Is Lady Gaga becoming Lady Yoga?
As the pop star rolls her Monster Ball tour into the Pepsi Center Wednesday night, she might request a hot yoga session or Pilates workout to get pumped for her show.
The singer takes care of her voice with honey, ginger ale and hot tea, her mind with yoga and a belief in a higher power, and her body with drop-in workouts while she’s on the road.
As she sweeps through the heartland, Gaga tweets about doing “rocknroll power yoga” in cowboy boots, strolls through a Dallas Whole Foods in a bikini, and complains on Facebook about being hung over.
Despite the dance-all-night party-girl image in her music and her tweets, the entertainer tells Rolling Stone that she is making “more of an effort now to minimize the stress in my life. I take care of myself. . . . I’m just really focused on mind, body and soul.”
About a year ago, she started working with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak of 5-Factor Fitness fame. His cardio-heavy 30-minute routines five times a week, plus five small meals a day helped her get into the shape she displays on a July Rolling Stone cover (in a machine-gun bra and a black thong).
She travels with a Pasternak- designed barbell-dumbbell set, and when she tires of the in-room routine, Gaga will pick up the phone and summon up a local workout through her hotel’s concierge.
That’s just what happened in St. Louis last week, when Wellbridge Athletic Club trainer Abby Cohen got a call from the Ritz, saying that they had a “patron who wants a Pilates appointment.”
At 2 p.m., a petite, poker-faced woman in leggings, a concert T-shirt, headband and sunglasses entered through the club’s back door. She told Cohen, “I’m here for an hour and a half, and I want you to work me out,” says the trainer. “I wanted to give her the most I could possibly give her. Like any female, she wanted to work shoulders, biceps, triceps, and we incorporated legs at the end.”
When Gaga was in Cleveland, Evolution Yoga owner Sandy Gross got the call. “She was gracious, friendly, fun and sweet — but definitely Gaga,” Gross told the Plain Dealer. She put Gaga through the poses in a “moderately heated” room, saying “she has really lovely feet! It was a little surprising to see them bare, as she is so known for her shoes, among so many other things.”
So, what kind of monster workout would Denver offer, to acclimate to the high altitude that plagues many singers here? We asked around, and here’s a sampling:
Jen Kaminski, owner of Tease Studio, where women unleash their inner sex kitten in pole-dance classes, says she would combine some chair- dance moves (think “Cabaret”) with the pole and a “ton of cardio.”
“The pole workout gives a Pilates kind of body — elongation and extension — and builds core and arm strength.” Wearing heels in class tones up the calves, something that Gaga must know well, with her stilettos and Frankenstein-style platform boots.
Catering to the stars
The Hotel Teatro, favored for its small size and discreet staff, often must meet the unusual needs of its star guests, who have included Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana and Sting.
“We have put exercise balls in a guest room, a Stairmaster or stationary bike,” says general manager David Craig. “One artist that stays with us needs fresh lemons, a blender and a new knife.”
When The Boss wanted a workout and a meal, Teatro concierges sent him to the Denver Athletic Club and made sure a chef was on call for after his show. When wrestler/actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wanted a tuna sandwich, the Kevin Taylor chefs got chopping.
Want to go running? The hotel will provide a sole mate or a two-way radio if the celeb prefers to jog alone.
Guests at the JW Marriott in Cherry Creek North are often referred to Pura Vida Fitness and Spa for its Kinesis resistance training and hot yoga classes. For Lady Gaga, fitness director Heather Bahlmann suggests “an incredible workout called Indo Row. It’s indoor rowing. It’s been dubbed in Hollywood as the perfect calorie burn.”
If Gaga’s looking for a not-gym for no-pants lifestyle, Renu Kansal of Bollywood West would “warm her up with some Pilates-oriented movement, then get her heart rate up with some dance-inspired cardio like bhangra or Bollywood dancing. It would draw on her weight-bearing strength, as well as flexibility and fast-twitch muscles. Both that and the warm-up would keep her musculature looking long and lean, rather than bulky — important since she has such a petite frame.”
