Most of you already realize that this is why I’ve had to stop teaching in West Hollywood and Pasadena, and soon, Santa Monica as well. I’m still teaching on Thursdays in Woodland Hills, and once our club is open, you’ll see me a lot on that schedule. For the sake of planning, know that my classes in Encino will be on Monday evenings, Wednesday mornings, and Saturday mornings.

In the meantime, I hope to stay in touch with you. See me in social networks, or send an electronic hello, if you’re so inclined.

I’m certain my “replacement” instructors are more than qualified and willing to work with you and your group fitness schedule, so embrace them with the same openness you’ve so kindly extended to me. I’m very eager to see you again soon. Until we meet again!

Well, I happen to LOVE creating programs to playlists, and this one was the ride we had for the 1st week of February 2013.

The playlist is missing the original 5th track we used, because Spotify doesn’t have it on their database. It’s “Beautiful” by Mandalay, to which we did 4 Breathless Intervals, each for 1-minute, with 1-min recovery in between.

Enjoy!

This week’s playlist focuses on the “Increasing Interval” highlight of Track 5 (Alt + F4). We went through 3 increasing stages: 80s, 90s, and 100s, with a 1-min break in between. You remember this?

And for the record, if you haven’t tried using Spotify yet, DO IT! So worth the service, and their database, plus overall function is rather impressive. For now, iTunes and Pandora are lesser options, in my book.

Enjoy!

Related articles

• Cycling Playlist: Climb Central (delfenriquez.com)
• ShareMyPlaylists launches an API for developers to tap its Spotify playlist data (thenextweb.com)
• The 100 Most Beautiful Songs in the World, According to Reddit (mashable.com)
• Songza: The Thinking Listener’s Playlist App? or Another Reinforcer of the Same Old Taste? (Column) (popmatters.com)
• President Obama’s Inauguration Playlist: Lots of Pop & a Little Soul (spinner.com)

I created this cycling playlist for last week’s class in Woodland Hills.

There’s so much to catch you up on! A lot of work stuff has changed for me over the last month, and all great things I might add

Details will have to wait. For now, ENJOY this, and see you this Thursday, for a ride I’m personally excited about! I built the program on Saturday night, if that’s any indication …

Related articles

• Cycling 2012.1.7: Intro to Endurance (bethalexanderfitness.com)
• My playlist of JOY. (eatseelistenlove.wordpress.com)
• January Playlist (luckybrand.com)

As you know, one of my passions is reading up on, and sharing anything new, insightful, or interesting in our world of health and fitness. I utilize this blog to share some of my personally-created content on that, but for an archive of my discoveries from other authors and sources, you’re best off seeing them on:

Enjoy! And if you like my page, chances are, I’ll like yours back!

https://www.facebook.com/DelfFitness

More blog posts are being cooked up. Stay tuned

thoughts? i LOVE it!

Well, Greatist has done it again. They created The Ultimate Guide to Gym Etiquette and I think their line items apply to any gym in the nation.

As someone who visits various gyms in the city for work, I want to add my personal notes on gym etiquette.

Avoid wearing perfume.

Even the most divine of scents is “no bueno” for the gym.

It’s one thing to smell freshly showered, or lightly pleasant from the subtle notes of your bath soap or shower gel. It’s quite another to overwhelmingly reek of this season’s “it” cologne from your favorite designer label. The gym is a place where we expect natural odors, such that when strong scents blend with the inevitable take-over of body odor, the result is instant gag reflex.

Personally, perfume and make-up while working out are probably two of the least expected and/or desired externals added on by gym goers. You may want to look and smell “your best” even when at the gym, but these add-ons are just out of context in this setting.

I’m also allergic to many strong scents, so artificial fresheners cause a sneezing frenzy. That’s probably something you don’t want from the person a few feet away from you on the treadmill next door.

What else? I think wearing perfume in the gym is distracting, obnoxious, insensitive, and pretentious. Okay, you get the point.

