Crunch Blogs

Burn Baby, Burn

AdamEye — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:32 +0000

Once again I find myself in the group fitness studio, this time standing over a refreshingly simple pile of equipment – no bells, no whistles, no tubing or rubberized widgets, just a good old-fashioned yoga mat and a towel. (I have absolutely nothing against the more exotic implements of fitness I’ve been employing recently but it’s like food: sometimes you’d thumb your nose at the most complex and delicately nuanced of culinary delights for a really good, really basic, really delicious slice a of pizza.)
The class is called Fat Burning Pilates and that name certainly isn’t ambiguous. So, as class starts with a steady stream of movement-based exercises I’m not surprised. Until a few movements that I recognize as derived from ballet are incorporated (the plie being the chiefest among them [and the only one I could actually name]). It’s an interesting addition to all of the things I’ve seen and tried in my travels through the group fitness schedule and it’s fun to get to do something that I don’t know when or where I’d get a chance to otherwise.
We move through the exercises, most of which focus on our legs, at a brisk pace. However, our arms are never idle for long and, even without using any weights – and much to my surprise – I start to feel a burn. The reps are low and the transition from exercise to exercise is so fluid that it’s almost like a stream of consciousness thing, like a workout with no real end and no real beginning. We vary the count on our reps a lot and also ‘pulse’ at times, which is to say that we do tiny pieces of the exercise very quickly for a more intense burn.
With roughly 15 minutes of class left we are told to grab some BOSU Ballast Balls and we do so, returning to our mats and laying on top of them for some bouncy, sand-aided abdominal work. I’m a fan of any excuse to use a giant, bouncy toy so by default this becomes my favorite part of class.

In closing: I would go ahead and give a thumbs-up to Fat Burning Pilates. It’s an effective, low-impact, total body workout that can be enjoyed by just about any fitness level.

Takin It to the Street

AdamEye — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:36:33 +0000

I’m in the group fitness studio, but to be totally honest, I’m five minutes late and class is already underway and has been now for five minutes, so I don’t get to experience any of that pre-class buildup wherein I wait for things to get underway and wonder just what will happen when they do. Instead I put my jacket on the floor against the wall and start throwing punches just like everyone else is (and has been for, I assume, the past five minutes). The class is called Street Fighter so the punches aren’t that much of a curve ball; I expected punches.
Having missed out on the warm up I go straight to the perspiring profusely stage of class as we move from said punches – jabs, crosses, combinations etc. – to kicks – low front, high front, roundhouse, side, low back, high back etc. – and from left side to right side at a pace I’ll call brisk. Indeed, it becomes apparent to me very quickly that Street Fighter is not going to be a nominal, cardio-based nod to martial arts but 60 high-octane minutes of pure butt kicking. And, in the spirit of butt kicking our instructor sends us all to one side of the studio and instructs us on various movements to perform as we cross to the opposite side of the studio and then cross back. And then drop to the floor to perform ten pushups. And then start all over again. This continues until I can’t remember my own name.
After our round trips across the studio’s floor, we return to our original positions and begin putting together some combinations. Each combination stars out simply but is built on piece by piece until we’re performing increasingly complex routines with many different punches, kicks and blocks woven into them. It’s actually pretty thrilling to feel like you know what you’re doing within minutes of having learned it. That thrill, however, is tempered by the fatigue that comes with truly exerting yourself; this is one of the most hardcore cardio workouts I’ve had in some time.

In closing: I really enjoyed this class and would recommend it to anyone, save group fitness novices. To any such novices reading this blog post, I’d recommend upping your cardiovascular capacity a little before trying Street Fighter. For those who are a little more seasoned and looking for a workout that will give them a run for their money and then some, I would say come on down and put up your dukes.

Inspire and be inspired

Carol Johnson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:08:08 +0000

Autumn in NY! Excitement, fun, new motivations, the city is brought together! WOW - the last week of October - Halloween was on a Saturday (need I say more), the Yankees, all kinds of parades. I had a crazy rain-soaked night dancing Michael Jackson and Beyonce choreography down 6th Avenue for Broadway Bodies. It was such a New York moment. Something about autumn in NY makes the city more vibrant, more real, more of what IT is.

