Black and Blue Turns Purple

There are certain Carolyn-isms I love. BEAUTIFUL JOB! is one of them. 

 Another is and I am not sure how to spell it, but I will take a shot. Unh-unh-unh. It comes when she is posting up for a sprint. I get pumped up for those and there are not many instructors that get me in the anaerobic zone on a flat road, but she does.  

Today like all her classes time rockets by, and when I looked up for the first time at the clock, 45 minutes was gone. I was blown away; it was going to be over way too soon. I always take that to mean that I had a great time and when I think back on most of my workouts at Equinox prior to my spin career there’s not many that I can say I enjoyed as much as I do when I am in the CS, and The Blue Sapphire is an integral part of this bliss.  

I wanted to title this entry something like Black and Blue Sapphire. Our heroine had on a black top and I could have sworn she had on a pair of blue tights.  Sounds picturesque, but those hopes were dashed when Carolyn said what’s up those purple pants?  I was damn sure they were blue. I know that black and blue marks turn purple but that was not going to fit my story line. I am a little short on metaphors, but if something comes to me I will make sure I add it as an extra later tonight. 

It was a great week all around and Sunday was icing on the cupcake. 

The Naked Truth

Imagine you’re spinning naked. This is the second time The Evil Woman suggested we picture our nude form as we slide up and down from position #3 to the saddle. There are days when parts of my body might pass a skin show.  Not quite yet, but I am feeling more comfortable with my body suit and when I do don my street clothes, I notice some of the air has gone out of my over inflated torso.  

After our Playhouse 90 effort on Thursday, I took the day off yesterday and because I was not feeling guilty about it, told me it was the right decision. When Kristen talked about the parallel of running and spinning, I felt she was listening to my mind track. I have often spoken here about my long distance running past and how it has been the virtual bank I borrow from when I need a withdrawal of spending cash when my wallet of effort is a little thin.  Where do we go when we run our picture show inside our mind? For me the house of Zen is the boardwalk down in Long Beach where I trained some 1000 or more times while preparing for Boston or the New York marathons or the ultra marathons of Forest and Prospect Park.  In that setting, I feel the wind at my back; my parka is open and that watch cap is lifted over my ears as the sweat cascades down my cheeks, and as I glance down at my stop watch I have broken my last training time. There are thoughts about this very memory that moves me just beyond what I could do in my last spin class.  

The human form when it is fit is not only sexy, but is moving fine art. When we see that mirror at home or in the locker room as we either enter the shower or step out of it, take a long look at that nude body in the mirror that looks back and see what it says.  I do know one thing; I steal furtive looks now, as I used to make it a point to keep my nakedness away from that man in the mirror.  Thank you KSC, the courage of being naked is returning.  

Playhouse 90

A Thanksgiving treat is what we all gave ourselves today with a little sex dessert reference thrown in for good measure.

  Michelle at the front desk arrived early at 6:30 and despite the club not opening until 7 she let the 5 of us on line for the final 10 spots inside out of the brisk overcast November morning. I will be sure to thank her again the next time I am in, which figures to be soon enough.  I don’t think we pay enough attention to the support staff at Equinox; they all do their job with a smile and friendly salutations when we arrive and depart. 

Kristen suggested we picture ourselves spinning naked and how would we look.  As late at 47 years old I would have had no resistance exhibiting myself au natural. Now, it’s another story but by February 1, 2012, I have envisioned that I will declare myself fit and ready to exhibit the six-pack I covered up 13 years ago. But spinning naked? I think there are naked Yoga classes in the city but I don’t think my ‘package’ could negotiate the in and out of the saddle without cracking los huevos rancheros.  

KG said at the start that the 90 minutes would be over in a blink. And damn, she was right.  I found myself looking at the clock as it circled once around and started its second revolution hoping it would last just past winter.   As I enter my 11th consecutive month of spin, my addiction has me taking 8 classes a week. I can still remember when I thought 3 a week was pushing the envelope.  I’m not training for a marathon like I did in the 1970s, but I have recaptured that strong drive like I had back then, and the body that came with it.  

