The Black Market

A Saturday spin and I was just in time. I was sure that 75 minutes would have me sitting in the first lounge chair so I could begin my story. Uh yeah, no. I wound up being 7th in the 10 most wanted. Not much margin for error in the continuous clamoring for KSC.  A young woman then left the line as she kept pushing enter on her blackberry to get into  this class and a cancellation came up so she was free to give her place to the next salivating spinning enthusiast. 

Today marks 6 months exactly my addiction of Zen in a bottle. Although I have been exacting in my exercise regimen these past 7 1/2 years at Equinox nothing can come close to the frenetic pace I have been caught up in taking exercise with the catalytic converter that is Kristen Gagne. I have waxed poetic in over 120 odd episodes  and I never seem to run out of superlatives each and every time I catch this Broadway show. 

In one of the comments of a recent story an anonymous writer wrote that the prime motivation for me was the female form and most specifically the gluteus maximus. Yes I do confess to favor that part of the female anatomy and yes  there are plenty of museum like derrieres here in KSC but to suggest that it is the  prime motivator, is well just frankly absurd and totally uncalled for. Did I convince you?  I know it was a vain attempt at best but please don’t tell anyone.   

Well, my line mates have left me here to type some final entries before I catch the show and something tells me it’s gonna be a good one!   

Flash! I just got propositioned to sell my seat to KSC and so a black market has developed and I am here to report the crime element here in all places, Woodbury Equinox. Paul tells me that he and his wife Janet are both on their computers fridays at 715 trying to get into Saturday’s class.  It’s crazy and he told me that he had to draw the line when he saw people waiting to be on the waiting list. A phenomenon, he called it. Paul, welcome to our world. 

Post Script

Kristen took me into orbit when she played Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order and I thought would she venture into that world of Punk Rock just a tad more? I hope so. Maybe she reads this blog and gets influenced just a bit. 

It's No S.O.P.E.

Back in the saddle again. I think that was Gene Autry’s signature song, and it  has been almost a week since I have taken a KSC and for one reason of another I just kept missing her time slot. And It was sweet  of our leader to ask  yesterday; when I was coming back to her class again.  Hold on thar,  Baba Looey, I  have never forgotten that KSC is the root of my rejuvenation, not only physically but in the desire that arises within me each morning as the summer dawn gently lifts my eyelids from my somnolent state. Oh God Jack that description is way over the top and my editor and intuitive would spank me for it.  I have to make sure that I don’t luxuriate too much in my garden of words. 

Today we were treated to a scientific explanation to S.O.P.E. The scale of perceived exertion. I didn’t know that they had a measurement for how hard I am breaking my ass but behold they do!  

Today’s session was an exemplary one even though I hate most of the music. There I said it I hate the music. However, I only need the rhythm of the road for me to have an effective pentametric to my ride and there is plenty of that even though the lyrics leave me tone deaf. However Kristen leaked to me that she was going to play a song for me tomorrow and so I am postponing my open heart surgery and I will be there. Gee could it be Erasure or even New Order?  Chains of Love or Bizarre Love Triangle? A five minute stint in heaven awaits me on Saturday. 

Post Script

Bianca Lupo, a true delight in personality and form.  She is a 100 watt bulb in 40 watt world. Because of my age I suppose young women give me the same feeling as my step daughters do. It is the unique emotion in a man called paternalism. Some men might exclaim: “Yeah right” but for me it is genuine and it feels so damn good to be able to separate how you feel about a young woman and your romantic interests in life. 

I got off track there because I wanted to write about this diminutive star whose countenance is lit with the ease of pulling a chain.  She was very instructive in my complimentary session of TRX and enhanced my resolve to take more sessions with her as an adjunct  to the hour long group sessions that Kristen, Maureen and Lori hold during the week. In any case, I highly recommend Bianca Lupo, she knows her stuff and in even the trying moments of her workout  the sets seem to have plenty of sugar coating to make the medicine go down.  

