Sunday 29 March 2009

The Roosevelt Hotel, 45th and Madison, New York

Submitted By: Methuselah
Location: 45 East 45th Street @ Corner of Madison Avenue / New York, NY 10017 (map)
Website: http://www.theroosevelthotel.com
Workouts: from workout diary


This gym has a set of cardio machines, seen here in the picture. The set of dumbbells, also pictured, go up to 50lbs. Out of shot, on the right, there are a couple of benches, a pull-down machine and a cables machine that also has some high handles for doing pull ups. These handles are a little annoying because they are angled in such a way that neither chins, nor pull ups can be executed in the way most people would expect.

Yet in a way the awkward handles should be a welcome change - if we want to mix up our training and emulate the activities our ancestors would have engaged in, then the more variation the better. The trees they climbed did not have branches at the same angle.

There are towels, fruit and water in the room.

Also of note - this hotel has a set of back stairs that are accessible - and many, many floors. Perfect for stair jumps, provided you work out early enough to avoid pedestrians.

Update: 4th April 2009 - if you are in any way serious about training, don't expect to be able to use this gym properly. The roof is not high enough for someone 5'10" or taller to press the dumbbells above their head. In my training session today a dumbbell punched a hole in the roof!

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