The Golden Fleece

To a packed house The Blue Sapphire pumped out a rhythm that had us all relative strangers in synchronous pedal stroke up and down the steepest of ladders.  Her chant:  “How are you Sunday” had us responding in unison in exasperated breath.  

The art of spinning is starting to come together for me. Four months in has me comfortable in the uncomfortable zone and balancing speed, cadence and resistance like bacon and eggs and toast.  I am even starting to feel graceful in and out of the seat too. Thanks to Carolyn and her “Fine China” metaphor I am placing my derriere in the saddle rather than slamming back down after a strong effort in #3. 

A Memorial Day weekend treat was having Carolyn leading us today. And from the back in #38 I must say fellow riders we did look good.  A familiar face in Debbie to my right with her carved features showed me she was leaving nothing for tomorrow and that was incentive enough for me to empty my tank just in time for “Mea Culpa”. 

The Blue Sapphire is as cute as a lamb but whoever heard of a killer lamb?  They just invented it and they call her Carolyn Mellace.

Enigma: Mea Culpa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9JF5EqyiBE&feature=fvst

Entering the Trapezoid

A quadrilateral   with two parallel sides is the definition of a trapezoid. However, I was thinking of it to define the four sides of my favorite Spin Class instructors.  For my money it’s Kristen, Tripp and Carolyn.  The fourth side to this quadrilateral could be my newest trainer pare excellence, his name Alex Aguera. I have nicknamed him already and I call him Captain Pacer. 

However I may soon have to add another side to this shape and include Michelle Corso. Now I didn’t get to spin with her yesterday but I did observe her outside the plate windows and let me tell you this woman is a Michelangelo sculpture. I mean her physiology must have been literally carved from the finest marble.  She seemed to exude her singular presence right through glass from what I could tell but I will reserve judgment until I can challenge myself in her hour.  All of the instructors at Equinox are in phenomenal shape but I know and you all know it’s not just about fitness it’s about talent.  That’s why these classes are full to the brim.  My only lament is that I cannot spin with them all each week.  I almost want to spend a session observing and not actually spinning but I don’t know if the club will allow me to do that.  Cycling Fusion has asked me to do some reviews and I would love to do as many as I can at Equinox.

Why the trapezoid I have been asking myself these past few days. The title just appeared in my mind and has sat there looking for me to finish this story.  Maybe it’s just a title with no story but somehow I don’t believe that. 

Tomorrow it’s The Blue Sapphire. 

When Mom's Away the Cat Will Play

The Blue Sapphire had my legs on fire this Thursday night. The resistance dial seemed to be moving to the right by voice command giving me the workout of the year. 

 I say to myself how can a woman so small in stature command such a presence in the CS the way she does.  It’s not just her fitness or even her perfect physiology it’s something else.  Might it be her relentlessness in going after what she demands of us?  That is certainly possible but what about her delivery? She has a way of making torture feel like it’s right and proper and not outside the laws of humanity.  This must be it I thought because ultimately it’s our choice to be here and be with The Blue Sapphire. 

She has her own haunting way about her as well.  Her smile is captivating and when you see the whites of her eyes you just want to perform at a higher level.  When she rocks from side to side pounding the pedals we all know that Carolyn is doing the same thing she is asking of us.  Effort comes natural to her and it makes perfect sense to me to follow her lead.  Tonight especially had me focused on pedal speed something, which I now know, can bring me to breathless and increase my level of fitness as well. I had thought it was solely the resistance that would get me to succeed at spin and because of Carolyn I am learning that both speed and resistance compliment each other.

Sunday is coming up fast my friends and who better to spend part of our Memorial Day Weekend with than The Blue Sapphire. 

Kristen Doctrine

I wanted to recap what Kristen had said in her last class:
When you work out you cause muscles to breakdown, tear and become a little (or a lot) damaged. That's good. Its what you want to do, because then the next day, they repair build back up stronger..IF you eat right and take care of yourself. However, you can assist in the process by taking a multivitamin because when you breakdown the muscles free radicals are released in your body. Upon recovery they're looking for their partner again to return to a normal state. With the help of antioxidants found in vitamins you can help and speed up the process, so you're ready and able to workout again the next day. I don't promote any single brand. I always tell people to go to their local Vitamin Shop and ask for help on the selection.

