Green Shirt Guy

So, as most of you know, I teach group ex classes – specifically BodyAttack – at GoodLife Fitness. Well, last night was the first Wednesday night class of the new schedule, and although it was a small class we all had a great workout and lots of fun – despite Green Shirt Guy

So, let me tell you what happened…

It’s about 10 minutes before the start of my class, I am hanging around outside the studio waiting for the BodyFlow class to finish,and chatting with a few ladies who are waiting to come to my class. The gym is fairly busy. There are a couple of guys hanging out around the studio as well, comparing workouts, getting drinks, flexing their muscles – you know, guy stuff!

Well, the flow class ends – a couple of minutes late – but it’s no big deal and bound to happen being the 3rd class of the night. Anyways, the ladies and I head in, I get the music started and get things set up. At that point, two guys walk in – one in a green shirt – who wants to skip, and some other guy – who starts setting up a step system to do who knows what. I politely let them know that the studio is being used for a BodyAttack class for the next hour, but that they are welcome to join in. Other guy gives a wave and leaves, Green Shirt Guy throws a mini tantrum and finally storms off. I then see him skipping outside the studio. Perfect – he’s doing what he came to do and so are we 🙂

About a half hour later another guy comes in – yep, in the middle of my classs – and pulls out a mat to do some stretching. Green Shirt Guy sees that this guy has come in and comes in again. I’m thinking, are you kidding me? but being a professional, I once again explain that we are in the middle of a group ex class, and if they wanted to join in they were more than welcome, but, otherwise, they had to go. We’d be done in about a half hour.

So, fast forward about 25 minutes, we’re in the middle of our stretch, and guess who comes in – AGAIN! Yep, Green Shirt Guy comes in with a few others this time. He pulls out a mat and starts skipping, another guy sets up a step and another couple are planning to do some partner stretching. I’m thinking – you can’t be serious! Really? So, for the third time, I politely ask them for a little respect, can they please give us a couple of minutes to finish up our workout. Green Shirt Guy then yells – RESPECT – and continues to shout about how we are 3 minutes overtime – that the class was to finish at 8:45 and he has every right to be in there. I apologize to my members, and continue on with the last couple of minutes of our class, trying my best to ignore Green Shirt Guy. When finished, I again apologize to the group for the disruptions, wish them a good night, and tidy up my stuff.

I then head to the back of the class and approach Green Shirt Guy. He immediately starts in – not quite yelling at me, but almost – about how he had planned to do his skipping workout and stretching in the GROUP EXERCISE studio and how he already had to wait for the Flow class to finish at 7:45, how he left his family to come to the gym, how no one does a skipping workout like him, how he was a personal trainer and, and, and… So I was like, I totally get that this is first week of the new schedule and the first week with 7:45 group ex classes, applogized for the lack of communicaiton about the new group ex hours, but that this was a group ex studio and that that’s what it is to be used for. Being a personal trainer, he would understand that. He continued to argue about how it should be ok for him to come in and do his skipping while I was teaching my class, that there was nowhere else in the gym to skip or stretch, about how much he pays to be member of the gym, was he really going to have to come in a 8:45 to do his skipping routine and saying that if he couldn’t do his skipping workout he was going to change gyms… he went on and on – it was RIDICULOUS! Every time I tried to explain why he couldn’t be in there (liability issues, respect for other people and their workouts) or when I suggested he could skip outside (what??? and ruin his rope – are you serous!!) he pretty much cut me off. Finally after about 15 minutes, I’m pretty sure he understood that he was free to do his workout elsewhere or after the group ex classes were finished. He had calmed down and somewhat acknowledged that his behaviour was inappropriate. It’s all good.

But, I couldn’t just leave it there….

I”m a pretty good skipper. I was on the skipping team in elementary school (yep, 30 years ago) and skip now and then with my fitness classes at school. Since he was going on and on and on and on and on and on about how we were messing with his skipping workout, I decided to challenge him to a doubles contest. He laughed, said there was no way I would beat him, said all the CrossFit in the world wouldn’t make me a better skipper than him – I told whatever, I don’t do CrossFit, let’s go! He then suggested a triples contest and handed me a rope. I told him I didn’t know how to do triples, so we settled on a doubles contest.

