Social Workout

Batwings

Gwyneth's Tracy Anderson Bootleg Video

Last we checked in with Tracy Anderson, she was getting sued by her ex husband and breaking up with Madonna. Well, today begins the counter-offensive, courtesy of Gwyneth, who has rallied a crew of celebrity buddies — Courtney Cox, Donna Karan, and Kristen Davis, among others — to give Tracy testimonials in the latest issue of Goop. Gwyneth also includes the following down-homey video of Tracy demonstrating a Tracy workout; which workout, G. says, she "did every day preparing for Iron Man," and which apparently solved her "batwing problem." TMI?! The workout looks sort of sexy and fun. It also looks like Tracy is desperately trying to communicate, via erratic arm waving, with a visiting space alien. Given that she's got mirrors on all sides, that may not be far from the truth. Oh snap!

Workout

Soul Cycle Tribeca: First Visit

My first trip to Soul Cycle. 8:30AM class in the new Tribeca location. I've biked down there to join my friend P., editor of a certain big daily email publication, who is in turn joining her friend D. who is editor of a certain big design magazine, who happens to be there with her husband, J., editor of a top culture-and-politics website. No doubt, the Soul Cycle press department is responsible. Or it could simply be that, we're on Warren Street in Tribeca, where media power people run wild in high end fitness studios.

Openings

SoulCycle Opens "Temple" in Tribeca

SoulCycle, heretofore, a strictly uptown and Hamptons phenomenon is heading downtown. Recall that SoulCycle, beloved by Kelly Ripa (if not Anderson Cooper), is affluent New York's soulful answer to spinning. According to an email that hit our inbox this morning, SoulCycle will open a new studio on Warren Street in Tribeca on January 15th. In addition to a traditional 65 bike spin studio, the SoulCylers are introducing a "Soul Lab," a.k.a. "an intimate 30-bike studio with mats in between the bikes to facilitate our BRAND NEW ONE-HOUR SOUL CLASSES!" What's a "Soul Class?" Think 30 mintues of spinning followed by 30 minutes of powerflow yoga, or 45 minutes of spinning followed by 15 minutes of ab work.

Actually, it sounds pretty good, though admittedly there might be a limit to how deep one can get into savasana while lying at the foot of a spin cycle in a puddle of sweat. Regardless, the real news here is that Tribeca is fast becoming the epicenter of the global fiterati. Residents of Warren Street can now spin at SoulCycle and do yoga up the street at the Kula Yoga Project. Or they might just stroll around the corner to Equinox's Tribeca outpust, or hike eight blocks north to work out with Gwyneth at Tracy Anderson's new (and strangely un-buzzy) studio. Move over Malibu.

New York

FIterati

Tracy is Coming

Please to recall that Gwyneth started a weekly lifestyle webzine several months back called Goop, as in: "Nourish the inner aspect." Well, the tag line's not bad. Anyway, the New Year's edition included this: "In January 2007 I decided I’d had enough of my saddlebags and post-pregnancy Shar-Pei-like stomach. I met an incredible woman who changed my life. Her name is Tracy Anderson. She is a dancer, a trainer, an 'organic plastic surgeon' as my friend Julia calls her....Right now she is on tour with Madonna so I do a lot of video chat with her and I do her DVDs...."

Well, don't get stuck on the ambiguous reference to Julia, or the cosy celebrity-email-BFF vibe, we've got follow up news for you via The Guardian: "The first Tracy Anderson Method Studio opens in New York's Tribeca this month, with later openings planned for Europe (including London), Asia and Australia." How true is this? Tracy has placed an ad on Craigslist seeking people to join her "elite core" of private trainers. (Forgive her for being overly focused on cores, and not corps.) "Candidates Must Have Expansive Dance Backgrounds or Group Exercise and Private Training/Pilates Experience....Please Bring Headshot/Resume and be Prepared to Dance. "

Move over Physique57!