A Hen's Tooth

It’s been two weeks save one ride that I have been off my spin bike.  And so Friday night I took to a solo effort with my iPod and my own choice of music. I gotta tell you that it was most inspiring listening to selections that viscerally excite me.  However there’s nothing that compares to the energy that all of you give me when the Lavender Palace is filled to capacity.  Those classes are of course Kristen’s spin class where to get a number is like finding a hen’s tooth. 

To wit precisely at 6 am on Friday morning as I hit for Bike 3 (so as to save time and not dare to touch Stacy's bike 4) I got spun back to bike 28. I said WTF!  I am not used to being in the outfield. But just to be back after a hiatus was a gift IMHO.  There are very few instructors that can elicit the full power and strength our bodies are capable of than the ones at Woodbury can. I have waxed on ad nauseum about this but my passion has been reignited. Sometimes our desire wanes like it had for me but I am glad to report I am back on fire.  

So the new bikes arrive on Friday? I know it’s been a long time coming but good things are worth waiting for but to tell you the truth these dinosaurs still serve us. We might be wowed when the new ones come like finding out What’s our Watts are but until that time I am perfectly fine with the Schwinns we have.  

I have missed you all and I wish all my friends and acquaintances the very best holiday and for a fortuitous New Year.  Thank you.  

Jack 

It's Gonna Be All Right

Putting fingers to the keyboard has eluded my psyche of late. I can’t for the life of me figure out why but just opening up the computer is a start.  KSC on a Saturday seemed to be the catalyst for me this morning.  Befittingly Kristen was in the most playful of moods for the 8 am.  When she shines like this its like whipped cream on the best dessert you can think of. 

My friend Stacy made me think about something and with a bit of thought it dawned on me that she was right. The KJ cycle experience is quite singular. There is always a plan it’s never ad hoc. Kristen is just too well prepared to ever let that happen. A plan yes formulaic never! There are a host of reasons why I keep coming back and one just one is that she never plays the same record. Let me clarify she may play songs over from class to class but I can never say I know what the course of the ride will look like. As I can never predict her many faces of Eve nor do I know how she will put us through the workout of our lives.  Simply it’s fresh every time. 

And it never fails that she comes out with some phrase that sticks with me for the day. Today it was: “It’s gonna be all right” Truer words could not have been spoken. Every time things turn out just the way they are supposed to and it’s up to us to make the adjustment, which we are always capable of in the end. If we put the footwork in the results will come…eventually. Situations in life are just scripts we haven’t rehearsed yet and at the end of the day what we think was a cloud filled sky has silver linings we could never have anticipated. KJ is one of the people in my life who inspire me. Maybe she doesn’t know that but it matters not. She does.  

Stacy asked me what bike I had today even though she was spinning in the 915. I said # 3 and she later revealed that if I had her beloved #4 she would have asked me to switch because she didn’t fancy Lake Jack beneath her. Anything to keep her happy I always say. 

It’s going to be all right I know that intuitively.  

P.S. 

My mom would have been 84 years old today. Often her birthday fell on Thanksgiving. Although she's been gone almost 14 years she used to say the same thing to me: Jackie it's gonna be all right. 

I Go Both Ways

I admit I jumped on this as soon as the words escaped into the Lavender Palace but I do things like that to soften the mood or if I can crack a few smiles. No ill intent intended. I suspect that you all know that by now. But the phrase got me thinking anyway. We do go both ways in spin class don’t we? Explain Jack please. Well here goes. Easy enough actually.  

We climb with resistance and we sprint with a few turns to the left. Both ways bring us to the breathless and anaerobic zones. I until recently could never get above 100 RPM’s mainly because I was cranked too high and I never understood why or how speeding could get me anywhere in my quest to get to a higher fitness level. Now I know better because if I maintain a modicum amount to the right speed becomes part of the whole equation. It’s the back and forth between climb and interval that shocks my body and that my friends is how I go both ways. 

There has been considerable comic mileage that Ms. Sable and Ms. Gould have gotten over my over active sweat glands. Stacy didn’t want me on “her bike” #4 before her (I being on the 8 am and she being on the 915 this past Saturday) because of the expansive “puddles” I leave behind after each session. It was okay however to have Ferne sweat to her hearts content because her liquid display was paltry by comparison. I tried to act annoyed but it was of no use I joined in on the joke as well. My friends Ferne and Howard took it to a higher level when they invited me for dinner and as I got to the table there was a towel on the floor and one in my seat. Ha-Ha. I am not about to let go of this little comedy.  We both got a considerable laugh out of that one as well. There might be more “sweat” stories I will keep you posted. 

Dana who was the target of today’s title and such a good sport was just fantabulous in the Wednesday 730. She always has a good call even if she doesn’t play Mumford and Sons and does play Billy Joel. I can’t stand Billy Joel.  

500

I thought that writing in this the 500th episode of KSC that I would take various paragraphs or sentences from some of the stories and reprint them and comment about what it was like almost 4 years ago and what it feels like now. 

Remember when Hunter was just 6 years old? I do. 

From 2010:

For the Love of God.  

When I heard Kristen talk about her 6-year-old son as he said to her “For the love of God, you’re teaching again?” That was all I needed to dismiss this qualm and I settled back into my gel seat and gone was any notion that I was in any way quitting. I took on the face of the 17 races I had completed and the 1 I didn’t vanished with my next breath.