Captain Pacer

In Kristen’s absence in the 0945 slot in the CS today was Alex Aguera she was extolling his talents to me just before she went away and I wanted to see what his repertoire was like.  I found it almost within the first few moments. 

He is an extremely fit middle-aged man, lean with sharp angles all around.  I found him to be singularly unique and not comparable to either of Mr. Mayhem or The Blue Sapphire. And I love that all of the now four instructors are as different as the proverbial snowflake.   He brought the word cadence with him as if he was a drill sergeant in his past life.

 There are so many elements to spin that I am starting to grasp and take in viscerally and pacing is my newest acumen.  Too often as I learned yesterday in Roslyn when I move from position #3 with strong resistance on that red dial that I have a tendency to slow my pedal stroke noticeably when I go back to the seat.  Kristen pointed out that my heart rate slows as soon as I sit but my mind says I am still fatigued.  I tried it today with Captain Pacer and I used the discipline to speed up rather than slow down and it worked as if by magic.

 Alex kept counting 1-2 at different speeds like a metronome atop a piano.  It made for discipline at the pedal stroke seem relatively easy because I didn’t have to think about it. And I started to focus more on the rudiments of spin rather than my usual all out effort. In Roslyn yesterday Kristen sidled close in front of my bike and said: Take some road off and pick up your speed.  A 1000-watt bulb lit my grey cells because my concentration was on how much resistance was on the dial not on pedal stroke speed. My classes are going to be much more efficient now with just this simple lesson.   

Captain Pacer rounds out the fearsome foursome.

That's not my name:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1c2OfAzDTI

Roslyn and Kristen Gold Letters

As I trekked to Roslyn today and got out of my car I took in the essence of the day the Almighty arranged. Most times I don’t even stop for a breath of it. Today however I felt the cool of spring nestled by the subtle signs of summer like it’s direct sunlight’s warmth. 

The same frenzy of KSC does not reside in Roslyn yet  (thank God) and as I arrived an hour before the class, no one was online for the “10 Most Wanted”. The receptionist a strikingly attractive middle-aged woman greeted me and as I explained the ceremony in Woodbury she said something to the effect that why do they all want to get into Kristen’s class when so many spin classes are not full?  To the uninitiated I could see her point.  I sometimes take it for granted that it’s not the class it’s the instructor and everyone given the same ingredients can’t necessarily bake a cake.

 I realize the talented like Kristen take their gift and minimize it because they don’t feel comfortable brandishing what others ostensibly lack.  We tend not to see the italics in our own personalities, which belie why we possess it in the first place.  Those that are loquacious about it only wish for it.  

When the Magnets Kiss the Flywheel

When the magnets kiss the flywheel I almost need them to get a room at the Savoy because the magnets get hot and heavy with the flywheel and a kiss always is a French one and they are very difficult to separate.  Why do I know this well when I am done with the session I put my hand on the flywheel and its always very HOT.  

I have begun using the ¼ rule when I turn up or down my resistance on the bike. It makes it so much easier for me to define the interval rather than simply twisting that red dial willy-nilly.  I don’t know how you do it but this seems to work for me.

Today of course was the last class Kristen was teaching for a WEEK!  Yikes. Alex Aguera is taking her place and I have heard he is exceptionally good.  We can always try the other professionals like Tripp Doherty, Mike Borska or The Blue Sapphire, Carolyn Mellace.

Kristen was talking about exploring today and it seemed to ring this bell inside my head that says we can open up our limitations on what we think we can do as far as effort is concerned but then my mind turned to how the word limitless can give us a word up on what might be possible. Too often we put our own brake on the pedals because we don’t know what lies beyond.  One step beyond is all we need take it’s not like we are jumping across a canyon it’s just a step and one step leads to another and another and pretty soon we are starting to pick up speed when we thought we were frozen to the spot. 

