Virtual Personal Trainer Provides A Test in Self-Discipline

Inside the cool, dark room, there is a jump rope and two pairs of light hand weights; there is also a remote control, and when I press “play,” my virtual personal trainer appears on a floor-to-ceiling projector screen. Electronic music pours out of wall-embedded speakers, which surround me on all sides.So begins my otherworldly workout inside the Aeropod, a solitary exercise space at Aerospace High Performance Center in the meatpacking district. For the next hour, trainer Michael Olajide Jr. — actually, his larger-than-life on-screen alter ego — leads me through Aerospace’s newest pod workout, called “Savages & Serene.”The regimen comprises a series of jump-rope and shadowboxing exercises: One minute I am jumping rope at double speed, and the next I am attempting a sequence of jabs, hooks, and uppercuts while holding a pair of 2-pound weights.Alone in the 9-by-11-foot room, I am tempted to fast-forward through some of the more challenging portions of the workout. But Mr. Olajide’s words of encouragement — “go, go, go … come on … you can get there” — do the trick and I keep going. The virtual trainer also provides quantitative evidence of my progress: After each segment, the number of “punches thrown” (1,345, 882, or 784) appears at the bottom of the screen.Because the pod requires users to keep themselves in check, it’s not ideal for those who tend to slack off when no one is watching. Although I avoid hitting fast-forward, I find myself checking my BlackBerry every 10 minutes or so — something I wouldn’t likely do in the middle of a personal training session or a group exercise class.That said, I work myself breathless for most of the 60-minute workout, which is followed by about 20 minutes of “serene” stretching exercises. An Aerospace co-founder, Leila Fazel, a former ballet dancer, leads this relaxing cooldown.Mr. Olajide, who dons gold boots and a shiny patch over his right eye, is a retired professional boxer who was a top contender during the 1980s and early 1990s. The prizefighting took its toll, ultimately leaving Mr. Olajide legally blind in one eye.After vision troubles ended his pro-boxing career in 1991, he went on to devise a variety of popular boxing-inspired workouts. He was a group fitness instructor at Equinox, and then joined forces with Ms. Fazel to launch Aerospace in 2004. The duo opened a second gym inside Ian Schrager’s Gramercy Park Hotel in 2006.Both Aerospace locations have pods, for which Mr. Olajide and Ms. Fazel continue to expand programming. To date, there are eight pod workouts, including yoga, sculpting, and heavy-bag boxing, in addition to several regimens centered on the jump rope.“Some people can’t make a class; some people don’t want to be seen; some people just like that sense of immersion,” Ms. Fazel said, noting that Aerospace hopes to bring the pod concept to other fitness venues in the coming months.Mr. Olajide added that the solitary setting provides a way for clients to learn some basic boxing moves, before attempting one of the gym’s strenuous group fitness classes, such as “Aerobox,” “Aerojump,” and “Aerosculpt.”One client, 40-year-old Michele Heary, a luxury brand executive, said an hour in the pod is the next best thing to a personal training session with Mr. Olajide. “It gets you really focused, and you leave feeling like you’ve just had a great one-on-one,” she said. “Sure, I could pop in a DVD and exercise in my living room, but I can’t imagine it would give me the same type of workout. There’s not the level of inspiration.”Aerospace member Sandra Bauleo said she was initially skeptical of exercising in a private room. “I thought, alone, I wouldn’t work as hard, but I actually get more zoned into my workout,” the 38-year-old comedic actress, who now uses the pod up to five times a week, said. “The music is loud and intense. You feel encapsulated, and are able to tune out everything outside. It’s like entering a weird, transcendental workout zone.”gbirkner@nysun.com(Aerospace, 332 W. 13th St., between Hudson and West 4th streets, 212-929-1640, free for members, nonmembers can pay a day rate of $40; Aerospace at the Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Ave., between 21st and 22nd streets, for more information and rates, call 212-920-3300.)

Virtual Personal Trainer Provides A Test in Self-Discipline

Virtual Personal Trainer Provides A Test in Self-Discipline

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