My Favorite Bike

I was talking to Sharon the other  morning and she talked about something interesting that I had not considered before, and that was where she liked to position herself in the CS. She preferred the back row but  could not exactly describe why, but it seemed to be based on internal comfort more than anything else. My own feeling is that it really doesn't matter to me. I have been positioned all over mostly because I have  been relegated to the remaining ten bikes an hour before the class. Whether I  get  online or sit if I have the time  it really doesn't matter  as long as I get a bike. But if I do have a choice I think I like to position myself  somewhere in the middle because it gives me a sense that I am riding in a pack and it makes me feel the camaraderie we all have even though we don't speak to each other.

Writing this blog has also given me a degree of recognition in the CS that I may not have obtained and for that I am very grateful.

P.S. My favorite bike is #16.  

Two Blue Stars and a Comet

Inspiration  with me always appears in a flash of light. And when I looked up in position #41 and saw Carolyn’s eyes, she flashed a lightning like smile and it reminded me of a comet across the sky. You can tell a lot about a person from their eyes and their smile and with the Blue Sapphire you see devotion, dedication and inspiration. I won’t mention the physiology she carries because it’s sinful that someone looks that great.   

 Today in the CS the temperature control was malfunctioning and it felt like a sauna as we came through the glass doors.There must have been a shortage of towels in the locker rooms  because it seemed like  all the riders had bath towels covering the handlebars as if preparing for the impending bath by sweat.    But I soon forgot that as any excuse to ease up on my effort in fact, it was quite the opposite. When I spin with the Blue Sapphire I abandon any thought of holding back. However, I really had to concentrate on my breathing because I was soon out of it, breath I mean but soon I got back on the rhythm of the road and with my breathing as well. My air intake  is still challenging to regulate but I am working on it. 

The CS was a  packed house and it was crossover Sunday because the room  was filled with members of Kristen’s, Mike’s and Tripp’s classes. Even Don Berman made a guest appearance and of course my friend, Debbie the Olympian was in center stage.  No disrespect to the other sunday classes,  but Hello Sunday is the best show in town, in my humble opinion. 

The hour disappeared  faster than that comet in Carolyn’s smile but with an effort like that I welcome it just the same. Two blue stars and a comet the Blue Sapphire is truly a celestial display.

The Jewelry Box

If I asked the women of spin about what’s in their jewelry box I bet there would be many stories attached to each piece. And if I asked them is there  a piece of jewelry in that box that they don’t wear very often because it might be suitable for a different situation or a different day?  I feel rather certain there are pieces that just don’t get worn for one reason or another. And if I asked the men about maybe their watch collection for instance , is there one watch that sits there unused but still admired?  This is what I thought of today while spinning with Maureen Gallagher. She was here when I got here in April of 2003. Always present as a trainer and very active in group exercise. She was just there in my mind.  I have known Mo since the beginning. I have trained with others like Nicole and Randy but both have left Equinox some time ago. But Mo still there. When I started spinning I gravitated towards Kristen because she was prominent in the club and  she was Group Fitness Manager.  And of course I have chronicled my experiences in this blog with much relish and plenty of garnish.  

But back to my inspiration of what I felt today in spin class. I thought I had signed up to spin with Damian, that new young man but instead there was Maureen.  And I have to tell you if there is a piece of jewelry  ladies that you have forsaken in your jewelry box and boys if you have not worn that watch the one in the corner for quite a spell try them on again. And you will find like I did Maureen Gallagher  might have been overlooked but, she is a treasure in this club and I will certainly pay more attention. 

Knocking on the Anaerobic Door

As I eavesdrop in on two of the riders behind me a new member is asking who is the best spin instructor. Tracey  says Kristen, but  for the most part that selection is subjective because quite frankly they are all very talented.  Each has their own particular style and I love the one’s I blog about.   Let’s leave the world of opinion and venture into what today might be like.  Deliciously torturous? That became a self fulfilling prophecy today as The Evil Woman’s demeanor had the look of her avatar. There was something in her raised left eyebrow that signaled their would be no mercy and no sugar coating. There are some sessions that Kristen is just well, sweet even though she uses her sickle with liberal abandon. Not today it was succinct to the point and there was no peanut butter and jelly on this sandwich, just dry burnt toast. We just had to deal. 

