Casual Friday

TGIF!  It is slowly but surely becoming spring in NYC.  If you are looking for something free and awesome to do this weekend, come out to Central Park Saturday mornings for some Central Park Intensati!

Lindsay Davis says YES!

Amazing Lindsay leads class out in the cheap showiness of nature- and you know that Central Park is beautiful this year.  The class meets at 10:15 am at the corner of 59th and CPW at the gold topped statue and goes into the park at 10:30 am.


I would love to see you all there!  Please come join me all throughout the spring and summer for some awesome and enlightening exercise.

Feel like a Million Dollar Baby: Boxing Boot Camp with VFitness

This is Victor Rojas, amateur boxer and personal trainer, and he wants to beat your ass. Better yet, he wants to beat your fat butt into submission and get you into fantastic shape through his boxing and interval training and conditioning program at VFitness.





I am all about kickboxing, but have never donned a pair of real boxing gloves and tried real boxing. Mostly because I don't want to ruin my beautiful face, but also because most gyms I have visited don't have a real boxing option. After watching Jillian Michaels work over Biggest Loser contestants with her boxing pads, I have been dieing to try it out and jumped at the invitation that Victor extended!












VFitness meets in Central Park at the Bethesda Fountain (ever seen "Angels in America"?). Monday night was BEAUTIFUL, crisp and cool, and was perfect for all the work I was going to be undertaking. I ran from my apartment to the fountain because of all the gorgeousness, but also because I didn't know what the class was going to be like. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have walked because the class burned plenty of calories!






The fountain is undergoing some work- It looks like they have captured the angel to prevent her from escaping! (This is me being artsy fartsy.)





Victor lent me a pair of boxing gloves to use for class, and then introduced me to the basic boxing stance, jab, cross, hook, uppercut, pivoting, and ducking so I would be ready for the drills. The first time my gloves made contact with the pads I was sold. It is super satisfying to punch something as hard as you can! I also could feel my heart pumping and my arms and legs working immediately, so I knew I was in for something good.



The workout consists of shadow boxing, where Victor tells you what punches to throw on his go. Then it was sparring with a partner.

These two participants (Tyler and Berman Sr.) show the sparring portion of the workout. Each person takes turns hitting the other person's gloves. I got to work with Victor one on one, and he is a very patient and motivating teacher! He has a relaxed and easy going vibe that makes you feel comfortable, but he is also tough.

Example: After the sparring, it was time for interval drills. I was already feeling the burn, but add 5 burpees, running up the stairs, 10 push ups at the top of the stairs, and then running down the stairs times 8 and you would be a little red in the face and winded, too. No rest for the weary, Victor then made us do 4 sets of old school jumping jacks, push ups, planks, etc., and then run laps around the fountain. AND then abs.

The class runs at 90 minutes, and for a mere $20 you get more than your money's worth. The only necessary piece of equipment is boxing gloves, which can be purchased on the VFitness website for $19.99 or bought on your own. Victor will let you borrow gloves in the beginning, but your hands sweat SO much you will want your own pair to sweat into.

The boxing classes meet in Central Park, in Astoria, and in Prospect Park with sessions to be extended soon to the Bronx. VFitness also offers private training in Manhattan and in Queens. The classes in Central Park are held Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.

Think boxing may be too hard for you? I spoke with student Dana who has been training with Victor for 4 years. She is an inspiration: Not only is she recovering from surgery for fibroids, she has lost over 65 pounds, going from 200 pounds to 135 pounds and is now training to do fitness competitions. Dana said the classes are tough but worth the results. And after how my arms and back feel today, I can definitely agree.

VFitness is worth your time and money! Check out their website for further information. I will see you there!

I was running!

There must have been some crossed wires, but I did not get to do the boxing class tonight I was going to review. I sat inside the entrance to Central Park stated in an email for about 20 minutes after the class was supposed to start and didn't see anyone even remotely resembling a group of boxing students. I did see a dad playing catch with his son and thought about horning in. . .but then realized the kid was better at baseball than me.

So the review will be at a later date.

What I wanted to blog about was how awesome it felt just to get outside and RUN. I thought in my infinite wisdom (and awesomeness) that I would run to the class seeing as I live on 96th and CPW and the class was on 76th and 5th Ave. Just 1.5 miles according to Google Maps. I put on the Couch to 5k app on my Iphone, inspired by last week's episode of The Biggest Loser where they run a marathon.

It felt SO GOOD to run with the other "professional" runners, seeing all the different shapes and sizes and ages merging together to just sweat. I felt exhilarated! I got to the class, which didn't happen, and thought, HELL, let's run back home. And I did.

The lung capacity that I earned through doing Insanity definitely helped, and it also helped that it wasn't January in New York. Running in the cold was really hard for me. I felt like a champion. Now to parlay that feeling into an actual race!

If Koli can run a marathon- HELL, if MIKE can run a marathon- I can run a marathon. Let's start with the 5k, though. K?

Back in the Saddle Again

Old country version or Aerosmith version- take your pick.

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you are limiting your Easter goody intake- I don't think that Cadbury Cream Eggs are in the dairy group or count as a protein. You know, I had one the other day and it wasn't as delicious as I remembered. I love the fancy organic super dark chocolate I get at Whole Foods, and the chocolate the egg was made of was a little. . .plastic. I was shocked! I love the egg! But I ate it and reminisced about being a kid and being obsessed with the gooey creamy center.

I wanted to check in with you all about my injury and let you know I successfully completed the Insanity Core Balance and Recovery week that I set out to do! I think the issue with my hip came from squatting too deeply. I really was getting down there, equating low squats with "success" and "progress", only to pull all the muscles. Way to go, Alison.

I was so afraid of hurting myself again! The first day I was so timid, but after the yoga day with Bob Harper (I felt amazing the next day after the class, it was like magic) I pushed through the week with more and more enthusiasm every day, culminating in the intenSati class in Central Park yesterday.

I am now ready to pick up where I left off and FINALLY finish that last week of Insanity! And get my "I finished Insanity and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" t-shirt.

Have a wonderful day whether you celebrate the holiday or not- and let's get ready to kick some Insanitail this week!

intenSatiday *boop* in the Park (I think it was the 4th of July. . .)

Chicago was the first thing to pop into my head! That is what a beautiful sunny day does to me, folks.

I wanted to extend an invitation on behalf of super intenSati leader Lindsay Davis to attend free intenSati classes in Central Park- starting tomorrow morning (Saturday April 3rd) at 9:45 am. The class will meet at the entrance of Central Park at 59th street/Columbus Circle and will walk into the park at 10 am sharp! Lindsay was chosen as NY1 New Yorker of the Week because of starting these classes. Click on the link to watch the really inspiring video!

http://www.ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/108568/-i-nyer-of-the-week---i--open-air-fitness-guru-lifts-city-spirits

If you have read my intenSati blog posts when I was participating in the Warrior Challenge in January, you know what a huge fan I am of the practice and how inspiring and motivating I think it is. These outdoor classes are a great opportunity to try it out for free!

Here is what Lindsay said when I asked her why people should come and work out in front of other people (gasp!): "Certainly, CP intenSati is an exciting way to think about spreading joy, positivity, an example of wellness and gratitude!! For students, we learn to get over caring what other people think and I've found that people who watch are doing it with such appreciation and amazement, like we're putting a show on! The FRESH AIR ROCKS!!!!!!! :)"

It promises to be a beautiful day tomorrow, so I hope you will come out and get intenSatisfied! For a full listing of classes and to find out more about the intenSati Method, check out http://www.satilife.com/