Now we have the feel of the holiday season in the air. My last two blogs were about you. Now it is about the people you love in your life and the world around us. GRATITUDE and INSPIRATION comes to mind with Thanksgiving. When you focus on all you have more of the good stuff comes in to your life. Go for the good stuff! When a year ends and another begins (2010 baby!!) we tend to reflect. Reflect on what is important to us and how we can become better. What areas of your life do you what to improve? Make a wish list for 2010 and plan ahead

How can Crunch help you do this? What can you look at differently to get what you want out of life and how can you give to the people in your life directly and indirectly. What have you wanted to do at Crunch but have not had a chance to try out yet. SO you have a friend that wants to check out a class - bring them. Did you know you can have a private party with your favorite Crunch instructor? Yes it is - Pole Dancing, Anti-Gravity Wings, I teach Ballroom dancing so if you or one of your friends or family members wants lessons for the holiday party season…I am just saying

*HOLIDAY SEASON WISH LIST - CRUNCH STYLE*

1. Go to the E. 59th Street Crunch location in the hottest outfit on SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21st - for our Pole Dancing Member Showcase - one of the sexiest, athletic nights of your life - this is so hot - you do not want to miss it - get to the club by 7pm.

2. Book a private party with you favorite instructor - maybe you have a crush on them - what better way to spend more with them and show them off to your friends. ANY class can become a private!!!!! Right on this website check out privates@crunch.com!!

4. GIFT IDEAS from Crunch: Private Classes, Training Packages, Workout Wear….the options are endless!

Action plan - create your wish list!

As we go into the holiday season (Halloween marked the beginning of the festivities for me). Reflect, have gratitude, make a list, follow through, let the people in your life know what they mean to you, look at what Crunch has to offer, if you are holding back in any way in any area of your life the holiday season is a way to look at “no day but today” in a real hard core way. Inspire and be inspired.

As usual let me know how it goes - CJ

Turkey Workout

Crunch — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:06:35 +0000

Crunch with Turkey: Begin lying on your back, knees up and feet planted on the floor. Hold the turkey to the chest with your arms. Engage the core and crunch up until the torso is at a 90 degree angle with the lower body. Return to starting position and repeat.

Triceps extensions with Turkey: Begin lying with your back on a stability ball, bench or chair. Keep your hips up and parallel to the floor. Grip the turkey in both hands. Start with forearms parallel to the ground, engage the triceps and then fully extend the elbows and turkey. Slowly return back to starting and then repeat.

Squats with Turkey: Start by gripping the turkey in front of the torso with both hands; feet shoulder width apart, toes pointing forward, knees aligned over the 2nd toe, chin tucked and head back. Squat down until the quads are parallel to the ground, hold for two seconds and then return to start position and repeat.

Ab Crunch with Turkey: Start in a sit-up position with the turkey raised with arms straight overhead, feet shoulder width apart and toes pointing forward. Engage the core and crunch up, the turkey should be pushed straight up in the air above the head as the torso flexes toward the lower body, hold for two seconds and return the shoulder blades to the floor and repeat.

Torso Rotations with Turkey: Start with the turkey held out in front of the body with both arms, elbows extended, feet shoulder width apart and toes pointing forward. Twist the upper body at the hips to one side and then the other slowly and under control.

Sliding Along

AdamEye — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:37:07 +0000

If you’re anything like me then when you were younger a particularly slippery floor made for a great excuse to cast off sneakers and slide around with reckless abandon. Sadly, as we grow older the opportunities to act like a kid hopped up on corn syrup are fewer and further between. So, it is with some child-like giddiness in my belly that I’m standing in the group fitness studio with the following at my feet: a mat, a bandana, a BOSU Ballast Ball, a band that is way to big to be a rubber band yet has the same tensile qualities, and, most importantly, two booties; it’ll be the most accoutrement I’ve worked with thus far.
The class is called Booty Slide and my inner tyke has compelled me to try it, lured in by the promise of donning said booties and going to town on a slick wooden surface. Class starts however, not with frenzied sliding, but a good, old-fashioned warm up that focuses primarily on our legs. The music that is pumping out of the speakers is Latin; has a heck of a beat; the exercises we do suggest an awareness of the beat and I start to understand that, while not a straight up dance class, Booty Slide has dance elements. After the warm up we are instructed to brandish the booties – which are almost like galoshes but sleeker – and class moves forward, not with frenzied sliding (drat) but with exercises that take these dance elements further: lots of leg movement complemented by flourishes of the arms, sleek and sinuous motion that is challenging but, done correctly, graceful. The slickness of our booties allows us to perform these moves and the effort comes from having to supporting the whole of our weight on one leg or the other.
About halfway through class we ditch our booties and drop to the mats for some ab and upper-body work, which is where the bandana comes into play: we use it for our hands, gliding them across the studio’s floor like we did our feet to hit triceps, pecs etc. From there we break out the outsized rubber band and return to a focus on our lower halves, the buttocks in particular, the band providing resistance and making us huff and puff collectively. Finally, things winds down with work done on/under/around the BOSU Ballast Ball, a mixture of abs, legs and upper-body.

In closing: Those new to Group Fitness or exercise would do well to check out Booty Slide. It offers a great, total body workout that’s both engaging and not too impactful. You’ll walk, not crawl, out of the group fitness studio with a smile on your face rhythms in your feet, feeling a little like a kid again.

Baseball Workout

Jason Miranda — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:35:45 +0000

We’re in the midst of the World Series and sports fans around the nation have playoff baseball fever. But there’s a way to combat the extra couch time with a baseball-inspired workout to get you in shape just like the pros. These baseball-specific exercises are designed to improve rotation and increase strength in the core, shoulders and legs.

Exercises:

Baseball Swing: Begin standing holding a light medicine ball in front of you. Arms should be straight but not locked. Rotate the medicine ball to the right and then over to the left, as if you were swinging a bat. The core should be engaged the entire time to strengthen the obliques. Repeat 20 times.

Core Rotation: Begin on lying on your back on a stability ball (or the ground if you don’t have a ball). Hold a medicine ball straight above your head. Arms should be straight but not locked. Slide right side of the stability ball and rotate the arms to the left. Engage the core and simultaneously slide to the left side of the stability ball and rotate the arms to the ride. Alternate side to side 20 times.

Rotator Cuff Exercises: Begin standing holding an exercises band that is secured at an anchor point or have a partner hold it in place. Hold the band in your right hand and keep the elbow at a 90 degree angle. Rotate the shoulder externally to the right and then back to center. Repeat 10 times on each side.

Lunge w/Medicine Ball Twist: Begin standing holding a medicine ball. Lunge forward with the right leg while twisting the medicine ball to the left. Return to standing and repeat on the opposite side. Continue alternating back and forth 20 times. To increase explosiveness, try jumping into the lunge position.

Mad About Hopping

AdamEye — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:24:32 +0000

I’m in the group fitness studio at Crunch’s 90 John Street location; on the floor to my left rests a pair of 5 lb. dumbbells; directly in front of me is a miniature trampoline, one that I’m going to get intimately acquainted with very soon; the class is called Resistance Rebounding”. Before we start the instructor asks thoughtfully if anyone is new and I confess that I am. Without making me feel either overwhelmed or on the spot, she proceeds to give me a few pointers, telling me that what I want to do is to push my weight into the trampoline; that the objective is not to bounce up high but to get some resistance (hence the class’ name). After that, we warm up with some marching in place, then hop onto the trampolines – we are, proverbially speaking, off to the races.

I can’t help but smile (I mean how can you not smile on a trampoline?) as we start with the “basic position”, which is a just simple hop with your hands placed on your hips and your feet about a shoulder’s width apart. From there we begin working in some basic aerobics moves: lunges, spins, twists etc. I can feel a burn in my legs almost immediately and my core gets a good workout too, as I’m trying my best to stay stable, the trampoline doing its job by playing the foil, trying to coax me into losing my balance. As with most cardio-based group fitness classes, it doesn’t take long before I’ve worked up a sweat.

