TRAIN is going digital with text messaging

We are going digital!  Do you ever wonder if there is space left in typically sold out GROUP CYCLING classes?  Want to know if the gym is open during a holiday weekend?  Now you can be in the know and up on the latest.

Simply text the word TRAIN to 37398 and you’ll get the latest and greatest on your cellphone.

available on all major US carriers. no charge for subscribing. standard carrier SMS rates and other charges may apply. text messaging is not supported in some handsets. for help, text HELP to 37398. to opt out, text STOP to 37398

New Group Cycling Classes!

Janet Fitzgerald is thrilled to announce:

Sign ups have already started for the weekend and will sell out quickly now that everyone is back in town!!! Call 310.657.4140 to reserve your space.

We now have several new classes going on the schedule that are offered by donation only! Make sure to pick up a copy of the current schedule at TRAIN and try some of our “fresh blood”

Each week as a community we are chipping in our support for a new instructor.

This week please join us Monday evening Oct.5th @ 6:30pm to soak up the amazing energy of Nicholas Pratley (the sexy Aussie). Great music, incredible workout, and inspiring beyond! Donation only…can’t beat the price, but this class is almost sold out. Tracy and I will be there for sure! Call the front desk immediately to get on the list. 310.657.4140

Other exciting classes this week are:  Brett’s noontime rides on Mondays and Wednesdays and Laura’s 8am on Mondays.  Lynne starts on the 13th at 530pm.

Dream, Dance, Sweat….Cycle!

Fiona Horne, by popular demand, has put her 30/30 class back.  Take her complete cardio, strength and stretch class every Wednesdays at 8am.

30/30
1/2 hour of energy boosting, fat burning Cycling, followed by 15 minutes of toning upper body weights and abs, finishing with 15 minutes of soothing yoga.
2 for 1–Bring a friend and only one of you pays!

Weds 6.30pm EARN YOUR DINNER Candlelight Cycle!
You will burn a minimum of 700 plus calories in this class.
2 for 1–Bring a friend and only one of you pays OR 3 for FREE! Bring 2 friends and all Three of you will CYCLE FOR FREE!

Fiona’s special Economically Conscious Offer for October 2009 starts Wednesday, October 7th.  How can you afford not to???

Sound System Finally Fixed!

Thank you to all of you who have patiently endured our temporary set up until the precious parts of our amps and speakers finally got ordered, made and installed.  We comped unsatisfactory classes and tried to make lemonade in the interim.  Here’s a note from a regular with a fantastic attitude:

“Thanks!  I love Tevia’s classes (even without music, but it’s better with!)”

- Karen Corman

Testimonials from our clients

dear mylene,

“i just wanted to email you to let you know what a terrific cycling instructor gordon is.  i have been cycling for a dozen years (having learned at todd tramps!), and have experienced a variety of styles of instructing. gordon‘s group cycling class is tremendous fun. gordon is extremely enthusiastic, knowledgeable (helping with form/technique), conscientious about the pace of the class (mindful about the level of students) as well as conscientious about making his music selections energizing and fun.  i have been an athlete all my life (a competitive rower in college and after), and the class i took today was the hardest cycling class i have had.  there were only a few of us in class, and all of us were advanced cyclers, so gordon commented on how we all had the opportunity to work really hard – and we did!  it was great, as are all the classes i have taken from him.”

sincerely,
karen kay

—–

Mylene,

“I just wanted to let you know how lucky your are to have Taryn Olsen on your staff.  She is intelligent, professional and a lot of fun.  I take her class every Friday religiously and look forward to my ride with her.  I think she is the best.”

Debbie Reamer

—–

If you haven’t tried Gordon’s or Taryn’s class, NOW is the time!

Gordon teaches every Tuesday and Thursday at 715am and Tuesdays at 630pm.  Taryn teaches the early birds Fridays at 615am.

Trainer Gary Allegretto honored with TWO Grammy nominations

Big Fiore Records congratulates independent recording artist Gary Allegretto who has been honored with two Grammy nomination considerations in the Americana Roots field.

