Bikram Yoga

 Two sandwiches, sesame tofu, pork potstickers and chicken rolls after Bikram Yoga. Hey, it's justified because I had fasted beforehand (didn't want to throw up) and you supposedly burn 900 calories.

What is it with girls dominating me in fitness classes?

Before, it was spin class; now, it's Bikram Yoga.

In case you don't know what Bikram Yoga is, it's "hot yoga." You do a bunch of standing and seated yoga poses in a room that's about 100º F and you sweat more than you've ever sweat in your entire life.

Being my first time doing yoga, I got a quick tutorial on proper breathing techniques from the instructor, Johnny. He took me into a small side room and had me inhale and then exhale loudly. I was horribly self-conscious.

When the class started everyone did the breathing exercises Johnny had showed me. It was kind of scaring hearing everyone exhale so loudly and passionately. It sounded like a sound a creepy dead person would make in a horror movie.

It was interesting observing the people that do yoga. More than 75% of the people were women. Lululemon Athletica definitely dominates the market for female athletic apparel. Those tight black yoga pants were everywhere and my friend only didn't wear her Lululemon headband because she was already wearing Lululemon shorts and shirt.

The few guys that were there, besides me, were in their late 30s or early 40s. They looked like dads trying to stay nimble as opposed to yoga masters. There was one younger guy though who was clearly a yoga regular. He wasn't wearing a shirt and had some sort of black speedo-esque shorts on. The spandex wouldn't have been my first choice of shorts, but they seemed to work for him just fine.

The class wasn't super tiring physically, but the heat got to me in the last half hour of the class. I'm really inflexible and some exercises were physically impossible for me, like the "one leg squat wrap the toes of your opposite foot around your leg exercise."

Parts of the Bikram Yoga class were embarrassing because I felt like Johnny was picking on me. I didn't know how to do a lot of exercises and it seemed like whenever Johnny forcefully repeated the instructions they were directed at me. Not to mention the atmosphere of extreme concentration. You'd think that people would want to talk to distract themselves from the difficulty of the "crouching warrior" pose, but talking was frowned upon. So I was left on my own to endure agonizing stretches and the pools of my own sweat on the yoga mat.

Probably the worst two exercises were the "nut crusher" (my personal name for it) and camel pose. The "nut crusher" was a pretty basic exercise; you lie on your back and hug your knees to your chest. Pretty basic, that is, for girls. I don't see how the other guys in the class do it; my friend hypothesized that Johnny had a testicle removed to improve his flexibility. It didn't help that Johnny was telling me to pull my knees harder toward my chest while I was weighing the options of my future offspring versus doing the exercise properly.

What's worse, the "nut crusher" (apanasana) or camel pose?

The camel pose was equally difficult though. It was at the end of the class that Johnny had us go into camel pose. To do camel pose, arch your back as far as you can, looking towards the wall behind you, and cup the heels of your feet with your hands. You aren't allowed to rest your hands on your feet; they are just supposed to touch lightly while you push your hips out as far as possible. The stretch was a huge contradiction to me; how was I supposed to arch backwards while thrusting my hips forward?

Besides my fatigue at the end of class and the impossibility of the stretch was that Johnny decided it was a good time to help me out. He urged me (against my will) to arch back farther and pushed my hips out for me. I'm pretty sure the grunts I made during camel pose sounded like a dying animal.

By the end of the class there was so much sweat on my yoga mat someone could have made it into a slip-n-slide. I realized that the towels weren't for wiping sweat off your face; you're supposed to put them down on the mat to absorb sweat so your feet don't slide around. I did one exercise on my side and it felt like my ear was underwater. When I changed my shirt it was as wet as if I had jumped into a pool.

Just like spin class though, I felt amazing afterward. Bikram Yoga makes you focus in on the task at hand because of the heat and you leave feeling relaxed. Even better was gaining back all those calories by going to Sprout and eating through their whole kitchen.

Modern Family Season Premiere

Modern Family airs every Wednesday on ABC from 9-9:30 pm. 

Modern Family is back!

Fall means a lot of things: the start of school, the color change in the leaves, baseball playoffs, and also  the start of most tv shows. The best comedy on television, Modern Family, is back Wednesday on ABC from 9-9:30.

Last night's episode featured funny bits from all three families.

The Dunphys watched their clunker car roll down a hill after a family picnic. Claire was getting all choked up when Phil was trying to sell the car because it made her realize how quickly her kids are growing up.

Cam tried to keep Phil away from the power tools while they built a castle for their adopted daughter Lily. Phil ends up locking himself inside the castle and his stubborn pride prevents him from asking for help from Cam and his dad, Jay.