Although hotel and tour managers decline to say whether Gaga’s name is on the reservation list, she has stayed at the Ritz in other cities. The Ritz-Carlton Denver often receives “shopping lists” of specific health foods.
Staying in shape for her fans
In the past, Gaga has requested roast chicken, a veggie tray, hummus, guacamole, whole-wheat crackers, dried apples and mangoes.
For one unnamed tour, the staff turned the Ritz’s main ballroom into a gym with wooden dance floors and trampolines. Short of that, concierges will send guests to Forza Fitness Club, adjacent to the hotel and free for guests. The club offers yoga, Pilates, a rock-climbing wall and “Red Rocks stairs,” and a basketball court that has served as a private hoops workout for many a pro.
Imagine walking in for your Willpower & Grace class at the Oxford Club at the Oxford Hotel and seeing the cast of Cirque du Soleil, Danny Glover, Blues Traveler or Bjork, all of whom have used the club.
If Gaga were to stay at the LoDo hotel, Oxford Club trainer Kirk Frieberger would use kettlebells and TRX suspension to build her upper- body and core strength.
The Westin Tabor Center dealt with serious security and paparazzi in 2008 when it hosted Barack Obama, who shot hoops at the Denver Athletic Club during the Democratic National Convention. Concierges also send celebrities and other VIPs to the fitness club Dumbbells and the new Colorado Athletic Club at the Tabor Center.
Inspired by her St. Louis counterpart’s Pilates program with the star, Colorado Athletic Club trainer Lexi Bulich created a workout that mimics the demands of Gaga’s two-hour performance (see sidebar, above). Although she spoke little during her session, the Lady inspired the trainer.
“She was very passionate about what she does,” says Cohen. “She takes her health and fitness workouts seriously so she can give everything to the people that love her.”
Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com
Local trainer choreographs a two-hour Gaga workout
Colorado Athletic Club trainer Lexi Bulich knew who to call when we asked her to dream up a rock-star workout: her counterpart at the company’s St. Louis club, Abby Cohen, who just happened to have spent an hour and a half in the Pilates room with Lady Gaga before her St. Louis concert.
Here’s Bulich’s Gaga-good workout:
“First of all, we would work Lady Gaga out for at least two hours, the length of her concerts. It is important to build up her endurance and perseverance through cardio, strength, flexibility, balance and, most of all, fun!
“We would warm her up with a little Zumba, a cardio-fitness class with easy-to-follow moves and a Latin flavor. Lady Gaga turns her concerts into one huge dance party, so what better way to get her heart pumping than 30 minutes of music, movement and fun.
“To best tone her body for her sexy outfits, we’d transition into 30 minutes of Group Power, which uses a plated barbell to strengthen the major muscles of the body. We would include squats and lunges (for the miniskirts, fishnet tights and stilettos), as well as biceps and shoulders to make sure she can pick up her keyboard and work the microphone all night.
“Next we’d move into 30 minutes of core and balance work using the BOSU Balance Trainer and TRX Suspension Trainer. We would challenge her in suspending plank positions, unilateral abdominal exercises and dynamic BOSU balancing tricks. Balance and core strength are crucial when playing the piano standing up, flying across the stage in a trapeze and balancing elaborate headpieces during each performance.
“Lady Gaga’s performances are red-hot in more ways than one — playing a flaming piano and shooting sparks of fireworks from her bustier. We finish her workout with 30 minutes of hot yoga, which facilitates deeper stretching, injury prevention, stress relief and relaxation. With all the energy Lady Gaga puts into each performance, yoga is the perfect mind-body discipline to refuel the body.
“We move her quickly between each segment to prepare her for the many quick wardrobe changes she undergoes during each performance.
“Just as every show ends with an encore, we’d encourage Lady Gaga to enjoy a post-workout massage, spend time relaxing in the steam room and visit our Energy Bar Cafe for a signature protein shake.”
