This weekend I joined the two wild and wacky ladies from the pop duo Suspicious Package in their class called “Pop Star Dance Workout,” one of their Jazzercize Your A$$ Off workout series. I’m not one for group exercise, not convinced that the burn will beat a good run—but I hushed my inner runner, and jumped in feet first into the organized world of jazzercise.

At their Williamsburg studio, I was greeted by Ashlynn a.k.a. Flashpants, and Emily a.k.a. Prince$$ Amelia, with a rum cocktail. “This is part of our hedonistic health philosophy,” Flashpants, in tiger-striped leotard spandex, assured us. Not that I was arguing as I gulped down the cocktail in preparation for the soon to come, awkward 80’s-style aerobics.

READ MORE

Confession: I’ve lived in Greenpoint for over a year, and have never ventured into the native yoga scene. I’m a hipster fraud, perhaps, but I’m confident I’m not alone.

On a quest to finally dip into the movement, I ventured over to Greenhouse Holistic, a yoga and hot stone spa on Roebling and North 7th. If you’re looking for somewhere to try out yoga without feeling self-conscious that your neighbor will bend like a pretzel and scoff at you–an imaginary nightmare that holds beginners back for months–this is a great place to start.

READ MORE

You wake up at 6am to get your butt out the door for a morning run before work. Gear on, you head over to the McCarren Park track, thinking “Man I am so freakin’ productive! Who’s a healthy Brooklynite? Me!”

You reach the track, start doing round one of your cool eight-lap regimen, and see what appears to be a bootcamp workout occurring in the far right corner of the track.  Lap two comes around, and these people are now throwing medicine balls and marching in place. Lap 3: crunches while some ridiculously toned man in a turban looks down on them.  Your mind goes from self-appreciation to “Dammit, no amount of laps are going to kick my ass like that!” Who is this guy?

READ MORE