We had some Kristen Doctrine today but I didn’t have a pen and pad to copy all those epithets of wisdom she laid on us but I will ask her to elaborate and then post it later this week.  What I do remember is something about free radicals chasing anti-oxidants around or vice versa and it was important they get together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dhdTz2F430 Katy Perry: California Girl

           

Taking it to the Streets

Well not literally the streets, more like the track at the middle school in my neighborhood. I was curious about whether or not spinning translated into more speed and endurance on foot.

And to my limited surprise it sure did.  I used to be a long distance runner in my past life but over the years my distance has been severely curtailed by age, knee pain and a level of fitness that could not compare to what I have been experiencing over the past 4 months in Kristen’s Spin Class.  What I tried on the track was a series of ladders up and down with various distances involving ¼ mile runs down to 110-yard sprints. Grant it was only a little over 2 ½ miles but the speed and endurance was there right where I left it in my last CS session. 

I don’t think I will return to a running regimen because my knees will bark too loud but it gave me a little exercise modification. And a welcome change jut like group exercise does in Tabata.

 And as I add to this post today Sunday, my legs are screaming at me: Get me back on that spin bike. The pain is excruciating and kept me from Carolyn’s class this morning.  The silver lining is that I woke up in time to secure a bike online in KSC. Yay!  By the way friends do you have your methadone doses ready for when Kristen goes on vacation?  I hope I do not get the delirium tremors those are the DT’s or the shakes for you earthlings.  Well my curiosity will be who steps up in her place in #41.  I know I have my favorites. 

I have been hearing rumors about TRX classes making an appearance in June at the club and I had some exposure to it in those E=mc sessions I had with Richard Bianco.  It claims to strengthen your core, which leads to a stronger transfer of power from your lower to your upper body. Sounds like exercise babble but I am sure it has scientific purpose to it.  I have a strong hallucination that this will become another mad dash that we will all want to get into to compliment our spin classes and unlike the space on the floor which can get overly crowded there will be only so many cables that they can fit in the Main Studio. I am sure Kristen will be leading these classes as well.  Yes my friends another line. Oh boy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUE0r3fsWdg  Taking it to the Streets: Doobie Brothers, 1977

Carolyn Mellace: The Blue Sapphire

About Carolyn:  Carolyn is a certified cycling instructor and also teaches interval training at Equinox.  She is a yoga practitioner and has taught classes in Bosu, Urban Rebounding, Weight Training, Boot Camp and Step Aerobics in her 20-year span in the fitness industry.  Carolyn’s engaging and unique style has brought her a huge fan base.    She is part time at Equinox as she maintains a full time career in the Pharmaceutical Industry. 

There are many things that strike you when you see this diminutive figure of power.  She has a lithe form that belies her endless endurance and strength. She moves with grace and speed. And when she flashes her smile and winks blue, you can almost feel her hand on your shoulder guiding you through the most challenging parts of her ride.  I feel lucky to have discovered her through Kristen and I know that Peter wishes she were here more than two days a week.  She teaches Interval Training and Spin classes on Sunday mornings as well as a Spin class at 6 PM on Thursday evenings. I call her The Blue Sapphire you’ll call her Sensational.  You can follow her exploits at http://sundayswithcarolyn.blogspot.com/

I Know You! It's Mike Borska

About Mike : Mike is a certified cycling instructor. He has been teaching for Equinox on Long Island for 3 years. He has conducted many exciting and diffferent rides for the members, specializing in bringing the outdoor cycling experience indoors. In addition to his part time teaching at various locations, Mike is the President of an Executive Recruiting firm and a full time Dad to 2 kids.

I have heard so many flattering things about Mike from our favorite instructor and I know his classes are always filled to capacity.  Oh well yet another line I will have to wait on. 

Coney Island

As a wide-eyed kid growing up in the 1950’s I experienced the awe and wonder of Coney Island. I also know that the rides of today might claim to be more thrilling but nothing in the 21^st century even comes close to the heart pounding fear I felt back then riding Coney’s Thunderbolt Roller Coaster, Parachute Jump and Steeplechase Ride.   However, that same exhilaration is recaptured and is playing several times a week @ Equinox.  It runs on Tuesdays and Fridays and the ringmaster is Tripp Doherty.