Keep in mind, I’ve just done taught a one hour cardio class.

I get started – 1…2…3…4…

He starts 1…2…3…he gets tangled in the rope.

I’m still going 5…6…7…

He tries again 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…he gets tangled in the rope.

I’m still going ….15…16…17…

He tries again and gets to 3

I’m still going…25…26…27…

He tries and fails, tries and fails, tries and fails…

I’m still going ….51…52…53…54 and then I quit.

I did 54 doubles in a row, he did 7 🙂

Take that Green Shirt Guy. I think I just earned the right to the studio. You’d better get outside and practice your skipping!

Can you believe someone would do that?

Is there no such thing as Gym Etiquette?

13 in 2013 – February/March Recap

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic Easter weekend! We were pretty busy but managed to sneak in a little down time, and even a family nap on Sunday – it was awesome!

 

It’s time for a 13 in 2013 Recap. I totally missed February’s so here’s a February/March combo post letting you know how I’m making out with my 13 goals for 2013.

 

1. Spend less, save more – I am happy to report, we are spending less and saving more!

How are we spending less? Well, we are planning meals, grocery shopping only once a week, buying many items in bulk from Costco, and have not eaten dinner out in what seems like forever!

How are we saving more? Back in January, I came across this idea to help save money. We started right away and since it seemed so reasonable and allows for some flexibility, we decided to double the weekly amount. So, 14 weeks in we have just over $230 saved and didn’t notice it from our budget at all. By the end of the year, we will have set aside $2756! So easy!

 

2. Run a 1:58 half marathon – I plan on running two maybe one half marathons this year. My original plan was to run one in the spring and one in the fall, however, I’m thinking the spring one is not going to happen. I’m a little bummed about it, but really, I’m not loving running right now, and finding/making time to do it has been difficult with my husbands crazy busy work schedule. I’m disappointed because for the first time in forever, I actually ran over the winter. I joined the Winter 100 Challenge and it totally motivated me to run all winter. It was awesome, and I loved running. However, once the training schedule came out and running needed to follow a structured schedule, it totally took the fun out of it for me. Running hills on my lunch, taking time away from my family every Sunday, and having to miss out on other workouts I love, made me start to not love running anymore 😦 

So, with that being said, I’m going to get back into running for fun. I hope to run 5,6, maybe 7k on my lunch a couple of times a week, and hope my mojo comes back!

And if I’m loving running again, maybe I will sign up to do a half this fall and aim to do it in 1:58!

3. Try one new clean eating recipe a week – As far as Clean Eating goes, February and March were pretty good. I made Dark Chocolate Chip No Bake Cookies, Blueberry Crumble Muffins (Clean Eating, Aug/Sept 2012), Potato, Leek and Cheddar Soup (Clean Eating Classic Comfort Foods), Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan (Clean Eating, March 2013), and Kale Chips.

You can find some of these recipes on the NEW Clean Eating Recipes Page above.

 

4. Become a certified RPM instructor – I am was totally planning to on attend(ing) the March 23/24 training weekend HOWEVER, with my husbands crazy work schedule, and the launch of Gillian Michael’s BodyShred at GoodLife, I decided to hold off. As much as I love RPM, I would really, really love to get certified in BodyShred! Unfortunately for me, so would like a million other instructors and since numbers are limited, I’m not actually sure when this will happen for me 😦

In the meantime, I’m super excited to let you all know I am officially on the schedule teaching BodyAttack starting next week! WooHoo!

 

5. Do 10 chin-ups – This is yet another thing that totally took a hit when my half marathon training started 😦 I got into a funk and working out was of little interest to me – which is totally crazy, cause I love it! I will make this happen though! I’ve incorporated a chin-up challenge into both of my fitness classes this semester and will be re-starting the program mid-May.

 

6. Build Strength – I am getting stronger! Mixing up my workouts, adding in some CrossFit, Tabata and a bunch of other stuff is working! How do I know? I actually did the ENTIRE push-up track in Attack yesterday morning WITHOUT modifications, well, on my knees of course, but that’s how I roll! Amazing!

