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This last comment might not seem like the boldest statement of intent. But then Nadal is never one to talk himself up. Where Federers instinct is to expect the best, he fears the worst. Doubts are good, Nadal said on Sunday, because doubts give you the possibility to work with more intensity.

His challenge will be to maintain that intensity despite the physical awkwardness of grass. But if he does it, Nadal could be only a few weeks away from returning to the world No1 ranking for the fourth time in his career.

He is 2,605 points behind Andy Murray and that sounds like a lot when you earn 2,000 for a major title. But Murray cannot gain points on the grass, he can only lose them, because he won both Queens and Wimbledon last season. Whereas, 12 months ago, Nadal missed everything between the French Open and the Rio Olympics because of a torn wrist tendon. He can only gain, and the two men could potentially pass each other travelling in opposite directions.

Original post:
Rafael Nadal admits to fitness worries ahead of Wimbledon - Telegraph.co.uk

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As executive director of Destination DC, which markets the capital to travelers, Elliott Ferguson knows a thing or two about hotels. When he travels, one of the first things he looks for is a good fitness center.

"Before I physically go up to my room, I stop by . . . to assess what they have and figure out what I can do," Ferguson said. "Some hotels offer yoga and cycling and/or at least access to some of the various companies that do that here in Washington, D.C. That really makes a big difference when people are looking at where they're going to stay."

A growing number of hotels are making exercising on the road even more accessible - taking equipment to guest rooms.

At the end of May, the Hilton McLean in Virginia became one of two Hiltons to offer Five Feet to Fitness rooms, which have 11 pieces of workout equipment and accessories. They include an indoor Wattbike bicycle and Gym Rax, a training station that lets users tackle body-weight moves with TRX straps. The main attraction is the fitness kiosk, a touch-screen display that offers more than 200 videos, including tutorials on all the equipment, cycling, high-intensity interval training and yoga classes.

Customer feedback drove Hilton to build these rooms, which cost $45 to $90 more per night than standard rooms. About 10 percent to 15 percent of guests use the fitness center, and a quarter expressed interest in an in-room option, said Ryan Crabbe, senior director of global wellness at Hilton. He also cited a February report by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration that says that "46 percent of guests expected to work out in the fitness center during their stay, but only 22 percent actually did so."

"Fitness centers will remain really important and I think the hub of activity for fitness-minded travelers," Crabbe said. "We just have a lot of guests who have told us that having an in-room fitness option would provide really nice convenience."

The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown reopened its spa and fitness center in April after a $1.5 million renovation that included the addition of 13 "spa-level" rooms. Costing $65 to $100 more per night, they include a wellness ball, yoga mat, aromatherapy and a white-noise machine.

"Some of those rooms are larger than the standard room, but what we did ensure is that you have enough space in either one of those rooms to do your basic workout and use the equipment that we've added," said Marcus Loevenforst, the hotel's general manager.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants offers Gaiam yoga mats in every room and on-demand TV programming that guides guests through 15- to 75-minute flow or power yoga or Pilates sessions. There's also the free "roll-out service," in which a staff member takes flavored water and fresh or dried fruit and nuts to the room, lays out the mat and turns on the fitness channel.

With no communal gym, Kimpton's Topaz Hotel in Washington has been providing fitness rooms stocked with an elliptical trainer, treadmill or recumbent bike since 2001. They cost $25 to $30 more than standard rooms, said Ben Timashenka, a regional vice president at Kimpton.

"The person that wants to work out, they want to have the ability to do so, whether that be a fitness center or individualizing your guest room," Timashenka said.

Danielle Young, 32, of San Mateo, California, changed her reservation when Westin Hotels & Resorts, part of Marriott International, on April 26 announced its partnership with Peloton, seller of indoor cycling bikes with screens for streaming real-time or on-demand classes. The deal puts the commercial-grade bikes in WestinWorkout rooms and fitness centers in 32 hotels nationwide.

"I literally got off the red-eye and went straight to the gym," Young said of the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago Hotel, where she stayed on a recent business trip.

