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As February rolls around, many of us look at the rolls around our waists and realize that we aren't sticking to this year's earnest resolution to get in shape. That's one of the troubles with being earnest and that's always the trouble with New Year's resolutions. An easier promise to keep is the decision to live more healthily. Starting a regular exercise routine is the best first step. Whether you prefer to work out alone or in a group, outdoors or in a club, the options for exercising in Paris are as diverse as the city itself from aïkido to aerobics, Rollerblading to salsa. The most important factor is to find something you enjoy doing that suits your lifestyle, schedule and budget. HEALTH CLUBS Paris has a wide variety of health clubs with sizes, services and membership fees to fit everyone. Most of the larger fitness centers live up to their stereotypes as being pick-up scenes that play loud music and have members who wear the latest styles, but their state-of-the-art equipment and services combined with their convenient locations make them an appealing option. Community gyms like the YMCA are usually equipped with fewer machines but have a more laid-back environment for working out; affluent private clubs are more reserved and generally provide more amenities (especially in the locker rooms). Espace Vit'Halles Fitness Club, place Beaubourg, 48, rue Rambuteau, 3e, Metro Rambuteau, tel: 01.42.77.21.71, membership: 3,560F-4,450F/year. This club in the heart of Les Halles has earned a reputation as one of the finest fitness centers in France. Catering mostly to a younger crowd, between 20-40 years of age, Vit'Halles offers personal training, circuit training and weight lifting, a unique array of aerobics, stretching and yoga courses plus a sauna and hammam. Le Ritz Health Club, 15, pl Vendôme, 1er, Metro Opéra, tel: 01.43.16.30.60, memberships: 700F/day, 3,000F/month, 18,000F/year; discounts for businesses, "morning only" workouts and seniors. For those who can afford to say that "money is no object" when it comes to their health, the fitness club at the Ritz lets you exercise in luxury without being a hotel guest. This hedonistic health hub has a 16-meter pool, fitness and weight room, squash court, sauna, hammam and jacuzzi as well as personal training, exercise and yoga classes. The European equivalent of Bally's Total Fitness, Gymnase Club has 25 fitness centers around Paris, each with its own personality and clientele. The Maillotclub is frequented by models, Monceauis smaller and more intimate and Montparnasseis the only one with tennis courts. The epicenter of their exercise reign is the Gymnase Club-République, 10, pl de la République (entrance 2, rue du faubourg du Temple), 11e, Metro République, tel: 01.47.00.69.98, memberships: 150F/day, 2,000-5,000F/year, 1,700F/3 months; discounts for unemployed, students and companies. Many members are from the local arts community and all instructors speak English. They have all of the Lifefitnessmachines (biking, rowing and stair climbing) as well as clocks and televisions to keep your mind either on or off of the time you're working out. The lines are long for the machines at night but afternoons are usually not crowded. Check out their rock or salsa dance classes. One of the little known secrets about the club is that hardly anyone uses their pool it's not Olympic size, but it's good for swimming laps without having to share a lane. Piscine Club Pontoise-Quartier Latin, 19, rue de Pontoise, 5e, Metro Maubert-Mutualité, tel: 01.55.42.77.88, memberships: 70F/day or 3,100F/year (student discounts available). The club's 1930s architecture is reason enough for a visit. Aside from aesthetics, this is a serious place for athletics with exercise bikes, rowing machines, treadmills, four squash courts, an aerobics room, free weights area and sauna. The gym overlooks a 33x15 meter swimming pool which has a separate entrance fee available for 25F/day, 44F/night, 220F/10 visits or 1,500F/year. Following are a few smaller gyms with casual workout environments, basic equipment and