This was the vision that struck my mind of heart as we saddled up in Tripp’s afternoon class today.  Just like a barker in a side show Mr. Mayhem had me wondering where to put my quarter so I could gain admission to his personal amusement park.  It was a foregone conclusion that the performance would be filled with his singular brand of ebullience and my only  concern was just how was I going to keep up with Mr. Astroland’s musical incantations filled with alternating speed, resistance and outer world charm as only he can conjure up. 

The one ride I am thinking about in particular was called The Steeplechase. Essentially it was a simulated horse race where one rode on a wooden horse suspended 30 feet in the air and as you sped down a steel track at 60 mph it gave you the thrill of a roller coaster.  And the power of what it might be like to be a jockey on a thoroughbred at Belmont. This was the imagery I felt today with the incandescent one.  Like a demonic cheerleader Tripp used his physiology on and off that stationary bike like it was part of his anatomy.

I love spinning as some of you might have guessed but today I was back in my childhood when Coney Island was the place to be every summer growing up. 

A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down.

Kristen had just the right medicine to help break my upper respiratory tract infection today. (Don’t worry I kept my distance.)  Her playful attitude provided the elixir to make me feel comfortable in the saddle yet still leave a ‘puddle’ on the floor beneath me. 

Her versatility is really unparalleled when she comes from every angle imaginable to inspire us whether you’re motivated by negative or positive reinforcement. My psychology studies tell me that both are useful in getting the most out of our effort.  There are some of us that like to get ‘spanked’ to keep us from lollygagging our way through the 60-minute session and there are those of us that see the fun we are having when we spin and that is positive reinforcement.

Today’s repertoire of music was handmade as always but do you see how she had us “fully associated” with the pool reference as the backdrop of where she created her playlist for today? It automatically prompted our minds for the beach season ahead.  Most of the class today was female and I could almost feel the anxiety it must entail to wear one of those scanty outfits. But even as a male the idea of baring my chest this summer has taken on more appeal to me as I have shed some costly pounds. 

She never fails to change the “spin” in the dynamics of what goes on between our ears because although our feet do the pedaling it’s our mind that shifts the gears.  My good friend always tells me: “My mind is racing but my body’s in the lead.” 

Today was just the right medicine and it felt good going down too!

Today Kristen had some advice on fueling after the class and she suggested some yogurt and berries. She said don’t wait until lunchtime and that advice is well taken because I know that after a spin class if I wait too long afterwards to eat, my lunch winds up with too much of the wrong carbohydrates.

The Talent In Our Midst

About Kristen: Kristen Gagne is an accomplished fitness instructor, personal trainer and educator in the health and fitness industry. Kristen holds a Masters Degree in Health and Physical Education from Hofstra University. She is also certified through the American College of Sports Medicine and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. Kristen's knowledge of human anatomy and physiology and its application to movement enable her to meet the needs of all fitness enthusiasts. She is currently the Group Fitness Manager for the Woodbury location and the Area GF Manager for NY Metro.

When I try to log in to Kristen’s classes online sometimes I find this bio of her instead and I wonder just wonder if we know some of these things. Yes we know how talented she is, but more importantly it’s nice to know that trainer’s like her are well schooled as well. 

Have you ever noticed when the fitness instructors are in the Main Studio in the off hours gathering together?  Most of those meetings are held because they are continuing to educate themselves on the latest advances in the science of exercise physiology. We pay a pretty penny for our membership and it’s not just because we have fastidiously clean locker rooms, we have the best trainers too. 

Talent breeds talent and the group fitness manager at Equinox Woodbury knows how to “bring it”, every day. 

When The Music’s Over, Turn Up The Light

Darkness descends on the CS when the music begins.  It unlike the Door’s song turns our CS into light when the music’s over.  And that my fellow riders, signals the end of our meditation.  Kristen has alluded to spinning as a form of meditation for her and it can take that form as well for us.  Meditation might be more associated with a serene and quiet setting as in a retreat house on our North Shore. But what are the elements of meditation that one might consider when comparing it to our ride?

 Meditation does include focus on breathing as does spinning.  Meditation has the basis of letting thoughts pass through our minds without holding onto them and when we spin there are no room for thoughts except our ride lest it affect our concentration.  And finally Meditation strengthens the mind as spinning does for our bodies.  So the link that KG has made for herself we can if we wish adopt for ourselves. Meditation?  Yes all the elements are there for me how about for you? 

