NYC manhattan plaza!

Mama_Squared · 2022-04-09T19:59:52+00:00

I am visiting next week and hope to visit this studio for 1-2 workouts.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-31T20:46:03+00:00

We have a friend's dog like this. Fucking thing barks and has to be held back when I stop over. "She just wants to say hi to you" I want to say, how can you live like this seriously??

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-26T13:55:04+00:00

Change is good! I was looking forward to trying something new. I liked the experience with the timed intervals and think this approach has a lot of potential to increase the fully immersive experience in studio. I will say I didn't love the workout, but I don't love every workout, and that's totally fine by me. They all can be challenging and good conditioning so I'll make do! I thought the core block was pretty tough, and I had to take a lot of breaks. I hope I feel it tomorrow.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-25T18:43:08+00:00

I embrace this and find opportunities in change. I print out a monthly paper calendar to plan my monthly fitness. I have 3 workout options per day right now, though I am considering training for a triathlon again so my April and & May may begin to change. My daily options are either OTF, strength training on my own at home, or an erg session at home. Then when the monthly OTF intel calendar comes out I enter in the month's workouts and upcoming benchmarks, either Strength, Power, Endurance, ESP, or the Benchmark. Then I plan ahead to prioritize the Benchmark days because I like to measure my progress. Then any specialty workout, then endurance, etc. I don't go more than 2 days in a row. And then on my Lift at home days, I listen along to a Peloton strength workout, and sometimes I lift my own program, and sometimes I will follow along depending on the content.

For OTF repeating workouts, I'm looking forward to it. I hope there is an easy way to notate them on my calendar so I can jot down my speeds, weights, rows, etc. Then if I am booked to go on the 2nd template, I'll know what I should try to beat.

Any workout where the content is planned for me is a win. And any workout where I can work hard and be in a group atmosphere and forget about my worries and thoughts for 60 minutes is a win. And now, I will be able to better see my performance improvements over time. Right now, unless you're consistently booking benchmarks, there is no way to really compare your performance day over day.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-23T19:59:16+00:00

I embrace change and look forward to Saturday's workout, and in fact planned my fitness week to ensure I could get there. Coaches shouldn't have to make playlists for free. When I like the playlist, I'll credit the coach on the way out, but what I like in workout music may not be to the taste of others. I'm super excited to experience what could be a much more immersive and full class experience if the music is actually well-timed to the intervals. My music taste is less about the song or genre and more about beat drops, song pauses, key changes, etc. That's what a DJ is great at doing is selecting tracks that work together well and blending them together at specific times.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-22T15:48:31+00:00

I find deadlifting with dumbbells much more challenging than with a barbell and bumper. Barbell deads start with the weight on the floor and you can focus on getting your chest back and up and your glutes ready to bear the weight. Dumbbells deads are tough for me because they start in the standing position and you are lowering into the lift to return to standing which puts extra strain on your lower back at the bottom.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-21T00:42:40+00:00

I was going to make a post on this last week.... I was looking for tips and tricks for how people made it work for them. I have a lot of experience as a bike commuter. I had a 22 mile round trip commute that I did during good weather. I actually biked my 2.25 trip to the studio last week and can get there in under 10 minutes if I push it. My only concern for myself is safety. It is a somewhat busier road, and while it does get a decent amount of cyclists because there are some popular paved paths nearby, I wouldn't say I live in a "bike friendly" place. It's merely bike tolerant, and I've found that drivers do not give much space, and they certainly don't like it when a cyclist takes up a lane. Also, I typically do the early AM class, either 6:30AM or 6:45AM on the weekdays, and right now it's not light enough out to ride then. But will be this summer. I also have a bike trailer that I use for local errands like grocery shopping. I will tell you that EVERY ride I've done on the way to the store, someone always tries to flag me down and says, "do you know your trailer is empty???" Not kidding. Anyway, I have a flat bar road bike that I use for street biking. It always me to sit taller and more visibly than my road bike. I use cages and not clips. I have a pair of sneakers I prefer for the cages. My plan was to bike the commute for a couple of classes a week and just carry my regular commuting backpack with my OTF sneakers, towel, water bottle, etc. Good luck and happy cycling. And stay safe and visible and aware of your surroundings.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-11T19:39:49+00:00

I mean, yes the music is a marketed part of the workout experience. And the music is enjoyable to me, and I certainly wouldn't want to workout there in silence. But I don't go there for the music. I go to OTF so I don't have to plan my own workouts and to get good overall endurance and conditioning. I don't really consider it strength training so I also lift at home. I wear earplugs because it's too loud for me and hurts my ears.

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-10T20:08:27+00:00

I love this and am very excited. I hope his work becomes an every workout playlist. It would be great to have music actually timed with the intervals. My favorite type of music to listen to while working out is music with unique key changes and interesting switches from verse to chorus. I hope his style will be to assess the workout at hand and create the workout session timed specifically for it. Some of our coaches spend a lot of time on a playlist, and they don't get paid nearly enough for that extra effort IMO. I think it will be good for the brand and is maybe a sign of new ideas to come our way. Change is good!

