Druski and Kai Cenat's prison stream draws comparison to 'Beyond Scared Straight' after viral video features kids
Kai Cenat is currently gaining significant attention on various social media platforms for his '7 days in jail' stream
2023-10-31 21:46
Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified information online is formally indicted
The Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media has been formally indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to national defense, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.
2023-06-16 05:24
Taylor Swift turns out to see Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs play Chicago Bears
Taylor Swift took advantage of an invitation from Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to see Kansas City play the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium
2023-09-25 06:48
Frustration mounts for the Giants' offense, which has gone 205 minutes without scoring a touchdown
The New York Giants' offense has not scored a touchdown in more than three games
2023-10-20 07:16
Thailand Flags Baht Volatility, High Household Debt
Interest rates in emerging economies trailing their advanced peers, including the US, is boosting currency volatility and posing
2023-11-30 08:52
My Taylor Swift exercise class has led me down a luxury fitness rabbit hole
Amid flashing strobe lights at a SoulCycle class in Notting Hill, our instructor MJ stands on a platform, his baseball cap flipped backward and his facial hair trimmed into designer stubble, looking as if he’s straight out of a boy band. “I’ve had a f***ing s*** day and I didn’t want to come to work,” he says, softly, through his head mic. “But I’m so glad I did, as the energy is bringing me to life!” Everyone around me – women between the ages of 25 and 35, all of them dressed in one-shoulder leisurewear – roars in response. “Sit up tall, don’t let anyone make you feel down,” MJ continues. “You’re all legends, don’t let anybody judge you!” I pause for breath after yet another manic burst of energy cycling on the spot. Then we have to pick up dumbbells while atop stationary bikes and do a choreographed workout to a Taylor Swift song. This special Swift-themed class is taking place at 8.30 on a Monday night and in the same venue where First Lady Jill Biden and Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty attended a spinning class together after King Charles’s coronation in May – reportedly with 10 security guards in tow. I feel slightly out of my depth. I spent two hours looking for my lycra leggings and I’m totally unfit. Apart from walking my dog, I haven’t done any real exercise since 2017, when I had a go at clean eating and did a few weeks of high-intensity training at the gym. But now I’m ready for SoulCycle’s “unique mind-body-soul experience”. This leap back into exercise is partly inspired by Apple TV+’s dark comedy Physical, which is returning for its final season next month. It’s about a housewife played by Rose Byrne who battles her demons and a vicious and self-critical inner voice while finding solace in aerobics. Could it work for me, too? Is exercise the answer to my endlessly spinning mind? Would it serve as an instant catapult into a world of empowerment and success? Everyone in this class knows the words to every Taylor Swift song that booms from the speakers. “Drop everything now/Meet me in the pouring rain”, she sings on “Sparks Fly”. “Kiss me on the sidewalk/Take away the pain.” But all I can think about is the pain I’m currently in. We’re wearing special shoes that click into the pedals of the bike, so it’s not easy to detach oneself. But soon I become grateful for it: if I’m superglued into this class, I can’t give up so easily. As MJ says: “No struggle... no progress”. It doesn’t matter if you can’t move the wheel at the front of the SoulCycle bike, or if you’re peddling down on it like a gazelle; if you’re sweating and panting, you’re part of this love-in. And wow, it feels great. I’m not alone in adoring it, and some of my fellow riders were here even earlier, for “part one” of a class modelled after Swift’s setlist on her current US tour. (Each class costs £26, while a renewable package of four is £86, or eight at £160). It’s a little pocket of joy I knew nothing about while I was sitting at home snacking in front of my laptop and gaining weight. As I leave the SoulCycle studio and wander into the night, I take a deep breath. It feels good to be back in the saddle – even though my legs are like jelly. I have to ask my friend to drive me home because I’m not sure I’ll make it on foot. There are a few reasons I haven’t been hitting the gym, or even doing the occasional relaxed yoga class. Having children on my own has been an intense journey. For years my idea of exercise has been holding a baby or running after two kids in a park with an unruly dog. But when I read a few different headlines lately (“Fit and fabulous at 54: Jennifer Aniston emerges from her new workout class”; “Nicole Kidman, 56, flashes her incredible abs in revealing black dress”), I felt a pang of guilt. These women are older than me but super fit. My daughters, aged five and seven, are both at school now, so there’s no excuse for being so inactive. I had some blood tests done and my cholesterol is creeping up. I’ve been told I need to give up sugar and take up exercise. How can I be a good role model to my kids if all they do is see me eating the chocolate rolls meant for their pack lunches? And where do I even begin with fitness? After the excitement of my Taylor Swift class, the idea of strolling along to my local Virgin Active feels mundane. I ponder whether it’d be easier to stay fit if I was super-rich. I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? I can’t possibly afford the bespoke, members-only gym Bodyism in London’s Westbourne Grove, whose clients include heiress Tamara Ecclestone. It caters for high-intensity, low-impact training, with top-tier packages costing £23,000 a year. More affordable, though, is their class membership – which costs £1,500 a year for 72 classes and promises to help elongate and tone the body. But it’s also full of the clean-eating squad – I might not fit in. Then there’s London’s BXR, a private, boutique boxing-themed gym that’s spread over two floors. From the street below I can glimpse a massive boxing ring behind enormous glass panels – a manifestation of the idea that celebrities