The SELF Workout in the Park is an event I have wanted to attend for five years and on May 9th, I finally made it! Held in San Diego, Chicago and New York City. The NYC event took place in Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield where thousands of women come together for workouts by Crunch, beauty treatments and product samples.
Registration began at 9am, but the events didn’t start until 11am. Since the $15 entrance fee was paid in advance, I stood on line waiting for a while. There was a choice of taking classes in three areas – the main stage (mixed classes), quiet zone (yoga), and Ford Rebounding Zone (cardio on a trampoline with weights). Since we (Nathalie, her sister and I) only wanted to stay at the main stage, we secured our spots right up front…also the yoga and urban rebounding required that you sign up.
I didn’t eat breakfast before, so I stopped by the EAS booth for a chocolate Myoplex drink and and energy bar. Other sponsor booths included Ford, Blue Diamond, Afrin® PureSea™, ASICS, American Laser Centers, Garnier, Jennie-O Turkey, lucy®, JELL-O, Pretty Elizabeth Arden, PureVia™, Smartfood, Reebok EasyTone, Maybelline and Veramyst.
Classes we tried:
11:10 – 11:30am Strength and Alignment: Create a leaner, stronger, more flexible body using classic sculpting and stretching movements.
11:35 – 11:55 Latin Rhythms: Moves from the mambo, cha-cha, merengue and samba.
12:00 – 12:20 Rock Bottom: Intense lower body workout that targets butt and thigh muscles.
12:25 – 12:45 Cardio Tai Box: A cardiovascular workout with great music and simple choreography. (Because we were all so close together – everyone was kicking wet gook on each other’s backs – gross!)
12:50 – 1:10 Movieography: Break out your sweatbands for moves from the most dance-tastic movies of the 80s: Footloose, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing and more. (This wasn’t so much of a workout, but it was really fun!)
Classes we didn’t try:
Beach Body: Total body workout.
Steletto Strength: Calf boosting, posture-building, cat-walking diva class.
Million Dollar Knockout: Traditional boxing principles and training targeted for women.
Masala Bhangra: Traditional Indian dance workout set to hip-hop, disco, salsa, techno, house and rap music. (I was so sad I didn’t get to try this!)
After 5, 20-minute classes, we took a break to walk around and grab some goodies at the booths. I came home with a Ford scarf (everyone needs one of these suckers), some popcorn chips, some Garnier shampoo and a SELF magazine. We planned on trying Masala Bhangra, but it was hot out and we were tired...I will have to try it at Crunch in the future. If you are in any of these cities in 2010, you should definitely do the SELF workout in the park.