4 years ago I actually used to think about quitting before the class was over now it never enters my mind. I never give up in class or the other 23 hours of the day. 

And this post from July of 2010:

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.

KSC has given me so much and I cannot thank Kristen enough. Its been a an immersion of body, mind, spirit and soul.  

I think I will stay with this for a while. Writing about KSC then and now.  

Dearest

Freddy Bartholomew in 1936’s Little Lord Fauntleroy called his mother’s character Dearest. Now not for a moment would I think that we might refer to KJ as Dearest in that sense (if you’ve seen the movie) but she does say often: Trust Mommy. And every time we clip in we are all the more fit for placing our trust in her adroit care.  So since she’s been away for what seems like a long time her flock missed her including yours truly. She is the Queen of Spin after all (as you’ve often heard me refer to her as) and Saturday KSC was something we needed dearly. How was that? Did I tie it in? Or am I off my rocker? The latter might be true but lame as the start of this episode might be I love Saturday’s and Saturday’s spinning with KJ is the best way to start the weekend. 

It’s somebody’s birthday tomorrow and I think it’s the most popular girl in school as well. Stacy Tucker Sable will celebrate her birthday tomorrow and we get to join her in Carolyn’s class. Now no one is singing: How old are you now? Because it’s still not polite to ask a woman her age and needless to say whatever the number might be we think she’s just hitting her prime. Happy Birthday Stacy!

I was hoping to stumble over to Dana’s strength class in the Main Studio after the 8 am but the mind and the body were unwilling. I sent my regrets to Dana but the pro she is let me off the hook.  I know I need to diversify my regimen but after a class with Dearest I am spent. I guess I am addicted to loving just one group fitness activity. Try as I might but at 62.5 years old it’s hard to teach a sexagenarian new tricks. 

Hey the next post will be 500. Is it really possible to continue past 500 episodes?

I'll let you know. 

We'll Always Have Paris

Growing up in the 60’s the French were looked upon with disdain mainly because of a man named Charles DeGaulle. He was a man who disliked America intensely. He seemed to have conveniently forgotten that this country had saved his bacon ousting the Nazis in WWII.  This head of state captured his essence quite well I think. 

"I cannot think of anything more unpleasant and impossible, than having this menacing and hostile man in our midst, always trying to make himself a reputation in France by claiming a position far above what France occupies, and making faces at the Allies who are doing the work."

Winston Churchill

Things have calmed down a bit along the Champs-Elysees and it seems Americans are able to come and go without much incident. In fact Kristen and her mom Claudia are on their way to the city of love and light Paris. We wish them a safe and memorable journey. Speaking of things memorable even if it is purely fictitious Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a scene from Casablanca savored one of the most romantic moments in cinematic history. When they were about to part on the tarmac in the final scene Rick told Ilsa: We’ll always have Paris. Now Mrs., Bean and Kristen will create their memory together  as mother and daughter. 

Saturday in the Lavender Palace it’s not Paris but we still call it home.  

Dawn Moore

What do you think I am the paparazzi? Nancy Kaplan says I am. She told her friend what happens here at EQ when it comes to spin class. As she described the ritual we all go through and just take for granted one Saturday, it struck me that we have our own cottage industry surrounding the ceremony of booking reservations, switching bikes, getting up at 530 am, the bald headed guy that writes about it all and just who is zooming whom. It is truly singular in nature.  There’s that woman again Nancy Kaplan. Her husband is a famous doctor and when I ask her about esoteric subjects like amoebic dysentery she gives me the skinny. Nancy Kaplan it’s just like talking to a doctor without the 750.00 fee.  Any who I am supposed to be writing about spin class after all this is KSC ain’t it? Yeah I guess so. 

So where was I? Oh. I took Dawn Moore’s class this week. What night was that? I think she was subbing for Johnny Kocaj. Yes she was. Dawn Moore I ask the Queen via our electronic communication medium tell me about Dawn Moore and she informs me how good she is and I’m gonna love her and that’s she’s a seasoned spin instructor. I think to myself after 500 stories on KSC KJ doesn’t have to give me the company line on how good someone is but that’s her nature to only say great things about any member of her staff.  Okay I say let’s climb aboard and see if there’s some hubbub I can scribe about.  And with the exception of David Cooper I will not write about anyone unless there is something good to say. So Jack is there something good to say about Dawn Moore? I wondered if she might be just a little nervous her first time out. Not her first time as a spin instructor but her virgin tour in the big leagues (at least in our own minds) at Woodbury EQ. Of course she’s good more than good. This woman looking more like Serena Williams than some of our other lithesome instructors but nonetheless she moves through the air like a June Taylor dancer. Wait. Sometimes I hate being 62.5 years old because my references are so obscure. Most of you probably don’t know who the June Taylor dancers are. Just google it. Needless to say that when Dawn Moore gets off the bike (I love when instructors get off the bike it tells me how confident they are. It tells me they got game. Oh Dawn Moore she’s got game.) She got the movement cherry baby and as she rocks side to side in perfect rhythm to the percussion my pedal stroke moves in tandem with her hips. 

