Fitness

As if cycling in place isn’t a discouraging enough concept, too many studios have sweaty riders crammed together and forced to listen to bad techno. So when Ruth Zukerman, a certified fitness instructor for more than twenty-five years, cofounded Flywheel in New York in 2010, she wanted to offer a motivational and hard-core experience.

I tossed a five-foot resistance band into the Civic, knowing I'd hit some traffic later that afternoon, while heading across town. Sure enough, I was at a standstill on Georgia 400 around 4pm. But unlike most people standing still in late September, I was sweating.

Once in a while, I find myself running—occasionally from someone, or as part of an annual St. Patrick's day pub run, but more often late at night to sober up—with alcohol in my system.

Have you hit the gym yet? It's three days into the New Year. What are you waiting for? Exercising more and losing weight are two of the top three New Year's resolutions according to a Harris Poll and you can certainly tell if you work out at a local fitness center. You may have to stand in line for the elliptical or get ticked when the newbies don't wipe off the machines when they're finished.

Twenty-five years ago I met my future father-in-law for the first time over dinner at the sorely missed (by me, anyway) Indigo Coastal Grill in Morningside. It was a pleasant evening that involved fish cooked in parchment paper and glasses of zinfandel (it was the eighties, after all). I felt confident of successfully making a decent first impression.