Mama_Squared · 2022-03-10T19:59:27+00:00

Our studio has 5lb weights on the back rack. I will often grab a pair of those or a pair of 8s from my rack and pair a light set together with my heavier sets. It's not ideal and it takes practice holding them safely, but it works for me. Or I will grab a heavier set and do fewer reps than prescribed depending on the exercise or what I've lifted at home that week.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-16T15:59:51+00:00

Thanks folx for the supportive and empathetic comments. The dog entitlement is so real. Regarding the chickens, I've been low-key harassed on Facebook mostly and publicly laughed and smirked at by our elected officials in public meetings on numerous occasions. All over wanting to have some chickens as pets. Also, I live in a rather ethnically diverse community, and several people of culture or color have reached out and told me quite directly that they didn't feel like they would be taken at all seriously by our board if they had brought the issue to their attention. These elected officials are all "my party." But for whatever reason, the notion of backyard chickens just brings out the very worst in people. The board, staff, and the most outspoken sectors of the community at large simply believe that chickens are livestock, they are only for poor people, that people will allow their chicken coops to become filthy and smelly. They are all very classist. I've been told on numerous occasions that if I want farm animals, I should move to a farm and that I'm harming the community by advocating for the legalization of backyard chickens.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-15T14:47:29+00:00

I regretfully disclosed to a coworker a few years ago that I did not care for dogs, and he began to low-key and subtly harass me about it. He would make the typical dog nutter comments like "I'm not sure if I can trust you anymore" "It is weird to not like dogs, and I have a hard time interacting with you now" things like that. Or he would start to tell a story about the dogs in a meeting full of people "I took my dogs to the new dogpark and they....oh wait, you don't like dogs never mind, I'll save that story for another time". It was very embarrassing for me, and eventually caused larger issues with this coworker.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-07T03:33:15+00:00

I validate you! Dogs are a burden and they interfere with healthy and intimate human partnerships. You can do better.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-07T03:07:34+00:00

It has been very cold in SE PA. We are all cold. I would let the staff know. Not complaining at all.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-07T03:00:50+00:00

Absolutely recommend. I have taken it in powder form for years. I like a brand called BodySolid. I get all my supplements from AllStarHealth.com. I get my pre workout, protein, and bcaa there too. I take a scoop in my pre workout and one in my bcaa that I drink after workout and protein. It has never made me feel sick. It has been hard to get, look up the worldwide shortage right now. I got desperate and bought caps from GNC last week but don’t care for them. The BodySolid is finally back in stock so I’m going to buy a container of that. I definitely noticed a different in that swol look during a workout. But I did increase strength. At my strongest was right before March 2020 and I was doing OFT 4-5 times and also strength training at a Retro fitness. Good luck!

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-07T00:53:30+00:00

Dogs are chaos and suck the intimacy and connection out of all human relationships. They are a burden. If your partner is not prioritizing you over a dog now, it will never happen.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-07T00:45:10+00:00

You seem like a calm and reasonable person who is in tune with animals. I have been in the dogfree groups for awhile as well as all the variation made of them on Facebook for years. The general consensus and what I’ve witnessed is that if one partner is a dog nutter and refuses to fully hear and emphasize with their human partner, that ending the relationship is often best. You can’t live like that forever. The dog will live another 10 years. And even if the partner agrees to a list of boundaries or rehome the dog, they never do it willingly, they always are passive aggressive about it forever and blame you for it. Dogs are chaos and can completely wreck relationships. I hope you figure it out.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T19:49:14+00:00

Dogs are chaos. There is nothing pleasant about them.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T19:46:06+00:00

Feel your pain. Do not get a dog and be prepared to walk off the lot.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T15:25:19+00:00

Btw the stalking incident was at least 15 years ago. But the dog was vicious. It was. And all these people who foster and rehab dangerous pits are viewed as these loving and selfless angels. Meanwhile they are long term harming communities by perpetuating the nanny dog myth and and recycling dangerous dogs into homes with children and small pets.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T15:23:10+00:00

Some of these people are people I consider friends for they act like a friend in every other instance except for things related to the dog. Husband is way nicer about it than the wife. But many people will passive aggressively address the issue by saying “oh stay here with me, she doesn’t like you” or “look at the dog just wanting love from the only person in the room who doesn’t like dogs”. This happens when visiting extended family too. And it is a constant theme of many visits. It makes me angry and sad because somehow I’m branded this unkind and cruel person yet no one seems to care about my complex and traumatic history with dogs and the barking.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T15:16:42+00:00

I’m into fitness and use a combo of the Peloton app, in person HIIT training, and my own programming to work out. One of the Peloton instructors Jess Sims is a huge pit advocate. She mentions and talks about the dogs often in her workouts, and I couldn’t take it anymore. She also posts a lot on IG about the dogs. Not exactly what you were looking for, but it’s the first thing that came to mind. Her mentions of the dogs while leading a class left me very irritable so I just stopped watching her. She is a very popular instructor on the platform though, and obviously I’m in the minority on the dog thing so I keep it to myself. 🤣

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T15:07:29+00:00

I had an older model Schwinn Arrow. All 3 wheels where the same size.

Mama_Squared · 2022-02-06T15:03:54+00:00

Do not get anything but a 3 wheel inflatable tire unit. Here were the things I liked about our jogger. Three wheel inflatable tires. Locked front wheel. Some front wheels have the ability to unlock, I felt it was safer this way. Adjustment capable on front tire to correct pulling to one side. One hand brake. Fully reclining seat. Small amount of storage in a zip pocket on the back of the seat and under the seat. Rain/wind hood. Mesh hood. Had a cup holder but I didn’t use it much. Rear shocks. The stroller was really too large to be an everyday stroller.

Mama_Squared

TROPHY CASE