Starting ‘em young

The AP recently ran a report on one of the first gyms specifically for teenagers in the US, Overtime Fitness.   Considering that 1 out of 3 children, ages 6-19 is either overweight or at a risk of being overweight, a fitness facility targeted at a younger age group.

As the AP reports, the gym focuses on attracting teenagers and showing them how to exercise properly.

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Gym Review – Equinox Greenwich

Equinox Greenwich is definitely in its own class.  I was a member during the summer a few years ago, and I was amazed by just how clean and bright everything is.

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Gym Review – Sports Club/LA

Just a note, I will almost never post a review for a gym unless I have been there more than once.  First impressions are sometimes way off the mark.  That said, for this gym, my first impression does stick. 

When I set foot in The Sports Club/LA, I think , wow, amenities, amenities, amenities!  And, 80s. 80s, 80s, and no, I don’t mean that is the median age of the members here (I was actually a bit surprised by how young some of the members were), but for some reason I really got smacked with a sense of 1980’s nostalgia. 

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What motivates you?

I lead a pretty active lifestyle. I workout at least once almost every day, either running, spinning, cycling, strength training, cross training, or swimming (no, climbing my six flights of stairs everyday does not count). Checking out different gym memberships, though, made me consider, why exactly do I, or you, bother?

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Boozin’ it up

Alcohol is a horrible, horrible thing for people who are trying to lose weight or get into better shape. I’ve mentioned before how it just can really destroy you by sapping your energy and flooding your body with empty calories. Any benefits from it, like thinking you have extra carbs to burn during a run at 5am are seriously outweighed by its detriments.

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Spin Etiquette

A while back I was wondering if instructors cared whether students left class early. I wasn’t sure if it was disruptive for the class or if it was offensive, since a lot of time people walk out early because they don’t like the class or person teaching.

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Dance, Dance

Dancing is a great form of exercise. So great, in fact, that gyms have incorporated different types of dancing into group fitness classes. It is pretty normal to see classes for everything from Bollywood Bhangra to hip hop to stripper aerobics. All the while, you are dancing to burn calories, and possibly pick up some moves to bring with you when you go out to a club.

That said, dancing provides a multitude of benefits for when you do go out. 

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Work Out – Cycle 2 – Reunion! “Jackie gone wild!”

It’s not over yet. We have one more week of this show with the reunion! The show was structured around a Q&A format with the host asking Jackie and the gang questions submitted by viewers through the Bravo website.

Q and A session begins

What are those things around the trainers necks? Microphones. Duh.

What’s in the protein shake?  

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Douchebags!

Is it just me, or does it feel like there is a higher concentration of douchebags in a workout environment than anywhere else; at least in real world day to day life. It kind of makes sense, after all, people tend to get into cramped quarters, get all sweaty, energized, and to some extent, completely self-involved. Social norms such as politeness or even basic etiquette tend to get thrown out the window. Maybe it’s the elevated levels of testosterone, or hey, maybe it’s just the fact that some people are complete douchebags.

Allow me to provide a few examples:

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Work Out – Cycle 2 – Episode 8 – Recap – “Jackie is very pleased with herself”

We pick back up with the trainers grieving Doug’s passing, and decide to have a memorial bike ride in honor of Doug, and Jackie tries to inspire the crew.

The bike ride is significant because Doug was passionate about bike riding, a spin instructor and had participated in numerous benefit bike rides.

The trainers get to the beach and sit around a bonfire reminiscing about Doug and how much he had impacted them. Each of them speak about how caring a person he was, and the legacy he will leave. Peeler reads the group a list of Doug’s “principles to live by” and the trainers feel that they have been able to come to terms with what has happened.

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