up reaching for my far-away-toes and attempting to contort my body into unheard-of poses on Tuesday night? Well mostly because it was my favorite price: FREE. I’m a sucker for a free workout, especially a free CLASS, which is why I started following the blog, Fit For Free months ago. The creator of the blog, Alexa Lippman, posts all different types of free and reduced-price workouts on her blog and Instagram, but for some reason, the mood struck me to try out some contortionism Tuesday.
First, a quick history of my yoga “practice” and inflexibility:
Flashback to college, when I started training to become a fitness instructor. They forced us to complete a fitness assessment with the trainers. I remember laying on my back as the trainer pushed my straight leg back as far as he could, measuring the angle. I remember him telling me to stop pushing back against him. I remember him laughing asking if I was trying to mess with him. I remember me adamantly saying, “no, I’m just that inflexible.” I remember him telling me he had never met anyone with as tight hamstrings as me. I remember trying out a yoga class that Friday, in an attempt to take the trainer’s suggestion to “stretch the f*ck out.” I remember laughing/falling on my face in yoga. I remember vowing to never return.
Flash-forward 9 years later, when I agreed to do a 20-minute yoga-for-runners class at lululemon after run club. SURPRISE! I was still inflexible and a complete yoga-dummy.
Flash-forward to receiving the email from Fit For Free about a free Lyons Den Power Yoga class at Athleta. There would be refreshing dandelion tea after class, and I am a sucker for free snacks and beverages. Plus, the email promised it would be ok for yogi-failures. Direct quote from the email:
Class is open to all levels – so whether you practice yoga everyday, or this is your very first time, everyone is welcome. Trust me, you will very likely see me fall out of tree pose, I am no pro. So don’t be intimidated if you’re not a regular yogi. This event is meant for everyone to have fun, take an awesome yoga class, and meet some new like-minded fitness friends.
Sounded legit. I like fitness friends! I figured that if Alexa, the creator of a fitness blog, was going to fall out of tree pose, I could fall out of tree pose with her! Not that I knew what “tree pose” even was…
I gathered all of my strength, literally and figurately, and I signed up. I got there early, so I could panic and talk myself out of leaving for a full 45 minutes, as one does. I watched all of these lithe females walk in with their own yoga mats, and proceeded to freak out a little more. Finally, we entered the room barefoot (good thing I got a pedicure!), grabbed a block, and picked a mat. Unluckily for everyone else, the back 4 rows were full. I was in the second row, in plain view for everyone to watch me make a fool of myself. NBD.
Me waiting for class to start. I wore the perfect shirt!
The MindBody board with upcoming classes.
You’re more likely to find me running from yoga, like these mannequins.
Descending to my yoga-death. #PowerToTheShe
We began with a meditation where we reflected and wrote on a post-it note something that was making us bitter recently so we could think about it and let go of it during class. Usually this inner-peace/reflection/contemplation/bogus is not my thing. But it has been SO DAMN HOT lately. And I was freaking bitter about it. So obvi I wrote “THE HEAT” in all capital letters. It actually made me feel better. We began to down dog, forward fold, crescent lunge, tadasana, rag doll. Not in that order. Also, I’m not gonna lie, I just googled “basic yoga poses” because I’m basic (in more ways than one), and because I didn’t remember any of the names. At one point, the amazing instructor, Christine Mahoney, said, “you don’t have to look around, everyone looks fantastic and is doing fine!” Little did she know, I was looking around because I had absolutely no idea what a “forward fold” was (and yes, in hindsight it really should have been self-explanatory).
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Anyway, TBH it was a lot of fun. It was so different than running/spinning, but the “power” part of power yoga meant it was a fast-paced class and I wasn’t bored at all, which was my primary concern. Plus, I was super busy the whole class trying to look around and figure out what I was supposed to be doing, while simultaneously trying not to fall on my face. I didn’t get a single bruise! Also, I felt looser and less tense than I had in weeks. Possibly months. Ok, years.
I’d say it was an overall success. I don’t know if I’d ever pay to embarrass myself, but I would be down (down dog?) to try it again for no cost! I even found myself googling “free yoga NYC” this morning. And one thing’s for sure, I’ll def be following Fit for Free to see if any other free classes pop up! You should, too! And follow me, because I promise to repost 😊
Friday night I died 5 times. But here I am, risen from the dead, very sore, and here to tell the tale.
