fitness adventures around Toronto

Flickr credit: avlxyz

There comes a point in  life when you stop going to clubs on a regular basis. I have reached that point in my life where going to clubs are not a part of my usual weekend plans - not really sure, though when exactly this happened though. The last time I went I felt extremely old and out of place. What I do miss about going to clubs, though, is the music. There is just something about loud music and hearing your favourite song come on.

What do you do then?

Go to one of Micheline’s evening spinning classes at Quad Spinning and you will be able to relive your clubbing days. I went to her Tuesday night “Rihanna theme class” and I really did feel like I was out at a club. Only difference was that I was sweating because of spinning and not dancing. The class was loud, packed with people and full of energy. As an added touch staff came around and refilled your empty water bottles throughout the class/

Never tried spinning before?

They have an introductory class on Saturday mornings where you’ll learn all the ins and outs of spinning - technique and all.

Quad spinning has three locations to choose from. One class was $20 and you can pre-register for classes online.

Apparently, if you stay at the Fairmont there are no more excuses not to exercise - no more I “forgot” my running shoes for me.

On a recent stay at their Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal I discovered their Fairmont Fit program. In partnership with Adidas, this program will provide you with workout gear (shoes and clothes), a preloaded MP3 player, yoga mat and stretch brand. All of these goodies can be requested at the time of your reservation. Very cool.

I believe that you have to be a member of the Fairmont’s Presidents Club to take advantage of this program, so if you aren’t already a member definitely sign up!

This program is free if you are a premier or platinum member. Small fee applies for other levels.

Last night I tried out a Bikram yoga class at a local Toronto studio. It has been about five years since my last Bikram experience, so I thought I would give it another go. The only thing I really remember about the last time I did this type of yoga was that I got a badge that said “I survived X’s Bikram yoga class”. Oh and I ended up with a horrible migraine.

A friend of mine had never tried it before, though, so I decided to accompany her - how bad could it be? I like the heat, I’m in decent shape and I’ve been going to hot yoga at Moksha off and off for a while.

I think the email I wrote immediately after sums up how I felt:

Words can’t describe how I feel right now. I thought I was going to throw up.

I did forget to mention in the email that I was scared as well. For a number of reasons, but the top two are:

* You aren’t allowed to leave the room for the entire 90 minute class.
* The instructor was kind of mean - I think that’s the style, but seriously this felt like yoga for sado-masochists.

Apparently it does get better but I think it is going to take me another five years to get over this. Hot yoga at Moksha is something I much prefer.

Simply put this type of yoga is not for me, but as they say one person’s trash another person’s treasure. So, if you like to sweat and love the idea of pushing yourself beyond your normal range of flexibility this could be for you. Just Google “bikram yoga toronto” if you are interested in trying out a class and I’m sure something will come up in your neighborhood.

I finally took the plunge and signed up for an 8 week Pilates boot camp at Core Studio. Parting with $200 last night was a bit sad, but when you break it down $25 per 70 minute class is pretty reasonable for a reformer based Pilates class. The class size is also really small (5 people), so that means extra attention to me and my abs! Trust me they do need some attention… even after an 8 week boot camp.

The two main reasons that I’m doing this:

• I really do love Core Studio and whenever I go to another studio I always leave wishing I was at Core.
• I need a new challenge

The two superficial reasons why I signed up:

• I cannot be allowed to go home directly after work. Why? If I go home after work I end up snacking like crazy and this is not a good thing.
• My mother’s latest comment to me - when she saw me in DC during September this is what she said:

  “Your legs look really muscular from all that running. Too muscular. Once you stop all that marathon running (she isn’t a fan) you can focus on other things like Pilates.”

  Some of you may think “how cruel”, but sadly she is right. I need to do some lengthening and toning exercises that don’t focus on bulking up my muscles. Hopefully this will do the trick. For the record, though, I’m not giving up on running!

Highlight of my first class: the Jumpboard. Super fun and made me feel like a kid again.

If you haven’t been to Core go now. You won’t be disappointed.

As I was walking by Lululemon today I stopped and paused when I saw their new window display. Yes I was admiring their new line of winter clothing, but I also liked the message they had on the window -

Life is too short for the treadmill.

I would go a step further and add the words “year round” to this sentence. This winter I challenge you to get outside and enjoy some of Toronto’s outdoor winter activities. Whether it be a hike, snowy run or a twirl round on the outdoor skating rink. Guaranteed you will have fun and will deserve that post-activity hot chocolate.

Worried about being outside? Check out these recent articles:

Bundle up in wool for your outdoor run (Globe and Mail)

Get your trail on to beat the gym rat blues (National Post)

As soon as I entered the Shas Yoga and Pilates studio this morning I felt like I was in a smaller version of my beloved Core Studio. Very modern, clean and soothing atmosphere. It turns out the founders of Shas and Core Studio did their Pilates teacher training together.  

The Fusion class I took was taught by the founder of the studio. Like their website promised the class was a playful experience. It truly did combine Pilates and Yoga which was a nice change - sometimes I find fusion classes are still predominantly yoga-based. The Hed Kandi-esque music that played throughout class was also enjoyable for me as it wasn’t your typical yoga music. Perfect beginning to an unusually warm November weekend.

