Ritzy Schvitz - Sweating at the Ritz-Carlton

Exercise can take place in a park, a cramped basement or a sun-drenched, temperature-controlled fitness center. Guess which one the luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in White Plains, NY has?

The tricked out gym has everything you could ask for: state-of-the-art cardio equipment, with individual TVs and headphones, a variety of hand weights, stability balls, bosu balls and box steps, and weight machines.

There are also exercise mats, weight benches and medicine balls. And if you don't know how to use the equipment, the hotel has trainers (for a fee). I saw a woman being trained by a very competent, encouraging trainer.

I was about to exercise when my 15 year old daughter came from the pool next door.  She and her friends couldn't swim without adult supervision, so I grabbed an apple and a fruit-infused water and hydrated before working out, lounging by the pool while they swam.

Then I hit the weights.

The Ritz fitness center (Ritz Fitz?) has a wall of mirrors so you can watch your form, but you may want to orient yourself the other direction.  That way you can see outside and feel on top of the world while you sweat away.

Leave that cramped basement work out space for another day.

Healthy Smoothies

In New York City, where I live, calorie counts have to be posted at fast food outlets and chain coffee shops like Starbucks. Sometimes I am shocked to see the calorie count in a muffin or scone.

At least at Starbucks, a smoothie is a great choice, a blend of banana, strawberries, milk and protein powder.

But although Starbucks let’s you customize your milk, with nonfat or soy, they don’t have Lactaid. I can understand this; if you are lactose-intolerant, you can just use soy milk.

But my daughter prefers the taste of cow's milk. So at home, we use our blender to create smoothies using whole fresh fruit and Lactaid.

My secret is two-fold. I freeze overripe bananas (after peeling them – believe me, mentioning this step is important) and use those in the smoothies. The brownish bananas are much sweeter, and using them frozen means I can use less ice, and more milk.

Freezing bananas is also a great way to use up extra bananas that ripened too fast too eat - i keep them on hand for banana bread and a not-at-all-healthy but delicious chocolate peanut butter cake.

My smoothies are loaded with vitamins from the fruit and protein from the milk, so there’s no need to add protein powder.

Healthy Smoothie for one

½ frozen banana

3-4 strawberries, hulled

¼ cup Lactaid

2 ice cubes

Blend and enjoy.

You can also substitute peach, watermelon or mango for the strawberries.

Melissa d'Arabian showcased Lactaid’s versatility on the TODAY Show, with this recipe:

 http://www.today.com/id/52297933/ns/today-today_food/t/chicken-lactose-free-creamy-mushroom-sauce/#

Fitness Challenge: Flywheel Sports

High end spin studios are not all created equal. Flywheel, with 3 NYC locations, offers the same 45 minute, high intensity workout NYers crave, with a few twists. Fly free One is the free first class. With classes costing $32 (slightly cheaper if you buy a package) this is an incredible amenity. Who know if it will last, so sign up pronto. You also get free rental shoes (even with the free trial class) and free bottled water. I actually prefer to refill my own water bottle, but there was no water fountain at Flatiron studio and in a particularly nice touch, there was extra water next to the instructor, who could bring you a bottle if you ran out mid-class. Flywheel has you reserve your bike online, and sign in on a laptop when you arrive. Your cycling shoes are in the corresponding cubby below. The co-ed locker area is cramped and rather sweaty when classes change over. There are just 2 showers and 2 changing rooms, so you can expect a wait. And the showers feel a bit like being back in college, but maybe that's the point. Spin hard I loved the bikes, with the torque and rpms in LED. Flyhweel goes even one better, with a ride board where you can chart your progress and compete against classmates. Although I was one of the older riders, I held my own coming in 3rd in the class. Not really sure what that means, but it's better than coming in 45th. The staff at Flywheel was incredibly helpful; I got a brief tour, someone set up my bike, and another person came by the make sure I had everything I needed. And even after class, you could grab a free apple, use the provided dry shampoo if you didn't want to wait for a shower, or use the Bliss body products if you did. All in all a fly experience.

Fitness Challenge: Day 93

If you are an athlete, or just want to build strength, endurance and agility, check out As One, a high intensity program on the Upper West Side. The friendly trainers motivate small group work outs, with an hour long class called As One. Each class is different, though all start with a warm up, stretching and a series of movements. Our class had 3 components: a floor part, where we did 30 second intervals of burpees, planks, squat jumps, lunges, and other instruments of torture. Two other groups used the stair climber, or a stationary bike that also incorporated arms (think elliptical on wheels).

We did this in 4 minute rotations, then 8 minute rotations. Just for fun, we did pull ups and weighted rope slaps before our final stretches. The gym has plenty of foam rollers, which we used to stretch our muscles at the end' this is particularly helped for the IT band. As One also offers strength and mobility classes, and a once a week 2 hour class that could easily get you ready for a marathon or triathlon. The boutique gym does something few other small gyms do: it lets you take your first class free. Once you see how intensely you can work out - and still have fun - you will want to come back. The gym has men's and women's bathrooms, each with a shower, and provides towels and a water cooler. The women's room had tampons and hair products, nice touches in an otherwise bare bones place

Fitness Challenge: Day 58

Basement gyms are often cramped, depressing places, but Harbor Fitness in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has high ceilings and enough shiny surfaces that you forget you are below grade.