feel they live in a goldfish bowl. It’s also packed with A-listers who get free guest passes while staying at the luxury hotel Chiltern Firehouse that’s located opposite. Membership costs from £2,500 a year and up (by a lot), and the Vogue editor Edward Enniful and fashion designer Julian Macdonald are apparently fans of BXR’s Versaclimbing – a high-intensity, low-impact workout on a Versaclimber. This cardio fitness machine has a 75-degree vertical rail with pedals and handles that mimic the natural motion of climbing. When I hear that the machine burns up to 800 calories in a 45-minute session – well, I’m on the phone to the bookings team in a flash. Unlike treadmill or spin classes, it’s exercise that is full body but low impact – meaning it “minimises unnecessary stress or trauma to your body”. At the state of the art Repose, a wellness clinic in London’s High Street Kensington with members including Made in Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh, the speciality is “anti-gravity fitness”. It might sound unusual to exercise from a silk hammock suspended from the ceiling for £40 a class – but sessions include pilates, suspension fitness, air bar and both restorative and aerial yoga. Models and celebrities, including Poppy Delevingne, are also queuing up for personal training at London’s E-Pulsive, which costs £85 a session. The electrical muscle stimulation class (EMS) sees you strap yourself into a full-body vest that zaps you with low-frequency electric impulses to manually contract your muscle fibres while you exercise, increasing the intensity of your workout. It seems ideal for people like me who are too busy to exercise but who want superfast results – apparently, a 20-minute EMS workout burns 500 calories and can offer the same results as a 90-minute high-intensity gym class. It sounds like heaven. Then there’s roller-skating at model Liberty Ross’ glamorous Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in West London or New York – the original LA Flipper’s in the 1970s was run by Ross’s dad Ian Flipper-Ross, and was so associated with glam fitness that it was dubbed “Studio 54 on wheels”. A one-to-one beginner’s class at the new skate school costs £50, or £35 in a group lesson of up to 12 skaters. Or you can just book in for a general skate with your kids – which kills two birds with one stone as they have fun while you burn calories. A two-hour skate session for adults starts from £15.50 and from £11.50 for children. All of this sounds great – but if I went for a workout schedule of my choice, I can’t see it totalling less than £30,000 a year. Bearing in mind that exercise is addictive and makes you feel good, it might be far more in the long run, too. It’s also a tad out of my price range – I don’t plan on dropping into Equinox on Kensington Roof Gardens or the Bulgari Hotel gym any time soon. Instead, I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? If money wasn’t an obstacle, I would install a gym and a pilates studio in my own house, with a cryotherapy chamber and a personal trainer on tap. But until then, I plan to start running with the dog, my two kids behind me on their scooters. It’s far cheaper and – unlike the late-night Taylor Swift class – won’t require a babysitter. Read More I keep forgetting my dog’s birthday – could a luxury pet party make it up to him? ‘I’m here anyway, why not?’: My non-surgical facelift has got me thinking about more procedures I’ve never had a platonic relationship with a man – sex can’t help but get in the way Husband fired from family business after wife roleplayed with reborn dolls Montana Brown explains why she chose a home birth as a ‘non-white person’ 8 healthy habits to help you live longer – according to a new study
2023-07-25 13:53
Bills Reporter Caught Ripping Stefon Diggs on Open Mic
A Bills reporter was caught bad mouthing Stefon Diggs on an open mic.
2023-09-14 08:25
Tensions running high at New England campuses over protests around Israel-Hamas war
One New England university banned a pro-Palestinian student group
2023-11-11 06:19
Lelo’s “Clitorally Mindblowing” Vibrator Actually Blew My Mind — & It’s 25% Off
It’s no secret that Lelo’s advanced sex tech is at the forefront of the pleasure-distributing industry. In fact, its cutting-edge luxury vibrators have garnered a cult following of dedicated fans and reviewers, each one more enthused than the last and ready to convert anyone to their toy of choice. None have received quite as much acclaim as Lelo’s clitoral vibrator, the Sona 2 Cruise, though. Despite its over-$100 price tag, the Sona remains not only one of R29’s top-shopped suction vibrators but one of our most-shopped products, period. It even earned a well-deserved spot in our 2022 MVP Awards because of it. It’s no wonder: With almost 3,000 5-star reviews to its name, Sona has a host of extremely pleased customers claiming that it gave them the “most insane orgasm of [their] life” and that it’s the “best clitoral vibrator” on the market.
2023-05-31 00:58
Tristan Tate: Inside Andrew Tate's brother and misogynist influencer's dating life
While Tristan Tate grapples with never-ending controversies, let's take a break from the usual to explore his dating life
2023-07-02 16:25
Ukraine war: Russia's Shoigu vows 'harsh response' after Belgorod incursion
The defence minister's comments come as further drone attacks are reported in Belgorod region.
2023-05-24 20:27
Trump to appear in court in classified documents case | Live updates
Former President Donald Trump will make his first court appearance to answer for a federal indictment involving 37 felony counts related to hoarding top secret government documents, boastfully displaying them to visitors and trying to hide them from investigators who demanded them back
2023-06-13 22:29
You Might Like...
Electronic Arts raises annual profit forecast after strong second quarter
US announces criminal cases involving flow of technology, information to Russia, China and Iran
Jahiem White and Garrett Greene run wild in West Virginia's 42-21 romp over Cincinnati
Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail
Dave Chapelle's comments on Israel-Hamas war spark walkout at show but Internet says 'well said Dave'
Bank Indonesia to hold key rate at 5.75% for rest of year - Reuters poll
Las Vegas ballpark pitch revives debate over public funding for sports stadiums
No glory for bullies: South Korea's school violence epidemic
