Ride a Bike in the Grand Canyon at work on Blue Monday!
Ever ridden a bike in the Swiss Alps? Walked the trails to the Inca ruins in Peru? Hiked the wild Sierras in California? Now you can do all of the above and more, from the comfort of your own home or spin class with first-person simulation DVDs that give you the illusion that you are exercising in exotic places instead of your gym or living room. "Virtual Active is a first-person, forward-motion video experience designed to enhance your cardio workout. Shot in beautiful locations around the world, Virtual Active transports you to iconic trails, roads, cities, and landscapes, turning indoor exercise into an outdoor adventure. The run series is designed for use while running on a treadmill or elliptical training machine," said John Ford, creator of the system. Virtual Active captures the beauty of nature, complete with forests, lakes, waterfalls, woodland trails, mountain views and scenes of water rushing over rockbeds, with an upbeat background soundtrack to keep you energized. Why stare at a roomful of gym equipment, when you can gaze up at giant redwoods in the middle of old-growth forests, or see the glimmer of sunlight on calm lakes, surrounded by evergreen trees? Your workout will be finished before you know it!
Virtual Active gives you the illusion of being there. San Francisco-based creator John Ford straps on 100 pounds of customized motion-sensitive video equipment, and literally walks his talk, to create these virtual masterpieces. So far, there are 200 virtual natural environments available, from six different countries, all filmed in person at their actual locations.
Working out at home? Go online and order the DVD from vafitness.com. You have the option of working with a virtual trainer to guide you along the path, or you can go it alone. The programs can also be taken with you, on your iPod, iPad or portable media player, if you're not home to watch them on your DVD player.
Take a walk- or ride- on the wild side! (www.vafitness.com, accessed November, 2010)
Exercise in Beautiful Places: an Experience of the Soul
With rave reviews such as "By the end of the sprints… you've actually shaken the cellulite off your thighs" (Time Out New York), "Clients don't need to go to their shrinks anymore" (New York), and "The candlelight and playlists make you forget you're pedaling" (Allure), SoulCycle, aka "Spiritual Cardiotherapy" (Time Out New York), is "A 500- to 700-calorie-torching workout!" (Us Weekly) and it's been "Voted BEST hit-each-body-part workout for 2010" (New York Magazine).
So what is everybody raving about? It all began with a dream two women had, about finding some type of cardio exercise they could fall in love with. They both believed indoor cycling could be inspiring; they both believed you could incorporate upper body and core workout into the routine; and finally they believed with some great branding, a beautiful environment, and outstanding customer service, the 45-minute class could be transformed into a special experience each time. And so it was that over lunch one day, SoulCycle was born.
The first SoulCycle class was held in 2006 in the back of a lobby on West 72nd; a location that owner Elizabeth Cutler found on craigslist. They lit some candles and charged $27 per cyclist. Since then, Cutler and partner Julie Rice have expanded to five studios, including one in TriBeCa and one in the Hamptons. This year, they added an hour-long class called SoulCycle Bands, wherein core and arm exercises are done using resistance bands that hang from the ceiling, hovering over the bikes.
SoulCycle has become a community, with soul bios and soul stories shared on the website, and a blog where SoulCyclists profile their transformations- of both body and soul. And if you and your soul have done some traveling wearing your SoulCycle teeshirt, be sure to snap a picture to post online on the soul travel page. (www.soul-cycle.com, accessed November 2010; The New York Times, July 9, 2010)
Customize Your Cardio Challenge
Virtual Active got together with IndoorCycling, and together created the ultimate package for the indoor fitness enthusiast: MyRide 3.0. Hop on and take the ride of your life, with over one million different customized workouts. Bike through the Rockies, the Swiss Alps, or the Mojave desert, while enjoying a coached, cycling-class experience. Choose difficulty levels, combine warm-ups, intense workouts and cool-downs, choose language, and have what IndoorCycling calls "an empowered cycling experience."
Program the high-resolution touchscreen to your precise specifications. "Learn the Moves" helps you determine your personal challenge level; "Choose Your Challenge" defines your workout category, and the choices offered in "Training Zones" help you build your customized workout. The MyRide screen displays three edited camera angles, as well as coaching guides such as rpm, heart rate, energy level, ride position, and section time.
We've come a long, long way since the days of riding a bike down the block to get some exercise. Today, cardio workouts are customized to individual fitness levels, and we can travel around the world- without ever leaving the neighborhood. (http://www.myridev3.com/myridev3/index.php/product.html)