Gloria is hilarious acting as the clingy mom when Manny brings a girl over to the house. Gloria feels threatened and jealous of the attention the new girl is getting.

No wonder Gloria scores so well on ABC's polls of 13-25 year old males.  

Modern Family is so funny because everyone can relate to at least one of the characters. For me, it's Phil Dunphy, the lovable nerd dad who's married to Claire and has three kids. I have an uncle just like Phil. he's slightly nerdy and tries way too hard to be cool and relate to kids.

Everyone can connect with Modern Family; kids can relate to the annoyances that are your parents and adults can relate to the annoyances that are your kids.

What's so impressive about Modern Family is how it's so funny while being completely family friendly. It seems like every tv show has to have at least a little raunchiness, violence, politically incorrect jokes or sexuality to be popular. Some examples are: Family Guy, Southpark, How I Met Your Mother, Jersey Shore, Entourage and The Office.

And it can be inconvenient having your favorite tv shows have inappropriate parts. If I want to watch Entourage or The League (a comedy based on a fantasy football league) I have to wait until my parents go to bed or watch it on my laptop. They're fine with me watching them but who wants to suffer the awkwardness of being in the same room during a sex scene on the tv show? Or when you're hosting a dinner party and get bored you want to watch some tv. Your family friends have a kid that's only 8 so not even The Office is appropriate.

On a similar note I love how there's a little lesson or moral at the end of every episode. It sounds cheesy, but it makes me appreciate the difficulty of making a comedy that pleases all audiences while still throwing in a feel good moral. The moral of last night's episode was that nobody likes change, but you have to let go at some point.

Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) is quite an underrated actress on the show. 

Lastly, you gotta like the show for Gloria (Colombian mom and Jay's wife), Claire (Jay's daughter and Phil's wife) and Haley (Claire's teenage daughter). 'Nuf said.

Notes From Around the Sports World

Today could possibly be the best day in sports of the year. Here's why.

1. First Sunday of the NFL season. 'Nuf said.

2. Game four of the Giants vs. Padres series. The Giants are 1 game behind the Padres in the N.L. West. Both teams' #1 pitchers are going at it; Tim Lincecum and Mat Latos.

3. Tennis US Open Men's Final. Nadal vs. Djokovic. Nadal going for the career Grand Slam.

4. FIBA World Championship. USA is going for their first gold medal in the basketball world championships since 1994.

5. Golf's BWM Championship. Tiger Woods must finish in the top-5 to get a birth in the Tour Championship, not that I know what that means or the implications of it.

6. WNBA finals. Game 1 of the WNBA finals. Atlanta Dream at the Seattle Storm.

Ok, just kidding about #6. But this Sunday is a sports fan's paradise.

It was a frustrating day for Mike Singletary and Alex Smith. 

The 49ers had a disgusting first half against the Seahawks. After a Nate Clements INT on Matt Hasselbeck's first pass of the game San Francisco was primed to jump out to an early lead. But some solid Seattle defense forced the 9ers to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. Later on Alex Smith directed an 85 yard drive. San Francisco elected to go for it on 4th and goal at the 1-yard line. Smith had fullback Moran Norris wide open for an easy touchdown on a beautiful play action but missed him high. Still 3-0.  The 49ers again drove the ball down the field and Mike Singletary again chose to go for the touchdown on fourth down from the 1. But the crowd noise at Qwest Field flustered the 49ers and led to a delay of game penalty. They had to settle for a field goal for the 2nd time and led 6-0.

The 49ers defense didn't let up a first down until late in the 2nd quarter. When they did, however, the Seahawks scored two quick touchdowns. Nate Clements was flagged for a personal foul after arguing with the referee and got burned after he attempted to jump a Mike Williams route. It led to a 35 yard reception and set up a 1-yard TD run by Hasselbeck. On the following 49ers possession an Alex Smith pass bounced off Michael Crabtree's hands for an interception deep in 49er territory. Again a San Francisco defensive back gambled and lost by trying to step in front of a Seattle wide receiver. Hasselbeck had an easy TD pass to Deon Butler to give the Seahawks a 14-6 lead at halftime.

San Francisco hurt themselves the first half. They moved the ball well on offense and dominated the play clock. But they couldn't punch the ball into the end zone. Alex Smith was very efficient in the first half but missed a wide open Norris for a TD. And the 49ers had another opportunity to score from the 1 yard line but had burned all of their timeouts and had to settle for their second field goal. Nate Clements's outburst gave the Seahawks their first first down and ultimately led to their touchdown. Clements and another 49ers cornerback also were impatient on defense and their gambles led to both Seahawks touchdowns.