An avid Peloton user since 2014, she travels two to three weeks each month. "I prioritize my fitness when I travel. It's just a really important element to me," Young said. "This has made it that much easier for me to know I'm going to get those high-quality workouts."

About 70 Westins have been offering fitness rooms with cycling bikes or treadmills. The Peloton rooms also have yoga mats, blocks and straps, and light weights that guests can use with Peloton's Beyond the Ride stretching, core and toning classes.

The partnership came about after a survey by the hotel last year found that 70 percent of global travelers struggle to maintain their wellness routines on the road, said Sarah Lipton, the brand's global director of marketing and management, and that 51 percent of Westin guests are likely to have gym memberships.

"Gyms have become something that cannot be an afterthought in hotels," Lipton said.

Another chain taking fitness to the room is Even Hotels by InterContinental Hotels Group, which is featuring cork flooring and exercise equpment for in-room workouts.

Tryp Hotels Worldwide, part of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, has fitness rooms that come with a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike, plus workout gear, clothing and a mat, while guests of Trump Hotels can request in-room equipment, Under Armour workout clothing and loaded iPod shuffles through the Travel Fit program.

With 85 percent of hotels offering an exercise room or fitness facility last year, up from 63 percent in 2004, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association's 2016 Lodging Survey, it's clear that fitness is growing in importance.

When hotels began adding fitness centers, they were relegated to the basement and had a couple of basic cardio machines, said Abid Butt, an instructor in the global hospitality leadership program at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies. "We've come a long ways when it comes to fitness at hotels," Butt said. "I think it will be there for a long time."

The hotel industry is also responding to a changing demographic, said Larry Yu, professor of hospitality management at George Washington University.

"Evolving from baby boomers to millennials, fitness has really become a lifestyle," Yu said. "It's not just your typical amenity now. Hotels are all working very hard to figure out how they can provide the best service and equipment to the guests because the guests expect and value those."

But in-room fitness isn't an option for every hotel. "A treadmill or an elliptical or a big piece like that is still a little bit impractical, especially treadmills because there are sound issues - the pounding of the treadmill, the size," said Kurt Broadhag, president and lead designer at K Allan Consulting, which helps hotels design gyms. "It really lends itself more to mind/body classes, where you want an intimate setting."

Because of that, "I don't think the fitness center is ever going to go away," he added.

Jeff David, general manager at Washington's Watergate Hotel, agrees. This year, it opened its $3.5 million spa and wellness center, including a 1,831-square-foot gym. Additionally, the hotel has started offering fitness classes such as rooftop yoga, power sculpt and aqua barre in the pool.

"The new renaissance is the gym facilities are starting to be quantified and key differentiators [in] how people decide their stay," David said. "I see that fitness is starting to become a pillar, much like food and beverage or rooms."

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Hotels offering fitness options for guests - Bend Bulletin

The professionally trained dancer and health fanaticwantsa guy with a bit of chat but hasa weakness for a banging bod...

ITS perhaps the most outrageous reality TV show on our screens and Love Island has returned for another summer of saucy, sexy and downright scandalous antics.

At the end of the first week of flirting and frolicking, viewers and the boys alike received an expected treat in the form of two lovely new ladies in the villa. Heres the lowdown on Gabrielle Allen

Rex Features

Gabrielle Allen is a professionally-trained dancer and health fanatic from Liverpool who works as a fitness instructor.

She loves travelling, and often disappears for months at a time, so shell be right at home in the exotic surroundings of the Love Island villa.

Gabrielle says she always wants to go out and have fun and go partying and that other people would describe her as spontaneous and adventurous.

The Scouse beauty doesnt waste her timewhen it comes to dating, and revealsthat if she doesnt feel a spark then its a bit cut throat.

The 25-year-old also admits that shes a nightmare at times, probably maybe a bit hard work.

You could forgive her for being wary of men her longest relationship of three years was an on-off romance with a serial cheater.