certified instructors: Body Gym, 157, rue du faubourg St-Antoine, 12e, Metro Faidherbe-Chaligny, tel: 01.43.42.42.33, memberships: 550F/month, 2950F/year, 2,000F/year (students) Point Form' Plus, 138, rue Bagnolet, 20e, Metro Porte de Bagnolet, tel: 01.40.09.85.84, memberships: 590F/month, 2,758-3,730F/year Anthony's Studio, 16, rue Louis Braille, 12e, Metro Daumesnil, tel: 01.43.43.67.67, memberships: 2,200-4,200F/year AEROBICS The aerobics movement led by Jane Fonda in the '80s has evolved into a multi-faceted fitness phenomenon posed for the next millennium and remains a great cardiovascular workout. In Paris, aerobics classes range from music-themed salsa, funk and hip hop aerobics to low-impact water aerobics. American-Style Aerobics, co-ed, community aerobics classes led by ACE/AFAA certified English-language instructors, Mon-Sat, The American Church, 65, quai d'Orsay, 7e, Metro Invalides, tel: 01.47.53.04.56, 45F/class or 400F/10 classes. Salsa Aerobics, a cross between low-impact aerobics and the latest dance trend with energetic Latino rhythms that make it easy to forget you're working out. Tue, 7-8pm, Espace Vit'Halles, 48, rue Rambuteau, 3e, Metro Rambuteau, tel: 01.42.77.21,71, 900F/10 classes. Family Aerobics, parents and children can work off their dinners together, Tue, 6:15 & 7:15pm, Gymnase Fontaine au Roi, 100, rue de la Fontaine au Roi, 11e, Metro Couronnes, tel: 01.43.38.53.93, 1,300F/year or 600F/4 months. Neighborhood Aerobics, high-energy aerobics classes in a casual rez-de-chausséeclub that seems more like a friend's basement than a gym, Mon-Sat, Anima Fitness Club, 104, av de la République, 11e, Metro Père Lachaise or St-Maur, tel: 01.43.38.53.93, 750F/10 classes, 1,600-2,200F/year membership. Aqua Aerobics. Water is the perfect "gym" for working out the whole body and is ideal for all ages, fitness levels and physical abilities as well as pregnant women and people with bad backs. It burns more calories than aerobics on a hard gym floor and the level of difficulty can be increased by using steps, belts and kick boards. Three different organizations offer aqua gymclasses at the Piscine Municipale Saint-Merri, 16, rue du Renard, 4e, Metro Rambuteau, Châtelet, Hôtel de Ville, tel: 01.42.72.29.45. Contact individual clubs to register for classes: Mon, 6:30pm and Wed, 9pm, Vit'Halles, tel: 01.42.77.21.71; Mon, 9pm, Sport Nautique, tel: 01.42.78.07.05; Wed, 7pm, PAMA, tel: 01.40.33.24.45, prices vary. BIKING With more bike lanes, more grèves and more crowded metros, more and more Parisians are opting for bicycles as an alternate means of transportation. It's often a faster way to get where you're going and a healthy way to incorporate exercise into your daily commute. The Association Roue Libre and the RATP are working together to promote biking in France with the inauguration of a new cycling center in the heart of Paris, La Maison Roue Libre at the Forum des Halles, 95 bis, rue Rambuteau, 1er, Metro Les Halles, tel: 01.53.46.43.77. The new center offers a wide range of low cost and comprehensive services. Rent a bike and check out the trails in the bois midweek day rates are 30F; bring your bike in for a simple tune-up for only10F; research biking clubs, associations, tours and trails on the Internet at their free multi-media information center; or get a group of friends together for one of the Escapade Nature Association's English language guided tours around l'Ile-de-France. Roue Libre has worked with the city's public transportation systems to allow passengers to bring their bikes on the Métroline one between Château de Vincennes and La Défense on Sundays (until 4:30pm) and on RER lines A&B (trains marked "vélo") every day except during weekday rush hours (6:30-9am and 4:30-7pm). Cyclists can also take their bikes on tramway line T2 between Issy-les-Moulineaux and La Défense. Other future biking developments include transforming Paris' petite ceintureinto a "rails to trails" type bike path, designating bus lanes as bike lanes and adding more bicycle racks around the parks and metro stations. On Mar 1, five Roue Libre Cyclobuses return to their posts