Dawn Moore she be cool. What about her discography?  Stacy next to me that night who knows every song imaginable (and lip-synchs to them all) said she hadn’t heard these selections before. Either had I and my guess was that it was a club mix all her own. It’s fine just because it’s not Maroon 5 or David Guetta we can still get by. Dawn Moore I will be back girl.  

The Color Blue

Blue evokes so many incantations merely by uttering the word itself. Perhaps it’s my favorite color because it makes me think of blue skies and true blue love. I never thought about breathing the color blue though until Kristen suggested it some time ago. It has a nice ring to it because the metaphor of breathing blue gives rise to other thoughts as well. Like keeping the toxic people away from our breath of life for instance or taking in only positive energy to name but two. The color blue rings true and in spin class there’s no better color to energize our pedal stroke. 

What was all that about Jack? Good God! Well I need some poetic license what do you think this is a spin blog? Metaphors abound in my head since I started spinning in February of 2010. I still don’t think most of the outside world knows what the hell it is we do.  Talking to Roy and David in the boys locker room both of whom are big time outside riders say that what we do translates to the road. I always thought that the road cyclists looked at us with disdain as simply pretend riders. Roy and David told me I would fare well outside and I have had a few impromptu rides and I did represent so it’s not a big stretch to think we can handle the “road” outside as well as inside.  

I loved this Saturday with our “inside’ trainer Kristen and I think she makes us “bring it” big time and if you ask Roy or David we can handle any Peloton. 

Teachers Pet

Is there anything more to say about Saturday KSC? I think so especially when KJ shows us a new personality. This one was the teacher in her. No not the devil inside her the teacher. There are not many people I know that can be mercurial and yet attractive all the time. Even when she seems like she’s had a bad morning, which is rare, she is totally riveting.

 Remember that teacher in school that liked you best? I had a few of those in grade school maybe because I kept my mouth shut and I was so shy back then. I even got a Good Do Bee award in 7th Grade. Anyway I am off track as is my wont sometimes. Remember when you were teachers pet? I can reel off a few of you that I know had your classmates very jealous.  That’s what it felt like on Saturday. We were all teachers pet.  

Kristen knows most of all so well and it’s not just her sparkling personality calling out our names to make us feel important. We are connected to her and as she is to us. At least I think so. We give her validation when her classes are sold out and she gives us the workout of our lives. A fair trade I think. 

 Although everyone loves her shout outs whether she is jibing us or exhorting us on in our efforts. There is no one that gives us the attention we crave like she does.   But this Saturday it felt different it felt as if we were her close friends and she could just about say anything and we felt comfortable about it. 

Zenlike

Is this trip really necessary?  For me it is because I want to make an account of the phenomenon that Kristen’s spin class has created.  So for me it’s not just about the exercise or the experience. It is also about journaling a Zen like fantasy that happens between our ears.  Why we are here is not unlike waiting to see a performance artist at a nightclub. If the act is really hot you don’t mind waiting because we all want to be entertained.  And to be entertained while we take our physiology to the limit makes it truly a singular experience.  When we are entertained we are usually in a relaxed atmosphere sitting back with a refreshment in hand and our attention is riveted as to what is unfolding before our eyes.  When we are truly engaged in an activity our minds are not someplace else.  So often as we go through our lives in a routine like zombie state we are never fully associated with what we are doing. 

Here spinning takes over all the space in our head and there is no room for the clutter of yesterday’s events or what lies before us projecting how we would like our day to go.  So in a very real sense we can practice being in the now and take this parcel of time and sprinkle it throughout the rest of our day.  Imagine how productive we can be in our lives focused on what we are doing 100% of the time. Can you imagine forgetting about trying to control people places or things and just being an active participant how effective our lives can become?  Jack have you gone off the deep end here?  I might be but it sure gives me something to think about.  I hope it does for you. 

Okay I am ready to go upstairs to the studio to be entertained and to take myself to the limit that exists only in my imagination. 

Since only two of you read this when I first published it over 3 years ago I thought I would open it again 

Arcane Magic

                                                                               


I think I get it now. There has been in my mind an arcane magic as to why Dana Mancini was able to get more effort out of me than I could ever conceive of in spin class. I shook it off at first as just being attributed to her personality, which is charismatic and humble which almost seems anachronistic. I mused that’s why I kept coming back. Her music is eclectic which I love because she reaches back in time before her time to play selections that stir my memory banks. But this morning I pinpointed with specificity what it is about her that does it for me.

 Whenever she guides us during an interval I always know I am giving my maximum effort and with her patented “close your eyes” she then breaks down the interval in to two parts. The first part has us stepping up the resistance and speed. And that by its lonesome works fantastic.  However she takes it one step further. With eyes closed she goes to work on the power of our mind over the pedal stroke. With say 15 seconds left she asks for more effort, harder, faster and magically that arcane magic I break through to some other level I never knew was there.  Seemingly so esoteric but that’s what encapsulates it as to why Mancini draws the crowd she does now. Okay we like her a lot too. And I know we are saying our prayers for her Grand as she goes through her health challenges

When I looked at the “Book a Bike” icon on my EQ app Tuesday night it was the tandem of Kristen and Dana that had the dreaded: No Bikes Left. I hate to admit it but it’s the women that provide the biggest draw at EQ. Whether it be the Evil Woman; KJ, Dana, K2; Kristen Finello or The Blue Sapphire; Carolyn Mellace they all  bring their singular talents and that is why we show up.

