Fitness Challenge: Day 79

Many gyms in NYC offer 45 minute boot camps. While these are a great way to stay in shape, the 45 minute classes are over before you know it.

I found a few gyms and outdoor boot camps that offered hour long classes. These were much more challenging, in addition to being, well, longer.

Now there is a new frontier. P.E.P.P.E.R. Practical Exercise Personally Planned Equals Results has 75 minute boot camps in Central Park and other NYC locations. Breaching the hour long class feels like Spinal Tap going to 11 on the volume button.

Our class, in a bucolic setting that belied the torture to come, started with light jogging - then tapping the ground, side shuffles, high knees, skipping and butt kicks.

We had stations, each with a trainer, to do bear crawls, crab walks, gorilla swings, dive bombs and hopping on one foot up a hill. We also had to partner up, running up a hill carrying someone and doing wheelbarrows. But these were not playground exercises - we kept our heart rates up and worked every muscle.

And there was no let up. Towards the end, we did duck walks (try this after an hour of cardio and strength training) followed by an endless variety of ab exercises.

The trainers were encouraging, the setting was magical and the fitness was unparalleled.

Fitness Challenge: Day 78

The heat wave in NYC finally broke, so a run in Central Park was actually an option. But I took the high road, Core Fusion Cardio at Exhale Spa midtown, right across the street from the park.

This location serves a rather upscale clientele, and the halls were being repainted while I was there. The light, airy studio had billowing fabric covering the skylights, keeping the room cool but allowing plenty of natural light to filter in.

My husband doubts you can get a cardio work out without sneakers, but this class proves him wrong. We did plank runs, lunges with weights, side planks into downward dog, then the whole sequence again and again. There was no time to grab a sip of water, but my heart rate was up and I was dripping sweat.

Luckily, there were plenty of rain head showers, with thick towels, and cold filtered water.

Fitness Challenge: Day 77

Over my years in Park Slope, the basement gym at the corner of Union Street and 7th Avenue has gone through many iterations. The latest is Slope Fitness, which has a guaranteed lifetime membership rate for the first new members.

While the gym is essentially the same as the previous one, it has a few nice touches. One is free coffee, an incentive for those who drag themselves to early morning workouts.

Another is an extensive class list, including a spin class that adds an abs workout, and Fight Club, combining aerobics, boxing and martial arts.

There is a free supervised play area for children while parents work out, and in the fall, there will be dance classes for children.

Having a party

I’m always happy to go to a party, but I hate when drinks are served in cheap plastic cups. It brings me back to college keggers, and not in a good way.

You can upgrade your party, inexpensively, by shopping a hotel supply site. If you stock up on reusable, dishwasher safe glasses, you will save money (and the environment) and can plow the savings into better quality booze.

PeachSuite Wholesale Hotel & Restaurant Supplier has beer glasses for just $2 each so that growler filled with a hoppy IPA tastes even better.

When you go to the source for hotel supplies & catering supplies you know you are getting items that have withstood the test of thousands of travelers.

Fitness Challenge: Day 76

The Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District has a rooftop pool and lounge for the beautiful people in NYC. If you want to exercise to get the body you need for that pool, a small basement gym, with an exercise studio run by Exhale Spa, is your ticket.

The compact gym has a couple of treadmills and stationary bikes, free weights, and weighted balls and mats. There are nice soft towels for mopping up your sweat, and plenty of mirrors so you can check out your guns.

There is also a bowl of fruit so you can grab a healthy snack on your way out.

The small locker room has just one shower, but towels are new and soft. There are robes and slippers for spa guests, but anyone can use them.

Broadway Kids

One of the joys of traveling to New York City is gorging on theater. You can see a different show every night, and even two in the same day if you add a matinee (typically offered on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays).

But what if you are on vacation with young kids? Some shows are appropriate for children, but others are not. Or maybe they can’t sit still for a show.

This is where Playtime childcare comes in.

Playtime is for tourists and New Yorkers alike, and is offered at the off-Broadway theater, Playwrights Horizons. But you aren’t restricted to seeing a show at Playwrights Horizons. You can also see a show at Signature Theatre or Westside Theatre, both of which are very close to Playwrights Horizons.

The childcare is free for Playwrights Horizons subscribers, so most NYC visitors won’t be eligible, but the cost is a very affordable $15 per child.

My teens babysit in NY, and that is the going rate per hour. If you see a 2 hour show, you are essentially getting the second hour free.

And if you were to arrange a babysitter through your hotel, you would pay far more, plus you would need a sitter for longer. Since you are bringing your kids to the theater, you only need a sitter during show time, not travel time

Playtime is for potty trained kids, ages 4 to 12. And the child minders, arranged by Sitter Studio, are themselves dancers, actors and musicians, so your kid can expect a fun time.

In fact, check out the names of the sitters. In a year or two, you might see them onstage!

Fitness Challenge: Day 75

When an exercise class doesn’t require sneakers, I am skeptical that I can get a good workout. But Exhale Spa’s signature Core Fusion fitness classes, using free weights, a small ball and barre, is challenging in its own way. There is no cardio element (though there are Core Fusion Boot Camp and Core Fusion Cardio classes for those who need to sweat more).

The core fusion class combines elements of yoga, Pilates and dance, and you may find yourself cursing that little red ball as you squeeze your glutes (only 20 more times!) and work deep within muscles.

Although I took a packed class, the instructor managed to know everyone’s name – there were a lot of first timers – and was able to keep on eye on our body positioning. Since 2 sides of the studio were mirrored, there is no hiding in the back.

The studio has tons of classes throughout the day, both yoga and barre, in three exercise rooms.

I was a little surprised out how threadbare some of the Upper East Side studio seemed. Cushions in the waiting area were stained; the place is in need of a make over.

But the locker room as spotless, with thick towels, keyless lockers with hangers, and amenities like razors (though no shaving cream) and mouthwash. Since this is also a spa, there are robes and slippers, too.

Exhale’s reach extends far beyond NYC, to Los Angeles, Dallas and Turks & Caicos, among other locations. It’s nice if you travel a lot; you can use your classes at any location when on vacation.