Schedule to Sweat with Kym Perfetto

You guys have seen him ride my instructor bike at Soul Cycle when I’m on my 3rd class and too pooped to do it. You’ve seen him kill it in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd row on any other given day- pushing seriously hard on the sprints and hills, inspiring all those around him to do the same.
This is Ben Turshen. He started as a student in my class and now he’s graduated to the instructor apprentice program at Soul Cycle. Now that he’s into outdoor riding, he’s been nudging me out of retirement to race again. We did this past weekend- an alleycat in Brooklyn. Ben and I came in 1st and 2nd respectively!
While I was applying for BIGGEST LOSER, Ben wrote this awesome testimonial for me. And while BL’s newest trainer Anna Kournikova may not inspire many —— Ben’s story sure will:


A year ago, I walked into Soul Cycle with my sister to take my first spin class with Kym. Entering the studio, among other things, I thought to myself this chick [Kym] is hard core—a tattooed rock star with abs that would make even Calvin Klein drool. This was different from any other spin class I had ever heard of—“Soul Bands”, created and designed by Kym herself, featured resistance bands hanging from the ceiling that riders use to do abdominal and upper body exercises, all while continue to pedal against resistance on a spin bike.

After three years of law school and over a year working as a junior associate at a big law firm, I had let myself go. My weight fluctuated between 205 and 210 lbs. My problem wasn’t that I

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I tend to focus more on my work-outs rather than my diet- but as summer is fast approaching, a little extra attention for BOTH is necessary when hitting the beach.  So I’m cutting out the bread, the milk/sugar in my coffee and diving into 5 little meals/day.  Time to share with you 5 foods that are great for getting lean!

1. Yogurt: A great choice for breakfast or a post-workout snack. It’s protein content will help you feel satisfied longer as well as help repair muscle after working out.

2. Quinoa: with 8g of protein and 5g of fiber per cup, quinoa is a great dish for eating well and staying lean. Toss in some veggies, tofu or chicken to make a tasty meal.

3. Green Tea: Take tea time! Green tea has been studied for it’s effect on the metabolism. It’s considered to help burn abdominal fat. Plus slowly sipping a hot beverage helps reduce appetite.

4. Cinnamon: Studies suggest cinnamon is helpful in stabalizing blood-sugar levels. Plus adding a little to your coffee or yogurt gives your tastebuds flavor and sweetness without any calories.

5. Grapefruit: My dad always ate half a grapfruit at breakfast- and guess what?he was always lean! Turns out he was onto something: it’s packed with soluble fiber which takes much longer to digest- thus leaving your belly feeling full longer!

Stop working for one minute and read:  Stress eating is a big issue. Intense workloads, family obligations and uncontrollable factors such as emotional/environmental stressors are ever-present and well, so is food.  I admit it, I stress eat. So do my friends, my mom and lots of my clients.   After teaching my double at Soul Cycle last Thursday (playlist here),  Active-wear designer and friend Nona Varnado joked how much she needed the workout because she’s been stress eating all week!  This got me thinking of all the different ways people deal with stress and diet and then I created a HELP! list.

check it out:

• 1.  ”Stay away from the kitchen!”  While cramming for school finals, I would take my work to the coffee shop and bring only $2.  Enough for one coffee. No snacking, and fewer distractions helped me get through the work without stuffing my face.  AVOID eating meals at your desk! If you “have no choice”, then break up your meal into 3 smaller parts- that way you have to eat slower and get up every time you want more. 

• 2. Reward yourself without food.  Of course a salty/sweet snacking can be a short-term reward for working hard, but it might become a long-term setback for your fitness goals. Try getting away from your desk to take a walk, purchase a new song on iTunes, or get a massage!

• 3. Keep veggies handy  Weight Watchers says it.  Blueprint cleanse allows it. Nearly any diet will tell you: Unlimited Veggies!!  Keep celery sticks, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini or carrots around and plentiful. (see last week’s veggie recipes)  Chomping on them will be just as satisfying if stress is your motivation.  The crunch of celery will keep your mouth occupied while you multi-task. (thanks for this one, Nona!)

• 4. Schedule to Sweat.  No matter how busy- get that workout in. Even if it’s only 10min! You will be glad you did.  It will blow off steam, help you sleep better, release endorphins (happy feelings) and keep you looking and feeling good.  