Kristen had some dietary warnings that suggested we have just one dessert this Thanksgiving and since she included some “good wine” in the cuisine, I figured I had some calories in reserve since I have given up spirits some 21 plus years ago.  Nonetheless I will try eating slowly and keep my eyes from getting bigger than my stomach.  

Does anyone know what Playhouse 90 was? I bet maybe 1 in 100 know, but that’s okay, that’s what I am here for.  HT everyone.  

Spinning Morale

In advance of the 830 KSC I tried to sign up for Svengali (Tripp Doherty) for Tuesday and the first two classes were booked instantly. I have another shot at 745 for the later class at 945, let’s see if I get lucky on that attempt.  As I write out of sequence, I got in on the last Doherty class for Tuesday.  Turns out I went for the 6:00 am spin, and made it with one bike left.  

PC just happened by and if there were ever a stereotype for technical genius he is that man. He had a book idea about Long Island culture and it has all the elements of a story I would love to tell, about expensive houses, cars, women and mistresses. Sorry I got sidetracked there but this is experiential and it’s just part of what I do.  

Spin class is filled with morale.  It is an emotional and mental condition that comes equipped with a sense of purpose.  It fosters psychological well-being and it brings from my perspective a level of confidence that I haven’t experienced since my marathon days of the 1970’s. Just think about it. We get up early out of bed, trek to the club, wait on line if we are technically challenged and then proceed to kick our Asses for 55 minutes. The rest of the day is virtually less of a challenge after that because what can be more challenging than what we just put ourselves through emotionally, spiritually and physically?  When I used to run 10 miles at 530, there was no challenge that the day could present itself that I wasn’t up for. Spin chases the paper tiger of fear, doubt and hesitancy.  

As great as Kristen was on Friday, she surpassed herself on Monday.  The edginess was still there, and she was a bit more engaged in one-way intercourse with several of us as she strolled through the CS.  What made it remarkable was that she kept us in the uncomfortable zone for virtually the whole ride.  When she crunched the time into a 40-minute spin it gave our mind the ability to withstand that pressure with just a bit more ease.  In the remaining time she said she would walk us through it, as if she was in the back of our bike helping us keep our balance after an arduous ordeal.  I liked the way she uncoupled the hour into two pieces.  Oh and another thing I stare at the clock now hoping I can get it to stop because it’s over way too soon.  Thanksgiving provides us with the opportunity of a 90-minute version if we are lucky on the Internet or are willing to wake up and hope for a spot on the ten most wanted.  

Reprinted without permission 

This is Kristen's favorite road

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind

Wanting to start again?

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin like a house of cards

One blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep six feet under scream

But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you?

'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite

The light and let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause, baby, you're a firework

Come on show 'em what you're worth

Make em go oh, oh, oh

As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework

Come on; let your colors burst

Make em go oh, oh, oh

You're gonna leave em fallin down oh oh

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original you cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to a perfect road

Like a lightning bolt your heart will blow

And when it's time you'll know

You just gotta ignite

The light and let it shine

Just own the night

Like the 4th of July

Cause, baby, you're a firework

Come on show em what you're worth

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh

As you shoot across the sky ey ey

Baby, you're a firework

Come on; let your colors burst

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh

You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down oh oh

Bridge

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time to through, ooh, ooh

Cause, baby, you're a firework

Come on show em what you're worth

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh

As you shoot across the sky ey ey

You're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go oh, oh, oh

You're gonna leave 'em fallin down oh oh

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Science Gagne

Too much time between sessions with Ms. Gagne and her singular brand of spin science.  Today she was exceptionally focused on the job without while she worked on her own inside job. I love this side of her because it presents The Evil Woman in her raw form, sans the embraceable you and the personalization all of her aficionados clamor for.  Gone were the individual exhortations I have become accustomed to, as the ride today was focused on her ever-changing curriculum lest her spinning choreography become day old bread. 

Introducing a fresh brand of scientific spin, Kristen had us parked in 80%+ of perceived exertion for most of the ride. The message I picked up was that recovery was coming from being in the saddle not from relaxing the speed of the pedal stroke.  The mere fact that we ease back on the pedal stroke and sit in the saddle is recovery in itself.  There is no need to slow down, quite the contrary I found that keeping the edge and speed up instead of off, kept me much sharper for the next road.  The ride was challenging as it always is, but this edition had the sharp edge of the sword of Damocles because happiness is fragile, and the joy of this KSC ride came with no socialization, just results that’s off the charts.

