CARDIO: THE ATHLETE'S WORKOUT | ***1/2
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTYThe Athlete's Workout will appeal to those who are already in shape or who play sports. The exercises will help with conditioning and many skills will feel familiar.Not so fit? Instructor Randy Washington encourages students to work at their own pace. He's not a drill sergeant and I chatted with a couple classmates who had taken the class once or twice, and they were doing fine. Exhausted, but fine.The class takes coordination. For example, you must jump forward and backward over a rope strung across the room. Some may approach this skill with apprehension. My body -- especially my feet, legs and abs -- was sore for two days.FUN FACTORMy main complaint is that the music was too loud and intrusive. Washington cut the decibels for each of his instructions, but he then cranked up the bad Gwen Stefani dance mixes. Given the fast and changing nature of the tasks, the music was not really necessary to pump us up. The creativity of Washington's moves took care of that.TO DO ITCrunch Gym, 1259 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-674-8222.When: 6 p.m. Tuesday.Cost: $24 for a day pass, includes use of gym.RATING SCALE: Zero (Worthless) to Four Stars (Outstanding)Crunch trainer Randy Washington looks over a first-timer to his Athlete's Workout class and makes sure this person has suitable sneakers. ''A lot of jumping,'' he warns.
Your sneaks are fine, you both agree, but seldom has a trainer taken the time to make sure we were suited up properly (except for the rock wall climbing class). What were we getting ourselves into?
''After class, you'll need a Tylenol,'' Washington teases. I already knew that. After class I had to head back to the office to review American Idol. As for the Athlete's Workout, pshaw! Bring it on!
And so he did. Did he ever.
The Athlete's Workout is, precisely that: a hard-core, 60-minute strength, cardio and endurance onslaught designed to help athletes maximize their game. Speed, coordination, power are some of the components stressed.
The large studio room is strewn with ropes strung to the risers of steps. You will find yourself slithering under the ropes from one end of the room to the other, military style, with a towel tucked at your neck bib-style to help you slide on your belly (and clean Crunch's floor). Then, you'll do it backward, butt-down, like a crab eluding prey.
You'll power leap over the ropes with 360-degree jumping twists to approximate the moves a soccer player makes; there are lunges side-to-side under a rope strung to poles, as you make like a boxer who avoids a punch. Push-ups on a BOSU ball to develop strength and balance are also featured.