It’s Friday once again my cycle mates and I love ending the week with KSC because it has given so much to me in these past few months. Certainly a lot to write about and when I awake at dawn each day, I start to electronically scribble several of my 8 blogs, three of which involve spinning. And when I talk about meditation in today’s post I reflect on the whole process that spinning has afforded me, the waiting on line (both computer and in physical) which has allowed me to accelerate my true passion of writing, as I was just telling Arthur just back from his European sojourn.

And now a pithy word or two about today’s class. Kristen was the angriest I have ever seen her. She had the veneer of her usual engaging narrative but I could feel it just under the surface as if she knew intuitively we were grumbling under our breath about how hard we were working.  She said: “It’s not my problem”.  And she is so right because every day imagine every day she shows up for classes plural and gives it her all. She is not just teaching up in #41 she is doing.  We have to hold ourselves accountable in the same fashion. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2NgNxbXIqU When the Music's Over: The Doors. 

Fine China

I never thought that spinning for me Jack Briant would be anything that had the word graceful in it. However I stand corrected because in The Blue Sapphire’s class today I felt it.  I thought that grace was a feminine mystique or charm like the hip carriage they sway so gracefully when they walk by.  That might be a little archaically romantic but hey I am a child of the moon when hippies ruled the earth. 

I think I got lost there let me swing back to The Blue Sapphire and her unmistakable charm she exudes with that wink of her blue eyes and when she flashes that smile that elevates my effort in the saddle of spinning torture.  Hey I was talking about grace wasn’t I?   Yes I was. 

Mellace had us driving hard in #3 and when she said sit down as if our derrieres were “fine china” it had me mesmerized because the movement of spinning never seemed to be graceful to me mainly because I was so out of shape from the athletic perspective.  Today however was the first time that I felt a definitive difference in my level of fitness. All those KSC’s sessions culminating in how I feel today.

Even with the magnets in high resistance I felt like I was spinning in mud but the stroke was even not choppy and when TBS* called for speed with the magnets apart I was able to achieve breathless in the higher RPM’s. And not feel like I was out of control or bouncing in my seat.  Graceful? As Bugs Bunny once said: “Could be”.

P.S. Thanks to Cindy for the address of this blog SundayswithCarolyn.blogspot.com

Mr. Mayhem's Mad Mix

Today I avoided the scrutiny of Interpol at Roslyn and decided to make an unscheduled trip with Tripp.  Well I unscrewed my head and brain at the glass doors and left it on the back window shelf of the CS.  Every once in awhile I would check back and take a look seeing the eyes rolled back in my head and my mouth was moving but the words were indiscernible. I had decided that I would let the “Terminator” in me conduct the spin with Tripp today and by the end of the session I was so glad I did.

The music he chose today had me out of my mind in a good way because if he was a DJ he didn’t go to any Ivy League school I knew about. The musical mix seemed like crashing cars but it all seemed to work in a rhythmic fashion as only Mr. Mayhem could deliver. When he jumps off and on the bike and he raises his arms seemingly praising the Almighty he makes me crazy as I see the whites of his eyes signaling another ferocious attack on the pedal stroke.   When he played “Stomp” near the end of the session I needed both hands to keep my heart from leaping out of my chest.  The adrenaline rush was something I had not experienced since my last experience with Mr. Mayhem and before that leaping off the top step at Metro when Disco was King.  Anyway Tripp put me back on my heels when he followed “Stomp” with Doris Day and “Que Sera, Sera” in the cool down. Who does that? NO ONE!  He blew my mind.  The energy again was palpable in this class and I found myself shouting and doing the Mayhem salute right hand in a fist, slammed to chest and then flexed forward. 

On that note I thought I would add something to our blog if it were all right with all of you. I will add a YouTube link to some of the tunes we hear each day as it might get us revved up for our next session. As if we needed more incentive.