Based solely on musical and lyrical merit, both albums have excelled in their respective markets this year, reaching the top of the radio charts and receiving critical acclaim and exceptionally high praise from prominent press.

It is with pride that we announce Gary’s following recordings are currently under consideration for two Grammy Award categories in the American Roots field:

Best Contemporary Blues Album
Gary Allegretto
MANY SHADES OF BLUE

“Gary Allegretto is one of the classiest acts in the music business today, working only with the best backup musicians and taking the time to craft music noted not only for its quality but for its authenticity. If someone complains to you that they don’t make “real” blues records anymore – albums that sound like lost classics yet retain the freshness of an individual – play Many Shades of Blue for them.”

- Blues Revue Magazine

Also under consideration:

Best Traditional Folk Album
Gary Allegretto
HARMONICOWBOY

Both albums are comprised of primarily original songs written by Gary and co-produced with Lenise Bent, featuring notable guest musicians including Ivan Nevilleand the late, great National Heritage Fellowship Award winning Bluesman, John Cephas.

If you are a Recording Academy member and would like to listen to either recording for voting consideration, we invite you to visit: www.garyallegretto.com

For bar, club, corporate, or festival bookings and all inquiries please contact Big Fiore Records: bfrecords@earthlink.net or call 323-605-8742

Gary’s Webpage: www.garyallegretto.com
Press Kit: www.sonicbids.com/garyallegretto
Myspace: www.myspace.com/garyallegretto
Harmonikids Website: www.harmonikids.org

Wash Your Hands!

Reprinted from the New York Times
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Published: September 14, 2009

It sounds so simple as to be innocuous, a throwaway line in public-health warnings about swine flu. But one of the most powerful weapons against the new H1N1 virus is summed up in a three-word phrase you first heard from your mother: wash your hands.

A host of recent studies have highlighted the importance and the scientific underpinning of this most basic hygiene measure. One of the most graphic was done at the University of California, Berkeley, where researchers focused video cameras on 10 college students as they read and typed on their laptops.

The scientists counted the times the students touched their faces, documenting every lip scratch, eye rub and nose pick. On average, the students touched their eyes, noses and lips 47 times during a three-hour period, once every four minutes. Hand-to-face contact has a surprising impact on health. Germs can enter the body through breaks in the skin or through the membranes of the eyes, mouth and nose.

The eyes appear to be a particularly vulnerable port of entry for viral infections, said Mark Nicas, a professor of environmental health sciences at Berkeley. Using mathematical models, Dr. Nicas and colleagues estimated that in homes, schools and dorms, hand-to-face contact appears to account for about one-third of the risk of flu infection, according to a report this month in the journal Risk Analysis.

In one study of four residence halls at the University of Colorado, two of the dorms had hand sanitizer dispensers installed in every dorm room, bathroom and dining area, and students were given educational materials about the importance of hand hygiene. The remaining two dorms were used as controls, and researchers simply monitored illness rates.

During the eight-week study period, students in the dorms with ready access to hand sanitizers had a third fewer complaints of coughs, chest congestion and fever. Over all, the risk of getting sick was 20 percent lower in the dorms where hand hygiene was emphasized, and those students missed 43 percent fewer days of school.

Young children benefit, too. In a study of 6,000 elementary school students in California, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee, students in classrooms with hand sanitizers had 20 percent fewer absences due to illness. Teacher absenteeism in those schools dropped 10 percent.

Better hand hygiene also appears to make a difference in the home, lowering the risk to other family members when one child is sick. Harvard researchers studied nearly 300 families who had children 5 or younger in day care. Half the families were given a supply of hand sanitizer and educational materials; the other half were left to practice their normal hand washing habits.

In homes with hand sanitizers, the risk of catching a gastrointestinal illness from a sick child dropped 60 percent compared with the control families. The two groups did not differ in rates of respiratory illness rates, but families with the highest rates of sanitizer use had a 20 percent lower risk of catching such an illness from a sick child.