As I chronicled in Tripp’s entry I felt a major breakthrough this week in his class and it has carried over in KSC, so I know it’s not just a hallucination. I can definitely breathe more regularly through my nose at least on the inhale,  which must mean I am getting more fit and my recovery between “roads” is getting faster and faster. I am also telling my grey cells to send more blood to my legs and instructing my heart to slow down between breakaways and intervals. And that self-talk seems to be working as well.  So nigh on 6 months in, the results are showing themselves albeit inexorably slow. 

Knocking on the anaerobic door was one phrase Kristen was using today  and the imagery of me actually knocking the door off the hinges and me prostate on top of it  came to my mind. I have been out of breath for almost 6 months here  but that’s because I was so out of shape by KSC standards.  But as I said this is about to change. 

Next up: Punch ‘n’ Judy. 

TRX II

Another battle royale with my body will take place again at the noon hour today. Last week left me virtually crippled until I was able to achieve some relief in the CS the next day which seemed to alleviate the build up of lactic acid in my legs. Another line again for TRX and I thought the noon hour would not be as trafficked as Kristen's spin classes are, but the Kristen devotees were out in full force for this version of the Master Motivator.

One of the women on the real world line for TRX gave me the inspiration for this post because she was feeling some joint stress in her first session. As we get older we need oil for those creaking joints. Dorothy and the Scarecrow have a permanent job with me because I never seem to be as flexible as I would like to be. However, I don't give much time to stretching and really taking care of my infrastructure as I know I could be. Although I do more stretching now than I ever have but it's simply not enough.

The second class was more rewarding than my first foray and being the lone man didn't seem to bother me too much. One of the women in my triad commented: Well there's no mistaking what your name is. Kristen handles TRX like she does her spin classes, expertly. I love her patience and as beginners she is taking her time as we gain experience in this new form of group exercise.

What does come to mind with these flexible straps is a feeling of being suspended between heaven and earth. I love how I can deepen the stretches like the figure four and and lower back. I almost feel like I've joined the circus and might be invited to join a high wire act when my training is completed.  

Little Grey Cells

I keep breaking the pedals and eventually the results will come is what I tell myself. My legs have always been a powerful part of my anatomy and they still are some 30 odd years later after my running career,  but spinning keeps me from one thing that road racing always provided me with, the time it took to cover a given distance. Whether it was an ultra-marathon or a 5 mile road race, the clock told me if I was improving or not. Now that might not be so important to some because we are not in a race with anyone other than ourselves. I can deal with that all right. It is my programming that has me playing old tracks that I need to see improvement. But what does that exactly mean to me? Probably nothing, and it might serve to dissuade me from the pure enjoyment that I derive each session ruminating about the cerebral aspects to my ride like I am right now.

A heart rate monitor could certainly give me an indicator of my recovery rate, that would be one sign of improving conditions inside my ventricles. Also the on board computers that have not arrived might do some of the same. I couldn't care if those gadgets ever arrive, as I don't even turn it on when I am in Roslyn which has them installed. I am not enamored with knowing what my RPM is at any given moment because it just might have me  thinking about pedal stroke speed and then the thoughts of the day might creep in as well. I think I will stay in the dark for the time being and rely on the wading pool beneath my bike to be my indicator of me keeping myself honest.

The power of the mind is always something I have been fascinated with. I think conventional wisdom (I hate conventional wisdom it's often wrong- Hello Suze Orman) says we use only 5% of our minds capabilities and that leaves a vast undiscovered country of the innate power we possess. Kristen urges us to use self-talk by having us ask our mind to slow our heart rate or send more blood to our faltering legs. I for one don't think that's hocus pocus. If we ask our mind to go to task, it often is completed. Like when I have misplaced something I just ask where it is and it usually comes to mind where I left my keys. When some of the women of KSC ask me to loosen a wheel I tell my mind I have the strength to open it and it works every time. The same thing can be true about blood flow and heart rate I am so sure of it.

The Devil Wore Blue Shorts

A new instructor hit my windshield to day it was Damien Vella. He looked extremely fit (why wouldn't he?) and seemed to be in the 25-34 year old age range. He produced an eclectic music mix, most of which I am not a fan of but it produced the results I wanted, an excellent 45 minute spin which was over in a blink. A series of uphill climbs with great resistance and brief respites of low gear high speed flushing of the legs. I thoroughly enjoy that flat road after a tortuous uphill with increasing resistance.

 Damien had me thinking of The Omen with Gregory Peck and a tiny little evil boy that jettisoned his mother over the upstairs railing when she failed to do his bidding. I am not trying to infer that this Damien was anything like that one, but let's give it time before we dismiss that idea. I have a feeling that once we get to know him he will be a great taskmaster just like Kristen, I mean Evil Woman and The Blue Sapphire, Carolyn Mellace are. Damien will be seen here 3 times a week starting in August. Check him out especially when the CS is overflowing on the weekends with the other Equinox stars.

The Numerator and the Denominator

Ordinarily these two words mean the top of the fraction and the bottom of the fraction. I however have a different allegory for these two words. The common denominator for all of us in KSC is we are all looking to either stay in shape, get in shape or get in even better shape. It's an even number because oddly enough we are all different.

The numerator signifies what spinning means to each and every one of us personally. I have these past 6 months told you that KSC is formulaic in it's Zen like philosophy and very much a parallel of a well known 12 step program. Because of this, my numerator is; that the athlete in me has been reborn. I thought that I was retiring into middle age, even though I have been an active member of Equinox since its' inception here , but nonetheless I felt that any idea that I was still an athlete was just a file in my memory banks, something stored in my documents file.

This past ½ year has proven not only could I restart the athlete in me but I could actually feel like I was approaching fitness. Not fit mind you, because I think there is always room to improve no matter what our age is or our experience.

I took TRX this past week and I was sure that the next day I wouldn't be able to lift my gym bag but it was my legs that were crippled. I was depressed I have to tell you even though I knew I was using different muscles it still felt like I wasn't making progress. However I found that spinning the very next day flushed out my legs and I could actually walk again. I need a formula and I asked Don today what he does and he simply said that he takes “her” classes. Of course the “her” is Kristen and that made total sense. I think for the time being I have settled on TRX and KSC and her supporting cast of stars as my way to achieve the level of fitness befitting the athlete in me.

A Sexagenarian

It was  a saturday and another treat because I had   KSC on the weekend. And as usual the class was filled to capacity just like the weekday editions, but that's not what I want to talk about today. And neither is the onset of a heavy summer rainstorm that I can enjoy as I look out Equinox's 8x6 foot windows. I think what I want to talk about today is the how compelled I feel over these past 5 ½ months. It feels like my running days of the 1970's. But back then running was my life, however  in spin there is one major difference. Spinning is part of my life and not my life. It allows me to objectify my workouts and how they can be integrated into my life instead of me trying to integrate my life into my workouts. Make sense? Maybe it's just maturity or age or 21 years of sobriety I don't know which, but I know one thing I never have enjoyed my physical life like I am right now. It has given me a new vitality in all aspects of my waking life and those around me reap the benefits and I am talking about my family and my friends. And I have got to meet some of you in KSC as well  and everyone I have met makes me smile in one way or another. 

The die has been cast as I edge inexorably closer to being a sexagenarian. Jack you can't talk about sex in Kristen's Spin Class, it's just not done!  I can remember first grade so vividly and asking the nun if I could go to the boys room and I used to reflect back then that I would be less than 50 by the time 2000 rolled around. I don't mind getting old and I must say I would not want to do it all over again. They say youth is wasted on the young, I don't want to waste middle age as an elder statesman  either. 