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The Giants offense impressed, jumping on Padres ace Mat Latos early and often and chased him for five runs. Buster Posey hit an opposite field 2-run home run to give the Giants a 2-0 lead, which would later grow to a 5-0 lead. Even more impressive was the fact that Latos hadn't given up this many runs since late April. 

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Arian Foster rewarded astute fantasy football owners who predicted his breakout. 

The Houston Texans have been pretty good over the last few years but have had the misfortune of being in the same division as the Indianapolis Colts. They haven't had success because of their inability to beat their division foe. 

This year though things might be different. 

Texans running back Arian Foster rushed for 231 yards and 3 TDs and Houston took down the Colts 34-24. Peyton Manning threw for 433 yards and 3 TDs in a losing effort. 

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Kevin Durant led the way for Team USA. 

In the FIBA World Championship Team USA won a gold medal, defeating host country Turkey 81-64. Kevin Durant once again carried the team and scored 28 points. He set the record for the most points by a US player at this tournament. Team USA had been known as the "B Team" because of a lack of star players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony etc. But the "B Team" did what the stars couldn't do four years ago and took home a gold medal. 

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The 49ers started the 2nd half off terribly. Alex Smith threw a pick 6 on the 49ers first possession.  The offense isn't getting anything going and has been penalized multiple times. The Seahawks just scored again on a Deion Branch touchdown catch to take a 28-6 lead in the third quarter. 

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Frank Gore has had at least 1,000 yards rushing each of the last four seasons. Last year he amassed 13 TDs and had 2 TD runs of 75+ yards versus Seattle last year. Even with the emergence of TE Vernon Davis and 2nd year WR Michael Crabtree, the 49ers offense still revolves around Gore. Alex Smith showed some positives last year but still hasn't proved anything. 

NFL analyst Jimmie Johnson said that other teams will learn that that bottling up Frank Gore is the key to beating the 49ers. If Gore can be shut down then all the pressure will be on Alex Smith, who isn't good enough to make the big plays. 

It's late in the 3rd quarter right now and Gore has 16 carries for 36 yards. 

Alex Smith has 155 passing yards and 2 very costly INTs. 

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Aubrey Huff congratulates Buster Posey after Posey's two run home run in the first inning. 

The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres today 6-1, took three out of 4 games in the series and are now in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West. 

Tim Lincecum has now had 3 good starts in a row. Today he got the W and improved to 14-9 (3-0 in September) after 7 innings of 9 Ks and only 1 earned run. He even had 2 RBIs off of Mat Latos. His control was great, only allowing 1 walk, and had great command of his fastball. Lincecum tightened up his mechanics, allowing him to locate his pitches and keep his fastball in the low to mid 90s. 

The Giants improved to 7-3 over a tough 10 game road trip versus the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Padres. They won every series and now play 12 of their final 18 games at home. 

Most promisingly, the Giants starting pitching rotation dazzled over the road trip. Tim Lincecum has 3 wins in his last 3 starts, Matt Cain continues to be the Giants most reliable pitcher, Jonathan Sanchez also has pitched well his last 3 starts and even though he got the loss yesterday, Madison Bumgarner only gave up 1 run yesterday. 

Just a little while ago the vaunted Giants pitching staff was getting knocked around. Lincecum was struggling, Zito was (and still is) struggling and even Matt Cain was having problems. Some people were calling the Giants staff the most overrated in all of baseball

The Giants are a team built around pitching. When San Francisco has floundered it has been because their starters couldn't get the job done. And their recent success can be attributed to their stellar pitching. If the Giants make the play-offs it will be because their starters continue to carry them and their bullpen can be effective. 

The offense has been a lot better over the last couple months but can't be counted on to win games for the Giants. Today's win is how the Giants win when they are doing well. Strong starting pitching, solid hitting and a good bullpen. 

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It's official, the 49ers lost 31-6 in their season opener vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers road woes continue; they were 2-6 on the road last year and can look forward to a visit from last year's Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints. 

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Tiger Woods's run in the Fedex Cup playoffs ended today. He was 1 under par in the final round and finished 42nd in points. The top 30 advance to play in the Tour Championship. Woods will now prepare for the Ryder Cup which is two weeks from now. 

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The US Open Final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was postponed due to rain. 

Spin Class

I'm sure Office fans remember this scene. 

An excerpt of an interview in ESPN the Magazine of NBA basketball player Ron Artest. 