Debbie in #12 with the Nadia Comaneci physiology provided me with enough incentive when the shoes I was wearing were giving me a bit of discomfort.  Debbie dontcha know is in phenomenal shape and because she had her well-defined left calf exposed to my line of sight it provided me with the focus to get over “My Bridge Over Troubled Waters”. 

My spin shoes turned up missing today and I knew they had to be here because I don’t go fetch bagels or cream cheese with them on, and so I was sentenced to my running shoes and those awkward toe box cages. I made do lamenting about my lost shoes but as I headed for the showers I started a confab with a member named Mike and because of that conversation I spied my shoes under the bench where I had left them after Carolyn’s (TBS) class on Sunday.  I thanked Mike.  I will never again take my shoes for granted because the freedom of movement they provide is unmistakable. My sneakers kept hitting the pedal flange putting me off Mr. Mayhem’s rhythm. 

Mr. Mayhem has a mantra:  “Infinity On All Sides” 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUIGCMAf3w Stomp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc   Que Sera, Sera

Kristen Doctrine Segment 3

Kristen, I seem to be experiencing some tendonitis in the back of my legs.  Is this from over use?  What can I do to alleviate this pain? Do I have to stop exercising?  Or is it a case of not stretching enough?  

For your legs - you definitely need to lengthen the muscle more. Stretching yes, but I swear by the Pilates work I do in the Pilates studio on the reformer. Its opened up my hips like never before. It keeps me so healthy. I only do 2 - 30 min sessions a week. It’s NOT a workout; it’s like my therapy. Blows away a massage. She stretches me in ways I could never do on my own. She also "rolls out" my legs with a foam roller. Something else that's hard to do on your own. I will get you a 45 min complimentary session if you would use it. Its something you could do in the middle of the day - then go back to work after a quick change of clothes! Let me know - I'd be more than happy to help you get started.

Kristen Gagne

Ambivalence

I hadn’t given much more than a passing thought to the imagery Kristen uses when she says”  “I really like this road”.  Of course our ride takes place in our legs but gets played out between our ears with a little help from the red wheel we turn right and left. 

On the ride in to Equinox this morning I saw a group of outside riders bunched up on Woodbury Road headed north and I thought, poor things they don’t get to experience the ride we do. Imagine they are on the open road feeling all the elements and the actual terrain of the earth and I in an enclosed space think I have it better than they.  But I do.

It’s the woman in #41 that helps me make that bold statement.  She makes the imagery real and I don’t have to worry about the traffic, a flat tire or a gear slipping, I can just ride my heart out. 

I’m feeling just a tad ambivalent today after taking my ‘sabbatical’ yesterday.  Could I be back on the edge of burnout that I was approaching about two weeks ago?  I can’t be sure because for me in particular “feelings aren’t facts”.  Intuition on the other hand usually contains the facts but it is my interpretation of those ‘facts’ that I usually have difficulty in translating.

Carolyn’s Sunday class helped dispel some of the mixed feelings I was having today. Maybe it’s because it’s Mothers Day and mine has passed over ten years ago and my closest sibling expired also on Mothers Day 41 years ago. 

Happy Mothers Day to all my cycle classmates.  How was your day Laurie?  

The Sabbath

A day without spinning and a day without My Equinox is a pause for thought.  My physiology was sorely in need of a day off even if my addiction to exercise doesn’t want one.  It makes me appreciate the days I am there so much more.  As of right now I am thinking of spinning with Carolyn on Sunday and I notice that her class is fully booked just like KSC is during the week.  She is a wonderful alternative as you might be aware either firsthand or by word of mouth. 

Recovery even feels different today as well because in the last three months I have never exercised the way I am now. I would feel guilty prior to my spinning days limited as they might be but now 6 days at Equinox are a month of Sundays when being compared to exercising in my fully equipped basement.

  Not since my marathon days have I put my body through the paces since annexing spinning as my new way of exercise life.  It has the dual affect of making me fit and producing the most writing I have ever performed in the last 4 years.  But at my age I have to let the time off perform its healing magic, even though my mind is in the CS.  