Backstory: I heard about a gym called Ripped from Well and Good (review coming at another time), and at the class last Tuesday, the trainer, Courtney Paul, plugged this “super fun fitness event” he was hosting on Friday. He said the venue would be “bougie AF” and there would be “lots of hot guys there.” I was intrigued. Then he said it was FREE. My favorite price. So I RSVPed. But then I got terrified and so I invited 10 of my closest fitness buddies to come with me, and out of 10, one said yes. Shout out to Mary, my ride or die. Mostly die.
This event was a collaboration of Life Time Athletic at Sky, with Courtney’s special fitness baby called CPX. As he asks on his website, “are you ready for the CPXperience?” Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was. But his Instagram made it seem like it was going to be cool, there was a post-workout pool party, and I was interested in seeing the outside, all-turf space, 11 stories above ground. Plus, it was a breezy 70 degrees so I couldn’t even use the weather as an excuse. Oh, and did I mention it was FREE? I did.
But still, I was intimidated. Courtney was featured on the Bravo show Work Out New York, and he can sometimes be fun and playful, (lots of sexual innuendo), but can sometimes be f*cking terrifying, screaming at you to get your treadmill to 9.0 MPH for the sprint or he will do it for you. Luckily there were going to be no treadmills on Friday night, so I felt a little bit more at ease going into it.
A little about the workout: CPX is an “ultimate fusion of body conditioning with a circuit flare.” He says on Instagram that it is meant to “redefine HITT.” HITT is usually used in the military as “high intensity tactical training,” and I’m not sure if he really meant HIIT, or “high intensity interval training,” but either way, it was definitely high intensity. His workout (and he) has been featured in a lot of articles and magazines, you can see some links here on his website.
I arrived at Sky, where I went in a revolving door to a bougie AF lobby (he was not exaggerating). I had to sign a waiver on an iPad, check in, and receive my wristband. I felt so official. Mary and I took the elevator to the 11th floor, where we were some of the last to arrive, as usual. We grabbed mats and resistance bands, Mary got a complimentary energy drink, and we set our mats at the very back of the AstroTurf in the corner. I would ballpark about 80 people there. Not too shabby. The music started bumping and we started squatting. A lot of Courtney screaming in the microphone to keep our weight in our heels, and what seemed like 3 hours later, we moved away from legs, and on to abs. I think in reality, it was only 10 minutes. For the next 25 minutes we did squats, lunges, plank walkouts, butterfly kicks, crunches, etc., then we grabbed our resistance band for upper body toning. We did 10 minutes of bicep curls, upright rows, tricep kickbacks, partner rows in squats, etc. Finally, I thought we were getting a break. Joke was on me. We dispersed to the areas surrounding the turf where they had various benches and couches. They were not for sitting, though. They were for tricep dips, step-ups, and squats. For some reason this was my favorite part. Maybe because I just like being in proximity to seats.
Looks bougie AF even from the outside!
My admission wristband.
Some squats and lunges to start.
What I thought was a “break.” JK
We capped off the workout with some partner patty-cake planks, and partner core exercises. Check out my boomerang! Clearly staged, since I am smiling. I am a wuss and I probably stopped and didn’t do 10% of the workout. But to be fair, every time I looked around, there were always a few people taking breaks. That’s the nature of an interval class. Work as hard as you possibly can, then take a break when you absolutely must. I woke up the next day with a lot of different, obscure muscles aching, so I would say it was a success, even if I only did 90% of the workout. Ok, 85%.
Anyway, the workout was over just as the sun was setting, the apartment building/gym lit up, and we proceeded to the pool for the after-party. I had packed a swimsuit just in case, but it was a little too cold to hop in. The pools had an amazing view of the Empire State Building, PLUS they had one of those massive blow-up swan/flamingo floaties. (Check out Courtney flailing around on his Instagram after I left, LOL) I was very tempted to go in. Oh, AND they were hosting the 2017 Ultimate Hoops National Tournament. BALLIN’! It turned out this was a fancy-type bougie club. Too bad I was in spandex, with no makeup and covered in sweat. Also, the drinks were $16/piece. We stuck around for a bit for some Class A people-watching, saw some people (bball players?) getting interviewed on the step and repeat, then we took a photo of ourselves, duh, and found a place with more reasonably priced cocktails (read: cheap margaritas).
Overall, it was a successful FREE night of fitness in beautiful weather, and Calvin, the Studio Manager at Life Time Athletic gave us a free pass to try another one of their classes. I will definitely be taking him up on that! Go check out Courtney Paul’s CPXperience if you wanna get your butt kicked.