The huge gym, at the edge of Park Slope, has 2 other Brooklyn locations and all 3 are open 24 hours a day during the week. I don't know how crowded the gym gets at 3am on a Tuesday, but even on a Sunday morning, usual prime time, the gym felt empty.

The Ultimate Conditioning class was another story. Women were lined up before the class, making sure to get a prime spot in the studio.

I lurked in the back, since I didn't know what to expect. What I got was a tough workout, with weights, that touched on every body part.

The gym has an interesting mix of unusual classes, form a jump rope class to Grid Iron Spin and Grid Iron workout, both taught by a NY Sharks Women’s Professional Football Player.

Didn't even know NY had professional women's football

Fitness Challenge: Day 40

On a day of record warmth in NYC, it is criminal to be inside. Go to a gym when it is sunny and almost 70?

I have my early morning power walk, then a run in Prospect Park.

The crocuses are struggling to break free in this early spring. almost summer. Sidewalk tables are also sprouting.

Everyone is smiling. Can this really be New York City?

Fitness Challenge: Day 23

Reebok Sports Club/NY is an indoor playground for New Yorkers of all ages. Nannies are taking little kids to classes, adult fitness buffs are playing basketball in the full court, running on endless treadmills or lifting weights, and older adults are taking gentle stretch classes.

I take a spin class, an hour-long cardio endurance fest that is 15 minutes longer than the spin classes I'm accustomed to.

Turns out, that quarter of an hour makes all the difference in the world. I am on the verge of collapse at 40 minutes and no one around me seems winded. I feel old.

But I remember seeing a 15 minute abs express class starting at the same time, so I slip out of the toe clips and run - crawl - across the floor to that class. I catch my breath and crunch.

Fitness Challenge: Day 22

To experience the antithesis of the West Side Y, I decided my next stop had to be the Reebok Sports Club/NY on the Upper West Side. This was a country club smack dab in NYC, with a huge climbing wall, an outdoor running track and roof terrace, a gorgeous pool and impressive locker rooms. The pristine hot tub screamed resort, not gym, though no one was drinking a margarita.

Of course, it was 11am.

I took Zumba, which was more fun than a fitness class ought to be. The instructor had us moving for a solid hour, with no stopping for a sip of water or a towel to wipe up sweat.

But it was a blast. We were dancing. It was a sober club, on a weekday morning, everyone in workout clothes.

And the lockers rooms are fantastic. Huge, well-stocked with amenities, enough showers, with great water pressure and new tile.

But this gym feels a bit overwhelming. You have to take an elevator to check-in, then another elevator to the 6th floor (or walk) to the fitness studios. The bi-level locker rooms mean you have to walk down for a shower, then back up to change. There is no way to get in and out quickly here.

On the other hand, I may want to stay for the rest of my life.

Fitness Challenge: Day 16

The West Side Y, just off Central Park West, is in a gorgeous historic building. I have a pass for 2 visits here.

The locker rooms are basic, but clean. You have to go to a desk outside to get a towel, and get buzzed into the locker room. A bit creepy. but I like the idea of asking for a towel - cuts down on rampant towel abuse. I used to see a woman at NY Sports Club who would take a stack of 10 or 12 towels every time, tossing them on the ground like tissues.

Working out here is a bit strange - there are rooms for different exercises, on different floors and I can't even find the cardio room. But I find all the free weights I need. The concrete floor isn't the most forgiving, but unlike my local gym, it doesn't have huge dust bunnies.

It's winter: flu time!

New Yorkers love to complain -it's too hot, it's too cold, there's too much snow, not enough.

This winter is no exception. We have had an unusually mild winter - except for a freak Halloween snow squally. But now it's cold and I can't stop sneezing.

I did get my flu shot. The CDC recommends the shot for pretty much everyone, but when the person next to you on the subway coughs in your face, your vaccine may seem futile.

I won't resort to wearing a face mask, but I will breathe through my scarf and cross my sanitized fingers that the shot will protect me.

Fitness Challenge: Day 8

In a heat wave, exercising outside can be challenging. It is going to be over 100 today, and we are heading up to visit our youngest daughter at camp in New Hampshire. There is a heat alert there, too.

So before we leave, I take a quick trip back to the 24 Hour Fitness gym, where I can lift weights in air conditioning. We are planning a 30 mile bike ride in the mountains tomorrow and I figure I don't need any aerobic workout.

Fitness Challenge: Day 5

Stolen bikes don't stop the fitness obsessed. My stolen bike was my folding bike, a bike I got so I could ride in a skirt. I still have my mountain bike, which my husband can ride (it's a man's bike) so I borrow my neighbor's bicycle and we ride 38 miles (round trip) to the beach.

We also sign up for the NY Century Bike Tour in September, an annual bike ride around the city that we've done in the past with our kids. There is a family friendly 35 mile option, and realistic 55 and 75 mile rides. The 100 mile ride just starts too early.