However, after taking some time to enjoy single life and have some fun, shes quick to reassure prospective suitors: Rest assured, I am very much back in the game!

Rex Features

For Gabrielle, the appeal of Love Island is simple shes looking for love!

In terms of a type, she says shes usually after someone with the gift of the gab and needs men to have something between their ears.

Thats not to say she doesnt have something of a weakness for bulging biceps and washboardabs, though.

I do see a lot of good bodies on men in my job and I like that, dont get me wrong, Gabriellesays.

I just dont need to hear about how many chicken breasts he has for breakfast.

Love Island sends a host of singletons looking for a good time over to a luxurious villa for a summer of passion.

Known for its hot and heavy sex scenes, the contestants are encouraged to pair up and convince the public they have found love.

In a twist at the end of the series, the winning couple are asked to either split the cash, or take the entire 50,000 pot home for themselves talk about putting your love to the test!

PA:Press Association

Love Island returned to our screens on Monday June 5, the same night that its great reality rival Big Brother launched.

The showcontinues every night (apart from Saturdays) on ITV2, with hour-long shows kicking off at 9.00pm.

Caroline Flack, who made her name fronting spin-off shows like Im a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here Now and The Xtra Factor, is back to host the outrageous show for a third series.

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Who is Gabrielle Allen? Love Island 2017 new girl and fitness instructor from Liverpool - The Sun

Entrepreneurs have everything from workforce, financial back-up, to a great panel of executives. But the one thing most of them lack is time. As an entrepreneur, you have a super hectic schedule which is understandable. But do you really give attention to your fitness or you just ignore it? As much as business is important, fitness for entrepreneurs is also an equally important aspect that should not be ignored. Well, one of the most basic reasons is that you can take care of your firm really well only if you are in the pink of your health.

Some of you will argue that given the back-to-back meetings and hectic schedules how is it possible squeeze fitness regimes in your day-to-day activities. But to keep a check on your fitness bar, it is not a thumb-rule to hit the gym only. There are many other ways through which you can not only manage your business but also keep a vigil eye on personal fitness levels. Before that, lets have a look on why fitness for entrepreneurs is so important-

If you are an entrepreneur having a white collar job, the junk food intake will do nothing but increase your belly belt. We are sure that given your personality you wouldnt like that belly turning into a tyre, would you? Workouts burn your fats so that it does not accumulate on un-wanted parts of your body. Well, we neither mean that you should become a hanger-like personality, No.

But with proper workouts you can at least burn away the un-wanted fat accumulation.

Once you are aware that you need to take care about your health, you will become conscious of your food intake habits also. Your conscious mind will instantly remind you that you have to maintain your health if you start hogging on junk food.

One base rule about better food choices is that whenever you feel good, you eat good food.

Workouts release endorphins, the feel-good hormones that lead to happiness. It is the easiest and simplest connection to happiness levels. It also relieves you from stress which is good not only for you, but for your workforce also.

Why? Its good for your workforce because when you are happy you will be more approachable for your workers. Being less irritating and less stressed will make you a friendly boss. Now thats a win-win situation for both the parties, isnt it?

When you are in the best of your health you can always welcome your employees in a cheerful mood. Moreover, when you yourself know the importance of good health, you will imbibe the same in your clan. This will increase fitness in your organization on an overall basis. If the helm of the firm is a healthy person, the company cannot fall sick, neither can the employees.

This is just how the adage goes that if you keep the head of the house happy, the family stays happy. In the same way, when the head of the company maintains and promotes fitness, you know how great the outcome is going to be.

So, dear entrepreneurs; dont let a busy schedule become your reason to skip a workout. Get up and get going!

fitnessfitness for entrepreneurshappy workplaceimportance of good healthstress buster

Excerpt from:
Fitness is Important to Create a Healthy Organization - TheHRDigest

WNCN	Fitness fundraiser held for Wake County girl who needs hip surgery ... WNCN "Move for Lexi" was a family fun fitness event that also raised money for 6-year-old Lexi. and more »

Originally posted here:
Fitness fundraiser held for Wake County girl who needs hip surgery ... - WNCN

UPDATED: Sat., June 10, 2017, 10:31 a.m.