Arcane Magic it’s the phrase that best describes this lithesome young woman Dana Mancini.  And that Secret 730 ain’t a secret anymore.

Kristen Unplugged

Once in a Wolf’s Moon we’ve lost power at EQ. Yesterday was one of those days. Although the high priestess of false security; electricity was restored the after affects left the Lavender Palace’s sound system imitating an Ocean Liner sounding its fog signal.  

The net of this technological snafu left us without one of the key components for Saturday KSC no music. No mike and no music. There’s no doubt spinning to music is key but its really about the instructor who can pull off a great class without accompaniment. 

Kristen may not realize that this was no greater inconvenience than running out of milk with our sleeve of Oreo’s.  No big deal and we wish this was our worst challenge of the week. And BTW KJ does not need a mike she has a clear channel voice with no need of amplification. 

In fact without the sound of music we heard what we never hear in the CS and that is the flywheel a heavy metallic sound that made its own music especially when KJ called for a breakaway or sprint. 

At rides end I still had the same pool of water underneath my bike and I was breathless and in the anaerobic state just as much as if Robin Thicke or Katy Perry were belting out the number 1 and 2 songs on Billboard’s hot 100. Don’t get me wrong I love spinning to KJ’s playlist but today was a reminder why we come and that’s to workout with the Queen of Spin: Kristen James. 

Happy Birthday to Cindy and all I can say is: WOW!

That Mancini Woman

Sporting a ponytail our lithesome superstar put us through her own brand of delicious torture in the coveted Thursday 830 slot vacated by the Originator and Innovator Kristen James. Tough shoes to fill indeed but Dana represents and fills those Specialized shoes admirably.

  For the life of me I can’t seem to figure out if I am getting in better shape or falling off because I am in oxygen deficit for virtually the whole ride. Even breathing through the nose doesn’t get enough O2 in my system and it was lightheaded I was in ¾ session. DVM tells me it’s the former and that I am bringing it. I remain somewhat skeptical but who’s to say.  My only guide is the pool and river or sweat beneath my bike that seems to increase in volume week to week. I only have to look a row ahead to my friend Stacy who sweats more than anyone I know man or woman that Mancini has taken her game to a new level since her inaugural days some 18 months ago.  

At one point Dana had an emotional moment when describing how proud she was of our collective effort. It’s a good thing sweat hides tears because she might have had some raindrops fall from those Italian cheeks. It’s nice to know we affect her as she does us. 

  From her vantage what does she see I often ask myself? KJ says she can feel the energy of the whole room as it’s literally in her face. As a rider I can only glean from the periphery just how the electromagnetic force lights up the room. There are times the energy is palpable right from the start and others where the crescendo builds throughout the hour.  Like I said I can’t see I am just part of the séance and get absorbed by the group hypnosis and follow along in trance induction.  

Have you seen her? She’s been gone a long time. I’ve noticed and after an arduous rehabilitation Mary McCann is back in our midst. I have often joked MM is an angel because I have never heard her say a crossword or utter scuttlebutt about any member. If she ever gets angry I know she must hide it well. All I know is that I am glad she’s back and she’s brought along that infectious smile of hers too.  

The Nutcracker

Who says that the music in the Lavender Palace has to be AT 40 or Rock ‘n Roll? Apparently our new spin instructor K2 doesn’t think so. She has shaken things up a bit and mixed into the discography Opera yes you heard it Opera. And there couldn’t be a more innovative approach in my opinion. It would hardly be in our province to question her selections being a music teacher and a virtuoso violinist to boot.  

Now I know very little about Opera except maybe Peter Rabbit and The Nutcracker and I could have sworn she played the latter this morning at 6 am but in fact it was: In the Hall of the Mountain King. Sounded familiar but far be it for me to actually know the title. This selection was perfectly designed for a climb and speed interval with a fresh auditory. She’s on to something and I want more. 

That 6 am slot is for the hard-core spin enthusiast and not well attended but Finello as I looked around garnered a respectable showing when most of us myself included are still in the somnolent state. However I have to tell you that there’s a great feeling to be finished with exercise before 7 am when most of the membership is either on the road, still in bed or just sauntering into the club. Now that most classes are but 45 minutes it’s a flash and you’re done. The 4% solution now has become the 3% solution. Three per cent of our day could not be spent better and if I can find that old discipline maybe I make it in to the 6 am more often. Uh yeah no.  

Well maybe it wasn’t The Nutcracker but I did feel a little nuts and definitely cracked. 

Daffodils

There’s an AT 40 song on the charts talking about flowers and my immediate thought while hitting light speed during a Dana Drill was me lying prone with my eyes closed holding a small bouquet of flowers but here’s the thing they were daffodils. Does that mean I am headed for a NDE? * I don’t think so cause I’m not ready just yet for the hereafter but one never knows do one?  And if I were to go Luce Fuori the Lavender Palace it would be a great resting place. I am jesting of course but we do feel that catching our breath after an interval is no easy task especially in Dana Mancini’s class. 

I am falling deeply in like with that 730 Wednesday. Because we are out on the streets before the 9 o’clock magic hour when the whole day is still ahead and after a Dana session I feel like I can conquer Madagascar.  Where is Madagascar anyway? 

It’s so strange how quickly we have adapted to the new 45-minute schedule isn’t it?  I don’t think other than Saturday morning that any class is longer than ¾ of an hour.  And that suits me just fine because I don’t feel like we are getting short changed and knowing that the time is shortened seems to ramp up the effort and I am finding that I burn just as much or more calories in 45 minutes as I did in 60. How is that possible I am not sure? 

I might feel like I am dying but after a shower and shave I couldn’t feel more alive than the day I was born.  

P.S.

NDE- Near Death Experience

Juliet Mills 1972 "Avanti" with Jack Lemmon  

Shut the Blinds

The Secret 730 is no longer classified in fact I found out Tuesday morning at 530 that it books out in seconds now. It was maybe a few short months ago I took this particular time slot and there were a few bikes available but now no way. And think about this for a moment the 730 is in no way a prime time slot. 830 or 930 maybe but what Young Dana has done is made this class her own and her following has grown in leaps and pedal strokes.  

Struggling to focus on breathing mid-way through I was trying to formulate in words what it is she does that makes me feel like I am going beyond the effort I thought I was capable of. The best I could come up with is that each time we “punch” through another ceiling she raises the floor beneath us. In this way instead of falling off after a Herculean interval we recover in a place we used to be challenged in. Does that make sense? 

I think too that her trademark “Shut the Blinds” has a remarkable affect on the ethereal aspect of the ride. When we filter out the major sense of sight and implore our imagination into the mix we can go anywhere we want to. The journey becomes 4 dimensional and we feel the moving parts of our body more intensely. 

The discography is always just right. A little AT 40 and a little classic Rock n’ Roll so that elders like me feel right at home. I was  just a bit lethargic this morning and I virtually had to kick my ass out of bed but Dana I am so glad I did.  

Heart of Fire

What else can be said about her? It’s nearly 500 episodes I’ve written about Kristen James. I loved her as Kristen Gagne too but this woman continues to be original in every single class I am privileged to be in.  Why is it that her class is sold out in seconds? I see other classes on Book A Bike: 37 Bikes Left 0 Bikes Left 37 Bikes Left. We need a bigger studio but only for her classes. And that is not to say her very talented staff is nothing short of extraordinary but she is in my opinion alone at the top. Some say I kiss her ass but I have no agenda with KJ only that she be present, make me sweat and inspire me. That’s all I have ever asked of her and she does it every time.  

The 1-year anniversary of her beloved Dads passing is nigh and that morning in church when she said goodbye will stay with me forever. Watching her nearly collapse her beloved Don kept her from falling. I cried a little that day. As I have said before she is SIN. Singular in nature.  

Double Spin Part......

After 2 hours of spin I’ve had enough of the day and so I decided to crawl back under my soft white sheets for a short siesta only to be woken up 20 minutes later with a start thinking I was late for KSC. I think I am infected with a rocking pneumonia and I need at least a day off to recover from 7 classes in 6 days. Trying to make up for lost time never works out even when you try and catch up on the somnolent state or missed sessions in the Lavender Palace. 

Howard convinced me to take the second after I was lamenting to anyone who’d listen that I was done in by the 8 am version of Kristen’s Spin Class. He said come on Jack there’s some open bikes. And everyone knows KJ hates open bikes even if it is mid-summer and many of the regulars are away on vacation. I felt compelled and forgot albeit briefly just how tired I was. Luckily I was back in the 4th row somewhat out of the watchful eagle Kristen eyes so I could turn down the amperage just a little bit but we all know how that goes once you’re in you’re in.  

I know that my HR monitor must have been off because it showed that my range was 123 to 220. (Technically I was dead no?) I was excited because I broke 1000 calories. Even if it’s only an estimate I am going into Saturday in a caloric deficit for sure. And since I don’t drink I might have some room for some buttered popcorn. Perish the thought!  I love Saturday KSC I just don’t know why but I do.  

This week I did three night versions of the talented lot we have at EQ. John Kocaj on Monday, Kristen Finello (K2) on Tuesday and Damian Young Atlas on Wednesday.  It’s a great alternative to have night spin especially during summer and all 3 have my admiration and respect. However what possessed me to do 7 in 6 days is pure lunacy and I am so resistant to doing something else consistently and as of right now that discipline eludes me.  I’ve tried Yoga with the talented Raj and group exercise in the main studio with the Super Human (not just superwoman) Rocky. Oh well one day I will wake up and move among the saner of you that have a well-rounded fitness regimen. 

PS

Some of you may know that my writing is automatic. I wrote this last night I wish you would take a look and tell me what it means to you. 

http://mylifeafteraa.blogspot.com/2013/07/psychic-demeanors.html

Reentry

Is there life without spin? Well of course but life is just a bit different nonetheless. The discipline of the exercise regimen has so much less resistance with spin in your life. One knows when all the classes are from the carefully assembled schedule and by simply showing up all we need do is put in the pedal stroke. Take the schedule out and exercise can be catch as catch can, which is where we lose our footing. The intricacies of life with all its currents and eddies makes exercise seem like a luxury and almost every task our mind can think of gets advanced to the higher priority. Oh I will get to the club but I just don’t know when. Not knowing when can make a world of difference in the state of our mind and of course the state of our body. 

