September Challenge: Week 3 Recap

Well, my game face is on and I finally feel like I have made some real headway this week.

• 25 miles/40.2336 km per week – this week was a crazy week, with a very limited amount of time to run over the weekend, I got up early for not just one but two 7am runs. I am not a roll out of bed and into my running gear kinda girl either. I don’t leave the house until all systems are a go, so I am giving myself a big pat on the back for getting up at 6am BOTH days of the weekend, and they were rainy days to boot.  Weekly mileage was 28.76 miles/46.29km, bringing my total mileage for the month to 93.65 miles, I’m so close I can taste it!

• 100 push-ups a day – although they are getting easier to do (I am up to 50 consecutive now) I don’t know why I wait until 9 0′clock every night to do them. I was pleased to find out that I have had a few takers on the challenge, welcome Kimberley and Soraiya…of course Soraiya is doing them from her toes.

• Big progress on my Weight Room Certification this week.  My 12 page exam is complete and has been delivered for marking, three of my five training plans are complete, my evaluation date has been scheduled and little miss push ups from her toes has agreed to be my “client” for my evaluation.

One more week to go!

Oh Wait, There’s More! 13 More Things Your Group Fitness Instructor Won’t Tell You

I guess we had a lot to say!

13 More Things Your Group Fitness Instructor Won’t Tell You

1. Anything goes. Sometimes, I review the order of my exercises. Sometimes, I just fly by the seat of my pants… no plan, just fun! Other times, I completely check out mentally during class.
2. Be careful what you complain about. When I’m cranky and short-tempered I’m more likely to make you do something hard and brutal because you whined about something else.
3. Music helps me bring some of my personality to the table. It also helps me connect with students; I take requests and will download songs for them. Who wouldn’t want an instructor to play their personal power song?!
4. I’m constantly learning. I prepare classes by reading, watching videos, attending workshops, and taking other instructor’s classes. I can’t tell you how many times my family’s walked into my office only to find me on the floor contorted into some unusual position for the latest ab or outer-thigh exercise that I have just discovered online. They used to ask what I was doing, but now they leave before I force them to give it a try.
5. When I don’t feel like teaching, I grab a straw and suck it up. People pay us good money to train them, so even on our “off days” we have to put on that smile and bring the energy.
6. Everyone started somewhere. Don’t worry if other people are using heavier weights, higher steps, or going farther while stretching. The fact that you are there participating at all is the most important thing. You have everyone’s respect as long as you show up and give your best effort, and no one can ask for more than that!
7. It irritates me the most when you refuse to try. Fitness is one of the only things in life where you can achieve success simply by trying harder than you did yesterday.
8. Work within your own limits and abilities. If I suggest a modification for an exercise, it would be helpful if you’d follow the suggested guideline. It’s for your own good!
9. Some exercises make people fart. Get over it. Reverse crunches do especially, most particularly while squeezing and lifting a fit ball. I think it means that they are working hard, and giving a huge effort. Some people I think are so mortified when it happens that they leave class that day and never come back. I wish they wouldn’t care as much. I don’t!
10. I’m not your doctor. I’m also not your therapist.
11. Be on time. Showing up late to class is rude and disrupts everyone. Plus, you miss the most important part of class — the warm-up! The best is when you walk in, 5 minutes after class starts, to set up your bike or your mat and you’re on the phone!
12. This isn’t my only job, and I wish you wouldn’t assume we’re all meat heads who enjoy working out 24/7.
13. We bear witness to embarrassment. One time, a yoga ball popped while a heavier gentleman was on it. (It was a “yoga” ball and not a standard, durable, Swiss Ball.) I was mortified.

One last thing, I’m pretty open with my classes. I find a healthy amount of openness with my students helps them see me as a person who just loves exercise, not some sort of Goddess on a pedestal.

By Amy Zerello

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BCRPA Approved Cycle Workshop – SOLD OUT!

13 Things Your Group Fitness Instructor Won’t Tell You

Ever wondered what your fitness instructor was really thinking?

Recently, I, along with several other fitness leaders, contributed to a Reader’s Digest article by Amy Zerello called “13 Things Your Group Fitness Instructor Won’t Tell You”. While I won’t tell you which quote(s) belong to me, I will tell you that I can relate to more than a few of them. Check it out..

13 Things Your Group Fitness Instructor Won’t Tell You

1. Follow my lead.

I get aggravated when students do a different workout than the one I’m teaching — and they’re in the front row! You come to class but choose to do your own thing… really, what’s the point?!

2. It takes a lot to be entertaining, funny, and likeable

all while trying to motivate people to do things that will cause them pain. I think the 80’s thong leotards and side-ponytails gave aerobics instructors a bad rap. We’re also not all super bubbly and rail-thin.

3. Leave your cell at home.

Can you not exercise for an hour without checking your text messages?