Recovery is a new word for this WMABM*. I never gave recovery a chance it was always about being able to log miles, it was never about being in the moment. KSC has given me a new perspective on it.  I wasn't aware of Zen back then or even some of the concepts of AA and keeping my head right size. Obsession occluded my sky and left my dreams under permanent cloud cover.

*White Middle Aged Bald Man. 

Peanut Butter No Oil

The Sunday version of The Blue Sapphire had me experiencing 'dead legs'. It might have been too many spin classes this week or what Carolyn suggested: I had too much road on in the days preceding. I am never quite satisfied that I have given enough effort when I spin but that idea as I sit here is poppycock . Every session is a mind bending one in terms of concentration, sweat and determination.

Today the Blue Sapphire termed her musical selection 'eclectic' and indeed it was but it was all good from these set of ears. We had a packed house on this very sunny Sunday and from position #2 I could see and hear TBS in very clear tones. I must say I love when she uses her arms as if she is rowing it gives me such a sense that she is so totally engaged with us all.

Peanut butter without oil. It did feel like that today, a good tasting class but there was no fat no oil in this hour because TBS never lets us forget we are here to work and sliding in oil is just not part of her repertoire. Peanut butter without oil, indeed healthy but not so easy to swallow. But if you ask everyone, we like it like that especially in Sundays With Carolyn.

Up close in #2 this heavenly body, The Blue Sapphire, has an amazing constellation dotted with two sparkling blue stars atop her diminutive athletic frame.

KTRX

The newest phenomena at Equinox Woodbury. The inaugural Noon session with Kristen starts today. And I was not taking chances that I would be left out of this party. I brought my stepson in for a weeks guest membership and let me say that this young man is in monster shape. We often have shared the basement in the past as I have watched his metamorphosis in his constantly changing, increasingly challenging workout regimen. When I told him about TRX he was anxious to sample what group exercise is all about. He will be challenged I am sure because the Evil Woman will flatten the uninitiated.

It was 67 minutes before class when I arrived and I was second on line and as I sit here with 20 minutes before signup 15 are here already. This is just the beginning and I know the same wait for KSC will be the fate for KTRX. Yes that is my new acronym: KTRX. What is in store for us I can only guess but I am sure that my upper half will be in bed tonight suffering like my lower half did when I started KSC in February.

I can report that this initial class was FANTASTIC with a capital F. Kristen had two trainers in the Main Studio monitoring our class progress including a diminutive but nonetheless power packed young woman named Bianca, who was extraordinarily helpful. I stumbled mightily on the ab portion of the workout and my core froze up like a Dairy Queen sundae. All in all though, exciting and I cannot wait, cannot wait to incorporate this as part of my exercise regimen alongside my spinning one. A new phenomenon is born: KTRX.

Fully Associated

Back in 1990 I first got exposed to Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP in it's short form. One thing I learned listening to Tony Robbins, Richard Bandler and John Grinder back then was that when we became “fully associated”, we intensify the experience. And the point is spot on, because in KSC the intensity of the session leaves no room for our outside world to pierce those glass doors. So the idea that one could be disassociated in spin class was not only implausible but virtually impossible.

But let's back up a bit to talk about this week  in the CS. Kristen was reflecting on some of the members in the main room and how they were disassociated. They can be seen everyday reading, texting and watching the overhead TV's while they plow through their workout. It's as if working out is an after thought and the only reason they are there is because there are so many other things to be fully associated with. I frankly could never fathom how anyone could read a book while on a bike or an elliptical. If you were worth half your salt at least you would do nothing more than listen to your I pod for inspiration, but never be on the phone as I see some members doing or worse yet texting. Kristen was quick to point out that it was not a judgment. It is merely an observation that exercise or training is not for everyone. Some just want to avoid being a couch potato and still others do it to socialize and still others believe that they are working out. It has been an awakening for me and that's coming from a former ultra-marathoner. Spinning has me fully associated every moment until I finish that last stretch.

Kristen, I would love for you to do the long version of the 'quick and dirty', this old rubber band man could use more flexibility.

