Any way you spin it, these guys are jerks
spinning
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If you live in the New York metropolitan area, you've probably been hearing about the case of two Wall Street types who got into a fight during a spin class at a fancy Upper East Side gym last summer.
On Monday, a jury acquitted Christopher Carter of assault charges stemming from the incident in which he allegedly attacked Stuart Sugarman, who was making loud and obnoxious outbursts as they worked out.
Carter repeatedly told Sugarman to shut the f*** up, and was rebuffed. Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, Carter got up grabbed Sugarman's stationary bike by the handlebars, lifted it up and pushed it into a wall with Sugarman astride it, then dropped it.
Sugarman went on riding and completed the class, but afterwards he decided he had to go to the hospital, and claimed that he suffered a herniated disc as a result of the attack. The jury found Carter not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing in the incident, but Sugarman still plans to file civil actions against Carter and the Equinox fitness club.
My spinning instructor at World Gym, Brian Mahoney, didn't mince words when I asked him what he thought of the case. "I think that they are both jerks and the instructor should have handled this before it got out of hand! All three of them are wrong!" Brian said.
Here's my take on it: In most spin classes there's loud music playing, and if you have enough excess energy to yell loud enough to be heard, then you're just not working hard enough!
Fortunately, we've got a nice bunch of people in our class. Everyone's there for one reason: to get exercise, not to make spectacles of themselves. And even if a couple of loud jerks should infiltrate the class, I'm sure Brian, who's a former Marine, would be capable of handling it!
Here's the New York Times story about the verdict:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/nyregion/03spin.html
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on 6/5/2008
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14.2
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Spinning class pays off big time!
spinning, bicycling
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In a previous entry, I sang the praises of Brian Mahoney's spinning class at World Gym. Today the class really proved its value.
This afternoon I did a 25-mile ride in Bike Bergen, a benefit bikeathon for the Interreligious Fellowship for the Homeless of Bergen County. This was the first time I had set foot on my real bike this year.
I've been taking part in Bike Bergen for several years now. I completed the ride in less than two hours, a personal record. Not only that, but there's a very steep hill on the route that I never had been able to get up all the way without getting off and walking the bike. This year, I made it on the bike for the first time!
Clearly the off-season conditioning from the spinning class made a difference! Thanks for kicking my butt, Brian!
As if that wasn't enough to make my day, my church team, the First Congregational Flyers, took home the trophy for raising the most money: $1,055! It's for a great cause. The IRF sponsors overnight shelters for the homeless, as well as transitional housing for formerly homeless people who are getting their lives together. My church regularly serves as an overflow shelter for the IRF, and I have served as an overnight attendant many times. It's a very rewarding experience, as well as a wake-up call. With the cost of housing these days, many of us are one mortgage payment away from being homeless ourselves.
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on 5/5/2008
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19.5
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Biggest Loser club hears from a real winner
weight loss, biggest loser, walking, spinning, nutrition
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"Biggest Loser: Couples'' contestant Jenn Widder shared her experiences on the NBC reality show Tuesday with participants in The Star-Ledger's Biggest Loser Challenge.
Jenn revealed that although her weight loss was officially placed at 65 pounds on the show's finale, she has actually lost 85 pounds, down from her starting weight of 254. She said she has gone from a size 24W to 12. She says she's got about 40 pounds to go to reach her goal.
Jenn got off to a slow start on the show because in the past she had tried all sorts of crash diets, which really messed up her metabolism. She finally reached her stride in the fourth week of the show, and started losing five and six pounds a week before she was voted off the show.
Since her elimination, Jenn has been working out full time, doing a program of mostly cardio exercise with some weight training. Asked what she recommends as the single best exercise for weight loss, she said "Walking, walking walking." She also enjoys spinning classes at her gym.
Jenn follows a diet of 1,400 calories a day six days a week, but allows herself one day to indulge to kick up her metabolism. She eats mostly organic food because following that regimen helps to keep her in the right frame of mind, although she says it's not absolutely necessary to follow an organic diet.