 

7. Go to bed earlier – I’m totally rocking this one! I have no idea when the last time I saw 10pm was!

 

8. Blog more – My goal was to blog 5 days a week – which would mean about 40 posts since my last update. How’d I do? Well, in February I posted 17 times and in March I only posted 11. So, my plan is to get back on track, make better use of my time and hopefully I will get back to 4 or 5 posts a week.

Anything in particular you’d like to read about? Let me know, I’m always looking for ideas!

 

9. Run 3x a week – As I said in goal #2, my plan is just to get running again. I hope to be running 3 times a week before the end of April. I want to keep if fun and love it again!

 

10. Drink more water – As always, room for improvement here! Bring on the warm weather so I can stop drinking WARM tea and starting drinking COLD water!

11. Read 52 books – Week 14 and I’m on my 9th book. Not bad. Maybe I need to chose some shorter books! Hehehe! Check out the Books I’ve Read page to see what I’ve been reading. Have you read a good book or two lately? I’d love some recommendations!

12. Take at least 2 family trips – Work in progress… Our trips will most likely occur during the summer, so we have a bit of time to choose where we will go and what we will do.

13. Date night once a month – Our February date night was dinner out at one of our favourite Mexican restaurants. We hit up Made in Mexico where the food was delicious and the Corona was cold!

I don’t think we actually made it out for date night in March 😦 Will have to try for two in April!

 

So that’s where I’m at. Not great, but not too bad either! I’m hoping April is the month where I get back in track, have time to enjoy the things I love, and continue to grow as a Happier, Healthier, More Fit Me!

How are you making out with your 2013 goals?

Three (+1) Things Thursday – Isagenix Update

So, I’m on day 4 of the 30 day Isagenix Cleanse and…

1. I’m feeling awesome! I have not had a headache since I started, I’m falling asleep easy and staying asleep, and apart from Day 1, my energy has been great!

2. Yesterday was my first Cleanse Day. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I’m not so good at not eating so I wasn’t quite sure how I would make it through the day without at least one solid meal. But, it really wasn’t that difficult. There were a few points throughout the day where I was hungry, but it was either time for the Cleanse drink or a snack, so my hunger didn’t last long.

And get a hold of this… while putting together Easter treat bags for my kids to take to daycare, I didn’t even have one treat! Seriously, if you know me at all, you probably won’t believe it, but it’s true! I may actually be developing my weakest muscle!

3. I hate the taste of the Ionix Supreme, but other than that, stuff tastes pretty good! I’ve had both the chocolate and vanilla shakes, the IsaSnacks, and the IsaDelights. I have yet to try any of the bars sample bars sent with my order, but, I’ve heard they’re pretty good 🙂

4. I’m going to be doing a double workout at the gym tonight – BodyShred and BodyAttack. I will be eating my dinner beforehand, so I’m thinking I should have enough energy to go full on in both classes. This will be my first intense workout since starting the cleanse – I will let you know how it goes.

Anyone tried Isagenix?

What about GoodLife’s newest group ex program – Gillian Michael’s BodyShred?

I’d love to hear about your experience!

 

 

Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the long weekend!

Elf For Health – I am Thankful!

Yesterday’s Elf For Health challenge was to think of 20 things that I am thankful for.

With all that has gone on in the world over the last little while, it really has made me realize how fortunate I am to live the life that I do. I have so much to be thankful for and really enjoyed sitting down and putting it in writing. So, here are my 20 things….

1. My amazing children – they are seriously the BEST thing that ever happened to me!

2. My husband – he truly is the love of my life!

3. My family and friends – I have a great group of friends and a supportive family who are always there for me when I need them. Despite living hours apart from some and going weeks and sometime months between visits, I love each and every one of you!

4. My health – I’ve had a few minor health issues this past year and it has really taught me not take my health for granted. It has also taught me the importance of taking time for myself and making me and my health a priority. I am no good to my family if I am not healthy.

