Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Madonna Vs Gaga ride at Flywheel Sports

One of the most fun spin classes I ever took was last year at Flywheel's inaugural Michael Jackson Vs Prince ride. Tonight's Madonna Vs Lady Gaga themed ride now joins that class in those hallowed ranks of "my most fun fitness experiences"!

When I heard the class was being taught by Alison Cohen and Ryan Makely, I knew I had to sign up. I have written about Alison before-she teaches a killer class and is such a sweetheart. I took Ryan's class for the first time last week and was instantly charmed by his positive energy, the enthusiasm he puts into his class, and our shared love for music from the 80s. He told me he was going to be Gaga to Alison's Madonna so I had a feeling they were going to dress the part. They did not disappoint!



The class was packed. There's something about the energy in these themed classes. You know that people are there because they love the music and so the collective energy really drives everyone in the room.  Alison set the mood by playing "Like A Virgin" as we filed into the room and began clipping ourselves in. A colorful disco ball rotated on the instructors podium. All my Madonna favorites (circa 80s and 90s) were played. "Like A Prayer" - check. "Holiday" -  check. "Material Girl" - check. I learned that "La Isla Bonita" is a surprisingly good "climb" song! Ryan played a great selection of the best-of-Lady Gaga.

What I loved was that even though it was a fun themed class, Alison and Ryan kept us challenged. The resistance was always high (the torq hovered in the late 20s for the majority of the ride and both instructors gently encouraged us to go higher into the 30s) and there were plenty of sprints and jumps to keep us on our toes. For the first time ever, I hit and then surpassed a total power of 300! Note: for the sake of comparison, my "power" at Flywheel usually hovers around 210. For me that's a testament to the power of music, and of course, two excellent instructors.

I know a lot of readers are Madonna fans. What's your favorite Madonna song? Are you Team Madonna or Team Gaga?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

"The Physique 57 Solution" Book Event

Physique 57 is my obsession. It changed my body and instilled in me a love for exercise. Something that no other workout had done prior to that. I have followed its meteoric rise from its humble origins as a single studio with a handful of teachers to its current status with multiple studios along the coasts and over 40 teachers on their roster. The DVDs were the first step in spreading the benefits of this method beyond NYC and LA, and were soon followed-up by the sold-out retreats. Now, Physique 57 has launched its first book, The Physique 57 Solution: The Groundbreaking 2-Week Plan for a Lean, Beautiful Body.



The book is broken up into 4 parts: The Method - which describes what Physique 57 is and what differentiates it from other workouts; The Moves - which provides detailed instructions of all the exercises with pictures; The Workout - two complete whole body workouts with different exercise sequences, (complete with a suggested music playlist- nice touch!); The Menu - a 2-week meal plan with many additional, easy-to-make, healthy recipes.

I went its book-signing event at Norma Kamali's Wellness Cafe earlier this week.


The lovely Tanya Becker, the creator of Physique 57, and co-author of the book was signing copies of the book. Currently pregnant with twins, she was looking positively radiant and was a walking testament to the effectiveness of this method!


I chatted with Natasha, Physique's social media guru.

with Natasha

Physique's Director of Training, Alicia Weihl was at hand to give P57 demonstrations. Norma Kamali's Wellness Cafe provided healthy snacks: popcorn with olive oil and sea salt, along with refreshing green tea.

l-r: My friend Janice, Tanya, Alicia and myself

Not being able to make it to the earlier book launch party, I was glad I could attend this. For those in NYC, there is another book signing event at Lululemon Lincoln Square on Wednesday February 8th, from 8-9pm.