I wish I could have recorded all the Kristen Doctrine we heard today because it was Choc Full o’ Nuts and it indeed was heavenly.  She asked me if it was boring? AYKM? I was hanging on every word she said hoping to hold onto some of these tutorials, because they only make me better, stronger and thinner.  The most propitious aspect of KSC that is working better than I suspected is that my gut is shrinking from all those years of neglect, even though I kept up an exercise regimen.  The trouble was that I was just not burning enough compared to what I was ingesting.  KSC and The Queen of Spin, Kristen Gagne has changed all that for me. 

The Inquisition

Have you taken a Damian Vella class yet?  This young man, Young Atlas, has virtually skyrocketed in popularity since his inception just a few months ago. Thursday’s class was clearly one that convinced me that he has developed into a HD spin instructor.  He has launched his own ship and though he displays elements of those that mentored him, his unique style part results master, part man with the boyish charm, inspires effort beyond what we think we are capable of.

It felt a little like what the inquisition might have felt like if it was a spin class. We went on a 12-minute climb that seemed to go on and on. As we ratcheted up the resistance wheel to a level 10 and the pedal stroke slowed to a snail like crawl, Young Atlas kept urging us not to give up. That was never an option in my mind because I can do anything for 12 minutes. 

We had a great compliment of riders in what would have been The Blue Sapphire’s time slot, and for a Thursday night spin we got more than our moneys worth even if parts of it felt like torture. I was watching with particular attention to Young Atlas’s pedal stroke at high speed.  I don’t think I have seen anyone move with that kind of lightning like quickness. I had to look away for the time being because those days just might be behind me.  

This young man is moving up the charts with a bullet.  

Spin Doctor

Tripp’s class in Roslyn felt like the same brand of hypnosis I experience in Woodbury, only different. For sure the members are for the most part Roslynites, and the Svengali fandango transfixes them just as easily, but they’re not as openly demonstrative like they are in our Eastern outpost where the horses run free. Their responses are like hydrogen and have not manifested themselves in the reactive form just yet. You know it’s just a matter of time before there is an outbreak of fever and the emotions of the members in our sister club break out in a big time rash. 

Yesterday I ventured once more into the unknown world of taking two spin classes in a row, and I was just not sure how the toe boxes in my shoes were going to hold up. The discomfort I felt yesterday was quite noticeable, and I think I need the help of a good reflexologist. Do we have one at the club? I think I need a session or two. I have virtually no complaints about recurring pain on any part of my anatomy except for some muscle fatigue.  However, my feet have started to bark like two unruly dogs.  And maybe, just maybe it’s time for a new pair of shoes.  

The Tripp road show will find me in Scarsdale on early Saturday morning, because I am to do a story there about a young woman that climbed atop Mount Kilimanjaro. I hear tell she has some great narratives I hope I can give justice to.

  I love my field trips, they always seem to provide me with a different perspective on the members away from home and I  get their “spin” on how their world goes round.  

Taking Back Sunday

It’s not often that I am writing about The Blue Sapphire in a Thursday and a Sunday edition. It’s usually one or the other. This week however had me lucky to catch the blazing blue star twice and she was three times as good. I had decided on her early ride subbing for Young Atlas, Damian and it made my Sunday decidedly different.  

In the front row, I spotted one rider that stuck out like a sore thumb.  He was what looked to be 6’7”, and with that strapping physiology he seemed almost to dwarf his bike. I knew he was an outdoor rider not merely by his size and presence but because when we were way up the resistance dial in position #3, he was sitting in the saddle.  Commanding an even pedal stroke with the resistance dial at 9 out of 10 while being in the saddle is a strenuous posture indeed. It just was my intuition that outside was his real home, not the safe confines of the CS.  I’m not saying the outside rider is better than we stationary aficionados, but the contrast of one to the other is decidedly a world apart. 

