Killer routines

Photo: Imogen Brown

Laszlo Huve took up martial arts as a chubby 16-year-old who was tired of being picked on at school. Within two years, the Romanian native was teaching kung fu and karate to soldiers in his country’s military and delivering lectures about the crucial role of martial arts in exercise.

These days, the 38-year-old trainer—whose gentle demeanor belies his lethal skills—operates out of Energy Fitness, the midtown gym he opened last fall. The focus there is on functional training: a wide range of methods (including everything from yoga to boxing) that put body weight to use, eschewing bulky muscles in favor of a more lithe, elongated shape. During a break from choreographing a kung fu sequence for a movie shoot at the gym, Huve assessed my physical makeup while explaining the benefits of this practice. “It’s about maintaining flexibility in order to be most effective in your daily life,” he said. “And being able to touch your toes when you’re 70.” After scrutinizing my posture and movement (members of the gym get free fitness consultations twice monthly), he determined that the left side of my body is noticeably more powerful than the right—a common result, apparently, of bad habits picked up during exercise. “Our gym’s specialty is to take the body apart and put it back together again,” Huve says, describing a regimen of leg-lifts, free-weight workouts and stretches that would bring my weaker limbs up to speed. “In a four-wheel-drive car, all the wheels should pull the same weight. We try to do the same for your body.”

You won’t learn how to knock off your enemies at Energy Fitness, but much of its philosophy is taken from Huve’s martial arts days. “We focus on full body maintenance,” he says. “It’s no longer just a matter of self-defense, but it is still about strength of mind, body and soul.”

Energy Fitness, 15 W 39th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves, fourth floor (212-354-7946).

Huve’s tips

1. Pace yourself “People work out like crazy, pull muscles and then never go back to the gym again,” Huve points out. “Set a short-term goal—like getting yourself to the club—and a long-term goal, like exercising regularly. Don’t try to do your New Year’s resolution in one week.”

2. Research Talk to a trainer to come up with a plan for getting in shape or revamping a monotonous workout schedule. Or consult a book: Two of Huve’s favorites are Body for Life by Bill Phillips and You: The Owner’s Manual by Mehmet C. Oz and Michael Roizen.

3. Exercise And do it despite exhaustion. “If you’re stressed, your energy level will be very low,” says Huve. “Instead of piling weights on an already tense muscle, do cardio that stretches out the body. That will release negative energy and make you feel much better.”

4. Stretch “Ten to fifteen minutes a day,” Huve says. “Do it every morning when you wake up, to maintain a limber body.”

5. Get creative If you’re strapped for cash, “think outside,” says Huve. “Take advantage of free ice-skating in midtown, or go to a park to jog.”