My first thirty years were very sedentary and, to be perfectly honest, I was not a picture of "good health" and a sculpted body sort of person. I was a musician and then a database coder and designer. Long hours of sitting was my way of life.

One day, while at the office doing a database project, the elevators became "out of order" and I needed to attend a meeting that happened to be three floors up from where my office was located. I took to the stairs. When I came out of the stairwell, I seriously thought that I was going to die. I grabbed the very first chair I could find and sat there totally dazed and confused. Life for me had to change.

I joined a gym that was located very close to my job and began to go there each day at noon, instead of going to the "all you can eat" lunches with the boys. There was an indoor cycle class that was always in full swing each day at the time I was working with the floor exercise machines. This Spinning class called to me. I resolved to go in and give it a try. WOW . . . what an awakening! At the end of the first class, once again, I thought that I was going to die. This experience made it very clear to me that I needed this particular exercise and that Spinning would be my salvation.

Spinning, an indoor group cycle class, was created by Johnny G. in 1987 while he was training for a cross-country bicycle race called "The Race Across America" - a 3,100 mile ride from Los Angeles to New York City. During that training he was nearly killed on the road and eventually he decided not to do his training on the bicycle and to bring the training into the house. He constructed the training bike and the program.

Within the first nine months I dropped 100 pounds. Not only did I become more fit, but I became intersted in body mechanics and the whole world of physical fitness. Over then next couple of years, I got certified as a Spinning instructor and attained an AFFA personal trainer certification. For me, the Spinning program was a perfect blend of my world of music and my new world of physical fitness. I am featured in two of the official Spinning videos used for program promotion and infomercials.

Although I am not an expert on any of the components I use daily to maintain my physical fitness, I do understand the necessary elements that can make an exercise session successful. One article I have written and published outlines these key factors: Exercising With Your Heart. Incorporating an understanding of using your heart rate and personal training zones, is the key to making your exercise session highly productive and effective.

My personal fitness experience and advice is to include a daily program of cardio exercise, a healthy diet and keep the body in a mobile state. When I speak of the body being in a mobile state, my focus is on the incorporation of daily Pilates exercises. Joseph Pilates was an amazing and fascinating person who refined, created and taught, using minimal equipment, a system of mat exercises and body stretches, a fitness/mobility program that later became "Contrology". This program was the foundation that lead to the famous, world wide sensation and following now called Pilates.

My favorite links . . .

• Spinning - The Premier Indoor Cycle Program


• Pilates - One of many Pilates web sites


• Heart Zone Training - Sally Edwards


• Beats of Sweat - Creating Music Mixes for Heart Rate Training Sessions

My data physical fitness resume . . .

• Physical Fitness Resume - Current CV