As much as exercise is an "outside job" the actual work is the ultimate “inside job” What goes on in our conscious mind is the thing.  When we complete a class we feel just a bit more ready to take on the world than without it.  Exercise although it expends energy makes us perform at a higher rate than if we remained sedentary. Using some of the fuel we wake up with everyday when burned gives rise to a more efficient use of what is still left in the tank.  A higher octane if you will. We pay more but we get more MPG.  

When Kristen2 asked me if I was all right her query was raised because my pen had gone silent. It’s so true that my own rocket fuel to write is prospered by that magic flywheel and that little red resistance wheel.  So now as my reentry back into the club is renewed I am certain that my gift of afflatus will return.  At least I hope so because this piece is as flat as a crushed thumbtack. 

I was going to call this piece Outside the Spin Room but since I was able to catch the 7 PM Monday class with John Kocaj I changed it to Reentry. And coming back to spin class with John instructing was probably the best thing I could do. John is an erudite teacher with a choreography that is very precise and he adds the dimension of what a thinking man’s version of what spin class  looks like. It’s not so much about the music with John it’s the content. It’s what I came away with which was more important. Instead of going like a banshee his approach had me ease into the pedal stroke and suffice it to say that by rides end I was feeling like I hadn’t missed a class rather than more than a dozen. Take John he’s distinctive and his approach to class is different and as to how you’ll have to leave that as something that is purely individual and experiential known only to you.  

The Doppelganger Effect

We of the Lavender Palace know what its like having one Kristen in the room. What about 2? Are we seeing double? A twin? A reflection? Or maybe its two women with the same name that have energy levels that can only be explained by Quantum Physics.  The slightly younger edition plays violin among other instruments and the Queen of Spin is a different musician laying down tracks nigh on 20 years now. Kristen James ever the innovator enthralls us with her God given charisma and her innate ability to spot talent like the young maestro Kristen Finello.

A spin instructor has many parts. They are validated by the powers that be but that is the mere skeleton. Layer upon layer is needed to complete the artist within and to hear Kristen Finello tell it anything we do has to be organic. Innate. I suppose one can learn the artistry through dedication, emulation and constant experimentation honing what works and what doesn’t. I believe that we are all born to do one thing extraordinary but some of us never get to discover just what that is.  Not so for the Kristen Doppelganger. They both have discovered it and however its done they both have woven a tapestry separate and singular but nonetheless beautiful to experience. 

At Six pm on a Thursday the last person I thought I might see was KJ but there she was looking in on her protégé Kristen Finello. The both of them seemed to be tinkering with the play list but what really struck me was how natural they seemed in each other’s company and their smiling countenances told me they had bonded as only women can.  

As class started and the teacher departed Ms. Finello seemed to be infused with an even greater vivacity and with her trademark: “Check in with yourself” I knew that the ceremony was over and the real work was about to start.  

Hot Sticky & Sweet

The first weekend of summer and it was a sweet day indeed. It began in the CS with young Kristen Finello at the reins. This is third time I’ve taken her class and I think I am witnessing a performance artist before she becomes wildly popular. Not easy to do within the confines of Equinox a bastion of human critics that are not only hard to convince but as temperamental a bunch I have ever grown to love in my life.  

She’s a music teacher by day and not just any music teacher she guides young minds of the orchestra and maybe that is the key element why her musical flair in the studio brings her discography new meaning to the art form that is spin. Make no mistake what we do for the uninitiated can seem well quite boring but it’s the entertainment factor that makes our sessions anything remotely resembling ennui.  With the likes of Kristen James, Dana Mancini, Tripp Doherty, Carolyn Mellace, Damian Vella and John Kocaj to name but a few the talent at EQ gives us a wide variance of styles and personalities that will never leave us bored nor have our mind wander thinking what we might have on our busy agendas at the end of class.  They keep us focused to the task at hand and I am sure you find that the commitment we make to our bodies brings our mind gifts other earthlings can only dream about.  

Is there room for another? Oh Yeah! As singular in nature as all our instructors are Ms. Finello brings a discernible difference in the way she delivers. Her main vocation is a   music teacher but she can also dance, project, look gorgeous and carries a vivacious charm that is positively intoxicating. I may be long in the tooth but I can still recognize what ebullience is and she has it.  

At the beginning of class and at the end of hers Kristen James peeked in to witness her young protégé a true act of humility from someone that never shrinks from center stage. Here however she was in my opinion a fan and I found that quite endearing.  KF was bursting as well.  

The class was hot and sticky and came with a sweet ending. I met Howard and Ferne at the health bar downstairs and they invited me for brunch. Suffice it to say the conversation was spirited and the time evaporated way too quickly and they both capped off a Sunday I will not forget.  

SUPER WOMAN

As Hollywood rolls out another super hero flick called: The Man of Steel aka Superman the Evil Woman was lamenting; How come there were no like movies featuring the female of the species. Because Ms. James women have already taken over that’s why. We men need comic book characters come to life on the silver screen just to remind us we are still super too!