The one downside is that the studio is very small and the capacity of the class I was in was 8. I’m not sure how busy their classes get, but I do know that you have to pre-register for any of the classes at Shas. I emailed five days prior to class and was able to get in with no problem. The upside to their classes being small is that you will get more individualized attention.

The other thing that may potentially be an issue is that there are no real change facilities at the studio or at least I couldn’t see them. The bathroom is located outside of the studio as well.

Would I go back?

Yes as I did like the vibe and style of the studio. Once the Passport to Prana wraps up I would consider taking advantage of their two week unlimited offer ($40). 

To see some studio images check out their Facebook Fan page.

Oh. my. god. That is pretty much what is going through my mind after taking a Circuit 60 class at Track Fitness.

Having a day off during the work week is a rare treat and one of the things that I love do when this happens is to take a daytime fitness class. There is just something exciting about being able to do this. So, this morning I stumbled upon a review of Track Fitness on Sweetspot (which is an awesome place to find out what is going on in your city!). The review said that their Circuit 60 was going to be one of the toughest workouts you have encountered. Excellent. This is what I was looking for and after sending them an email I was signed up for the noon class. 

By the time the class finished at 1 p.m. I had done three intervals of 10 minutes on the treadmill and various strength training exercises. Being a runner I thought the treadmill part should be a breeze. It was not and I was not even doing the “runner” workout. You have the option during the treadmill intervals to be a jogger, runner or walker and as it was my first class I chose to be a jogger. Not too sure if what I was doing should be classified as a jogger as I was doing intervals of anywhere between 4 mph and 7.5 mph with inclines. It was tough and I was dripping with sweat.

But I loved the challenge and I’ll be back. Definitely try this out if you are wanting to take things up a notch.

Track Fitness is located in Forest Hill Village on Spadina Road and first class is free.

Every time I go to Spynga I contemplate buying the Jivamukti China Gel product they sell and I finally succumbed this past week. Jivamukti’s china gel is great for relieving muscle soreness and is also good for heating up the muscles at the beginning of your yoga practice. I first found out about this gel during a yoga class there. During the first sun salutation the teacher came around and rubbed the gel into our necks and it just felt lovely especially for someone like myself who is always stiff.

This product is also a great natural alternative to other products that are out there!

Best time to buy this:

Go buy this at Spynga on a Saturday morning and then check out Casey’s 10:30 a.m. class which was an awesome start to the weekend. Even better drag a friend you haven’t seen in a while with you and then catch up after the class at Urban Fare.

Ever since I got my iPhone last year I have been loading it up with a wide range of applications which do neither me or my iPhone’s storage space any good (apart from my beloved TEDTalks). That said I think today’s download may be different. 

The Livestrong calorie tracker application is both useful and kind of fun. The main goal of the application is for people to determine what their daily calorie intake should be and to keep track of how you are doing - is developed by you inputting your current weight, height, age and then selecting what your weight goal is (remain at same weight or lose some pounds). While I’m not that concerned with straight calories I am interested in keeping track of what I eat throughout the week. I have a funny feeling if I strictly keep track of this I may finally figure out where I could be making changes to my diet. 

So, how does it work?

1. Download application to your iPhone or iTouch

2. Set up your profile and your goals. From there your daily calorie intake is determined.

3. Every time you eat something search for the food that you ate and select “I ate this”. Big bonus is that this application recognizes major restaurants and even bigger plus for Canadians is that it seems to pull up things like Tim Hortons which is awesome. 

4. Watch your progress - after each food entry you can see how many calories you have left to play with that day.

The other neat thing about this is that you can input any of the fitness activities you have done throughout the day. Very cool.

I think Livestrong has a winner here. If you don’t have an iPhone or iTouch you can still use the online version of this via the Livestrong website. 

On a side note, even if you don’t want to use this app you should still go check out their website - they have a lot of really cool things going on including the ability for runners to share their routes!

I have been curious about Fireflow Yoga for quite awhile now as it is in my neighbourhood. I have walked by the studio countless times and have even looked them up online to see what they offered. That said I just never managed to take the plunge and go to a class there or even go inside to have a look around. I think the main reason why neither of these things ever happened was because I didn’t like where the studio was located on Eglinton - upstairs and next to a psychic/tarot reader place. In my head I decided that this equalled something that wouldn’t appeal to me. 

This changed last night.

Throughout the 18 weeks of recent marathon training I really ignored my body’s need to do some stretching, so last night I decided to put my Passport to Prana to good use and try out Fireflow Yoga. 

Fireflow Yoga it turns out has a really nice studio space (with an awesome boutique section!). I discovered as I often do that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Upon arrival I was immediately welcomed to the studio and made to feel at ease. The teacher was accessible and throughout the class she demonstrated modifications which I really appreciated as I should definitely not have been in the Level 1/2 class that I was in! Thank you for this and for helping to give my limbs the stretch they needed. 

What I would go to this studio for:

Fireflow Yoga offers a 4 week absolute beginner workshop which I think would be great for someone like me who has never really been taught how to do anything from a sun salutation to tree poses properly. I think I would really benefit from being in a class with others who are probably as clueless as me.   Their next session starts on November 21st and is $80. Mmm, maybe this will be my next fitness challenge?