How are you keeping in shape this summer? 


Ron Artest: My secret weapon is spin class. It's crazy. My first time there, I'm like, "What the hell is this? A bunch of girls and old people on bikes? Easy." So I get on the bike, and within 10 minutes I wanted to quit. But I can't when these girls are hardly sweating. Can't quit. So I kept going. When it's over, I've got a pool of sweat under me. I've never done anything so hard in my life.

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I consider myself to be in really good shape, even for someone my age. I'm kind of a compulsive exerciser and I eat a very healthy diet. I ran a sub 6 min. mile after about a week and a half of running. I only have 3.34% body fat. So yeah, I take a lot of pride in my fitness.

That was why it was so surprising to me when a bunch of middle aged women, people who I normally would scrape in any sort of athletic or fitness test, absolutely put me to shame in a spin class I did this morning.

Even my own Mom was making fun of me in the car ride to school today. My sister and I poke fun at her slow and methodical way of exercising and even she couldn't resist a few jabs.

Dang.

I woke up at 5:20 AM so my mom and I could leave for Vivre by 5:35. We get there and all the clothing racks are chic female workout clothes. I took a peek into the gym part of Vivre and immediately noticed the pale green walls and pink, purple and blue exercise balls. Instant negative points for realizing that this is a chick gym but it boosted my self esteem. This couldn't be so hard could it?

I got set up with a bike in the far corner (all the better situated bikes were "claimed") and people started to file in. I think the first sign I was in for a rough time was when the instructor said I shouldn't feel bad if my butt got too sore or I was too tired and had to get off. But I just popped in my iPod headphones and started to tune people out. I'd just do my thing on the bike , listen to some music and get in a good sweat.

Once the workout started though I had to stop listening to my iPod because I couldn't hear the instructor and she was playing music. They turned off the lights which was cool. It was so early it was still dark out and the only light was a small purple lamp. When I was talking with my nanny later we concluded that this purple light must be what you see when you're dying.

The second ominous sign was when a tiny blonde woman in her mid 40s said that most kids don't last more than one class and that she and the others were "crazy." I wasn't about to let a 5' woman with arms half the size of mine tell me what I could or couldn't do. Are you kidding me? I probably outweighed this little fairy by like 40 pounds. Whatevs.

My legs were motoring to start off the beginning of class and I was feeling good. The instructor kept telling us to ratchet up the resistance and I kept powering through. We did some "climbs" and I got a nice burn going. I glanced over at the guy next to me and saw that I was spinning was faster than him. Sweet, I got this. I was feeling good so when we did the fast intervals, I really pushed myself.

I hit a wall thirty minutes in. The hard thing for me was that I had never cycled before so my body wasn't used to this type of exercise. Also, since I don't cycle I'm not accustomed to biking for more than like 20 minutes. I remember when I was absolutely dying, in an "up and out" extended interval. I looked at the clock and we were halfway done. My thighs were burning, I had a pool of sweat that had dripped onto the floor and about three more of this mini climbs left.

It was so demoralizing seeing that tiny woman in front of me barely sweating. I hunched over in hangdog mode with a scowl on my face, just trying to hang on, and here she was all chipper, pedaling with no hands. And then there was the 70 year old guy in the back, my mom and my friend's mom all doing it too.

There are a few things that make spinning so hard to a beginner like myself. First is that your body just doesn't have the muscles it takes to ride a bike. Even if you're in great shape you still aren't used to this type of exercise. Since you probably on bike when you bike to school or to go over to a friend's house you aren't used to biking for longer than half of an hour.

Reason número dos why spin class is so brutal is the resistance. About every two minutes you turn the knob to make the ride harder. Even when you're climbing and on like your 5th "up and out," the instructor still tells you to turn it up. It never gets easier, its a tough combo when you are getting more and more fatigued and have to keep making it harder.

Third, there's no breaks. This to me is an aspect of spin class that is more difficult than cycling. When you're biking out on the street, or if you're like every parent in the Bay Area, if you're out cycling in Woodside, you probably coast a lot of the time. On flat parts when you're taking a sip of water. When you're descending a mountain. When you're stopped at a light. But in spin class you're pedaling for the entire hour. You're never allowed to stop.

Lastly, the class is just hard. The instructor works you hard and whenever you're out of the saddle it kills your thighs.

But, like any great work out, you feel great afterward. Since I had been up for so long I was completely awake for my morning classes and was just in a good mood in general. Plus, Fraiche is right across the street and I got a large yogurt with three toppings. Mmm.