Oh My God

Am I kidding myself?  The fifth spinning session this week, Jack what’s the deal?  Although I did feel pretty good after last night, maybe it was the stretching I did prior or maybe just maybe I am starting to revive the feeling of actually being in shape.  That might be premature let’s see what happens after today. But I am seeing a different man in the mirror the past few days.  And get this I actually drank a glass of water BEFORE my coffee this morning!  Yes it is a big deal because I only drink water when I am thirsty.  And I had some breakfast as well. TMI?

There is something about spinning on Fridays that enthralls me and when I switch my office space I hope just hope that I can devote the time to writing about my quiet addiction, Kristen’s Spin Class. (Quiet are you kidding?) I know I started two other blogs about spinning but they can only be my second favorite drink because we all know what the Queen concoction is. 

Last night I took an evening version of spinning and if you can’t fit in a daytime session please consider Carolyn Mellace she has the goods and delivers them with ruthlessness in an elegant and artistic fashion.  She doles out the torture with winks and smiles.

 I start to get energized because within the hour the fun begins yet again.  I am finding too  that the spinning  hour has been moving faster and faster. I know that time is an illusion but I don’t find myself looking at the clock nearly as much as say in the first thirty days.  This is my 100^th day and after 3 months I am so glad I stuck around to see and feel the results of this extreme exercise that comes equipped with a ceremony that I thoroughly enjoy.  Funny I don’t mind if I ever get booked online again. 

Well the class never disappoints and the carryover from last night is holding. I do feel different, worked out but not worked in. 

Special Thursday Night Edition: The Trellis

A special edition of the Blue Sapphire this Thursday night had me wondering if the magic I felt the first two times was going to sustain itself for the third edition.  Well I can answer in a resounding affirmative that the third time is an even bigger charm. It affirms in my mind the innate talent that Carolyn possesses.  Her countenance is the most beguiling feature of her athletic physiology.  It says very quietly to my grey cells that she is with you and not just calling a rhythmic cadence artfully executed. 

She squeezes the sweat out of me without so much as a complaint or even a grimace.  It’s almost as if I can put my legs through torture and smile while doing it.  The climb up the trellis today was beautifully written like The Blue Danube even though the fire in my legs told me there would be hell to pay tomorrow. 

What I do like in her orchestration is that I can transition myself between the RPM and resistance with more deftness because the segments are drawn out just a bit more and I feel my pedal stroke is smoother and more even foot to foot.

So The Blue Sapphire is ensconced in my weekly regimen I just wish I were younger so I could spin every day and write more first hand experiences.

I see her as a seraphim angel but I could also swear that she has two small horns as well. 

Sunset Boulevard

Secret Agent Man may have blown his cover today. The border policewoman at the front desk in Roslyn is starting to get suspicious due to the fact that I do not have an all access pass to the three clubs on Long Island. Well I only need Tuesdays for Kristen’s class for God’s sake. I know I know she is just doing her job.  I was able to finagle my way through this morning but there is trouble brewing I can feel it in my left foot because it’s starting to go numb. What would Johnny Rivers do?

I have an anecdote today about the rider next to me and I will change her name to avoid hearing from her publicist.  Let’s call her Gloria Swanson. She was probably in her 70’s with the aid of a good doctor she looked pretty good.  Anyway she was a riot.  She was conducting her own class today. She was fiddling with her ponytail and adjusting her heavily jeweled fingers and doing half body push-ups on the handlebars while we were trying to find our pedal stroke between intervals and breakaways.  At one point she sat back in the middle of breaking the pedals and started to clap her hands. She was cheerleading for us.  I chuckled. Kristen asked that we “add gear” and she would casually glance around the studio and adjust her 14k gold watch.  I was thoroughly entertained by her lack of focus but she was obviously enjoying herself. She reminded me of the aforementioned Gloria Swanson’s character in  “Sunset Boulevard”, 1950. 

I have started to ask Kristen QOTD (Question of the Day) and I will post her response each week. I will try to coordinate with her busy schedule and have it appear on Tuesdays. I asked her about VO2 max and you will have read that response prior to today’s post.  I asked her about tendonitis only because that is what I am experiencing in both of my legs. You will be interested in her response.

Kristen Doctrine: VO2 Max

Kristen  

What is VO2 Max? Why is it important? How do we get ours measured?  How do we improve it?  What does it mean in terms of getting ourselves more fit?  