Throwing a spear, flipping a tire, leaping over a wall of flame, its all in a days work for triathlete turned obstacle course racer Ben Greenfield.

After competing in more than 120 races and 12 Ironman triathlons, writing 13 books, and launching a highly rated fitness podcast, Ben Greenfield, owner of Ben Greenfield Fitness Systems, wanted a new challenge.

He found it in Spartan racing.

I got bored doing Ironman, he said. Theres more to fitness than just riding a bike or moving your feet.

Though he was undeniably fit, Greenfield said seven years ago he couldnt climb a rope or flip a tire. Now, hes been selected to join a group of elite obstacle racing competitors in a five-race U.S. Spartan Race series leading up to the 2017 Reebok Spartan Race World Championship which will be televised in September.

Hes no stranger to television. Last year he appeared on Steve Austins Broken Skull Challenge, and he recently returned from filming Spartan: The Ultimate Team Challenge in Atlanta.

The show premieres Monday night on NBC.

In Spartan: The Ultimate Team Challenge, Greenfield and his team will race across a Spartan course against other groups of families, co-workers and friends. The course is engineered to test endurance and determination. The winning team will receive the grand prize of $250,000. Greenfields team includes wife Jessa, brother Zach, sister Rosie, and long time family friend Jason.

This year the show was filmed in an urban setting where they filmed Terminus in The Walking Dead, he said. It was like Spartan races on steroids. Its a fun show to watch and film.

As an avid bow hunter, Greenfield said this style of competition was right up his alley.

Bow hunting is obstacle course racing with a weapon, he said, shrugging. And I cant say I get bored doing Spartan.

The rise in popularity of this gritty sport doesnt surprise him a bit.

People want to get out of the office and return to their ancestry and roots, he said. Men and women all over the globe want to feel like badasses and compare their barbwire scars.

Greenfield has plenty of his own scars. Indeed, probably one of the biggest challenges of Spartan racing is staying healthy and coping with the injuries that come from hefting huge logs and scrambling up cargo nets.

I always hurt, he said. But Id rather burn out than die of Type 2 diabetes.

Greenfield says social media is partially responsible for obstacle course racings rise in popularity.

Its very conducive to social media. People love to post photos on Instagram and Twitter.

(Greenfield is on Instagram as bengreenfieldfitness, and on Twitter @bengreenfield.)

For him, the appeal lies in spending time outdoors and, of course, the competition. The Lewiston-born University of Idaho grad has built several obstacles on his wooded Spokane acreage where he lives with his wife and twin sons River and Terran, nine.

Im an author, speaker and consultant, but I dont want to spend all my time hunched over a computer writing about fitness, he said. Ive always loved to compete and these races push me and challenge me. I like competitions that tap into my creative side.

He says he is just average at many of the obstacles.

Where I usually pass people is carrying heavy (stuff).

His frequent swims in the Spokane River also give him an advantage.

He laughed. Cold water swimming? I destroy that.

When he isnt traveling for competitions or speaking engagements, you can find Greenfield snowboarding on Mt. Spokane (We have season passes, he said.) Or paddle boarding down the river.

He and his family like to dine at Thai Bamboo or Wild Sage, and when eating at home they buy local and eat local very local.

Weve got goats and chickens, he said.

Always ready to tackle something new, Greenfield is finishing his first novel and a deal is in the works to sell it to Sony pictures.

Im a firm believer that life is like a book. You have many different chapters, he said.

But as to the chapter on how his team did in Spartan: The Ultimate Team Challenge, Greenfields not giving anything away.

He grinned. Youll have to watch the show and see what happens.

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No obstacles: Spokane fitness guru on NBC's new 'Spartan: The Ultimate Team Challenge' - The Spokesman-Review

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has insisted both he and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq have the same expectations over player fitness after Umar Akmal was axed from the Champions Trophy squad a week before the tournament.