Jenn and her best friend, Maggie King, constituted the Purple Team on the show. They met a decade ago at Camp Shane, a camp for overweight children. Jenn will be returning to Camp Shane this summer as assistant director. She is also pursuing a career as a personal trainer so that others can benefit from her experience.
About 40 Star-Ledger staffers turned out for the meeting, and Jenn fielded questions from a number of them. She stayed afterwards to autograph pictures of herself.
Congratulations to The Star-Ledger's biggest loser of the week, Brian Levy, who lost five poun... read entire entry
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on 5/1/2008
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14.9
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Spinning wheels got to go round
spinning, workout music, stretching, cardio
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In the last month or so, I've added a spinning class to my workout program.
Spinning is basically pedaling on a stationary bike, on which you can adjust the resistance to simulate riding on a flat surface or climbing hills of varying steepness. The instructor tells you when to raise or lower the resistance. It's both a great cardio workout and a strength training exercise.
Until recently I had been doing my cardio on a treadmill, but the pounding had been doing a number on my back. I have very bad bunions, which put extra stress on my hips when I'm running. I was looking for an alternative.
I had been leery of spinning because my wife had a bad experience the first time she took a class. She evidently pushed herself a little too hard, and ended up losing her breakfast. She was so embarrassed she never came back to that gym, let alone to a spinning class.
I gave spinning a second look last month when I was interviewing "Biggest Loser" contestant Jenn Widder for my Star-Ledger story. Jenn said spinning was a big part of her workout program, and at that point she had lost 62 pounds. As part of the interview process, I joined Jenn and her parents for a spinning class at Body Designs in Paramus led by trainer Viola Stewart. I really enjoyed the class and judging from the amount of sweat that poured off me, it was a good workout.
So for the last month I've been taking part in Brian Mahoney's Wednesday morning class at my gym, World Gym in Paramus. It's a great class, always fully booked.
The idea of spinning, as the name implies, is that you don't just press down on the pedals; you try to move your feet in a full circle, pulling upwards as well as downwards. That's the most efficient way to ride a real bicycle. You get the most power out of your pedaling that way, and you save wear and tear on your knees. The stationary bike is equipped with toeclips and straps so that you can attach your feet... read entire entry
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on 3/20/2008
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8.2
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Biggest Loser Jersey
weight loss, weightlifting, diet, yoga, spinning
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Permit me to introduce myself. I'm Jim Berrie, and by day I'm a mild-mannered copy editor for The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's biggest daily newspaper. Outside of work, I'm working on getting my certification as a personal trainer. Three years ago, at the age of 53, I weighed 225 and was on meds for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. I got on a serious fitness regimen that emphasized freeweights, and in a little over a year I lost 60 pounds and got off all three meds. Since I've been able to keep the weight off, I want to help other people lose weight.
In addition to becoming a personal trainer, I will be serving as a coach for a Biggest Loser afflilate club being launched by The Star-Ledger for its staff. We expect to have the program up and running in early April. On this blog I hope to share some of my own experiences in weight loss and fitness, as well as success stories from The Star-Ledger's Biggest Loser program.
Although I usually labor anonymously behind the scenes, I have a rare byline in tomorrow's Star-Ledger. Unless Britney Spears does something outrageous today that bumps my story out of the paper, my story about Jenn Widder, one of the contestants in the current "Biggest Loser: Couples" season will be running on the cover of the Today section. Jenn lives in the same town I do, River Edge, N.J., and she has kindly offered to come and speak to our Biggest Loser club. Jenn was eliminated from the show in Week 5 after having lost 31 pounds, and since then she has lost another 31, as she continues to work out six days a week full time. She should be an inspiration to anyone battling a weight problem. For those of you who don't live in The Star-Ledger's circulation area, the story should be posted on nj.com, and I hope to provide a link on this blog tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you. Stay tuned!
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on 2/27/2008
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10.7
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