Be aware of the space you’re occupying, including your personal effects.

Wow, if this were actively implemented in some LA gyms, they’d be out of business

I may be asking too much here, because this is the day and age where I’ve seen people less aware of their surroundings and more tuned in to the devices they hold in their hand. In a crowded gym, where hallways or pass-through spaces between machines are high-traffic zones, awareness of your personal space can spell the difference between a safe walk to the locker room, versus a stubbed toe or a trip over equipment on the floor.

It’s also easy to get in other people’s way, by blocking their path or literally taking up space that could easily accommodate more users.

This is nothing, compared to what I’ve seen. Designer bags, water bottles, protein bar wrappers, used towels, etc

Trainers are guilty of this, too. In our clubs, there’s no shortage of clipboards, iPads, bags, towels, or phones left on equipment as a way of marking territory, claiming dibs, or displaying sheer lack of consideration. Year after year, members complain of this very thing.

In the group rooms, I’ve personally stepped on people’s bags, tripped over scattered dumbbells, or refereed fights among members that feel their territory infringed upon by those who tend to spread out. I think it’s important to respect one another’s undefined yet tangible sense of personal space. Being aware of your own is an act of courtesy, a show of manners and all around consideration of others.

Use a towel when working out.

Of course, roll the towel out over the surface, it’s not decor.

The post already recommends hiding the salami when in the locker room. I’m referring to use of towels when working out. Why? Workout equipment surfaces aren’t the most sanitary of places. A towel protects both you and the next person from any sort of contamination, whether mild or wild. And keep in mind, that staph infections have happened even in the most well-kept of gyms. A towel is a good preventive measure, but even more so is a good old wipe-down of surfaces, using anti-bacterial cloths (my personal favorite is single-sachet Germ-X).

On a side note, did you know you can even purchase towels that have more cling or stickiness on one side, so they don’t keep sliding off of equipment? And by the way, most gyms offer towel service these days, so there’s really no excuse.

Save the socializing for cocktail hour.

I personally get grossed out when I see people macking on one another at the gym. Get a room, lovebirds!

I think it’s good to be pleasant and friendly to your fellow gym goers, but no one likes a Chatty Cathy when they’re invested in a work out. Most people wear headphones as their subtle “Do Not Disturb” sign, so  attempts at engaging in lengthy conversation with someone who doesn’t want to be distracted are frowned upon.

I’ve witnessed the rude, inconsiderate hogging of equipment by gossip girls and bromance buddies alike, and what annoys me most is when they think their loud conversation is actually worth being heard. I guess some people get off on hearing themselves talk, but to those peeps, here’s the memo: We don’t care who you hooked up with last night or how badly so-and-so is stalking you. We just wanna listen to the latest Rihanna remix while foam rolling our IT bands, so can you keep the chatter down? Thank you.

Live-tweeting pictures/video of unwilling subjects is called ”invasion of privacy”.

No one who’s actually working out in the gym is ever this camera-ready. Please let them have their private workout moment.

Yes, it is sad that we are in the era where no one is safe from the perverted or prying lenses of one another’s devices. In today’s world of sharing anything and everything remotely interesting in our day, it’s not uncommon to poke fun at the WTF moments we see at the gym. From the camel toe snapshot of an innocent yoga pant fanatic to a 12-second clip of a runner that’s wildly lip-synching at 8 miles an hour, no one is safe. As funny as this is for us voyeuristic viewers, just think, how would YOU like it if your not-so-fabulous moment was captured on camera without your permission? Not cool.

So there’s my famous five additions to an already comprehensive guide to gym etiquette. I’m sure I’ve missed a noteworthy few. Do you care to share yours?

Related articles

• The Ultimate Guide to Gym Etiquette (greatist.com)
• Ultimate Guide to Gym Etiquette (news.health.com)
• Low-Maintenance Must-Have: Microfiber Towel (fabsugar.com)

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