4. Yes, I’ve embarrassed myself.

I was chewing gum while teaching and it flew out and stuck onto the mirror in front of me during class. Oh, and it was bright green!

5. Coffee’s my friend.

When I don’t feel like teaching I have a GIANT cup of coffee. I usually don’t feel like teaching when I’m tired or run down, so caffeine usually does the trick. And if that fails, keep smiling. As the saying goes, fake it ‘til you make it!

6. Preparing is a lot of work!

Pre-choreographed classes, like BodyPump and Turbo Kickboxing, take hours of prep. We’re sent materials every 6 weeks and we have to review and learn all the music and choreography before we teach it to you.

7. Stop weighing yourself constantly.

Newbies expect miracles without realizing that while the added muscle may not make the scale drop, it will bring the pants’ size down. But you can’t change your physique simply by working out; 80 percent of any change and fat loss is the result of a clean diet.

8. I wish you’d be more vocal

when you’ve had a great workout, but save the moaning, grunts, and other weird noises for home.

9. Music matters.

When I want you to work hard, I use really upbeat songs with pounding bass. If we’re doing something that requires a slower tempo, I turn it down. If the music sucks it doesn’t matter how high energy or good the instructor is. It’s also about what I like. If it’s not something I’d work out to, it never makes it to the class playlist.

10. Dress appropriately.

Ladies, consider wearing a cami or additional liner under your low cut Lululemon or Lucy yoga tops. I get an eyeful I really don’t wish to see when you’re in downward dog. And guys, don’t forget your liner shorts! I don’t want to see anything poking through your gym shorts in class!

11. We don’t all have perfect relationships with health and fitness.

People assume we spend our days eating salad without dressing and train ALL the time. Sometimes I’m tired, cranky, hungry, or want a pizza but I have to put on the show. Sometimes I want to veg out and eat junk food, and sometimes I actually do!

12. When you’re sick, stay home.

You may want to sweat out your cold or flu, but I don’t want your germs, especially when you want a really good workout and position yourself in the front row and cough and sneeze your way through the class.

13. It kills me when you come into the fitness studio without water!

Proper hydration is just so important that I mandate a water break just after the turbo section of class. It’s my biggest pet peeve because I am going to make you sweat!

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September Challenge: Week 2 Recap

It’s recap time! Two weeks down and two to go…

• 25 miles/40.2336 km per week  – easy peasy!  The sun was out and knowing that week 3 would be a busy one I decided to take full advantage of it logging a few extra miles.  Weekly mileage was 33.26 miles/53.53km.  Bringing my total to 64.88 miles.

• 100 push-ups a day – I thought on day 10 and 11 that this might become a family affair.  I guess it sort of has, they sure like to remind me to get them done.  I dedicated day 12’s push-ups to Adam Levine and hope that he noticed the gun show coming from row 9 during the Maroon 5 concert. Day 13 almost didn’t happen, but the thought of doing 200 on day 14 was enough for me to suck it up and get ‘er done.

• I finally made some good progress with my Weight Room Certification.  There is still plenty to do, and the clock is tick, tick, ticking.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Over the past 9 years, the spin area at the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre has gone through many changes.

We started in the middle of the weight room and pretty much annoyed everyone who wasn’t taking part in the spin classes.  While participants in the class enjoyed a view of the pool the instructor bike was in direct line of fire for anyone falling off the treadmills.  Back in those days people still used portable CD players so when there was a tumble, the CD player would also fly, I often thought I should be wearing my bike helmet to class.

All that changed when a partition was constructed, the spin bikes were turned in the opposite direction and moved to what is now the stretch area.  Most gym users were now used to our schedule and us and if they didn’t like the noise they now either brought their own noise or worked out when we weren’t using the bikes.

A couple of years ago, the spin area moved to the back of the weight room into what was the old stretch area.  From the instructor’s perspective this was fantastic.  We were contained in our own area, the music as well as our voices was directed away from the weight room and noise complaints were reduced.  Instead of a view of a wall, participants had a view of the weight room and its goings on.  One problem, weight room users felt like they were being stared at and spin class users felt like the same.  Can’t we all just get along?

The Leisure Centre re-opened from its annual shutdown this week and unveiled some new changes to the weight room.  The weight room supervisor’s desk has now been moved back to it’s old location making it more visible and opening up the weight room allowing the machines to be spread further apart.  The stretch table (which I have never seen anyone actually stretch on, it is mostly used as a bench to sit and chat or pose on) has been moved into the stretch area thus opening up the spin area.  The trees have been removed, and the bikes have been turned so they now face the mirror, hello posture check!  The corner fan has been replaced and another floor fan has been added.  And thanks to Laura, the spin bikes gleam!

May there be peace in the weight room.

