Core Fusion: My First Time

Core Fusion®,  -- Exhale’s combination of Pilates, Yoga, and the Lotte Berk Method -- is hardly new. With exceptional teaching, efficient use of time, and energizing music, old parts shine.

                My first class was with Barbara Boolukos, who has studied the Lotte Berk Method since the early 1980s. (Lotte Berk is like the other Joseph Pilates). During the 3 p.m. class, Exhale’s South Central Park location seemed empty, enabling Barbara more time with each student.

                Hands-on help was appropriate, accompanied by intelligent explanations that helped me use core muscles instead of flailing my limbs. Music like Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” gave the class energy without an aggressive gym attitude.

                I did have safety concerns regarding pace. In the first six minutes, we did a quick marching exercise followed by major push up variations, planks, and side. Within the same six minutes, we stood and lifted weights in a bent-knee position with the back at a neutral diagonal. 

Although this progression warmed me up, I felt dizzy from the quick transitions from standing to floor to standing. Moreover, I could not hold my back in a neutral diagonal while lifting weights. My lower back, hamstrings, and shoulders did not feel warm enough.

I have great respect for the last half of class. We fatigued each major muscle group and stretched appropriately. I felt cooled down physically and emotionally. Afterwards, I made full use of the beautiful showers, products, and plush bathrobes. I walked out feeling tall and beautiful.

The next day

My abs burned, but my hip flexors killed. Note to people: hip flexors are not your core or your abs. Hip flexers connect your legs to your back. They are already strong from sitting at the computer.

Overall, a great class, but not great enough for the $35. Student rates are $20 a class with proper identification. Ask for student rates before they swipe your credit card because they will not give you the $15! Definitely Central Park South.

Multitasking Foreskins

Two August 30, 2009, New York Times articles present the following questions:

• Is male circumcision necessary? The Latest Fight Over the Foreskin
• Are multitaskers more or less productive than unitaskers? The Mediocre Multitasker

What are your feelings?

See also:
Mom, Keep Your Hands Off My Foreskin

Product Alert: Avoid CorePlus Reformer

When I returned GAIAM’s® CorePlus Reformer, I had words for the sales person.

“This is a giant piece of crap.”

He just smiled and returned my $29.99.

Of course, I should know better. As a Pilates instructor, I know that most people dislike the softness of their tummies. Most people--including me--will buy anything entitled “core.”

Unfortunately, “core” is one of the industry’s buzz words, sometimes one of its biggest lies.

This core product comes in a boxed kit that includes a 45-minute video and the CorePlus Reformer, two connected stretch bands meant to mimic leg straps on a Pilates reformer.

It sounded so promising, but GAIAM® made a lazy mistake: the one-size-fits-all straps cannot accommodate anyone taller than Mari Windsor, the video’s petite and engaging host.

While my cat watched, I arranged my 5’ 10’’ body into the four-looped CorePlus Reformer. Once my arms and legs were inside, I tried to follow Mari and her assistants in moves like double leg stretch. The girls sailed through the exercise, but I remained in traction, much like Han Solo in Return of the Jedi.

Although the product has potential, the straps are not long enough, nor do they stretch enough to allow shoulder or leg movement. I had the most success with rollbacks, which felt wonderful and kept me scooping my abdominals instead of slumping. The back strengthening exercises made sufficient use of the bands, but I could have gotten the same results from regular stretch bands.

After humiliating myself in my own home, on my own rug, I promised my cat that I wouldn't buy useless crap.

The Jazz Hand Calorie Challenge

Tap dancing burns a lot of calories.

I know this first hand, pun intended. On August 16, I laced my dusty black tap shoes for the filming of Jazz Hand. Written by my friends Mary Archbald and Pat Shay, the film is based on one of New York’s most macabre tap auditions.

On that merciless August day, we dancers flapped, time stepped, and winged ourselves into brain cell-killing oblivion. The music, Patti LuPone’s Anything Goes, made us dance at about 130 beats per minute. We did many takes over the next three hours.

It kicked my buns.

Although I am a fitness instructor, I rarely exercise that intensely for that length of time because that would be nuts. This day was a special day dedicated to friends and creativity. Still, I was curious. I surfed the web to find Livestrong.com’s The Daily Plate. How handy! The on-line exercise and food journal calculated calories burned versus calories consumed.

After entering age, weight, and height, a menu bar let me select my current lifestyle, feelings, and goals. In the search bar, I typed "tap dancing." A photo and definition appeared as well as a box asking duration, distance, and heart rate. I selected 180 minutes and left distance and heart rate blank; I didn’t know them.

Seconds later, I knew the results: the Jazz Hand Calorie Challenge subtracted 947 calories from my 2,751 calorie a day diet! That means that three hours of tap burns more calories than 180 minutes of golf (888 c) but less than running (1,973 c).

Extra Jazzy Credit

After the shoot, Mary and Pat treated us to Irish cuisine. I had a chicken sandwich (+430 c), fries (+100 c), and at least two rolls (+480 c). I washed it down with Magners Cider (+215 c).