V02 Max is, in simple terms, your body’s ability to take up oxygen quickly so your muscles can use it for the work that they are undergoing. You can take a Vo2 Max test at Equinox given by a highly qualified personal trainer. Increasing your V02 Max will help you go longer, be stronger, and more efficient!

Go Hard & Go Home!

I love the perspective from the back of the CS because I get to see all of you albeit from the back or sidelong views. It gives me the length and breath of just how much all of us want to be here no matter what the conditions. There were grumblings on the line today because the traffic precipitated late arrivals. I can sense the anxiety of getting into this class.    The energy however was electric it was palpable.    Packed in like wet sardines today but of no consequence the class was stellar as if the sun was shining bright. 

Kristen never keeps on with what is tried and true. She is always rolling out something new something fresh and of course something challenging.  What I liked about today were the spaces of time in between intervals of strong effort that allowed at least this old heart to slow down and recover like I have not been able to do in previous classes.  Not surprising to know that KG writes our sessions and makes it feel like it’s spontaneous. She is a performance artist par excellence.   Who does that?  I venture to say not many.

The feel of the class is that we are all on a team and that we are all making individual yet a collective progress each week. If we are here then we do take spinning seriously otherwise why would we obsess on getting a seat for each class. 

Kristen said something I don’t know if you caught it something about when she taught elsewhere that members bought their seats.  Wow what a concept! PSL’s, or Personal Seat Licenses just like in football. We would no longer have to be at our computers at all hours trying our hand at the roulette wheel.  Now I wonder just how much these seats might go for?  Maybe I have a big mouth too.  Did anyone stay Stub Hub?  Yes I can see it now Ticketron selling seats for the hottest show on Jericho Turnpike. 

Go Hard & Go Home.  There is some solace that when we spin here that our day of exercise is complete, our metabolism is ramped up and our world is a 1000-watt bulb. 

Fingers Briant

It’s not impossible because for the first time I got in online to Kristen’s class. I almost can’t believe that I secured a position in the first 30. So I don’t have to be there an hour before tomorrow, I can stroll in any old time. I confess that I was envious of those Blackberry experts with the lightning fast fingers that always seemed to cash in on the KG lottery.  Now that I have been on both sides of the entry draft I can say that it doesn’t really matter because I really want what I am chasing a fitness that I have not felt in thirty years. Oh sure there are more aches and pains now than when I was youthful and seemingly invulnerable but that goes with the territory of father time.  So it was fun getting in this way and I will smile gently at those sitting on line looking remorseful, poor things. 

Tomorrow I am excited because a talent scout is coming in to spin with us in the 0945 class and he will get to see hear and feel what we have all been experiencing in Kristen’s Spin Class.  Just remember Gene what you see here stays here!

It's Kinetic

The energy is kinetic with super charged electrons.  It might be unstable but it’s nothing I can’t handle. It’s Friday maybe that is the underlying reason why sitting here awaiting KSC feels particularly satisfying.  Remember when you’ve had a good time and you reflect on it the next day or a week later, and say to yourself: Wow I had a great time?  Well here and now I know I am having a good time and that just adds to the excitement I feel.  And it’s so good without a tangible reason.

As I sit here in position #1 this Friday a young trainer happens by his name: Ashun.  And it was another example of instant inspiration.  We talked about the ceremony I feel for waiting on line to sign up for my spin class with Kristen. I liken it to Christmas Eve and how the anticipation of the next day is a joy in itself that I don’t want to miss. In other words I am not lamenting I have to wait I am relishing it. No I am more than that I am luxuriating in it.  Because once it’s here it’s over in a flash. So the waiting makes the time part of the celebration a longer interval if you will.  Now as the sign up has taken place some of the air escapes from the balloon but a deep breath and I get right back up to full capacity as I exchange a few words with Don B.

And as usual I was not disappointed Kristen was exquisite today and filled with some technical jargon that I am going to ask her about.  What do you think about questions for Kristen?  I am sure you have some. If not I can start and today I am going to ask her about what VO2 Max is.  Why it’s important and things like that. If you have a question submit it to my email if you are shy I am @ jackbriant@mac.com.