Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

By Alissa Fleck

Tons of people worldwide tune in to watch the Olympic games, and many are moved by the spirit of intense physical exertion and success. But how does it actually affect people, in ways they may or may not register? A few New Yorkers cite their own experiences.

Sean Kelleher, a managing partner at the Upper East Side’s high performance Edge Gym, said people in his gym are significantly more motivated to work out during Olympic season. Kelleher said, at his gym, this especially applies to women.

“People get much more motivated,” said Kelleher. “Their whole standards are different. People come in and say they’ve got to step it up. They think: ‘Hey, I can do this.’”

Kelleher chalks it up to the realities portrayed by the Olympic games. “It’s real people doing really hard sports,” he said. “It shows you it’s not easy. The industry waters it down, these athletes work hard all the time. This redefines what hard is, you don’t see the fad stuff.”

Kelleher added more people are walking in the door, and people who are already gym members are stepping up their game.

How long does this attitude last? “Until they get results,” explained Kelleher. “Otherwise they go back to whatever else they were doing.” According to him, his gym sees more people after New Years, but they’re “less focused and don’t know what they want.”

One New Yorker, Chris D’Angelo, was playing pickup dodgeball games “here and there” as a primary means of exercise prior to Olympic season. Then the games rolled around, and D’Angelo found himself “enthralled.”

“I watch all the events,” he said. “I put my hand over my heart every time I hear our national anthem played.”

And how did it inspire him? “I have looked into where I can play team handball or ‘Euro handball’ in the city,” said D’Angelo. “The USA doesn’t have a team for this Olympic sport and I’m amazed, because it looks to be right up our alley.”

After a bit of searching in the city that has it all, D’Angelo was successful: “I found a handball team in Hell’s Kitchen that starts try-outs in September. I wanna see if I got what it takes to play an Olympic sport.”

The motivation was not lost on Kelleher either. “I was watching women’s volleyball and I thought oh my god, man I suck, I gotta work harder,” he said. “It’s a great advertisement for a gym.”

This “get results” attitude may be more characteristic of Kelleher’s gym—which actually has an Olympic weightlifting training class—than other gyms around the City, though he insists Average Joe types would not be intimidated by Edge. Edge Gym is home to everyone from a deaf shot putter, who interacts with Kelleher through sign language, to dance choreographers.

Even those who haven’t necessarily watched the games with such attentiveness can find themselves caught up in the Olympic fervor and feeling the subconscious push to work a little harder, at least for the time being. Meanwhile others may immediately declare defeat in the face of such seemingly superhuman physical achievement.

Dodgeball
Ah, dodgeball, the gym-class activity that always ended with sitting in the nurse’s office. Now that we’re all grownup and can handle some rubber to the face, it’s time to play with the people at NYC Social Sports Club. They’ve got a league going, but you can also drop in to some of their games. Lace up your sneakers and buy a cup, because the balls are on the line.
Wednesdays, June 23 to Aug. 4, various locations, www.nycssc.com; 8-10, $15 and up.

Dance to rockabilly, tango, soul, salsa, swing and more at Midsummer Night Swing.

Inner Tube Water Polo
One of the oldest continuous Olympic sports, water polo is like an aqueous mix of soccer and handball. Adding inner tubes to the game is an extra resistance challenge, an effective form of exercise and a great equalizer: It saves the aqua-impaired from the embarrassment of wearing water wings to the next match. This league’s deadline for individual or team registration is June 26, so butter up your friends or come and make new ones!
Fridays, June 26 through August, Lower East Side locations TBA, www.nycssc.com; 8, $100.

Kickball
Come kick it like you used to during 5th-grade recess. Stick it to the playground bullies and prove that you don’t need arms to be a great athlete. Plus, players get special deals on drinks after the game (maybe a little different from the elementary school playground, but whatever).
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Lower East Side locations TBA, www.meetup.com/nykickball; 6, $100 for the season.

Ultimate Frisbee
As the New York Times pointed out in late April, Ultimate is no longer associated with dirty hippies and collegians. Whether or not your response time is limited by smoking the happy lettuce, Ultimate can be an intensely challenging sport—just ask the folks in the internationally recognized competitions. A summer league is open through NYC Social Sports Club, but pickup games can be found all over the city, including Central Park.

Beach Volleyball Competition
Claiming to be the “largest free amateur beach volleyball” competition on the East Coast, 150 teams will compete for free elimination rounds starting in July. The best ballers can win great cash prizes. The NYC Parks Department hosts, and details will be released in June.

Hudson Kayaking
Ever since Captain Sully landed a plane in the Hudson, the polluted waterway has been one of the city’s most attractive destinations. Join in on the fun with Downtown Boathouse’s 20-minute long lessons. Wear something you don’t mind getting wet, and hop into a kayak.
Through Oct. 17, Pier 40, Pier 96 and Riverside Park at W. 72nd St., www.downtownboathouse.org; times vary, Free.

Let’s Dance!
A staple of the Summer on the Hudson festival, Let’s Dance! is the best way to take the ballroom out of dancing and get down in a park. With professional lessons from the Piel Canela Dance and Music school, adventurous romantics can spend the night learning salsa, cha-cha or the bachata—a Dominican dance style similar to merengue.
Sundays, June 6 through 27, Pier 1 at Riverside Park, betw. W. 65th & W. 72nd Sts., www.riversideparkfund.org; 6, Free.

Midsummer Night Swing
For those looking to tear up the concrete with a pre-surgery Jennifer Grey look-alike, there is nowhere classier to do it than Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. Offering rockabilly, tango, soul, salsa, swing and more, acts like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra will provide foot-stomping sounds all through July. Dance lessons are offered at 6:30, with live music firing up about an hour later.
Tuesdays through Saturdays, June 29 through July 17, W. 62nd St. betw. Columbus and Amsterdam Aves., www.midsummernightswing.org; 6:30, $17.

Bastille Day Celebrations
Celebrated here on July 11, French Independence Day (which is actually July 14) celebrates the storming of Paris’ infamous political prison. In New York, Bastille Day is an excuse to play pétanque, eat crepes and get drunk in the sun on fancy wine. Although FI:AF hosts an annual Bastille day on E. 60th St. (betw. 5th & Madison Aves., www.bastilledaynyc.com), the real deal is in Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill, where sponsors like Ricard, the sizeable French expat population and Smith Street bistros hold the Gallic-themed street fests.

Basketball
The quintessential American sport is fantastic outdoor exercise, and the Parks Department offers numerous opportunities to play, from working on your jump shot to finding a drop-in game in over 500 locations all over Manhattan—or you can join a league at Zog Sports.
Saturdays, various locations, www.zogsports.org.

Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
An important holiday for New Yorkers, July 4 is when we celebrate an important American experience: stuffing our faces with hot dogs until our hearts pump sodium. This annual Independence Day competition has become its own spectator sport, attracting international competitors and some 30,000 people to view the contest—not to mention the million-plus that watch it on ESPN.
July 4, Coney Island Boardwalk, www.coneyisland.com; time TBA, Free.

Beach Fireworks at Coney Island
With the recession squashing developers’ plans faster than mice can make their own, our fears of losing Coney Island nights can go the way of the dodo. Friday night fireworks, which begin at 9:30 starting June 19, are accompanied by karaoke and best viewed from the top of Deno’s Wonderwheel.
Fridays, June 19 through Aug. 14, Coney Island Boardwalk at W. 12th St., www.wonderwheel.com; 9:30, Free.