Monday

Heading to the gym in two minutes... hoping to get a good sweat going. I'm also avoiding strangers coming in to see our house, ha!

Excited for the rowing machine, some miles on the treadmill and a neat bike ride under clouds. Not necessarily in that order.

How's your Monday going?

Anybody else have a sweat-proof sports bra? :)

Edit: ran 2.85 miles before my right ankle felt a bit weird (I was aiming for 4mi). I bought a new pair of rollerblades a couple of days ago. It's been loads of fun to glide down the riverside trail! It's definitely been a huge adjustment, however, as my 22 year-old self isn't as balanced, fast-moving or confident one on blade as my 10 year-old self was.

I then did 2km on the rowing machine, in 9.20mins. It's loads of fun, but I'm worried my technique isn't perfect - something I've read about that can injure one in time. I might ask a personal trainer to watch me and offer tips? I still have a free hour session that's due to expire August 31st!

And the highlight of my Monday? 15 minutes in the sauna - it was lovely :) I can't wait for cooler, fall weather when the sauna will be what I look forward to while on the treadmill :D

New Gym

Two weeks of August have almost flown by! I've been a member at my new gym for 11 days now, and I haven't been able to honour my challenge and go everyday.
I had planned to go spinning yesterday morning. I had planned to attend yoga this morning. I missed out yesterday because it was waaaay too early (6:30) and I went to bed late, and I didn't go this morning... well because I decided to shuffle my schedule around and go before work.

I woke up at around 8:30 this morning, cleaned some dishes, make some soup, emailed some people and read some things. I also watched some TV.

I decided I had a neat little window between 2pm and work at 4 to hit the gym for a treadmill run. I miscalculated and ended up having time for 2miles and a .5mile cool-down.

9:27, 8:48, 6:07

I was a puddle of sweat by the time I finished, but I'm pleased to say that I didn't stop until mile 2 :) I took my first shower at the gym and noticed a few things:

• the showers are super tall. I haven't seen showers THIS TALL/high in Canada since I arrived. I usually have to squat a little to wash my hair, and I'm short! It wasn't a very pleasant surprise as I hadn't taken out my contacts and they got a bit splashed.
• the gym has soap! Really nice smelling soap. So I don't ever have to bring mine, which is awesome, because I hate having to put a slippery soap bar in a baggy and take it home... such a mess.
• the water fountain is a bit silly. There isn't a very high stream, so it doesn't allow me to fill up my whole bottle in one go, but that's pretty much the standard, I think.

Once I had toweled and changed, I grabbed my deodorant from my bag and started spraying myself... only to find out that it was sun-block! At least I smell like a tanned person vs. a  sweaty smelly person, so it's okay, but I have many things to learn until I achieve the perfect gym-shower-work experience.

I did, however, manage to grab a decent picture of my soaked shirt, so I'll post that once I get home and can upload the photo. It's such a silly tradition, isn't it? :)

Thursday

Today was a great day. I am trained in Standard CPR, level C!
I was able to hit the gym up after my 9-5 training and run 2.8 miles at 6.0mph and walk another mile at 5.0 incline, 3.5mph. Bringing my daily total to:

• 12.4km biked
• 4miles jogged/walked

(I don't know why it's appropriate to do cycling in km and running in miles. My brain is just dexterous in both measuring systems?)

Friday, the plan:

• wake up late (after 8am!!)
• bike to the gym
• run 5k on the treadmill for the virtual race
• bike back (there's only two fitness classes tomorrow - 'hip & fit' and morning spinning)
• hand out resumes
• evening running with my new running buddy
• celebrating my new work permit (and the weekend) with friends at the house

I think it sounds like a lovely Friday!

No gym Day

Last night, going to bed around 11pm, I was worried that I wouldn't have a great night's rest. I had too much energy all day, I had an annoying, needy, vocal cat staying at my place, as well as room-mates that stay up later than me playing video games.
But it was a restful night, made successful by a pair of beautiful green ear-plugs :)
Once 7:30 rolled around, I was awoken early by the cat and got ready to make breakfast.