Today IMHO (in my humble opinion) was the toughest ride ever! KJ dismisses that notion every time I tell her that but it’s true it was beyond breathless.  Unfortunately not every spin instructor has a plan as talented as all of them are but Kristen has a progressive stratagem in place and that is why we do experience a higher level of fitness if we are in her classes for any length of time. I am not alone in the feeling that lately the sessions have taken on a new dimension with a degree of difficulty of a reverse 4 ½ in the pike position. Well maybe not that difficult but certainly when members like David Blatt, Heather Featherr and Roy make the same exclamation I know I am not imagining it. I hadn’t worn my HR monitor in the last few weeks and when I looked at the results today two things became apparent to me. My HR hit a high of 174 (ordinarily it never goes beyond 156) and my caloric burn of 737 was almost 200 calories higher than my average. However more importantly I noticed too that my HR dropped precipitously in a shorter interval than I have experienced in the past. My fitness is rising can be my only conclusion.  

So she might be The Evil Woman to me but you can call her Super Woman too! This week she did something so extraordinary I have to share it. I think it was on Wednesday. You know how she uses didacticisms in her rides? She said and I am paraphrasing; do you have someone up there that guides you every day? I knew she was thinking about her Dad and my mind went to my Mom and when it did the chills hit me head to toe like visceral lightning. I want to thank you for that KJ it was beyond extraordinary.  

PS

She said she loves all of us in a different way and that my friend is a gift believe it.  

PPS

 Unlimited power may be available when two or more people coordinate their thoughts and actions in a spirit of perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose. - Napoleon Hill

Yeah that Kristen’s Spin Class.  

Time Machine

When the Evil Woman opened with the 1979 hit by the Pointer Sisters we began a lighting fast Time Machine ride of 34 years of memories jammed in a 45-minute capsule.  Kristen’s herstory took us from being perched from the backseat hands draped over the front seat as a young whippersnapper to trying to get the attention of the “dirt bags” to her roots as a group instructor. She asked us where we were as each song plated and some of my stories will remain buried in my own sarcophagus.  

It was a delightful alternative to the AT 40, which we are more accustomed to listening to each day. However when she played my all time favorite song: Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order I harkened back to my pre sober days of mayhem on the dance floor in spandex and white capezios. There were some great times back then but also it was for me The Edge of Darkness. Would I want to go back? No not really but if I could go back and live 5 days over I might have made some better decisions along the way. 

KSC has been so great of late and because I am revisiting the anaerobic zone my shout outs have been less and less simply because I am hard at work trying to catch my breath. More and more I am working consciously on breathing in from the nose and I think it’s making a big difference in the efficiency of the ride. 

  

Sensory Deprivation Part IV

The anaerobic state has revisited my body and Dana Mancini has been the proximating cause. * I can’t believe that this young woman has cajoled me in her soft way to me to take it to another limit. A lot of the credit belongs to her employing sensory deprivation the closing our eyes. For the life of me I never thought something I have written about and studied for so long could be the fitness tool that it now seems to have become. It’s spreading too because I am hearing more instructors using this subtle nuance.   

 She has taken over one of the marquee spots, Thursday 8:30. Most of the classes have been shortened to 45 minutes and not too many are complaining about the brevity of one of the toughest classes on the schedule.  However let’s talk about the anaerobic state. It has virtually silenced me as some might be happy to hear or not hear as the case may be but I think that it’s just a matter of time that my fitness level however that is measured is about to take on a new degree of stamina and strength. 

I am so relishing this time and there has never been a time in my 10+ years (when memberships were being sold out of a trailer) that I have been so enamored with my fellow members and the convivial staff here at EQUINOX.  I know I sound like I work here but most of those that know me know how I really feel.  

*An intervening cause

Breathe & Pray

Breathing is the key I’m convinced of that. Letting the mouth get in the way makes the efficiency of the ride drop like the rain we had yesterday. It still takes focus to breathe through my nose even though I know that oxygen finds my lungs better that way but the default setting still thinks quantity is the optimum strategy. Off the bike I know better. 

I’ve been doing a lot of praying off the bike because I’m also convinced it’s the best stratagem too. Of course on the bike I am riveted to the task at hand and that’s to be in the game fully associated with the outside world at bay. I never think about if I can make it through the session when I first clip in.  I have 55 other people my friends in the studio and I don’t want to let anyone down I feel an obligation and whether or not anyone else cares I know that I care. I genuinely feel younger than my 62-½ years and I know my family ancestors never knew this sense of pride of working out at this level. 

Today I got to ride next to my surrogate daughter Heather. I see so much of myself in her maybe because we are both Aquarians. I see her deep sense of determination, her dedication and aplomb she exhibits in her own business with another member of our team.  The impulsive side of me wants to make sure I am there whenever she needs an ear but also knowing she’s on her own path. I can just marvel at her progress because in the 3 years knowing her I’ve watched the Feather blossom as a tri-athlete I feel a sense of pride because she is my friend.

The Saturday ride in KSC is my favorite that’s no secret I actually love getting up at 5:55 on Friday morning as I start the ritual of refreshing my EQ application securing a bike for the next day. As the 6 am hour approaches I still feel that nervous excitement after all this time until I get the confirm that I’m in. Getting that first row is becoming more and more difficult but as long as I ride I don’t care that much.  