Carolyn is not merely a charismatic talent, but she is also a highly skilled technician. Always doling out precious information about breathing, posture and cadence, she gets under our ‘engine’ to make sure we are pedaling efficiently and not out of control. When we are gunning our motors, she can be found checking our flywheel and pedal stroke and when she signals okay with that smile and those striking sapphire eyes we are good to go.  

The next time I spot “The Ringer” I will look for clues and model his spinning choreography. 

Electric Blue

This past  Thursday night with The Blue Sapphire topped the best rides list once again. There was something that gave it a conspicuous difference beyond the charisma of Carolyn Mellace.  It was how fully associated the whole CS had become. With each petition, The Blue Sapphire got enthusiastic backtalk cheering that resounded off the walls of the studio like Flubber,* with no sign of fatigue no matter how far up the resistance dial we traveled. And travel up we did. It just didn’t seem to matter and the fact that I wasn’t the only one being heard in the CS, told me we were riding the curl of a truly thrilling ride. 

Is there such a thing as too many adjectives when describing a person? Probably not, but I didn’t want to seem like I was overdoing it, because I strive to report what I see, and because this blog is experiential in nature, I have to be there to really capture the true feeling of the moment, the hour. As I watched the reflected image of our lithesome dynamo with the spectacular musculature pedaling with the speed of that Superman locomotive, I realized that I might   have run out of superlatives in describing Carolyn, The Blue Sapphire. (Until the next ride) She is another that is larger than life than she is in person.  

Talk To Me

In the midst of taking a day off from the intensity of my workouts, I am hard pressed to feel comfortable off my stationary bike. Classes go on whether I’m in, or leave myself a blank in the tiny squares of that ditto sheet that mark our place in the CS.  I am still finding inspiration in just about every class at Equinox. I have expanded my group exercise to include the indomitable Pam Polestino, even though at this point I am a fish out of water on the hardwood floor versus clipped in with my spin shoes.  I know that I need to diversify my fitness regimen and until now I was unwilling or simply resistant to the idea of doing anything else but spin my life away. Pam has changed all that because of her charismatic engaging style. She’s as talented as Kristen only different. Both women are experts in their craft of group exercise and I love the fact that we have so many choices in the staff they have hand picked. They remind me of Lennon McCartney, a yin yang approach that brings a deeper understanding of talent. They don’t always agree, but they always BRING IT and get it done for you and I.  

I was wondering if some of you that read my stories could tell me about how often you come to this blog. I know you come because I keep tabs on my visitors. I don’t know who you are because there are no footsteps I can match in the CSI lab. I love that you visit and some of you tell me just how much you enjoy these entries, but I still would love to hear from you more, even if it’s anonymous. 

I did a story on Tripp’s blog called The Prom Queen, and I heard a lot, by word of mouth why you liked this story in particular. The woman in this story is incredibly complex and her natural beauty runs much deeper than her physical presence. And for those that know who she is, I am not getting that PQ picture.  Not now, not ever.  

I know that we have some fund raisers this weekend and I wish those that have spearheaded these drives like the Susan B.  Komen ride last month, raise a lot of money.  Those of you that have humanistic causes are welcome to let me know and I will post it right here. Good luck to Stacy and young Dana. So talk to me KSC readers and I promise you this, as I am about to hit the 200th story soon, I will write something really special. I haven’t figured what just yet but I bet it will come to me. 

Be Not Afraid

How can it be that each time I take to the Schwinn bike with The Blue Sapphire that this ride is even better than the last? I don’t know why, but again it was true today. I had sent her a suggestion to play The Killers song, Human and without being cognizant, it was the first song she played today during the warmup.  In fact, the first 15 minutes went by in a blink and even though she warned us not to lose it all in the opening moments, I had a difficult time holding back. The choreography couldn’t have been scripted any better than she had on her line up card. I had forgotten just how tired I was from a frenetic week culminating in tag team at Roslyn yesterday in Pam’s Boot Camp and a session in the CS with The Heart of Stone, Cathy Munzer.