Oatmeal with shredded coconut and cinnamon, yum.

I had looked over the schedule at the gym for Wednesdays and determined that I only had time to catch one class around my 9am-5pm First Aid & CPR training. It was from 06:30-7:30, and I might have time to bike home, shower and be ready in time to be picked up to make the training. But after yesterday's two work-outs I decided to make today a rest day and try again tomorrow.

I'm pleased with my decision, as I was wiped once I got home and needed a nap. Two glorious hours - now I'm studying, making dinner and drinking tea. I still have time to go to the gym NOW, but it's already 9, dark outside, and the gym closes at 11. I'd have just enough time to squeeze in some treadmill time and bike home in the dark. BUT:

• I'm not that motivated
• I'm kinda scared of biking at night (I need to buy a reflective vest)
• I don't care enough to go everyday

I plan on making an attempt to go to a yoga class tomorrow evening after training, but it depends on what time we finish. If I don't make it in time for the class, I'd like to hit up the treadmill (maybe) and catch some TV time. We'll see!

Yoga, not

I've been a member of my new gym for about a day now, and it's pretty awesome! Below is a long-winded and boring group of sentences describing my first impressions, as well as a detailed description of my failed-but-saved evening work-out. Feel free to skip this one, but I want to remember the experience of being brand new to a gym :)


I love gyms that exist for the sole purpose of making fitness/exercise accessible and fun. My new gym has squash courts (one day!), towel service, lots of group classes, 4 different weight rooms (upper body, lower, free weights and heavy, heavy weights), towel service, a steam room and a sauna (in the past any facility had either or, not both), and a cardio THEATRE! including a stair machine. They probably have more, but that's what my short tour to the changing rooms included, haha.


I know this is still a little gym and I don't think it's a franchise, but their sole purpose is to create a space for people to workout. Compared to my university gym, this one's spacious, less crowded, friendly and consumer-focused. It's refreshing for sure :)


In my last post I talked about trying the Rise & Shine circuit class. This evening I was determined to try out Yoga Flow. I made sure to have a snack, fill up my bottle and leave plenty of time to bike the 6km there. I kept forgetting things and I turned around twice. I was caught waiting after a train that seemed to be going backwards and forwards. Against all odds, haha I made it to the gym with 10 minutes to spare and sweatily asked the front desk lady where the class was held. Oh - there's no yoga today. Oops - I must have gotten the schedule wrong. For some reason they already switched their schedule and are operating on the August line-up and now there's an earlier class on Tuesdays.


Saddened, I decided that I was already there, so I might as well make the most of it and try out their cardio theater. I sneaked in a lock in the changing room (I'll pay the $6.50 for locker rental next time) and shoved my bag and helmet into a locker. I dropped some soup on my ipod in the bathroom and I only realised once I felt the gooey-ness heading to the cardio room. I made my way back to the bathroom to wipe it off, leaving my water bottle on the sink counter. My ipod is super clean now and working great, but I obviously forgot my water bottle there.
Skip ahead, because I'm already bored. I did 2 miles @ 6.0 and another .6, walking, at 5.0 incline. I figured out their TV system too late - I'll use it next time. You plug in your headphones to a little receiver thing that connects to the TVs, and you can switch which 'channel' TV you're connected to. It's SO NEAT! No more watching silent news and trying to guess who won which medals from facial expressions again, ha.


Anyway. I biked home. I didn't fall down. No more train waiting. I was sweaty. The end?

Oh - I found a running partner! In real life. We have a running date this Friday, so we'll see how things go. Having a newbie that will keep me accountable and entertained shouldn't be too bad.

Circuit training- 45 mins

Cycling- 24km - ~1h20min

Running/jogging/walking - 30min

Total: ~2.75hours in one day! Excuse me while I take a nap for two days...