Akmal had been omitted from the West Indies tour when he was the one player from a group of 31 who failed to meet fitness standards. He then made it into the final 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy at the last minute after clearing a fitness test supervised by Inzamam at the National Cricket Academy. However, shortly after arriving in England, he failed two further tests overseen by Arthur and was dispatched back to Pakistan.

Arthur, addressing the issue for the first time in the tournament, said there was no question of any part of the Pakistan management accepting different standards of fitness.

"Inzi and myself are on exactly the same page," he said in Cardiff ahead of Pakistan's decisive group match against Sri Lanka. "In terms of that test, I'm not sure how that happened. We were always going to test the guys here so every guy who is now here is fine. Inzi has bought into exactly what we want to do so there's no disconnect between us at all, we are on the same page."

Arthur struck an exasperated tone when talking specifically of Akmal, whose ODI career has stalled on 116 matches since the tour of Australia. "It was incredibly disappointing with Umar Akmal because he didn't tour West Indies for the same reason. I would have thought in that month that he would have done something.

"He's just got to get out there and do it. All the players know what the standards are and they need to do it because it's a culture we are trying to develop. It doesn't happen overnight. The standards are going to go up and up. There has to be that culture of hard work, commitment and dedication because that shows us players really want to play."

At the time of Akmal being removed from the squad, Inzamam said: "We had a set a fitness standard which isn't really a tough one to start with. But he still didn't meet the average level. So whoever the player is, whatever his performance is like, we could not select him. Akmal being dropped is a reprimand and it's a major blow for any player. He is a good player, we needed him, but we had to take a decision."

Asked about the fitness levels on show at the Champions Trophy, Arthur said: "It's one the things we work tirelessly on and we are going in the right direction."

Read more from the original source:
'No rift with Inzamam over player fitness' - Arthur - ESPN

Lindsey Cramer, owner of I WILL Fitness & Training at 716 1st Ave S., said she and her staff want people of all ages and fitness levels to achieve goals in a fun and supportive environment. Getting people out of the house and learning to enjoy fitness is the first step, she said.

Everyone has a goal statement and we want to help people find that I will statement and make it happen for them, Cramer said.

Cramer taught classes part time at Legacy Center at the former James River Fitness Center while raising five children ages 2 to 12. She has a bachelors degree in physical education and nutrition from the University of North Dakota.

Shane Kurtz, principal of Central Dakota Home Builders, renovated the former Carquest Auto Parts building, she said. The space has natural lighting on an open lobby, a group classroom and a specialized strength area to train athletes, she said.

We wanted the feel of a gathering space as opposed to strictly a gym feel, Cramer said.

Gymnasiums are great, but I WILL Fitness is for instructor-led classes. The focus is on the classes so there are no treadmills or other machines, she said.

We feel this is a very welcoming environment, she said. It is nonjudgmental, inviting and energizing.

Cramer teaches SilverSneakers. These workouts are for senior citizens and others who want stretching and non-impact aerobic exercise.

Other more intense classes blend cardio and strength training with movement to music. These include Zumba, Pound, PiYo, Insanity, HIIT (high intensity interval training) and Tabata classes with Core de Force, a mixed martial arts workout coming soon.

The classes are designed to blend people from all levels of fitness, she said. The athlete and the person with no physical activity are working to his or her own level by doing a modified version of the same workout.

The beauty of our classes is that they can all be modified work for anyone, she said.

The other half of the business is the strength gym. The goal there is to work with athletes who need challenges, she said.

We are bringing the best training technique to help athletes improve, she said.

The no-contract membership system has something for everyone, she said. There are pay-per class to no expiration 10-class cards to full memberships for all classes, she said.

We want people to love it and then get a membership and want to stay with us, she said.

For more information, call 952-5530 or visit iwillfitness.com.