About halfway through class it’s time to dismount to do work with the free weights that have been resting so patiently on the floor. This work targets the upper body: curls, shoulder raises, tricep exercises etc. and the burn from the high number of reps is such that I wind up trading in my set of 5 lbs. dumbbells for lighter ones (note that there is no shame in this for me because there are No Judgments). Indeed, by the time we move on to some ab work, utilizing the trampoline as a raised surface on which to lie, I’m a’ huffin’ and a’ puffin’. Finally, the last ten minutes of class prove to be the most challenging as we climb back onto the trampoline to resume the exercises we’d begun class with, this time mixing in punches and kicks.

In closing: Did I sweat? Yes. Was it an easy workout? No. It was certainly challenging but that said, not as hard as some others I’ve done. Would I recommend it to all fitness levels? Yes. I think that Resistance Rebounding is a great way to get a full body workout while doing something that engages your inner child. So, hop to it.

Party On!

AdamEye — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:37:46 +0000

To start, a very brief recap: Recently Crunch held it’s first-ever Gym Shorts Film Contest, a contest that asked regular folks from all walks of life to offer up their own brief interpretations of just what No Judgments means. Over 200 entries were submitted; from those entries 30 finalists were culled; and, from those finalists, a $10,000 Grand Prize winner was chosen. So…
On Thursday, October 8th, in honor of the (as yet unnamed) $10,000 winner, the 3 runners up, all those who entered, and No Judgments itself, Crunch put on one heck of a filmic fete, a cinematic soiree, a movie-centric merrymaking – if you will – at their Kips Bay club. And, I was lucky enough to be in attendance. Here’s what went down:

As I step through Kips Bay’s doors, I’m immediately greeted by a snazzy red carpet that beckons to me to walk it (Hollywood première-style) whilst the event’s photographers snap my pic. From there, I descend the club’s long flight of stairs, past the world’s largest punching bag, to the party below.
Making my way into the crowd I note that it’s every bit the diverse mix of folks that I would expect to see at a Crunch event: people are dressed to the nines; people are dressed to the not-so-nines; some are covered in tattoos; some have not a trace of ink; however improbable, there is a guy in nothing but short-shorts, sneakers and a donkey mask. Viva No Judgments!
The club itself has been transformed: The boxing ring that sits prominently in its center is now home to a VJ. The VJ spins beats and snippets of video play on the gym’s many screens in accompaniment (some of those snippets are from Gym Shorts entries); The group fitness studio has been turned into a theater where all 30 finalists’ offerings are running on a loop; A small corner of the gym has been outfitted with a green screen and a camera crew is on hand to help make superimposed-style movie magic; The front desk is now a bar that serves up Stella Artois and delicious buttered popcorn; Vamped up cigarette girls roam the floor with candy on trays: It’s a lot to take in. I do so over the next two hours, meeting and greeting and schmoozing and watching and eating my weight in corn syrup.

At 10:00 pm, we revelers take a short break from our reveling to gather around the boxing ring for the evening’s big announcement: the $10,000 Grand Prize winner. There is laughing, there is crying, there is cheering, there is clapping. And, afterward, when the party kicks back in, it kicks back in in an even higher gear, the dance floor really starting to cook with people shaking and wiggling and moving their groove things to and fro. The festivities reach their apex when the guy in the donkey mask invades the boxing ring to gyrate with abandon. Others join him. Everyone is having a great time.
However, sad as it is, all good things must and do come to an end and, at 11:00 pm, the sun sets on the Crunch Gym Shorts Premiere Party and the contest itself. I have a tummy ache and a smile on my face.

Raking and Shoveling

Jennifer Cassetty — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:27:58 +0000

The leaves are beginning to fall and a cool breeze is in the air, which means fall and winter are just around the corner. Not only are raking and shoveling a pain, it takes some major upper body strength as well. Here are a few exercises that will strengthen your back and shoulders to keep you pain and injury free this fall.

Monk Drill
1) Begin standing in a slight squat position. Hold the top of a Body Bar in both hands with one end of the bar on the floor.
2) Slowly turn your torso, moving your upper body to left. Be sure to keep the Body Bar firmly stabilized in its stating position.
3) Slowly turn your torso and move your upper body to the right. Repeat three sets of 10 reps to increase shoulder stability and upper back strength.

