My Tru-Life
The instructor of the uber popular cardio jam class I attended today is called…TRUDOG. Yes, T-R-U-dog! I couldn’t resist announcing this fact on my blog. I don’t know whether his mom named him, but I seriously doubt it. I don’t think many mothers go around naming their future rapper/dancer/exercise instructor babies “(insert adjective)-dog” (like Snoop Dog, and Little Bow Wow, which is also dog related). A thought this name was the coolest thing ever and kept asking me questions such as “can I be…A-dog?…how about Drea-Dog?” (Me: “NO!”) throughout brunch.
Trudog had been missing in action as the charismatic leader of New York Sports Club cardio jam classes for quite a while but he made his triumphant return this week. As a result, over 40 women (who were mostly Caucasian Upper East Siders) crowded into an exercise room meant for 20, and bounced up and down in unison to hyper versions of songs along the theme of “I Am a Woman”. The class started with high pitched screaming from a petite woman with a dancer’s body and golden dreadlocks. I thought for a second she had been mortally wounded, but no, it’s just her excitement about the fact that Tru Dog is back. She’s one of many people in the cardio jam class who know Trudog’s routines so well that she could teach the class herself. More on this self described “fitness socialite” of Cardio Jam: Trudog also publishes his own magazine on gossip, relationships and fitness, which he passed out before class. His magazine includes “informal surveys” of more than 300 women (all from his various fitness classes) on topics such as “What Are The Top 5 Signs He’s Cheating?” I totally understand how this cult of personality has developed though – in addition to an amazing workout, Trudog’s smile throughout the intense 45 minute ordeal is constant, seemingly genuine and ultimately contagious. I’ve been a convert since his 6:30am class this Tuesday was the perfect antidote to a hangover caused by too much Russian wine at the amazingly over-the-top Primorski restaurant in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn 
As soon as I came to NY, I joined New York Sports Club under their student membership (activation fee + 20 dollars/month FOR LIFE if you’re under 23). Having not exercised at all since graduation a year ago (the gym, like everything else, was way too expensive in Geneve), I was determined to build exercise into my daily routine before things speed up in Sept. It has been an amazing experience – on the days that I manage to get up at 6:15 am for early morning classes (A goes to work at the same time I go to the gym), I’m guaranteed to be more productive and energized. Next to the obvious health benefits, going to the gym definitely contributes to my goal of being healthy, focused and free this summer – freedom from the intense social pressures of the past year, constant family expectations and plaguing self-doubt. Also, freedom to be selfish, to choose how to spend my time with my sister, best friends and A, who brought me 24 red roses in the reading room of the e.96th St New York Public Library for our 1.6 year monthaversary yesterday. Despite being woken up at 4:30am by what could have been gunshots (or firecrakers), I love being in New York where it’s so easy to belong by becoming anonymous.
