Dumpster Pools at Summer Streets

I love NYC.  There's really just one problem.  There aren't any good places to swim in Manhattan in the summer.  The public pools work in a pinch, but the draconian rules make for less than leisurely lounging.  Some of the hotels have rooftop pools, but getting in usually requires quite a bit of cash, if not a room key.  This is why so many New Yorkers leave the city in the summer.

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.  So, when a friend told me that this year's Summer Streets would include dumpster pools, I figured we should check it out.  We woke up early last Saturday morning and were able to join in the first swim of the day. 

Dumpster pools are, in fact, actual dumpsters that have been converted into pools.  For Summer Streets, there are three pools, each with a different depth.  As you can see, despite their trashy origins, they're pretty spiffy.  And it was pretty cool to splash around looking up at this:

Curious New Yorkers and intrepid tourists have one more chance to check out the dumpster pools this Saturday at Summer Streets.  The pools are located at 40th and Park.  The bracelets required to enter are handed out on a first come first serve basis starting at 7:00am, and 35 people are let in at a time for 20 minute swims.  There are changing rooms on the premesis and little cubbies you can leave your stuff in.  This is New York, though, so I brought my things up to the pool.

Happy Splashing!

-Gym Belle-

Rollin' with My Hommies: Summer Streets

This Saturday was the first of three Saturdays of Summer Streets 2010.  During Summer Streets, Park Avenue is closed to traffic from Central Park (72nd St.) to the Brooklyn Bridge from 7am to 1pm.  Walkers, runners, bladers and bikers have access to 6.9 miles car-free road.  No wheels?  No problem.  Bikes and blades can be "rented" for free along the route.  This year, Summer Streets also has dumpster pools.  I didn't have time to check that out this weekend, but hopefully I'll get to next week.

I decided to kick off Summer Streets by breaking out my roller blades for the first time since last summer.  When I was a kid, I was actually pretty good at roller blading.  Even in college, I remember racing people once in a while.  At some point, though, I lost my nerve.  I still enjoy speed, but I freak out going downhill.  I feel totally out of control and end up riding the break a lot of the time, which I know has to be a bad plan.  This is why I've never roller bladed in Central Park.

Park Avenue isn't as bad as Central Park, but it does have its hilly spots.  At around 68th street, for example, the incline is pretty steep.  On Saturday, I stood at the top of that hill for a full minute wondering how lame it would be to unlace my blades and walk down a bit before starting again.  I decided to go for it.  I did, however, chicken out at Grand Central.  I remember seriously fearing for my life last year winding through the dark tunnel and then shooting out back onto Park at top speed.  I wasn't going there again.  Anyway, aside from going down the 68th street hill, it was all very pleasant.

The weather was perfect on Saturday, and I'm hoping we luck out for next week, too.  It's so nice to see everyone out enjoying the road.

 Maybe I'll see you out there?

-Gym Belle-

Gym Paralysis

Before I left for Baltimore the weekend before last, I downloaded a Tabata timer* to my iPad.  I figured that, worse comes to worst, I would be able to get a good workout in my hotel room. 

When I got to the hotel, though, I learned that it had a pretty sizable gym.  In addition to tennis courts and a pool, the gym had plenty of treadmills, ellipticals and stair climbers and lots of weight equipment.  I bounded out of bed on Sunday morning eager to check it out.

And then I got there.  And I didn't know what to do. 

As much as I workout, it's rare for me to just "go to the gym" without a specific class or plan in mind.  I lost a good few minutes gaping at the possibilities.  I bypassed the cardio machines thinking that if I really wanted to run, I'd brave the heat wave outside before hopping a treadmill.  I considered the weight machines, but they seemed so foreign.  I haven't used machines in ages.

Then this beauty caught my eye:

I had never seen a pink kettlebell before.  So cute!  Only, it was 5 lbs.  What do you do with one 5 lb kettlebell?  I moved on.

I ended up getting in a decent workout playing with the bodybars (to the right of the pretty pink kettlebell).  At CrossFit, we learn and practice lifts with hollow PVC pipes that don't weigh anything.  It can be a big jump from a PVC pipe to a barbell sometimes, so messing around with 10 and 12 lb body bars was kind of fun.  I practiced overhead squats and snatches.  Next, I used free weights to improv the Physique 57 arm sequence.  I finished off with some body weight exercises and, for good measure, ran a fast mile on the treadmill before calling it quits.

All in all, it was a pretty good workout once I just got going.

-Gym Belle-

*Tabata is a form of super intense interval training.  For four minutes, you go all out on an exercise (think squats or push-ups) for twenty seconds and then rest for ten seconds.  It's way harder than it sounds.  Learn more here.