By Stacey Griffith
Founding instructor of Soul Cycle,
Best-Selling Author and Podcast Co-Host of THE WAY
There may be a chance that this summer you are searching for a new routine, a new pattern, a new you. Your kids may have decided to go to camp after all, or they are grown and aren’t even home all summer because they just graduated from college and are backpacking or working already. Or, this may be your first summer in the Hamptons ever, and you don’t even know where to begin. Let’s just first start with your intention. Yeah, that’s right, your intention. What do you want for yourself from this summer in the Hamptons? I think the summer brings out the best in all of us as it’s the season of healthier eating, local farmer bliss, outdoor meals, and the best part, I think, is longer days.
I have to say, after spending fifteen summers here in a row, I think I have it down, but then again, I may be the wrong person to ask about the best nightlife, the best place to eat, or the best babysitter to hire. However, I do know the fitness scene quite well and all of the political dynamics that go with it. If you want to make the most of the Hamptons on a physical level, I have some great suggestions for where to start. This has to be a politically correct article, so as to not offend the community of my fitness industry, I’ll go light on some things. Just know that it is always my suggestion for people to try everything that interests them and blend the things that make them happy. If someone tells you, “Don’t train anywhere else but [fill in the blank],” I worry that you might choose a place that may not be right for you, and potentially rob you of your best self. If there is something in fitness you want to add to your weekly routine because it makes your head clear, I say do it. Just understand that a lot of times you can unwind the work a trainer/instructor is doing for your body by training on another machine that will change the outcome of the way you look.
If you aren’t trying to be a professional something or other, and you simply just want to feel amazing, then you should do the things that make you feel amazing. The Hamptons offers so many variations of workouts, as well as strengthen and lengthen studios like LYMBR inside of SoulCycle Bridgehampton. There are boxing studios, pilates studios, hot yoga, and if you want to hire a trainer to get in some one-on-one strength time, local gyms in Southampton, Sag Harbor, and Wainscott offer summertime memberships! Walking fast on the beach early mornings (in sneakers) and buying or renting a bike at Sag Harbor Cycle and going on rides with family and friends are hidden workouts waiting to happen, too. Whatever you do, have fun doing it, because at the end of the day, you’ll stay committed to something if you are having fun. Remember, no devices measure serotonin or dopamine levels (yet), and those two chemicals, my friends, are your secret weapons of exercise.