Dead lift/Bent-over-row
1) Start with a bar in both hands, shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent.
2) Slowly bend at the waist to a 45-degree angle and let the bar hang down in front of your chest. Be sure to keep in proper form by keeping the shoulders back and not letting them slouch forward.
3) Pull the bar up to your chest by squeezing your shoulder blades together.
4) Slowly release the bar back down. Repeat three sets of 10 reps.

Shoulder Raises
1) Begin with dumbbells in both hands laterally out in front of your body, arms straight.
2) Bend at the elbows and pull dumbbells back to the side of your body, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Arms should remain at shoulder height.
3) Slowly bring the weights back to the starting position.
4) Slowly lower the dumbbells down to your thighs, keeping the arms straight. Slowly bring the weights back to the starting position. Repeat sequence for three sets of 10 reps.

Lunge with single arm cable row
1) Begin holding a cable in your right hand while in lunge position with the right leg back.
2) Swing the right leg forward, keeping it off the ground, while pulling the right arm in towards your body.
3) Slowly bring the right arm and leg back to the starting position. Repeat 10 reps then alternate sides. Do three sets.

Augie’s Quest

Carol Johnson — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:19:02 +0000

COUNTDOWN to 10/17/2009: CRUNCH-A-THON

“In a dancer, there is a reverence for such forgotten things as the miracle of the small beautiful bones and their delicate strength.” ~Martha Graham

I danced for 48 hours at the Penn State University Dance Marathon. At the end I could not feel my feet and sleep deprivation is an awesome drug. It was - to say the least - the experience of a lifetime! “THON”, as it is known in the PSU, community is dedicated to raising money for pediatric cancer - it raises over $61 million.

So now it is CRUNCH TIME baby with our own CRUNCH-A-THON this Saturday Oct 17th - ALL DAY, AT ALL CRUNCH LOCATIONS! How awesome to have us ALL working out together all over the country all at once - this energy will be crazy!

WHY SHOULD YOU BE A PART OF IT?

When will you have another Saturday to workout all day with amazing instructors and fellow Crunchers ALL for a good cause….(Augie’s Quest for ALS info below) $20 will get you unlimited classes ALL DAY at ANY LOCATION for members and non-members (bring all your friends and workout and then get brunch). This is what I like to call Crunch-n-Brunch to my Saturday crew.

EXTRA BONUS - each CRUNCH location has double or triple the amount of classes offered so let it be your playground - you have so many classes to choose from. Most likely your favorite instructor is teaching an extra class or two that day - TAKE ADVANTAGE! Maybe a class not being offered on a Saturday is now on the schedule - you always wanted to take the FAME class?…..well you can take it with me at Christopher at 3:30pm or with Rachel at 5pm at John Street - so cool!

The stories I have already heard are remarkable. One member has a son getting married this weekend -before the rehearsal dinner at 5pm she is bringing people and taking a few classes. I know of members bringing family members or friends that have always wanted to check out the “known on the street as the best classes ever” to class at Crunch this Saturday. This is the day to do it!

GO TEAM CRUNCH! Let’s celebrate our bodies this Saturday and move - give thanks to what we have and contribute to a good cause - it this not the essence of life?

P.S. You can find ALL class schedules on Crunch’s website…..For your quick reference if you want to work it out with me - I will be at W. 38th Street 10AM Rebounding/11AM Burn and Firm then off to Christopher Street for 2:30pm Rebounding/3:30 FAME……..if you come to ALL FOUR of my classes you get a special prize!

JUST IN CASE YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS about what this is all about I included ALL

info below…….

What is the cause? What are we raising money for? We are raising money for ALS for Augie’s Quest.

WHAT IS ALS?

“ALS is a disease of the motor neurons, which are muscle-controlling nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Onset usually occurs during adulthood, with symptoms being generalized weakness, muscle cramps and muscle twitches. ALS ultimately affects all voluntary muscles, resulting in paralysis and, eventually death.”

WHO IS AUGIE?

“Augie Nieto, fitness pioneer and co-founder and former president of Life Fitness, started Augie’s Quest in conjunction with MDA’s ALS Division after his diagnosis in March 2005. Augie’s Quest is an aggressive, cure-driven effort singularly focused on treatments and cures for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. For more information about Augie and his quest, visit www.augiesquest.org.”

See you at CRUNCH-A-THON!