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June 28, 2009 Leave a Comment

Michael Jackson tribute

Ok, Ok, Michael Jackson got weird….and even when he wasn’t weird, he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea (tho 100 million people bought his music). I felt we needed a spin class tribute if only to recognize the fact that the guy’s music has been in the background of most people’s entire life. He was an extraordinary talent. I couldn’t bring myself to play 14 consecutive Michael Jackson songs….so I tried to give a few highlights interspersed with things that felt influenced by him. Stevie Wonder was the other great “cross over” artist, Madonna rivaled his sales in the 80’s, Sheryl Crow sang in his backup band on one tour, John Lennon is also Dead, Diana Ross was his ??? Anyway, here’s the playlist.

Charlie’s Angels Theme The Hit Crew
The Love You Save Jackson 5
Mercy Duffy
Instant Karma! John Lennon
Billy Jean Michael Jackson
Out of Our Heads Sheryl Crow
As Stevie Wonder
Black or White Michael Jackson
Step It Up Stereo MC’s
Hung up Madonna
You Keep Me Hangin’ On The Supremes
Man In the Mirror Michael Jackson
We Are the World U.S.A. For Africa

Filed Under: Music
June 20, 2009 1 Comment

Father’s Day Music, Father’s Day Spin Class

Father’s Day I like. Maybe because I am a father? Actually….totally because I am a father. The songs around this day kind of fall into two categories: A) real songs about fathers, and B) songs that have daddy, papa or father in the name or the artists name but are really good songs to spin to. My class this father’s day will have both.

Papa Dukie and the Mud People by The Subdudes……Just a great, great song about a kind growing up in the South who remembers a bunch of hippies showing up in a bus and living by the river one summer. Hippie girls swimming naked….what could be better than that.

Father Son artists? How about Jacob Dylan (Wallflowers) and Bob Dylan. One Headlight and If Not For You.
Gone Daddy Gone by the Violent Femmes. Papa don’t Preach by Madonna. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag by James Brown
Father and Son by Cat Stevens gives me goosebumps, and is an anthem for the “generation gap” that many of us experienced once…..and are now on the other side of.

Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More by Steely Dan. Just couldn’t resist the beat.

California Dreamin’ (a remix techno version) was originally the Mamas and Papas….get it? Apparently Sometimes you can’t make it on your own (U2) was Bono’s song to his Dad who wouldn’t take help or support while dieing of cancer. I can’t think of a way to spin to this song, so it won’t be on my list.

Eric Clapton’s My Father’s Eyes is just a great great song for Father’s Day. What can you say? I’ll add more to this list as they come to me. A Boy Named Sue? Hmmmmmmmmmm

Filed Under: Music
June 12, 2009 Leave a Comment

Spynergy Glossary: Low Impact

OK, can we talk? Here is part 1 of the Spynergy no-nonsense glossary to de-mystify fitness terms thrown around by the press, doctors, personal trainers and other so-called experts. These are a basic concepts you should know —- translated into straight talk. Today it is the idea of low impact exercise.

“Low-Impact” Does that term mean anything to you right now? If not, it will soon.
First, let’s discuss high-impact activities (virtually ANYTHING involving running). Here’s an image: think of a 120 to 180 pound bone-in rib roast that is picked up and dropped on to cement or asphault……thousands of times. No, make that hundreds of thousands of times. Visualize what that sudden impact does to the soft fleshy tissues that hold that rib roast together. Hmmmmm. That’s high impact. Now picture a different bone-in rib roast placed on a playground swingset and swung back and forth thousands of times. That’s low impact.

Which piece of meat do you think has suffered less trauma?

For most people (granted, there are a few freak-of-nature exceptions) there is a limit to the amount of ground-pounding that your ankles, knees and hips can take. The goal is to NOT reach that limit in your lifetime because it would be nice to walk comfortably during your last few years on earth.

Since aerobic exercise is good for you (a topic for another day, but trust us, it’s true), a good strategy is to get as much of it as possible, or practical……. from low impact activity: cycling, rowing, swimming – to name a few. Not all your activity need be low impact, but a lot of it should be. Example: a fanatic runner who runs 4 times a week, and replaces two of those sessions with a low impact activity (note: it could be anything, but spin would be our preference), will theoretically extend the “life” of his or her joints by 50%.

Summary: low-impact exercise minimizes wear and tear on your body while still giving you the aerobic and other benefits. This is a reality that becomes more and more important with age. Make sense? Love to hear your comments.

Filed Under: Outdoor cycling
June 2, 2009 Leave a Comment

Mind and Body

5:00 am

Working out in general, and spinning in particular, bring tremendous benefits and you need to keep reminding yourself. The benefits are tremendous because they equally impact the strength of your mind and the strength of your body.

Does it sometimes feel there is a dark force encouraging us to stay sedentary, stay cynical, stay inactive? An active mind and an active body can and do overcome this force. It happens everytime you drag yourself to a workout. With a workout your mind and body open up, they blossom. When we stay inactive….the opposite happens. A closing down occurs.

Pay close attention to the mental and physical sensations after your next workout. Let them linger.

Filed Under: General Fitness, Staying young