Post Run Dip

Boo-hoo the heat wave is over and summer running conditions have come to an abrupt end, and so has our post run swim in the lake.

Today we started a new post run tradition in Conny’s new HOT TUB!

I think I am going to enjoy fall running a little more this year.

Salutation Nation

Salutation Nation is an annual, international day of yoga hosted by Lululemon where people from all over the world gather to do yoga together at the same time (9-10am).  And yesterday we rolled out our mats and joined the Lululemon Coquitlam Centre community for their inaugural Salutation Nation led by the fabulous Andrew Colyn!

But what would Saturday morning be without a run?  Not Saturday.  We hit the road early and made our way to a place very near and dear to my heart, Rocky Point.  I got to ride shotgun with Smurfraiya for the journey and was educated almost immediately about the vulgarity of hamster music – shame on you! I also found out that the Jersey Shore theme song really is a song!  I hope that my Tommy is receiving copyrights.

The morning could not have been anymore lovely; the sun shone, the water was calm, lots of runners/hikers out, and all so well dressed! We ran an out and back to Old Orchard Park, nothing serious but enough to get our sweat on.

We made our way over to the Plaza at Coquitlam Centre, signed our lives away, secured a good spot for our mats, grabbed a complimentary coconut water (I have always wanted to try, but never have, turns out it’s not my thing) and ever so discreetly changed out of our sweaty running gear. It is never an easy task changing out of a sweaty sports bra into a dry sports bra, the dry one gets stuck half way up your back, there is always a lot of twisting and grunting, and that is in the privacy of a change room, try it in a car in the middle of a parking lot.

By the time we were on our mats, the sun was high in the sky it was hot!

This pose is called as Astavakrasana and as you can see from my positioning, it is absolutely not going to happen, but check out little miss Conny!

Thank you ladies, Lulu and Andrew for a wonderful morning. Namaste.

Salutation Nation Photography by Olga Kundilivski, Happy Moments

September Challenge: Week 1 Recap

With Week 1 of my September challenge completed, it’s time for my first recap:

• 25 miles/40.2336 km per week – Check!  According to Garmin (with one minor adjustment, Garmin said that the Grouse Grind was only 1.45km and that I was only moving for 26 minutes, I called bullshit and made the necessary changes) I ran/hiked 31.615miles/50.88km.  Only 68.38 miles to go!

• 100 push-ups a day – Check, although it was pretty touch and go for the first few days.  Day 1 had to be the hardest; I struggled to do 25 in a row with good form and it took me the full day to complete the entire 100.  I saved my final 20 for Nadine’s ball class (which will be an upcoming post) and ended up doing 102 for the day, but I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not carry the extras forward towards day 2.  I could hardly move my arms on day 2 and day 3 but soldiered on. Day 4 was unmemorable but I can assure you that my 100 were completed.   Day 5, I completely forgot to do my push-ups until 10 o’clock at night and was told again, in no uncertain terms, that I could not do 200 instead on day 6, so I spent the first segment of RHNY on my bedroom floor getting ‘er done.  Day 6 and 7, I was back in the Studio, and really enjoyed completing my daily challenge with my clients!

• As of day 7, I had not made any progress on my Weight Room Certification, what can I say…I was busy running and doing push-ups.

From Death Racer to Grinder

It doesn’t matter what kind of shape you are in the first time you tackle the Grouse Grind, it is a monster, and the first trip up is always a killer. Yesterday Conny, Soraiya and myself took great pleasure in taking Chris’ Grind virginity!

I am not a fan of static stretching before activity; I prefer a dynamic warm-up and to follow activity with static stretching, but I am a fan of photo ops. Feeling torn and conflicted I put my feelings aside while we played at the stretching station at the base of the Grind.

Watches synched, 3-2-1, music on and for the next 52:35 I was in my own rock-stepping stair-climbing world.

There have been a few changes to the route since last year, the Baden Powell Trail and the Grouse Grind are now two completely separate trails to begin with instead of splitting somewhere between the base and the ¼ way mark. As you enter the gate Baden Powell right, Grouse Grind left, and yes it is very clearly marked.

In addition to the ¼, ½, ¾ way signs posted on the trees, there are also orange spray painted markers on the rocks along the route, but well before the tree markers. I found this a bit confusing thinking that I was ¼ of the way there by the orange marker but then several minutes later seeing the same distance marker posted on the tree. I assumed that because of the changes to the base of the trail the milestone markers must have changed but found out that the orange spray painted markers are actually how the North Shore Search and Rescue measure the Grind. So now we know.

In addition to the route changes are the horrific flies at the top that I don’t remember from last year. And they were mean; I am missing chunks from my legs! Getting eaten alive was so worth it though to see the look on Chris’ face as he emerged from the trail and then to heckle him to run up the rocks and touch the Grind Timer for his first official Grind time! Gooooooood for you!

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