Dara Torres and Gold Medal Fitness

"I believe [my tenacity] is the result of living in my body in an active way." Dara Torres, Gold Medal Fitness.Meeting five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres felt a bit like meeting a superhero.  Dara has been an Olympic competitor since 1984.  She has consistently broken records throughout the course of her long career, and rocked the world in 2008 when she competed in the Beijing Olympics as a 41-year-old new mom - and took home three medals.  In total, Dara has won 12 Olympic medals, four of them gold.  So far.  Now 43, Dara is considering competing in the 2012 Olympic games in London.  At the moment, she's still recovering from a major knee surgery, but it doesn't seem to have slowed her down much.  Quite frankly, it's hard to imagine what would.  She's 5'11" and as cut as she looks on the cover of her new book.  The woman radiates power. 

In fact, when Dara Torres walked into the room on Tuesday to lead a group of bloggers in a stretching class based on her new book, Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program,* the last thing I expected her to be was human. 

"It's taken me ten years to truly appreciate the wisdom of recovery as a regular and essential part of my training routine." Dara Torres, Gold Medal FitnessAnd yet, Dara is shockingly relatable.  When asked about her favorite places to swim in New York (Asphalt Green was #1 despite being "nippy"), she told us that she likes the New York Athletic Club because of its location and history, "but sometimes you get these men in there that just hate when you're in their lane." "Even you?" asked one incredulous blogger, clearly a fellow swimmer.  "Yeah, I don't know.  Because they're older men, you know.  And then you get younger men who try to race you."  Wow.  I'll definitely remember that I'm in good company the next time I'm being squeezed out of a lane by some pushy guys at Equinox.

Dara is delightfully down to earth about her body, including her legendary abs.  "It's easier for me because I do this for a living," she explained.  She also credits genetics for her lean frame; apparently her brother has a similar build.  Before we got down to the stretching, Dara noted that she, too, has "problem areas" and, in front of a room full of bloggers with snapping cameras and filming Flip cams, she not only recounted how Wendy Williams had poked fun at the "flab" under her triceps on TV earlier that day - she showed it to us.  I told you; the woman is impressive.

Dara's enthusiasm for her latest book, and for the exercise methodologies she has embraced for the past four years, was evident as she led us through six of the 16 different Ki-Hara stretches in the book.  Ki-Hara is a method of resistance stretching that calls for contracting the muscle at the same time that its being lengthened by the stretch.  Some of the stretches will be familiar to Physique 57 goers, but my favorite that we did yesterday was a quad stretch that I had learned from Court at CrossFit NYC.  We also did something called the "Y Closer" which felt amazing in my tight shoulders.  The book breaks each stretch down step by step, and has pictures, which I personally find really helpful.

Gold Medal Fitness is Dara's answer to "how do you do it?", and Ki-Hara is just one aspect.  Dara also provides a 35-day eating plan with specific meal recommendations, a detailed strength training plan and guidance for cardio workouts.  Recovery also gets its own chapter, which is pretty cool. 

"As your body gets stronger and in better shape, you are naturally going to feel more confident." Dara Torres, Gold Medal FitnessDara's weight regimen focuses on core strength and balance.  The goal isn't merely strength for strength's sake, but efficiency of movement.  Gold Medal Fitness provides progressions for each of the exercises to incorporate as you improve.  Some of the moves require equipment, such as free weights, a medicine and a Bosu.  Dara also uses a handful of machines.  If you don't have access to a gym or a particular piece of equipment, though, you can work around that.  The plan is designed to be adaptable.

Dara stresses that cardio should be fun.  She suggests various activities to try, but tells her readers that the important thing is doing it, so pick something you like.  In this chapter, Dara offers guidance with respect to targeting your rate of perceived exertion, and the length and structure of a good cardio workout.  She also explains how to include anaerobic conditioning in your routine.  In the chapter on rest, Dara talks about hydration, refueling, and the importance of giving your body a break.

Gold Medal Fitness was written to be accessible to people of any fitness level, at any age.  It's clear and very easy to follow, but, refreshingly, it's not dumbed down.   She explains the logic and mechanics of each of the exercises, as well as how to put them all together into a routine.  Gold Medal Fitness is more than a five-week plan; it's a blueprint for an active life.

