It is an experience that basically brings the racetrack indoors. The Speed Racer class at one gym mimics moves that race car drivers use in the cars. It gives gym goers a complete workout, and even uses a weight shaped like a steering wheel.
So ladies and gents, start your engines! Laps, some short lived pit stops and driving.
It's not a movie. It's the Speed Racer workout!
Our crew chief was instructor Jonathan Sexsmith, an Equinox instructor and personal trainer.
"The demands of a race car driver are enormous," he said. "So we focus on incredible cardio endurance, metabolic endurance and core strenght."
So to mimic the rotational forces felt in a race car driver's core, Sexsmith uses a smart bell. Or as we like to call it, a way-too-heavy steering wheel.
"It's also one of the only tools that give you a complete 360-degree experience with a fitness tool," he said. "So you can take it around your head, you can take it around your back."
And oh yeah, it's a lot harder to use than it looks.
It didn't take long to lose my smile as I realized that being a marathoner means nothing here.
However, for all the flushed faces and sweat, there was a twisted sense of fun.
"You have the steering wheel, which makes it a little bit more fun," first-timer Cathy Jefferson said. "You need to be distracted. If you think about it too much, you will fall over."
It was a feeling shared by one Ironman Triathlete.
gustavo caicedo/1st time in class "The first 20 minutes, I was shaking," first-timer Gustavo Caicedo said. "The last 40, my breakfast was up here."
And Jonathan leads by example, working up a sweat as well.
There are three Speed Racer classes at three different Equinox gyms around the city. They are:
