Social Workout

Fitness Sampler

Budokon and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Budokon was created in 2000 by Santa Monica Based Cameron Shaye, the buff, shadowy dude at left, who was way in to martial arts, yoga, and meditation. Why not put my favorite things together, thinks Shaye? Hey, you got your Hindu in my Bhuddism! Umm, class starts with a brief meditation, and then moves through a series of poses not unlike sun salutations, before building to a sequence of rather fun, athletic kicking and punching moves. For the vinyasa habituee, leaving the vinyasa flow is disconcerting, and the suggestion of violence can cause cognitive dissonance. But the primal thrill of the aggressive, dance-like moves kicks in fast.

Last Minute

Warm Up is Critical

Smart people warm up before partying. You want to be relaxed, in your body. You want to be patient at the bar, not snappy. Most of the big clubs and yoga studios have scrapped their late afternoon, and evening classes, but you can still make the noon shift. For downtown Equinoxers and Crunchies, we've got some tips. (See below.) The rest of you should use the force. Regardless, stop "working," and go now. (Coming next: the top New Years Day Carthartic Detox (NYDCD) appointments....)

Practical Drinking

Wrong Reason, Right Champagne

Fit Sugar, bless their heart rate monitors, gives us the calorie low down on the champagnes we're likely to drink tonight. When encountering Grace Kelly at the bar as she sips her Taittinger, we recommend not bringing up the subject. But now you'll know that the average glass of champagne contains 91 calories, and that only suckers drink an average glass. Grace and the supermodel set go for the low calorie "extra dry" stuff.

Here's the key intel: "Look for bubbly with the word brut on the label. Brut is champagne speak for 'dry' and signifies a lower sugar content and a drier wine."

As I said, I recommend comprehensively ignoring the question, but this brut thing is good to know. "Dry" means "thin" to some, but says "less headache" to me.