There is never a session with Carolyn that looks like the last. She is actively making each hour unique, and in the mix of music and her ride there is nothing formulaic. The jumps today were particularly innovative and by the time we ended that interval, I was gasping in the zone anaerobic. One thing I learned in the beginning from Carolyn, was how to breathe. I was prone to mouth breathing and she taught me that that was the most inefficient way to get oxygen. More air maybe but not air high in oxygen content as nose breathing avails us of. However, it was not easy to breathe in that way as it took tremendous discipline. Eventually I got the hang of it and even in higher resistances I am fairly successful breathing in through the nose, and exhaling through the mouth.

Near the end of our ride The Blue Sapphire had us do a mind bending interval hill climb, using 5 full turns up and then taking it off in the saddle. She spied someone and said: No air turns! AYKM? Would anyone really do that in her class? She gives us her heart and soul, we should give nothing less than our level best and a 1/4 more turn to the right.

The Energy Vortex

There’s only one way to combat a dark sleet driven Monday morning, and that’s KSC. It just shook off the chill that this early November day had sprung on us

The  opening choreography, was so unique it had me defrosted in short order.  And when a selection I had asked Kristen to play was up next, The Killers and their hit “Human, I was so fired up.  Her last selection, clearly a new favorite of the QoS was Katy Perry’s new smash: “Firework”, and it had me ending the ride breaking the pedal stroke.  What is amazing to me is just how quickly the hour seems to disappear like a teaspoon of sugar in a cup of coffee. I kept looking at the clock thinking I could slow down the passage of time. A watched pot never comes to boil but that old cliche doesn’t work for spin, mainly because I have grown to love it so much.  

Kristen talked about a subject near and dear to my heart, and that was the energy we feel when we are all together in the CS. She can feel it when it’s there and when it’s not.  Some might think we are spinning alone but it’s simply not true. I have spoken about this idea to many of you, and there is definitely an unseen magnetic force when energy is in the room. A young rider next to me named Deb was full of this unseen magic as I could definitely feel her pull of her explosivity. She must have been new to spin, because she was having trouble clipping in and she was asking: How do I get these on? I said it’s just like falling in love, you just have to let it happen. She heard that and she was clipped in. Funny that. 

 I was incredulity yesterday, because I couldn’t believe that I got in online and it was an IT friend whose initials are PC oddly enough that revealed the secret. I have leaked the unadvertised info to just two people and their lips are sealed. Of course those that seem to get in every time may know this little nuance already. I could never figure out why the same people are waiting in line for the last 10 bikes and the same ones that get a bike online with the other 30, are never there in line with us. Oh well maybe we have cracked the code.

Kristen said she never gets out of bed unless she can burn 800 calories. I thought to myself but, I will stay in bed if I can burn 187 calories reaching the peak sensation. Still the ratios are out of balance and those ‘other’ opportunities don’t always present themselves when you want them to. And today she was again at the top of her game, and as I walked out of the studio, I thought I was in Great Neck because I might as well have jumped in a pool I was soaked right through to my shorts. 

Now to Part II of my Monday morning story, included a second class at 945 with Michelle Corso, with the physiology of a sculpted Rodin. I look at this woman and marvel every time I see her. And to think she had four children! Where did they come from? The immaculate conception? She is so self-effacing too. The athlete’s athlete. I have decided to change her class name to The Corso Vortex. A vortex is something that has an angular velocity and not only does Michelle have angles and velocity but she is instinctively gifted as a spin instructor and her mere presence in #41 compel me each time to perform at my level best and beyond. I made it through both classes but tonight my thigh cramped up like a bear trap and I knew instantly I had either not stretched enough or I had lost my mind.  

The Estrogen Field

This was my second foray into Pam Polestino’s Boot Camp, and I found the charismatic one with her left foot in a soft cast because she has a stress fracture. One might get the impression that instead of an intensive hour on the wood floor, we might be getting a free pass, but of course it was the antithesis, because now she had both hands free to whip us into a frenzy of muscle fatigue, a pool of sweat and for me, struggling in the anaerobic zone for the whole hour. 