Fitness Challenge: 100 days, 100 gyms

For 8 years, I have gone to New York Sports Club almost daily. But in July, fed up with rising prices, dirty showers (I could get that at home) and limited classes at my local gym, I bought a Fitness PassBook to get me into a variety of gyms.

I should have blogged about this while I worked out at different gyms, but I was too busy..working out. And getting to those gyms, which weren't around the corner like the Park Slope branch of New York Sports Club.

I saved money, if not time, and plowed those savings into an iPhone. Totally worth it. Plus I took a variety of classes and stayed in shape.

Day 1
July 13. Still sore from previous day's boot camp (the best class at NYSC) so went for a run in the park. As a gym member, I feel guilty not going, even if I run. But on an 80 degree day, perfect weather for a run, I feel free.

Five Summer Getaways Every Kid Should Experience

Our family vacation plans are on hold as we figure out how to pay for college for 2 kids, and keep the third happy.

Luckily, in New York City, you can find lots to do that is free, and takes you away from your regular self.

Go to an Island
No, we are not heading to St. Barth’s or even Cape Cod. But Governors Island has so many free activities that we could head there again and again, and still enjoy ourselves.

We can laze away in a hammock, ride a bike (Bike & Roll even offers free bikes for an hour on Fridays) or splurge on a family surrey ride.
And free ferry rides provide service from Brooklyn and Manhattan to Governors Island.

Go to the Beach
This is not exactly the same as going to an island, as anyone who has tried to swim in the waters off Manhattan (an island) can attest. From our house in Brooklyn, we can take the subway to Coney Island or Brighton Beach, and spend the day at the shore for the cost of a Metrocard swipe ($2.25; free for kids under 44 inches).

We can also ride our bikes to the somewhat less crowded Manhattan Beach (no direct subway access, but you can take a bus there, too, or pay $10 to park). If we are feeling really adventurous, we can bike to the bucolic Rockaways, particularly Breezy Point.

Take in a Game
The boys of summer played baseball and if you don’t live near a major or a minor league baseball stadium, you should take a trip. We can see the Mets and Yankees (both major leagues teams; the Mets, alas, barely) or minor league affiliates, the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones, again, all just a Metrocard ride away.

Time with the Grandparents
My husband’s mother lives in a house that can accommodate our entire brood, and just down the road, a free pool and tennis court provide entertainment. Yes, we have to get there, but this kind of family vacation, spending time with the older relatives, is invaluable. We also get to see other relatives who live in my husband’s hometown, and see how he spent his boyhood.

Amusement Parks
Even if we can’t afford a trip to Disney World this summer, we can still spend a relatively inexpensive night at a nearby water park or theme park and get our fill of thrill rides and fried dough.

Family Travel Planning with Goby

I pride myself on always being in the know, but it can be hard when you are traveling to figure out what to do if it is suddenly raining, or your kids have a craving for Vietnamese food.

But if you have an iPhone or iPad, Goby can be your family vacation savior. This app, which you can also use as a search engine on your laptop, gives you hundreds of activities, food choices, and places to stay throughout the US.

A Test Drive
For years, we have spent a grim 3 or 4 days in Cincinnati, OH, visiting my husband’s family.

Ok, grim may be a bit extreme. Cincinnati has a great museum center, the King’s Island amusement park and a museum on the underground railroad. But it doesn’t have many vegetarian restaurants, or so I thought.

We put Goby to the test and it spit out so many choices, we may have to make 2 family vacations to Cincinnati this summer.

A Comparison
Since I figure I know my hometown best of all, I all looked into the biking recommendations for Brooklyn. Local bike shops were listed, which can be particularly useful when you are on the road and get a flat. And bike paths in & near the city gave me choices for a ride.

I can’t wait to see how Goby does on my next vacation.

Best NY Pizza

If you are a vegetarian, you can’t go wrong at a pizza place. Amorina, a casual pizza restaurant in Prospect Heights, has what may be Brooklyn’s best pizza. The thin crust roman-style pizza is topped by organic ingredients and local fresh mozzarella.

My favorite pizza is a twist on the menu’s Prosciutto & Fichi – we just order it without the ham. The figs and thyme make a delicious topping.

We had a rather comical situation recently when we ate there with 2 other couples. We had asked for the prosciutto on the side so our friends could enjoy the pizza with its full complement of toppings, but it came on top. Just after the pizza, dripping with ham, was set down, our rabbi stopped by to chat. We felt like frauds, avowed vegetarians sitting in front of a ham pie, but he seemed unfazed.

Anyway, they brought us a second pie, free of charge (and prosciutto).

Another great veggie option, the Tricolore, is topped with cherry tomatoes and arugula, like a salad on a pizza. The Gorgonzola & Frutta, with bleu cheese, figs, pears and honey, is a bit sweet for my taste, but quite nice without the unnecessary honey.

A chickpea and arugula salad, or beet, goat cheese or endive salad are perfectly composed.

Non-pizza options include eggplant parm and rigatoni with wild mushrooms.