across the Ile-de-France to rent bicycles by the hour or the day. And from March to October, the quais de la Seine become the city's largest bike path on Sundays from 9am to 4pm. ROLLERBLADING Inline skating has officially invaded France, although the French call it rollersor patins en ligne. Everywhere you look, people are working out "blading" and blading out to work. Flat open spaces around the Bastille, les Invalides, the Trocadéro and other historical sites and monuments have become meccas for inline skating lessons and practice sessions. It's a great way to stay in shape and have fun, but be sure to wear safety equipment sprained wrists and broken arms from inline skating have become the most common reasons for emergency room visits. Before you get rolling, learn the ropes from the Roller Squad Institut. Individual and group lessons for children and adults are offered Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun at locations throughout Paris; a one and a half hour course is 65F, tel: 01.45.88.23.75. Once you get the hang of glisse-ing, you can take part in their free group "rolls:" every Sat at 3pm, leaving from les Invalides; every Sun at 3pm, leaving from the Trocadéro; on Feb 20 at 9:30pm, their monthly "Paris by Night," three-hour excursion (for advanced levels) goes from the Trocadéro to La Villette, or Sun, Feb 28 at 10am, take part in a group trip from Paris to Enghien. Association Rollers et Coquillages organizes free group outings that leave from the Bastille every Sun at 2pm, tel: 01.42.72.08.08. Surf http://www.Pari-Roller.com to find out about group rolls from the place d'Italie on Friday nights. Nomades rents rollerblades by the day, week and weekend, and sells a wide selection of the latest models. Group lessons are available every Sat and Sun morning at 10am for beginners and 11:15am for advanced beginners, 100F/hr for the lesson, skates, helmet and safety pads. Nomades, 37, bd Bourdon, 4e, Metro Bastille, tel: 01.44.54.07.44, open Tue-Sun 11am to 7pm. MARTIAL ARTS Kung Fu became popular in the '60s through Bruce Lee movies. Today, this "eastern" exercise is part of the meditative environment created in the northwest corner of Luxembourg Garden (near the Sénat) where individuals and organized groups practice karate, aïkido and other martial arts amid the tranquillity of chestnut trees, sculptures and gardens. All ages and fitness levels can practice Kung Fu on Mon and Tue mornings in the Luxembourg Garden from 9:30-11am with Christophe Tretsch, a member of the Shaolin Temple in China, tel: 01.43.03.50.25 or 03.44.83.44.33, 150F/month. Try your hands at Tai Chi and Qi Gong on Mon and Thu at 6:45pm; Wed, 8pm; and Sat, 4pm; the American Church in Paris, 65, quai d'Orsay, 7e, Metro Invalides, tel: 01.45.77.30.78 or 06.08.31.86.65, 800F/three months plus 200F registration fee (practice video also available). Take advantage of the two-week free trial Karaté-Do classes, Mon- Sat evenings at the American Church in Paris, 65, quai d'Orsay, 7e, Metro Invalides, tel: 01.42.33.11.03. STRETCHING All forms of exercise are a stress release, but "soft" sports such as stretching and yoga are particularly good for relaxing the mind and body. Stretching used to be a warm-up for exercise, now it's an exercise in its own right. On Sunday mornings at the peak of Parc Belleville, with the bells of Notre-Dame chiming up the hill and a breathtaking view of the city below, Aldo Hergott works with a group of 35 adults who come to this neighborhood gathering place every week at 11am for a one-hour calisthenics class which incorporates wooden batons into bending and stretching exercises. Sports-mène-gyms de Parc Belleville, pl de la Courtille, (in front of 22, rue Piat) 20e, Metro Couronnes, tel: 01.47.97.54.70, 300F/year. The "Vol au Vent" Association runs a series of one-hour "Gym-Muscu-Stretch" courses Mon-Thu afternoons in a Marais gym that could easily be taken for a loft apartment with beamed ceilings, soft lighting and hardwood floors. The classes create a calm atmosphere away from the chaos of the busy streets outside. Gymnase des Blancs Manteaux, 48, rue Vieille du Temple, 4e, Metro Hôtel de Ville, tel: 01.40.27. 