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New club for group fitness opens - Jamestown Sun

WEST HAVEN >> Students and their families at Carrigan Intermediate School are getting some help from their neighbors at University of New Haven to learn about nutrition, practice an active lifestyle and bolster efforts to keeps kids fit and fight childhood obesity.

In return, the kids all fifth-graders who will be back at Carrigan next year in sixth grade are helping UNH dietetics professor Anne Davis and her students with some important research and hopefully will have some fun doing it.

Theyre part of the Chomp n Stomp to Your Best Fitness program, which began this past week at the school, which serves fifth- and sixth-graders.

I feel excited. I feel like Ill be more fit, said fifth-grader Abigail Phelan, 11, after getting her body analyzed and getting her Sqord electronic activity monitor, which she will wear on her wrist all summer. It measures all the movement.

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As she spoke, Davis had her classmate, Olivia Trenchard, also 11, hooked up to some electrodes on her middle finger, wrist, toes and ankle, which were connected to white wires that ran into a bioelectrical impedance analysis machine in a room within school nurses Marilyn Nairns and Barbara Cases office.

Davis said the machine measures the quantity and quality of body mass, including the amount of fat, bone, water and muscle.

The study will dig deeper than a typical study, said Davis, head of universitys dietetics program.

Typically, when there are programs that study childhood obesity, they just look at height and weight, Davis said. Were going deeper to study body composition and do exercise testing, she said.

Last week, Davis and three of her students began using sophisticated electronic equipment to gauge students body composition beyond just the body mass index thats often measured.

They also began issuing students, beginning with 35 kids Tuesday, Sqord electronic activity monitors that they will wear on their wrists all summer before coming back to do additional measurements in fall.

Were hoping for 250 (participants) eventually out of a total 450 students in the classes, Davis said.

The program is funded by a $47,066 grant from the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority, said Davis and Principal Frank Paolino.

UNH had reached out to a few of the schools, including Carrigan and Bailey Middle School, said Paolino. But I guess Bailey decided that the program did not work out for it, he said.

He said his hope is that the study will lead them into a healthier lifestyle. Were trying to get them to eat healthier and lead a healthier lifestyle, Paolino said.

In addition to helping kids lead healthy lifestyles, its a great opportunity for undergrads to get involved in research, said Davis.

The grant pays only for equipment.

Were all volunteering our time, she said.

The Sqords cost $36 apiece and are specifically designed for kids and are even waterproof, Davis said.

They are pretty much indestructible, she said.

Fifth-grader Danyella Lanch-Flores, 11, said she was excited that I get to not be a lazy couch potato and that the study will measure what she eats, because I eat a lot of junk food.

With an activity monitor on her wrist, I feel like Im going to be playing outside more, she said.

Im OK with it, fellow fifth-grade student Michael Mention, 11 said about his monitor. It will keep track of how long I run and what Im doing. This summer, Im going to be outside a lot with my friends, he said.

His classmate Max Ginsberg, 10, also is excited, calling the monitor on his wrist something new to me. Its just going to involve a little more activity and exercise, he said. Its going to keep me motivated to wear it.

Fifth-grader Angelo Caramanica, 11, who is a running back on the West Haven Seahawks youth football team, said he felt pretty good about his upcoming summer wearing a Sqord.

Ill probably run a lot more, swim a lot more, he said. Right now, he said he likes to play football and swim.

UNH nutrition and dietetics major Sabrina Svozzi, 21, an incoming senior from Philadelphia, who is one of the student researchers, predicted that the program is going to get kids to be more active, and I think its going to help.

For her, the study is a great opportunity to actually be in the field instead of just learning in a classroom, she said.

I think when it comes to childhood obesity, its never too soon to start looking at it and I think prevention is the cure, said student researcher Riley Knebes, an incoming senior from Salem, Oregon, who has a double major in English and communications with a minor in nutrition and dietetics.

UNH nutrition and dietetics major Stephanie Alvarez, 22, of Lakeville, called the program a really good start for kids to learn about childhood obesity.