The Women of Spin

Most of the time in the CS with rare exception the female to male ratio is 9:1.  Yes that’s right it is that skewed mostly due to time of day I would imagine, because at other times before 9 AM or classes starting at 6 PM for example have a greater contingent of the male variety. 

The female athletes in the CS are on display every day and I think of them as beautiful moving portraits. But not like one might think.   Their physiologies are classically feminine but unmistakably athletic.  Most of the women in KSC are physical specimens. Kristen sometimes talks about blasting belly fat. What?  There isn’t an ounce of fat on this woman.  Well maybe an ounce but it must be in her foot because I can’t see it. Then there are other women like Debbie, Nancy  and Elizabeth who are not only trim with classic lines but  they also have the feminine musculature of beautifully carved stone.

When I think of some of the men in the main studio coming in trying to do what we do in the CS I think they would keel over. As big and brawny as some might seem, the type of effort that is commonplace in KSC would leave quite a few stiffs over the handlebars of our Schwinn’s.

 There are exceptions but group exercise has become a boom to the female athlete. What Jane Fonda did for her gender cannot be underestimated. She helped remove the stigma of being in a public place not only with the other sex present but now a woman could really climb to their potentials in terms of their physical prowess.

Oh I do love it when some of my female  CS mates ask me to loosen their adjustment wheels.  Of course I say a little prayer that I can summon the strength and so far I have been successful, whew. 

Climbing Out of the Rabbit Hole

Today was one of those days that I didn't have the impetus to even jump on my bike in KSC. I was quick on the finger 26 hours before and it must have been the holiday because I got #31 and covered it in seconds flat on my macbook.

A monday like no other and I am glad I had the holiday to decompress in the 9:45 segment. Some times life rears it's two headed monster and it was a real test to keep my head in the CS and not someplace outside those glass doors. Sort of practicing what Kristen talks about in our classes each week. I have often thought about how that very concept gets the real test in open waters and today was that day.

I put my head down in that first five minutes and the Evil Woman had a soliloquy prepared as if it was just for me. It was just the tonic to help me out of the rabbit hole I found myself in. If it were not for today I might have found myself behind my computer screen harping in one of my other 10 blogs, but here I am and glad of it. Thank you KSC for giving me a sign post on where to turn when I am on that street with no name or pulling myself out of a rabbit hole I went too far down in.    

Commitment

I know it’s her job but the commitment still amazes me. When I am sick I am the worst patient Florence Nightingale ever encountered. If I have the heaves (pardon the word) it is the bed I stay until the porcelain throne demands I kneel before it.  When our instructor is either sick or one of natures disasters has arrived at her door she still shows her beautiful face.  I won’t go into further detail but I think you all know what I mean when I talk about “her”.

This man is shrinking. In one of my earlier sonnets I featured the Incredible Shrinking Man. He is getting smaller I see it in my waist and my face. I figure it will take about 18 more months before I am in fighting shape but I am enjoying the process. The scale in the Men’s locker room is not running away as it attempted to do in February. 

“ I love this road”. I love it too but when I hear something from the 80’s punk rock genre I am almost glad Kristen doesn’t play those songs because I might be chasing my solar plexus around the CS and it might interrupt a breakaway. 

Through a Glass Darkly

Last weeks Sunday’s class was unlike the previous one, because it had me taking the elevator to the next floor up. I chatted with Don who says he has been spinning for 5 years and he basically said you never reach nirvana; you just keep pushing the envelope and it never gets opened.

 After my ride the pool beneath my bike is deep enough and I might, I just might have been able to do a triple somersault without touching bottom.

Roslyn does create the ambience needed to help induce the meditative state in the CS.  The dimly lit studio creates a cover for disguising the countenance of anguish we sometimes exhibit for show. We needn’t do that because no one really cares and we just don’t need to tell anyone what’s going on inside our frames. 

Melt That Popsicle

I love this metaphor because I am a Popsicle.  It’s maybe 5 minutes into the session and my brow starts to rain and by ½ time my Popsicle is melting and it’s not even MacArthur’s Park. If I left my cake out in the rain the icing would be indeed flowing down.