Regular soap and water and alcohol-based hand sanitizers are both effective in eliminating the H1N1 virus from the hands. In February, researchers in Australia coated the hands of 20 volunteers with copious amounts of a seasonal H1N1 flu virus. The concentration of virus was equivalent to the amount that would occur when an infected person used a hand to wipe a runny nose.

When the subjects did not wash their hands, large amounts of live virus remained even after an hour, said the lead author, Dr. M. Lindsay Grayson, a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne. But using soap and water or a sanitizer virtually eliminated the presence of the virus.

Frequent hand washing will not eliminate risk. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, a bystander might be splattered by large droplets or may inhale airborne particles. In a recent Harvard study of hand sanitizer use in schools, hand hygiene practices lowered risk for gastrointestinal illness but not upper respiratory infections.

Still, it is a good idea to wash your hands regularly even if you’re not in contact people who are obviously ill. In a troubling finding, a recent study of 404 British commuters found that 28 percent had fecal bacteria on their hands. In one city, 57 percent of the men sampled had contaminated hands, according to the study, which was published this month in the journal Epidemiology and Infection.

“We were surprised by the high level of contamination,” said Gaby Judah, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ms. Judah added that many of the contaminated commuters reported that they had washed their hands that morning. They may have been embarrassed to admit they hadn’t washed, or they may have picked up the bacteria on their hands during their commute.

For all those reasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with other health organizations around the world, urge frequent hand washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers. (They also repeat some advice you may not have heard from your mother: cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not your bare hands.)

And as hospitals put stricter hand hygiene programs in place, absentee rates during cold and flu season also drop.

“Statistically, you can’t determine a causal relationship, but it’s very suggestive,” said Dr. Neil O. Fishman, infectious disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania. “Our vaccination rates remained relatively stable, so what else changed? The only thing different was that hand hygiene rates increased.”

A message from Sean Hetherington

I wanted to tell you how happy I am this Labor Day that after close to 70 posts in under 6 weeks, my weight loss memoir blog has been viewed over 2,000 times! Thanks for your kind reviews!

http://www.100poundsblog.com

And finally, I’m beginning a six-eight week run of stand-up comedy at the Healthy Bean, Wednesday Nights at 6:30 PM, getting back into the game that I love so much after an almost 1 year break to get my business off the ground.

I‘ll do 5-7 minutes a week at my buddy Eric’s warm show.  Come see it someday soon. http://www.thehealthybean.com/locations/westhollywood.html

It all leads up to a showcase benefit for EQCA on November 17th at the Ontario Improv!

HOTTER IN HOLLYWOOD: Nicholas Pratley

Cycling Instructor Nicholas Pratley was given a shout out on the Hotter in Hollywood blog.

He was also written up as part of LA Magazine’s Best of LA!

Power Plate exercises get a nod from Courteney Cox Arquette

Power Plate exercises helped Courteney Cox Arquette shape up for her new role!

Power Plate(R) technology provides one of the most efficient and dynamic total-body workouts in less than 30 minutes utilizing scientifically-proven Advanced Vibration Technology(TM) that triggers involuntary muscle reactions 25-50 times per second while you exercise. The result is a high-intensity exercise that increases strength, improves muscle tone and balance and helps reduce body fat. A recent study found that Power Plate(R) exercise helped participants lose more weight than traditional exercise.

Read the full article online

TRAIN offers donation based classes

Broke may be the new black but SEXY is always IN!

TRAIN West Hollywood proudly offers donation-based group cycling classes in addition to its regularly priced classes.  Usually $18 a class, TRAIN is giving back to the community and is offering a few classes ranging from 8am, noon, 5:30pm and 6:30pm on a donation basis.  Give what you feel like, what you can afford, what you think the class merits!  Plus…your FIRST class is FREE!!! Cycling shoes are also available for rent or cycle in your regular sneakers.

Remember,  when the going gets tough, the tough go cycling!

You can view our schedule here: cycling class schedule . Donation classes are marked with an outline. Call to reserve your bike as some classes SELL OUT!

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