Where: Equinox, 100 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY
Gerren Liles: A Calm Dude Who Will Whip Your Butt into Shape
This was my second 30/60/90 and I quite enjoyed it. Gerren is a charismatic, chilled out black dude who is here to make you WERQUE. Most importantly, he immediately assumed ownership of the class - many fitness methods get lost in translation when taught by anyone other than the creator. Not the case with G-flowers.
On Gerren
- Gerren is instantly likable. He has long, dreaded locks and pretty much reeks of cool.
- Calm, cool, collected, ruthless.
- Quite stern with us - he's one of those dudes you want to impress because he's 'irie' but also jacked out of his mind and a little intimidating.
- By the way, Gerren is not Jamaican. I'm just referring to his surprisingly un-New York level of calm. Here's the definition of "irie", by the way:
Irie (I-rie \I ' -ree) is a word in Jamaican Patois that can mean:
- powerful and pleasing
- excellent
- the state of feeling great
You know what's really NOT irie? The fact that I couldn't get the full Wikipedia definition of irie because the site is closed for 24 hours to protest legislation that would censor the World Wide Web. That's fucked up. Sign a petition here.
Sorry Gerren. A tangential rant. But seriously.
Back to relevant matters: 30/60/90
This is Kristi Molinaro's signature class. From the site description:
"30/60/90 has no confusing choreography and no girly moves. It is a scientifically combined series of cardio drills in a high-intensity interval training format designed to get you (and keep you) in the best shape of your life. Unlike basic cardio workouts, 30/60/90 requires you to move in spurts in conjunction with a cardio strength workout that will rev up your metabolism even after you’re done working out."
From my own description:
Obnoxiously hard interval training.
What to expect:
I think they use varying props in each class, but there is always a step and there are always weights. You are always moving very quickly on and off said step and usually simultaneously holding said weights.
The key to this class is efficiency and no fucking rest at all "active recovery".
I like the method a lot, but per usual with high-impact classes, I was a little concerned with all of the jumping on and off the step. I usually take modifications because I'm not looking to throw_out_my_discs_V2.
One thing I've noticed is that Equinox needs to hire someone to spell-check their class schedules. Seriously, you're making me look bad. Originally, this is the picture we found for "Geren Lilies".
Kudos.
Here's the cool thing about this class. A lot of methods are awesome - until someone who's not the creator teaches them. If you can't scale your method, you're a one-man circus. Perhaps Kristi Molinaro has an excellent training program; perhaps she was careful to recruit great instructors to teach her method; either way, my class with Gerren was excellent.
In sum
Gerren was a very solid instructor, and I already dug the method. Just be careful with the jumping.
From the Equinox website:Gerren Liles is a ACE-certified group fitness instructor and NASM-CPT certified personal trainer for Equinox. Featured twice on Fox 5 for ViPR and Whipped, Gerren brings infectious energy, motivation, and musicality to his classes. His personal training background allows for an emphasis on function and safety, and as a former schoolteacher, he's very creative in program design and all about having fun, fun, fun! Whether working one-on-one or in a group setting, Gerren will teach you to find your limits and surpass it, creating a new you inside and out.
Find out more about Equinox at www.equinox.com
Find out more about Gerren Liles on his website
Find Gerren on facebook
Read more about Gerren Liles on Aalbc website
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