94.59, 60F/course or 430F/three months (free trial course). Caryle Cline, a trained professional dancer and veteran of the Folies Bergère and Alcazar cabarets leads English-language "Ex-pat" Exercise Classes which combine stretching and dance moves in an intensive hour-long workout for women, Tue & Thu, 10:30am, Salle Pleyel, 2nd fl, Academy Tessa-Beaumont, 252, rue faubourg St-Honoré, 8e, Metro Ternes, tel: 01.42.04.73.72, 600F/10 classes or 50F/trial class for Voicereaders. DANCE From the tango to the twist, dancing has always been one of the grooviest ways to workout without realizing your exercising. American Susan Sparks conducts introductory and advanced Salsa Dancing lessons throughout the week for 85F/class or 650F/12 classes. Or try a three-hour Sunday workshop for 250F. Come with your partner or meet one at the class. Centre de Danse du Marais, 41, rue du Temple, 4e, Metro Hôtel de Ville; and Studio l'Envol, 40, rue de la Folie Regnault, 11e, Metro Père Lachaise, tel: 01.42.71.03.46. Learn about African Dance while working off your hips, butt and thighs every Fri night from 7:30-9pm at Studio l'Envol, 40, rue de la Folie Regnault, 11e, Metro Père Lachaise, tel: 01.43.48.33.84, 700F/10 courses, plus 200F registration fee. SUNDAY SPORTS SCENE It doesn't even need to be a sunny day in Paris to find the parks, plazas and other public spaces filled with exercisers working on getting rid of their paunch tous les dimanches.Kick-boxers meet among the hills of Parc des Buttes Chaumont (19e). Groups of potesplay pick-up soccer games in the Jardin des Tuileries (1er). Co-ed soccer and roller hockey games take over the turf in front of the Hôtel des Invalides (7e). Mostly families stroll along the Promenade Plantée (12e) between the Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes. This paved garden pathway above the Viaduc des Arts gives bikers, walkers, joggers and inline skaters bird's-eye views of Paris. The labyearinth of wide sidewalks and green spaces throughout the Parc de la Villette (19e) is a haven for skateboarders, skaters, bikers and ballplayers. The Bastille (11e) area is stormed by a young crowd of hip hoppin' skaters and the Musée d'Art Moderne (16e) is surrounded by skateboarders. Joggers and walkers circle the Lac Daumesnil in the Bois de Vincennes (12e) and Lacs Inférieur & Superieur in the Bois de Boulogne (16e). Whatever arrondissementyou find yourself in on Sundays, get active enjoying the great outdoors. SPORTS INFORMATION For more information on the sports scene in Paris or to find out where to workout in your neighborhood, look on the Minitel at 3611 Fitness, call Allo Sports at 01.42.76.54.54, pick up the Mairie de Paris' Guide du Sport à Parisat 25, bd Bourdon, 4e, Metro Bastille, or check out the information desk at the m airiein your arrondissement. HEALTHY EATING The other half of getting healthy is eating right. Following are a few addresses of places where you can find whole foods and healthy cuisine: Canal Bio has two supermarkets in Paris with over 7,000 écoproduitsat economical prices, open 10am to 8pm, 46 bis, quai de la Loire, 19e, Metro Jaurès, tel: 01.42.06.44.44; and 300, rue de Charenton, 12e, Metro Pte de Charenton, tel: 01.44.73.81.50. Naturalia has 11 health food stores in Paris, including: 52, rue St-Antoine, 4e; 126, bd Raspail, 6e; 121, bd Magenta, 10e and 107, rue Caulaincourt, 18e. Maison de la Vie Claire stocks organic produce, fresh baked goods and health products at 10 locations, including: 13 bis, av du Père Lachaise, 20e, Metro Gambetta, tel: 01.47.97.76.82, open Mon-Sat 9:30am to 1pm, 3:30-7:30pm. Country Life, serves vegetarian lunch and dinner buffets, hosts conferences and discussion groups, and sells a variety of healthy foods and products, 6, rue Danou, 2e, Metro Opéra, tel: 01.42.97.48.51. Marché Biologique, outdoor organic foods markets, are held every Sat morning on bd des Batignolles, between the Place Clichy and rue de Rome, 17e, and every Sun morning on bd Raspail, at rue des Rennes, 6e, from 8am to 1pm. |
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