It happened again, I found myself in a sea of captivity. An ocean of women, and through no fault of their own, the studio air was laden in a cloud of estrogen.  Never under estimate the power of the force or in this case, female hormones. One testosterone man can make a difference however in shifting the teeter totter even though the seat must be kept down by all accounts.  I commented to one young woman that I was alone and she responded that we needed some testosterone present. Women seem to keep to themselves and resist the shouting or grunting that I readily let loose when I am in studio, and with a workout of this magnitude I had no trouble answering Pam’s Yes or No questions to bellowing responses. Pam’s use of the words; HARDER, FASTER and DEEPER were not the ones I was used to hearing, at least not in this space.

The class was extremely challenging. Pam asked that we not hold back, and I tried not to, but by 45 minutes in, my left calf was starting to cramp which was satisfying in one respect, I knew then that I was kicking my ass. Another handicap was the wet floor beneath my feet, as that had me losing my footing through several of the routines, and luckily I had half a dozen towels to mop up the waterworks. I admit I was watching the clock and I broke down the segments into 15 minute sections and that seemed to help me get through a group exercise that I am a long way from feeling comfortable in. 

Pam Polestino, I dig her routine and so I will keep coming back.  

Sexual Healing

Well, maybe the next best thing to sex is spinning, and spinning with KG. More about that later, maybe.  Today I felt quite neglected because Kristen usually calls out everyone’s name once or twice, with an endearing comment of encouragement or in the case of one clock watcher, scathing admonishments. Mine was conspicuously absent except for the fact that she came over twice and gave me personal instruction about having too much ‘road’ on and that it doesn’t have to be that treacherous. Principles above personalities is one of her character traits, but I felt I was sent to Coventry because I haven’t been in her class more than once in the last 8 weeks. And all my posts have been about other spin instructors.  So what was I doing back here again? Because I HAVE to be here. Yes, I have to because this is where it all began and I would never have had the impetus to write over 200 short stories about spinning, if it not were for the Queen of Spin, Kristen Gagne. 

She reminded me just like she always does that when I am in her room no one has more charisma, control, a better call and today fabulous choreography as well. Imagine, I liked her music today, really liked it. She is never one for the status quo and I like it that way. It’s not always comfortable to change, but Ms. Gagne does it with acute regularity, even if she is mired in Usher and Katy Perry. The latter has a new song and I have to admit it has a catchy back beat. Remarkable too, is the fact that her hour runs with the speed of a second hand, and I for one look at the clock wishing it would do the impossible and run backwards. The hour is precious and when she said that she could spin hours with us today, she meant it and I didn’t want to leave. The sugar plum fairies could have helped today but they were working for Pam Polestino and were administering oxygen to the faint of heart over in  her realm.  

I noticed Kristen that you didn’t say my name today I will suck it up but, I was half expecting you to welcome back the prodigal middle aged man.

Sexual healing. Well, there is pleasure in spinning just like sex, except we get to ‘do it’ longer in most cases. We sweat a lot and if you are having great sex you sweat too.  And, we get to the action in a breakaway just like going all out during sex and we get to the peak sensation just like sex as well when we get to ‘release’ the resistance on our red dial, and in the afterglow, instead of a cigarette we get to stretch all the muscles we used, just like in sex. Sex is a lot like spinning except we don’t have to cuddle afterwards.  

Go Gallagher

A late night spin with Maureen Gallagher. I positioned myself in #11 and I started to get annoyed as a very tall rider was doing his own thing and not following Maureen’s call. It annoyed me and I am not sure why. It seemed disruptive and rude and oddly the same thing happened in The Heart of Stone’s class in Roslyn over the weekend. I know, I know but if you are in spin class with an instructor either follow the class or spin on your own, or ride in the back row. Problem was I couldn’t see around this guy as Mo had herself positioned differently, so I picked up and moved over two bikes. It still bugged me for a few more minutes but I finally let it go. What disturbs me is just how intolerant I can be all the while I am in the belief structure that I am patient and tolerant. Need some work Jack. 

The first five songs Mo played got me moving easily as none were hip-hop and pure rock in nature. I loved Mo’s repertoire and she almost seemed like she was whispering above the music but it seemed to flow effortlessly to my pedal stroke. I miss my regular spin mates from KSC, and tomorrow I intend to do the two hour prep and make it to the Queen of Spin’s class.  A long day in the car and Maureen’s class was just the tonic to relieve the stress of the day and I was just glad she was there to spin with.