Sunday mornings can be rough.

Everyone has those nights where you somehow end up in a fast food restaurant at 4 AM and then when you get home, you decide it’s a good idea to smear chocolate frosting from your roommate’s cake onto the leftover bread from your sandwich. Right??? Don’t answer that one.  Or, you know, you wake up the next day with Tyson’s pet tiger in your bathroom and realize you have a baby and a hooker wife and missing tooth.

We’re all entitled! But once you put the pieces back together (or not), does it make it all better if you motivate yourself to go to the gym the next day? I think yes. So when I arrived at Equinox on 19th and Broadway in NYC yesterday at 2pm, my trainer Tom took one look at me and introduced to me:

The 6 All-Time Best Hangover Exercises

1. FOAM ROLLER: This isn’t so much of an exercise as it is a self-massage. By letting your body weight do the work, roll your glutes, legs, back and obliques back and forth on a foam roller. You’ll be releasing toxins from the night before. (Otherwise, we recommend a massage)

2. ROWING MACHINE: Rowing machines are just more fun that most cardio machines. Instead of setting a time goal, set a distance goal of 1000 meters. This will take you about 5 minutes to complete (more or less depending on your hustle) and will seem like less. Do this twice, giving yourself a 5 minute breather in between.

3. MEDICINE BALL (THE SLAM): They don’t call it a medicine ball for no reason. Slam it down! The morning after a rough night calls for some fun. And there’s nothing quite as fun as slamming a medicine ball down to the floor and letting out a booming ARGGGG!!! Do 10 in a row— it gets your heart pumping and provides sensational release! Go back and forth 3 times between this exercise and #4:

4. MEDICINE BALL (PLAY CATCH): You’re not done with your meds. You’ll need a partner for this one. Stand about 8 feet apart, and toss the medicine ball to one another underhand. Now, do this while trotting back and forth across the width of a room 20 times. You’ll forget you’re even working out!

5. SPRINTS: This morning is all about baby steps. Don’t even think about a treadmill… just run back and forth! Do 3 sets of 10 laps— across a gym classroom, or any clear straight path where you can see the other end and don’t think “oh man, that’s far.” On the way there, sprint it. On the way back, jog it out.

6. JUMP ROPE: If you did it on a playground in grade school, chances are you’ll be able to handle during a hangover. Make it to 100 without skipping a skip! Every time you mess up, that’s one push-up you have to do afterward. 4 trip-ups? 4 push-ups. Do this twice, and make sure you’re listening to some good old school music to add to the experience.

Don’t forget to DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Or do better, and drink something with electrolytes like Gatorade. And when you look in the full-length mirror, don’t hide. Embrace the dishevel. You could have gone back to sleep, but look at you, superstar!

Training sponsored by Equinox on 19th and Broadway, NYC

Since we’ve last convened on the topic of fitness… not including yesterday’s “Get Moving!” Little Luxury Gift Guide or, well, Fit Mom’s “how to find time for fitness” (okay, it’s an important topic), I’ve  had two workout sessions at Equinox on 19th street and Broadway in NYC with two very different yet equally awesome trainers, Tom and Rich. I left feeling fantastic both times and had just the right amount soreness the next day. Heyyy endorphins.

The #1 takeaway that has helped firmed up the NO EXCUSES attitude that’s so vital to success: You do NOT have to kill yourself to get an incredible workout! In fact, if your heart rate is too high and you’re pushing yourself too hard, you’re not going to be burning the right calories to get the results you desire. Take it from those grannies… they’re doing the best they can with what they’ve got, and so can you. I’ve had a few one-offs with trainers at different gyms in the past, and every single one of them (who hadn’t first assessed my condition) made me believe that the “I’m gonna pass out” sensation is they key to dropping a dress size. Not the case. It’s important to test your limits, but if you ever feel like you’re working with a bully, it’s time to find a new trainer.

On a similar note, I’d like to address another common gym problem that many, including myself, encounter (beyond “getting there”). If you’re not an avid exerciser, there’s a good chance you’ll get dizzy when you begin to test your limits. Dizziness is not to be confused with your limits in ability or physical endurance or, in my case, exercise-induced asthma.

The misconception was cleared up by both Tom and Rich: Dizziness occurs simply because not enough oxygen is getting into your bloodstream, a problem that will lessen as your heart opens up, literally and figuratively, to a regular exercise routine. If you feel lightheaded, BREAK for a minute. Sit, have some water, let the dizziness pass, and don’t pass out. Be excited knowing that your endurance will strengthen not only because your muscles will, but because your body will learn how to accept more oxygen and make you WANT to keep going.

Phew! Check back over the next few months as I get into more specifics, and please let me know your fitness questions and concerns so I can address them too. I have so many of my own so I could probably write for days, but if there’s something specific I can talk about that could help point you in the right direction, that’s my ultimate goal here! Well, that and looking SLAMMIN in a bikini in 13 days and then living until I’m 107.