• 5. Call up a friend.  When under great stress, fight or flight is the more common human response. But there is an alternative behavior: tend and befriend . Most often exhibited in women, this response refers to the fact that one may manage stress by caring for someone/something and by seeking out social support.  Examples of this are gardening, cleaning, spending quality time with your children or just calling up a good friend to talk! (thanks for this one, Jennifer!)

Good luck!! I’m off to do a 15min jog now cuz all this typing has gotten my shoulders tense!!   [breathe]

was AWESOME!  Here’s the playlist for my Saturday morning “last-Soul-Cycle-class-of your-life”    …Ending with Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy was epic.   I’m officially changing the artist to Prince and the Revelation.

You all had great energy and wouldn’t you know? the day ended up being gorgeous… Life is good. 

LISTENING LINKS:  

Though I’m Down for the Count Don’t Count Me Out - Black Taxi 

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant

Exciting music news!  

• Bon Iver has a new album coming out and a few tracks have been leaked.  Still haunting and heartsick- the album delivers the longing we love from Bon Iver.  The album is out June 21st, but here’s one of my favorite tracks: Holocene
   
   
• Then to cheer you up, here’s a fun summer star-gazer: Naked and Famous Young Blood
  
  
  
• Finally…. Drew and I have a new dance jam brewing in the labs coming out just in time for your 3-day weekend! 
  get your preview HERE!
  ———-> 

  

7:30 class you melted my cold heart!   ;-)   Here’s the playlist you asked for. LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, ENJOY.  Thanks for coming out in incredible numbers while the rain poured down like the apocolypse coming 3 days early!   



PLAYLIST 7:30pm 5/18/11 

1. Thank you  - Dido

2.Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (Gigamesh Remix) by GIGAMESH

3. Sleazy- Ke$ha

4. Just Can’t Get Enough- Black Eyed Peas

5. Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked- Cage the Elephant

6. Sweat (David Guetta Rmx)- Snoop Dog

7. Black Taxi - Head on a Pike by Black Taxi

8. I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) by LykkeLi

9. Face To Face - Daft Punk

10. Raise Your Weapon (Ron Reese Assault Mix)- Deadmau5   *free download!!

11.  Lover Gone- Peggy Sue

12.  Closer- Goapele 

You’re eating right by including lots of crispy veggies to your meal but then you’re using a dressing with canola oil, high fructose corn syrup, or some other grossness. Um, wtf.  LET ME HELP YOU! (you know who you are)  Make your own dressings! It’s way easier than you think.  Read on for ideas and recipes:

The basic recipe is 2 parts flavor to 1 part oil, plus salt (kosher salt or sea salt are the best choices for salads), pepper, and herbs to taste. A bit of Dijon mustard

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GREEN CHALLENGE FEEDBACK!
So a few weeks ago I gave you all the challenge of drinking Green Tea/Green Shake in the AM instead of coffee.   Many of you have been converted.  Many of my clients have all but replaced their coffee addiction with green tea and are loving the results.  

As for the green smoothie drinkers, I found a great article on The Benefits of Green Smoothies For Acne.  And if you need more recipes, Soul-cycler Sharon emailed me some of her favorite combos:

Hi Kym!  
I’ve been drinking green shakes since i was a kid (I grew up in LA). If you ever get bored of your combinations a few things to try…

spinach, kale, red grapes, ice

spinach, kale, red grapes, pineapple, ice

spinach, kale, papaya, banana, ice

spinach, kale, kiwi, green apple, red grapes, ice

spinach, tomatos (mostly tomatoes), ice

spinach, kale, red grapes, watermelon or cantelope

spinach, green apple, pineapple and fresh mint

ps - add a tablespoon of chia seeds for energy/protien

Frozen grapes are a great substitute for ice. You can also buy frozen pineapple at trader joes and it’s super inexpensive. frozen bananas are tasty too :)

thanks for all the blog info!

I recently got this message on Facebook that I wanted to share with you.  While this information may not be new to much of the Soul Cycle/Whole Foods crowd, I still get similar emails and questions from students and clients all the time.  ”How do I know what to eat?” 

HOPE: I saw you on Mtv’s Made and I thought since you are an actual trainer, you would be a good person to ask for help.

I’ve been trying to lose weight/shape up for a long time but no one takes me seriously,they ignore my insecurities and look at me and do the whole “You’re not fat” episode. And I know I’m not fat, but I have more fat then I’m used to and more then I would like. I used to be

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