Equinox Fitness goes ViPR

A week or two ago, I was asked to attend a press event for a new fitness innovation popping up in Equinox gyms. It's basically a new tool and exercise concept that's focused on strengthening your core and working with long strokes of movement, rather than targeting individual muscles. This is the kind of workout you get when doing actual physical activity in the real world, not in a gym with a specific number of reps and a personal trainer named Rick. Check out this video that gives some info on what ViPR does for the body:





The founder, Michol Dalcourt, was at the event today. He created the rubber tube you see in the video that is anything but just a tube. There are endless workouts you can do with it and Equinox has it exclusively. When first looking at it, it looks like a cross from a PVC pipe and a tire with handles, but quickly learned it's much more useful. They have varying weights (mine was 8 pounds, the lightest) and sizes. With that, I can workout right along side a pro football player, be able to do the same things, and get the same workout, just on different levels.


But OK, enough with the sales pitch. Here's my experience. I was nervous. Partially because everyone else invited were seasoned fitness editors who probably run ten miles a day and have forgotten what a bagel tastes like. Partially because I haven't been in a gym in years and showering in public locker rooms is right up there with snake bites and burglaries. But mostly, because I'm one of the most unfit, unstrong (pretend it's a word), and inflexible people you will ever meet. No, I'm not being modest. In sixth grade I got the award in PE class for "Most Sportsmanlike" meaning "Best Loser." In seventh grade my dad wanted me to quit basketball because he thought the embarrassment and ridicule was even worse for me than my incapability to do a free throw. And now, even the thought of running a mile in Golden Gate Park makes me exhausted. So doing a new workout in a room with photographers and fitness gurus freaked me out. But keep reading, it gets better.



The exercise wasn't very hard. In fact, I could do it without any embarrassment whatsoever! A great thing about this new innovation is that it can be as difficult as you want it to be. I'll let you know if I'm sore tomorrow (I'm thinking that is pretty guaranteed). We had a small taste of what the real full throttle experience is like, so I'm sure that doing a full workout with the rubber tube would kick even my bootie into shape.


After the presentation, I had a wonderful smoothie and headed off to the locker rooms where I expected to find what locker rooms normally look like. I guess I've never experienced an Equinox locker room before. It was the Chanel of locker rooms.

I left with a feeling of being tired yet energized, with designer hair product in my locks and still in awe that they have free razors and private showers.


Love,
jenna