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West Haven's Carrigan school partnering with UNH for health, fitness program - New Haven Register

How a homegrown fitness class became one of go-gos enduring legacies.

Go Go Fitness

Shortly after 9 a.m. on a dank spring Saturday, in the brightly lit basketball court of the Glenarden Community Center, the women of Go-Go Fitness are working a move known as the Little Benny.

Go-Go Fitness is a dance workout set to popular go-go songs, and at this particular moment, speakers flanking the elevated stage are blasting Rare Essences Rock This Party Feat. Killa Cal. Everyone is doing the step named after go-go icon Anthony Little Benny Harley, a coordinated movement that instructor Danette Dani Tucker later describes as a straight crankin movetwo-step knee-up WOOP to the right, then same to the left and a rock, rock dip in the hips.

Tucker and her partner, Erica Berry Wilson, launched Go-Go Fitness during the winter of 2012. The first class, at Heat Haven on Good Hope Road SE, consisted of Tucker and her scheduler along with a total of six students. By the second week we had 15, says Tucker. And by the third week, we were sold out and looking for a larger space.

These days, Go-Go Fitness offers 10 to 15 classes per week throughout the DMV, with most classes in Prince Georges County. Go-Go Fitness has also traveled, with classes in Fayetteville, Miami, Seattle, and Puerto Rico. Theyve released three exercise-at-home DVDs. And this year, on its fifth anniversary, Go-Go Fitness was honored with a D.C. City Council resolution.

***

Tucker, 47, grew up in Southeast Washington, steeped in go-go culture. Were a three-generation go-go familymy dad and his brothers, and then me and my kids, she says. As a child, she studied at Bernice Hammonds Northeast Academy of Dance. Years later, dance fitness proved to be Tuckers preferred workout, from 80s Jazzercise all the way up to 90s-and-beyond Zumba. For a while she taught Zumba.The problem was, there was never any go-go music in those classes, she says.

Most everyone Tucker knew preferred to work out to go-go. If a go-go head was working out, 10 times out of 10 they would be listening to go-go music, she says.

As Tucker developed Go-Go Fitness, her inspiration always went back to go-go founder Chuck Brown. Chuck made the music go on and on. That beat would just keep going, just like in Africa, and we would just keep dancing, old and young, men and women, childreneverybody. He would call out and we would respond. Thats go-go, she says.

I didnt do anything but take Chucks original formula and put it to dance fitness, Tucker continues. Thats what has made us popular. Our students dont think theyre coming to class. They think theyre coming to the go-go, just like when they were teenagers. They get their crews together and where the go-go at?

Many Go-Go Fitness regulars are past the stage in life when theyre good to hit the clubs for late-night shows. Were giving them the opportunity to go to a go-gonot at 1 a.m., not for four hours, cause we cant do that no more, says Tucker.

In a throwback to the historic Washington Coliseum holiday shows, Tucker occasionally schedules a two-hour holiday Crankfest celebrating specific go-go artists. The first, honoring Little Benny, was on Memorial Day 2013, at the Panorama Room in Southeast and drew 459 people. The following year, Team Familiars Donnell Floyd attended GGFs July 4th celebration of his contributions to go-go. They played all my music, and it was a great feeling to see that many people jubilantly exercising to music that I put together, says Floyd.

Floyds wife, Jennifer Floyd, is training to become a GGF instructor, and Donnell couldnt be happier about it. People excited about go-go music and using it for a positive thingnot just losing weight, but staying healthythats just great, he says. I think the go-go beat is the greatest beat in the world. The energy thats inside the beat, to me its incredible, so this application makes absolute perfect sense. I wish that I had thought of it.

Other go-go artists take a more active role in Go-Go Fitnessby actually taking the classes. What caught my interest was the beat that they was working out to, says Trouble Funks Big Tony Fisher, who as a GGF regular, lost nearly 40 pounds before his kidney transplant last year.

Id be lyin if I didnt say it wasnt hard work, but the way Dani do it, its fun, Fisher says. If you love go-go music, you dont look at it as work, or even working out. You almost look at it like its dancing.

