As the city launches its Make NYC Your Gym campaign with a week of fitness events in parks and recreation centers, the Wall Street Journal profiles one man who is truly taking the credo to heart.
Ret Taylor has made Central Park his gym, going there several times a week to run through the grass, climb trees and small rocky hills, and lift logs and stones.
It's all part of the MovNat program (short for "Move Naturally") he has picked up. The program was founded by France's Erwan Le Corre in 2008, according to the Journal, and "[t]he idea is simple: Turn nature into your gym. Get out into the sunlight and run in fresh air. Rocks become dumbbells and tree brances become pull-up bars."
Taylor, the founder of a consulting firm, told the Journal he used to run marathons but decided to turn to MovNat after reading about it and feeling he wasn't getting enough of a full-body workout. He now conducts a weekly course through Central Park, called Natural Movement NYC and organized on meetup.com.
The Journal describes his workout:
Mr. Taylor works out seven days a week, training each Saturday with the group in Central Park. His workout lasts two hours, but others might stay for less time. "But I'm there until the last person wants to be done," he says.
The group covers three to six miles of running, stopping every half mile or so for push-ups or crunches, often using objects in the park like they are gym equipment. "Every three minutes we're doing something else," he says, adding each person works at his or her own pace. "I might do 12 pull-ups, and someone else might do 20, and someone else might do four."
Mr. Taylor works out the other six days a week on his own. Weekday mornings he jogs barefoot on a grassy area before doing sprints. He does a series of jumping jacks, high kicks, jump-rope intervals and push-ups. He also works out for an hour or two at night.
Intense.
Also, he rocks those crazy Vibram sneakers that seem to be getting more popular.
Check out video and photos of Taylor doing his thing over at WSJ.com.