Circuit Training #1

Last night before bed I set 6 alarms for the morning, ranging from 05:30-06:00. After terrible dreams and lots of un-restful turning over and over again, I awoke to a dark sky and determined that I was not going to get up, and I felt okay with my decision.
Trying to get back to sleep I realised I was thirsty. So I got up and turned the kitchen light on, poured some delicious water. Got back into bed. Then the cats started being annoying. Then I felt bad for being a slacker.
So I got up, got ready, had a banana and headed off. I was about 10 minutes behind schedule but I knew I'd be mad if I woke up this early for nothing.

So off to the gym I headed, where I was just in time to join a female instructor and 3 lovely gentlemen for circuit training. For 45 seconds each, with 15s to get to the next one. We did the circuit 4 times, with 60s rest in between.

1. One was a 25lb barbell plate on a towel, and you had to push it across the room.
2. Tri dips
3. Medicine ball, throws on each side over your head
4. Step-ups with a bar weight
5. Bosu ball and bicep curls (6lb then 12lb, 12lb, 10lb)
6. Plank on an exercise ball
7. Dumbbell shoulder press on an exercise ball

My favourite was the medicine ball! Getting to throw that thing around was fun and it made a super awesome sound. Pushing the plate on the floor was neat too - the record is 4.5times around the room, and I managed 4. It's hard, yo. I'm convinced that the towel gets sweaty each time someone's on it and it gets more friction each round. My least favourite was the tri-dip station - ouch! I ended up having to use a tiny (10lb?) weight instead of my body weight. Planks are another thing I could really improve....

I am extremely happy I went! It kicked my ass and my arms feel like jelly. I also biked there & back (12km roundtrip) so I've already worked out AND showered before 8am, which is earlier than I would usually wake up. Time for some yummy oatmeal (with shredded coconut) and a movie.

After 45mins circuit training + 12km cycling

August 2012

As we step into August, new and exciting things are happening!
I received an unexpected surprise in the mail today: my work permit! I was hoping to hear back via email, but this is so much better. Bright and shiny, it's mine for 3 years. Meaning a job is next, as are adult responsabilities. Which leads to signing a new lease in September. We found a neat 2-bedroom apartment for a decent price, and we're moving at the end of the summer. Perhaps pictures will follow, maybe not.

I participated in a volleyball fundraiser yesterday. It was a lovely, sunny Sunday and 5 beautiful people were able to dedicate their day to being on my team. Together we raised about $200 for the cause and we came 5th of 8 teams. Considering some of the team members hadn't ever met before, I think our team worked extremely well together and everyone reports to have had fun, which is all the matters!
There was a raffle draw, and I split my tickets between a 1hr massage, a gym membership and a printer (because Calvin really wanted it). I won the printer! And was able to make Calvin happy by handing it to him. Then I won two of the one-month memberships, which is kind of silly, so they drew again. But I was allowed to keep a one-month $100 value membership to a local gym. While it doesn't have a swimming pool, it does have amazing machines, NO STUDENT CROWDS, and lots of group fitness classes. I signed up this morning and left with the schedule - I'm allowed to be in AS MANY of the classes as I want for 4 whole weeks. Of course, I plan to go everyday. There's 3 or 4 different kinds of yoga that they have (flow, hatha, power, and an all-ages beginner one). I want to try circuit training and MAYBE pilates. I want to try a spin class, although I'm worried about not being able to spin fast enough and the music being too loud.

I'm super excited! The place is about 6km away from me, which is great for cycling, and maybe even possible for running. It's my August goal to make the most of this prize as possible, and I hope to be able to update you after trying everything!
Oh and I also have ONE personal training session which I don't know what to do with! Weights? Core exercises? I've been thinking about this all day: what are my fitness goals? I kind of just have cycling goals right now; I'd like to get faster at swimming? I'm taking an unofficial break from running just to let me knee chill out.

I'll keep thinking. Thanks for reading my rambles, haha.