***

Nearly every GGF class features a Junkyard Band medley, some Little Benny & The Masters, Rare Essence, Huck-a-Bucks, Backyard Band, Experience Unlimited, and Chuck Brown. Tucker also draws on classic go-go dances, and theres a Beat Your Feet segment set to T.O.B.s Know Meee. Every class also features Michelle Obama timefor arms and shoulders, of course.

Fisher points to Tuckers inventive recasting of the Trouble Funk hit Lets Get Small as an example of her creativity. Shell take that song, and create a workout around it, and give it a whole different meaning, he says. I really think Go-Go Fitness is just another positive outlet for go-go, and its something that has potential to go all around the world.

To be sure, theres more go-go in Go-Go Fitness than its soundtrack. In go-go, the bands lead talkers provide the genres essential sense of community by leading call-and-response chants and by spotlighting various folks in the audience. Because there are several instructors for each GGF class, Tucker is free to work the room as a lead talker. Danette Dani Tucker instructs a class.Go Go Fitness

Sure, she calls out the usual fitness single-single-double directives, but there are also distinctly go-go styled shout-outs, including We got Upper Marlboro in the house, yall and Go head! I see you! On a recent Saturday, she admonished the classyall better wake upbut also made them laugh: Go-go songs all long, she said, but we aint tryin to kill you.

Tucker addresses the class as go-go family, and there are plenty of opportunities for the family to talk back. Danette has taken go-gos call and response and used that to get the class involved, says Wilson, who serves as Go-Go Fitness Chief Operating Officer. In go-go, you want to hear from the people youre partying with, and in this case, you want to hear from the people youre exercising with.

For Big Tony, Tucker is more than just a lead talker. I call her my go-go motivator, he says. Dani is like a lead talker, hype person and the coach, all wrapped together. She knows how to bring out the best in you. I would leave that place sometimes soaking wet, and shed be sayin, You alright, Big T?

One of the reasons I feel that Go-Go Fitness is so important is that I think that we, as blacks in particular, we really dont have a healthy diet and a lot of us dont exercise the way we should, continues Big Tony. I think Dani found a wonderful strategy to get more of us into exercise without making it feel like exercise, and that gives go-go a positive look.

Tuckers role as lead talker is just one of the ways that the classes echoes the community feel of go-go shows. Go-Go Fitness no-judgement zone attracts a wide range of fitness levelsbig women in baggy sweats and lithe women in tight spandex, and some big women in tight spandex, too. Some regulars come with their mothers and daughters, too. On a recent Saturday, one woman clutched an inhaler for the duration of the class. When another woman couldnt continue, Tucker chatted with her until she was ready to go again.

It doesnt matter what size you are in here, says Tanya Beverly, 54, of Forestville. Since I started, Ive lost 56 pounds. Beverly grew up in Southeast, and back in the day she used to enjoy free go-go shows in the parks. I grew up with Chuck. I still love all Chucks music, she says. Now I can dance to Chuck Brown here.

Even before Browns death in 2012, local media has occasionally questioned the longevity of the music he created. While its true that many go-go bands dont play as often as they once did, and that too many local venues and radio stations dont adequately support the music, adaptability has always been a crucial aspect of go-go culture. Go-go-driven gospel animates many local church services on Sunday mornings, and Go-Go Fitness is yet another example of the durability of the go-go groove.

Go-go is part of our DNA now, says class regular Camille Franklin, 47, who grew up in Ivy City and followed Chuck and Rare Essence for years. Go-Go Fitness just helps to keep it alive.

Along with getting its go-go family in shape, sustaining its precious culture is of paramount importance to Go-Go Fitness. With the ever-changing demographic of this area and gentrification, I think go-go has been the one thing Washingtonians can hang onto as part of our identity, says Wilson. Go-go does carry a sense of nostalgia for many of us. It reminds us of the good times in the city, what we had, and what we should be proud of.

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Bustin' Moves - Washington City Paper (blog)

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