But baby steps.

Alright kid, if you can do it I can do it.

The gym and I.

What a wacky 10 year relationship we’ve been in. On again off again, love to hate, hate to love, either rocking my body or weighing heavy in the back of my mind… and behind. He (yes, it’s a he for the sake of this stream of thought) has always been there for me, but so many times I’ve just abandoned him, never appreciating all the things he’s done and could potentially do for me.

As I sat in the Equifit assessment room yesterday trying to explain my lackluster gym routine to Tom, the big, burly, corn-husking half of my new two-man training team at Equinox Fitness Club on 19th street in New York City, he stopped me: “I know,” he offered. “Your lifestyle doesn’t allow for you to be a fitness nut.” It was the nicest and most truthful way anyone had every put it.

He’s absolutely right. I work a full-time job, I work voluntary overtime, I’m a sucker for dinner plans, I often have functions after work, and I barely sleep as it is. Coordinating my schedule, the need to shower, the impetus to tote sneakers and gym clothes somewhere for the sake of getting sweaty… it’s just much too much.

But as you may have noticed, our little blog got a little makeover, and Health + Fitness is not only a tremendously important part of Spa Week Daily, it’s a critical component of living a healthy spa lifestyle. If you’ve ever had trouble losing weight, getting in shape, making fitness a part of your everyday life, or just plain figuring out what to do with an ab ball… I’m right there with you! That’s why I’m taking you with me, so we can learn together about this wild world of working out, and how to make it work out for US.

As Tom pinched my fat, took my measurements, tested my balance and learned about my inability to do a single solitary push-up, there was a lot to be learned even before any formal workout. To start you off, I’m going to share with you my 2 favorite, highly important, simple-as-can-be take-home tips from Tom that can do wonders for your body without even sweating an ounce.

1.    Don’t get sitters disease.

Tom made up the name, but it’s a real problem that occurs when you sit too much. The 90 degree angle of your thighs and torso causes a tightening of your hip flexors—the group of muscles that flex your leg and pull it upwards. This tightening is what causes the strain in your lower back that you feel when you get up after sitting for too long, and over time it can lead to chronic lower back pain. This doesn’t mean you should trade in your accounting job and pursue your mother’s dreams of you becoming a figure skater. QUICK FIX: Ease the strain by making sure you stand up at least once an hour.

2.    The golden rule: Drink water!

Of course you know. But knowing and doing are two entirely different things. Water not only helps maintain a healthy appetite, it flushes unhealthy toxins that fill your body. Tom offers this IDEA:  Keep a big water bottle on your desk or in front of you at all times. Empty or full, just let it sit there and stare you in the face. You’re much more likely to remember and get closer to your 8 daily glasses.

Stick with me as I learn a wealth of fitness tips and how-to’s from Tom and Rich, the less-intimidating half of my training duo, over the next few months. Email or Tweet me any questions you have for them, or any demos you’d be interested in seeing on video. If you’re in the NY area and ever want to join me for a session… let me know that too. That’d be fun! Or… feel free to just watch and be amused as they kick my out-of-excuses butt into shape.

Training sessions sponsored by Equinox

The very first Equinox that ever was, on Broadway and 19th street in New York City, is celebrating its 16th anniversary this month. It’s quite an impressive gym as the 3rd largest Equinox in the world: four stories, 40,000 sq. feet and holding over 100 classes a week. In the 1920s it was a Lord and Taylor, and many of the historic architectural design elements still remain, giving this location an added bit of charm. If enormity or charm don’t do it for you… maybe a possible run-in with frequented members Julianne Moore, Lenny Kravitz, Gerard Butler or Nicole Kidman will.

Equinox Fitness Club is renowned for its sleek, state-of-the-art fitness and spa facilities, and for becoming a strong leader in the world of health, exercise and well-being. Their motto, “It’s not fitness. It’s life.” is drawn from the same roots and ideologies as the message we seek to deliver here at SPA WEEK®: It’s not about your trip to the spa, it’s about maintaining a healthy, happy and beautiful lifestyle, everyday.

To help Equinox celebrate, we’ll be singing “Healthy Birthday To You” at their Sweet Sixteen party on Tuesday evening, and they invite YOU to join too:

Sweet Sixteen Party for Equinox Fitness Club, Flatiron location

Where: 897 Broadway (nr 19th street)
When: Tuesday, November 17
5:30 – 9:00 PM
What: Drinks, light appetizers, chair massages, DJ Nepalm spinning, meet with the trainers, tour the gym and enjoy yourself
Special one-day-only offer: Forgo $545 initiation fee and become a member for a sweet $16! *Available at the Flatiron location only
RSVP: Leo: 212-780-9300 or Leonardo.Greenberg@equinoxfitness.com