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Fitness

The Pump NYC

May 1, 2007 at 2:47 PM | 0 Comments

Few restaurants inspire polarized foodie opinions like the Pump, the New York City "Physical Fitness Restaurant" mini-chain that serves up ultra-plain health food. Those who hate it claim that the Pump's food has no flavor, a valid argument. Those who love it swear by the joint's high-protein, low-fat, and (sometimes) low-calorie leanings. Either way, it's a New York staple, and an excellent pit stop for your long city walks. The Pump also happens to be one of New York's worst offenders when it comes to celebrity crap on the wall, so rest assured that you'll always have something to look at while waiting for your food.

The menus are the same at each of the Pump's 5 locations, but the clientele varies, from the somewhat sleepy Murray Hill/Thrill location, to the bustling West 55th spot, where you can chat it up with sad record company interns on lunch runs for their office. The Pump's one disadvantage is that it doesn't have a true Chelsea location, and that's where its main competitor, Energy Kitchen, has it beat. (There's no better place for gawking at Chelsea bodybuilders. Energy Kitchen, however, may or may not have recently given us food poisoning.)

Recommended menu items include vegetarian chili ($3), the famous baked falafel sandwich ($4.85) and pizza-esque chicken and spinach sandwich with tomato sauce and mozzarella ($7.10). As a bonus, the Pump has been known to send poor souls in food costumes out into the street to hand out coupons for free shakes (see above).

[Photo: ceonyc]

Related Stories:
· The Pump Energy Food [Official Site]

Fitness

Bikini Clad Boot Camp Leader

January 12, 2006 at 10:29 AM | 0 Comments

Alot of us had epiphianies after 9.11.  However, how many of us actually did something about it?

Well, ex-Morgan Stanley i-banker Lauren Brenner did.  In 2003 she opened a 6500 sq. ft facility called Pure Power Boot Camp in Manhattan's Flatiron district.  

For around $37 a session or $900 for six weeks, Lauren and her team of former military drill sergeants will whip you into shape using an indoor replica of a military training facility at Fort Knox.  

Ropes, ladders, walls, nets, and getting barked at by Lauren and her team of militants should be enough to whip even the most sedentary into shape.

If you don't see the results you are looking for, the hot girl in the camouflage bikini (that would be Lauren) will train you herself.

C'mon, there has to be a reality television show in here, dontcha think?