Social Workout

Wake Up Call

On Leaping

Leap and the net will appear.

~ John Burroughs

Workout Wear

It's Seasonal Gear Shift Time

Happy first day of Fall. Now that summer is over and done with it's time to go shopping. Well, for me to go shopping. Truth be told up until recently all of my exercise happened within the confines of the gym. I like it there, everything is organized and climate controlled...and I can wear the same black yoga capris and t-shirts to workout all year round. I've never had to amp up my fitness wardrobe for a change in climate before. But thanks to a newfound love of the outdoors I'm left with a dilemma...what the f@#k do I wear now? Lucky for me, and you, I did some research.

Other Places

Workout

Broomball!

Today was broomball game #2. What a gorgeous winter night! The ice was better than last week meaning I could actually kinda run as opposed to last week's shuffle-shuffle-slide-dive-repeat routine.

I've also knocked out 140 situps and 140 pushups so I feel like I'm making good progress on the 1000s. Onward and upward!

Workout

Day 2 - shorter winter walk

'Brisk' 30-minute walk in cold weather! Brrrr

- eating minus sugars has been making me feel great!

Workout

Intentional Walk

It's fuzzy now, the details. But I got home from work quite late, certainly too late for a workout. Also, I hadn't eaten. But I was home -- perhaps it was about 9:30PM. So I went for a walk. I walked over to the river, and down to the Chirstopher St. piers. Went out on the pier and looked out at New Jersey, and then back at Manhattan. It was cold, and mostly deserted. Which was nice.

Wake Up Call

On Eisstockschießen

You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.

~ Billy Wilder, Austrian-American filmmaker

Eisstockschießen is like curling, but without the brooms. Or it's like bocce, but played with funny discs on frozen ponds in Austria.

Retreats

Learn to Ice Climb at the Catskill Ice Festival

• Who: Alpine Endeavors, a guide service focused on the Gunks and the Catskills, with 20+ New York State licensed and American Mountain Guide Association certified guides, plus various event co-hosts. 
• What: Catskill Ice Festival, a three day ice climbing extravaganza with group climbs, workshops and seminars with great names like dry-tooling and crevasse rescue. Includes an absolute beginners "Basic Ice Movement" course with all equipment provided and a 4:1 guide to climber ratio. 
• Where: The Catskills, with recommended (and discounted) accommodations at the Minnewaska Lodge in New Paltz, New York.
• When: February 19 - 22, 2010
• Why: Channel Sir Edmund Hilary. Ice climbing is true adventure, and participating in an activity that involves a pick axe gives you real street cred. if you've never done it before, the Basic Ice Movement course is a perfect introduction. The Alpine Endeavors guides are the real deal, with major certifications, decades of experience, and a love of ice in their hearts. Plus, it's a mere 90 minutes, and if you don't sign up for stuff, you'll spend all February curled up under a blanket.  
• How Much: $140 per session attended. Accommodation at the Minnewska Lodge starting at $99/night.
• Link: 12th Annual Catskill Ice Festival

Travel

Late Winter Yoga, Snowshoeing, and Cross-Country Skiing Retreat

• Who: Adirondack Connections Guide Service, with weekend hosts Lynne Malerba, a New York State licensed guide and Wilderness First Responder, and Mary Bartel, a Stuctural Yoga Therapist and owner of Inner Quest Yoga and Wellness Studio. 
• What: A three-day yoga, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing retreat in the Adirondacks.
• Where: Lake Saranac, New York with accommodations at the country-cozy Doctor's Inn.
• When: February 28 - March 2, 2010
• Why: You're not going to go snowshoeing unless you book a trip. Winter seems truly, bleakly endless in March, so you need something fun. Three activities are better than one. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are built for meditation. The price isn't killer. And trip leaders Mary and Lynne are clearly true believers, so you can expect an entertaining streak of upstate granola alongside the beautiful snowy solitude.
• How Much: $695. Includes lodging, meals, all activities and equipment.
• Link: Adirondack Connections Winter Weekend

Workout Wear

The Tweener-Season Vest

Demetri Martin, says that life vests protect you from drowning, bulletproof vests protect you from getting shot, and sweater vests protect you from pretty girls. I'm not advocating sweater vests here. But there are a few weeks at the beginning of winter and again mid-spring where a vest is the perfect pre and post-workout companion. You don't want to throw on a full coat. But you don't want to shiver as you walk home, either. And if you're walking, running, or biking outdoors, a vest spares you from overdressing and overheating — an easy mistakes early in the season when 50 degrees seems scary. 

Here, four appealing options....

Newslinks

Gordon Brown, Yoga Cults, Overexercising, and Inflatable Chinese Bras

• Gordon Brown has taken up jogging, and the snarko-Office-loving Brit press can't help noting how poorly dressed, tubby, and generally un-Obama-like their P.M. is on the running path.
• Everybody knows superelite female athletes may experience a loss in fertility from extreme training. But a new study of 3,000 women in Norway suggests that short term fertility loss can happen to women who work out daily to the point of exhaustion. Our take: Regular exercise very good. "Over-exercising" can be problematic, and especially not helpful if you want babies. Your body needs energy to procreate.
• Gyms are booming in China, but Chinese people still think cardio is weird. Also in China, inflatable bras are the hot new thing.
• Winter is gym season, people. Our man Keith Worts, C.O.O. of Crunch, tells Reuters that gym memberships spikes by up to 25% in cold months.
• Remember when we discovered that some lucky kids were sitting on exercise balls in classrooms. That was so last week. This week it's stationary bikes.
• The Post reports that city schools are suspending their funding of "Brain Education," a program with ties to Dahn Yoga, which is embroiled in several lawsuits and accused of being a cult.