It’s been a great week. Riding my first class with Kristen Finello was a pure treat and since my ride I found out she is a music teacher by day no wonder her discography was so adroit. She has a great teacher in KJ who is not afraid to share the spotlight with the talent she brings into the Equinox fold. Good luck Ms. Finello.  

Breathe and Pray they go together better than you might suspect.  Thanks Kristen James for another memorable Saturday.  

Kristen Finello: She's DaBomb

First off I have to preface this entry due to the fact that as I got on my bike and looked up at Kristen Finello floating in my head were rumors that this young woman was a Kristen James clone. One member suggested that there might be a case for copyright infringement. Now there were signs I will report that seemed very Kristen like as in the swiveling of the head and some hand gesticulations but other than that this Kristen I can report is DaBomb.

That phrase might be a cliché by now but that was the title that became nascent as we ripped through a 45-minute edition of this young woman’s debut with me. I watched very closely for signs that what I was witnessing was really authentic. And I gotta tell you she is the real deal. As I sat next to Ari I asked him what he thought before class and he was aplomb that I would find her very talented. He was right. 

What struck me most were her occulting eyes I have never seen that in any instructor heretofore. Each time her eyes closed it was as if   she was summoning up the spirit within her to give her rendition of the passion she seems to flourish on.  I also liked the fact that she got off the bike that takes courage I think and as she passed me I could see the veins in the side of her head pulsating and her perspiring brow let me know Kristen Finello was fully associated. 

And the discography was choreographed to perfection. The play list was tightly woven into her repertoire, which covered all the facets of spin we have come to expect. She also threw in some tabata for good measure and gave us the option of being in or out of the saddle. She didn’t condescend and what’s more was in complete control of the ride and I was frankly stunned how great she was. She confessed that when she saw me that she was nervous but it didn’t show and I guess she won’t be now.  

I think in another life Kristen James is a hen because she’s hatched another starlet.  

Don't Shoot It!

My mind must be in the gutter after I heard Kristen giving us that warning because I felt myself blush. (Really Jack?) However I was relieved to realize that the Evil Woman loves double entendres and there was intent when she shouted that small epistle part way into class: “Don’t shoot it you have to stay up for at least 32 minutes more”. Hey we are all adults and a little dirty talk never hurt anyone I hope anyway.  Remember that first day in the new studio when she was brandishing a screwdriver and said: Does anybody need a little screw? Never gonna forget that one. 

In any case to foster this bit of X rated theme KJ has suggested that her discography for Saturday KSC will be the dirtiest songs she can find. The one that comes to mind quickly is Enrique’s Tonight I’ll be f**king you! The G rated version of course is Tonight I’ll be loving you. I am sure there are enough for her to plate for the full hour. She has suggested we all show up in bikinis and bathing suits, which would be SFH, but the Mother Ship if they ever got wind of that would drop anchor.  

Don’t Shoot It! It has been my experience that if you practice breathing through the nose you can hold out much longer.  

The Mirror Crack'd

This workout in the Main Studio at 8 am is called; let me check my schedule The Ultimate Workout. Nomenclature aside it was a bitch. Young Dana drew a packed room and why not she is a fan favorite (and one of mine) and as I bore down I knew that it was going to be sheer determination if I was to make it through this class. 

How I ended up here I will attend to later and for maybe the first time I will be more open about the goings on here at EQ without it sounding like a soap opera. In any case at the gentle urging of Cindy and Nancy (HBIC)* I decided to opt out of my usual KSC Saturday ritual. I am so glad I did too because I need to vary my regimen and since I love Dana’s skill set it was easy but filling out the hour was another thing. 

Within moments I noticed something viscerally that I had never experienced in spin and that was the essence of two people that I really like and respect and that’s Nancy and Cindy. I see them virtually everyday so what was it that had me captivated? Didn’t take long for it to hit me it was the mirror. In spin we never look at each other face to face but with the mirror our glances met every so often and I realized then the strong camaraderie we have. I don’t want to embellish this any more else someone call me metro sexual.  Both women were impressive in just how deep their overall fitness really is. I felt stronger than the last time I attempted the Main Studio and in the rear I noticed Ari who I think is in dynamite shape struggling to keep up with some of the gyrations and it gave me a strong felt sense of just how fit I may be. Thanks in part to my showing up but the lioness’s share to instructors like Dana and Kristen. 

I ended up in front of this room wide mirror because I thought I was making a statement about one of the instructors whom I had a misunderstanding with. As an alcoholic I no longer hold onto resentment because it’s a killer for me. I cannot judge anyone because in their mind they think they’re right I just look for what part I played. I saw Mr. Cooper   in between classes and since there are no coincidences I knew it was my chance to break the ice and I did so by patting him on the back telling him he was doing a great job.  Although he did “unfriend” me on FB all is forgiven. You may not like David’s delivery but you can never fault him on effort, preparation and determination. I will be back at some point just not at this point. Just sayin’

Well the mirror didn’t crack but it did give me an insight about some of the people I work out with every day and although we don’t hang out like after club hours it would be a lie if I didn’t think of them as my friends. A bit later I will write about these members and call it The Breakfast Club on Jack Briant Reporter on Sunday.

*HBIC- Head Bitch in Charge