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.