I'm not in the market for a total exercise makeover right now, but I'm really excited about trying Ki-Hara.  I'm not a good stretcher, and I wonder how much that's to blame for the pinched nerve that's been cramping my style for the past few weeks.  I keep saying that I need to incorporate more yoga into my routine.  Ki-Hara may be more my thing, though.  It's certainly worth a shot, and Dara's book is the perfect introduction.

I'll keep you posted

-Gym Belle-

*I received a complimentary copy of the book as part of the event.  Thank you, Random House!

Self Magazine's Workout In The Park Day

The night before Self Magazine's Workout In The Park, I didn't have much hope.  I had been really excited for a fun day of trying different Crunch workouts in Central Park, but the weather forecast was terrible.  So, when my friend who was visiting from London insisted on one more glass of champagne, I figured I might as well; I'd be sleeping in anyway. 

Saturday morning, it really did pour.  Just as I was settling in to watch some rainy day cartoons, though, the sun came out.  It quickly turned into a hot, sunny day.  So, off to the park I went.

By the time I got there, the event was well underway and it was packed.  I had missed all the sign-ups for the Urban Rebounding classes, and the only yoga class left was a Breathwork Meditation class.  I signed up for that and then joined the crowd at the main stage area, which didn't require sign-ups. 

When I got there, a Masala Bhangra class was wrapping up.  Masala Bhangra combines a traditional form of Indian dance with Bollywood moves.  It looked really fun, and I was sorry I'd missed it.

I jumped in for Ab Attack, Cardio Tai Box and Retro-Robics.   It was crazy working out with that many other women.  Ab Attack was a good class, but I have to admit that I really didn't feel much in my abs.  Cardio Tai Box was awesome.  I love kickboxing classes, and the class made me very nostalgic for my Powerstrike days.  My favorite class, though, was Retro-Robics.

Retro-Robics was sheer cheese in the best possible way - like a Bat Mitzvah crammed into a twenty minute workout.  We did the running man, the cabbage patch, the electric slide, YMCA and a bunch of other old-school dances and steps.  The music was awesome.  (Get into the Groove, Maniac etc.)  Everyone got really into it.

After all the dancing, I was ready for Breathwork Meditation in the Quiet Zone.  During that class, we lay down on our backs on yoga mats, closed our eyes and breathed.  You were supposed to inhale deeply in your stomach, then in your chest and then exhale, and all of the breathing was supposed to be done through the mouth.  It sounds simple, but it actually took a decent amount of concentration, and at the end of it, I was pretty mellow.

Before I called it a day, I took a quick look at some of the sponsors' booths.  Asics had a tent where they had set up treadmills to evaluate people's gaits and recommend shoes.  Soy Joy and Silk were there providing snacks and drinks, and Maybelline was doing mini makeovers in its tent.  There were pretty long lines at a lot of the booths, but I did snag some Garnier samples and Livestrong bracelets on my way out. 

I wished I could have stayed longer, but it was time to head to midtown to pick up my number for Sunday's Mother's Day race.  There's always next year, though!

-Gym Belle-

Pain in the Neck

After two weeks of ridiculous shoulder pain, I finally made it in to see a doc.  Lo and behold, my shoulder pain is coming from a pinched nerve, a literal pain in the neck, that I got watching the Boston Marathon.

So, since the Revlon race on Sunday, I've been taking it easy.  I'm not particularly good at taking it easy; it certainly doesn't come naturally to me, but those were the doctor's orders and I really do want to feel better. 

I've also started physical therapy at Dasha Wellness.  So far, that's involved a lot of being poked and prodded and massaged.  They do "stim" where they contract and release your muscles using electricity, and tonight they put me into a contraption to stretch out my spine.  I totally felt like Frankenstein.  It was weird.

Everyone's really nice there, though, and they've got these awesome looking machines that I'm hoping to try out.  There's a PhysioRED bike, which looks like a cross between an MRI machine and a reclining exercise bike.  (Sadly, I'll have to do a real MRI soon... I hate those).  Anyway, it uses infrared light, which apparently has lots of positive effects.  I'll let you know that's all about when I try it.  There's also a SpineForce machine that looks kinda neat.  I don't really know how it works, but it looks like a disc that you ride like a snowboard.  I could be way off on that, though.  We shall see.

The good news is that things seem to be improving, so I can sort of get back to my normal routine.  CrossFit is out for a while (grrr), and if I run or spin I need to pay extra attention to my posture and chin position, but I'm free to do yoga, pilates and assorted low impact activities to my heart's content.  Phew!

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-