5. Living in Canada – there is no other place I would rather live.

6. Facebook – reconnecting with old friends has been amazing!

7. Vacations – whether its a week at a cottage with family and friends or a nice relaxing beach vacation, we are very fortunate to be able to get away from the craziness of everyday life and take some time to grow as a family.

8. Living where we experience all 4 seasons – seeing how excited my daughter gets each morning we wake up to even the smallest amount of snow, or how she giggles like crazy when the she jumps in a pile of fallen leaves, or watching her build a sandcastle at the beach…love, love, love.

9. My job – becoming a high school Health and Physical Education teacher was one of the best decisions I made. I absolutely love it!

10. My part-time job as a group ex instructor. I have met so many wonderful people at the gym and truly love teaching BodyAttack. Being paid to workout is a bonus!

11.Weekends – as much as I love my job, spending time with my family doing fun stuff rocks!

12. Nap time – a little uninterrupted time to hang with my hubby, read a book, fold the laundry, tidy the house or take a nap myself. Ahhhh heaven! I hope my kids nap forever!

13. Running – I don’t run nearly as much as I would like, but am thankful that I got back into it this year after a 5 year hiatus. I love that I run with my sister and that it’s a chance to see her regularly.

14. Lululemon clothing – my entire work wardrobe is pretty much lulu and I love it! It’s so comfy and lasts forever!

15. Bon Jovi – love his music and he’s not too hard to look at either! Only 51 one days till we see him live at the ACC!

16. Corona – love unwinding with a refreshing Corona after a tough week! So good!

17. Chocolate covered marshmallow – so yummy! Thankfully it’s only available in our grocery store a few times a year!

18. Technology – I’m totally loving my new iPhone and iPad. I think my most favourite use so far was FaceTiming with my husband while he worked out of town for 3.5 weeks! Not exactly sure how our kids would have survived without seeming him that whole time! Thanks Apple!

19. Good food – I love that we are eating clean as a family and that I have started to cook more, and I’m actually kinda enjoying it! I also love that my husband is such an awesome cook and although he doesn’t always make the most healthiest of meals, they are absolutely delicious!

20. My blog – I love having a place to share my experiences and try new things. I am grateful for my followers and those that share their experiences with me through their comments. I love that I have met some pretty amazing people through blogging! I hope to develop my blog further in 2013,

What are you thankful for?

The Week Ahead – I’m All Set!

So yesterday’s Elf For Health Challenge was to plan this week’s meals and workouts. This is actually part of my weekly routine and I cannot stress how valuable planning is to staying on track.

So, this week looks a little something like this:

WORKOUTS

Sunday

• cardio – 8:15am BodyAttack

Monday

• cardio – 5km Run – Period 1
• strength – 99 Workout – Period 5 class

Tuesday

• cardio – 5:45pm BodyAttack
• strength – Ab Workout – Period 5 class

Wednesday

• cardio – 5km Run – Period 5 class

Thursday

• cardio – Spinning DVD – Period 5 class

Friday

• cardio – RPM 5:45pm
• strength – CrossFit Workout – Period 5

Saturday

• cardio – 5km Run

MENU

I’ve planned for dinners that are substantial enough to provided leftovers for lunches the next day.

Sunday – Ham, scalloped potato, broccoli

Meatless Monday – Vegetarian Frittata

Tuesday – Leftovers

Wednesday – Eat Clean Lasagna – pg. 276 The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook

Thursday – Chicken Fajita’s

Friday – Pizza and Beer – woohoo! made it though another week – only one more week until Christmas holidays!

Saturday – Roast beef dinner

Snacks

• Avocado Chocolate Chip Muffins – p. 22 Clean Eating Magazine October 2012
• Eat Clean Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Backpack Kisses – p. 236 The Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook

WEEKLY GOALS

1. Limit myself to only ONE Starbucks Chai Latte.

2. No eating after 7pm.

3. No pop!

4. Run at least twice, preferably 3 times.

This week’s Elf For Health Challenges are:

Monday – Track your water intake – try to drink your body weight in oz of water.

Tuesday – Clean out the fridge and pantry – get rid of expired and unhealthy things. I will also be gathering some items to drop off at our local foodbank for those in need this holiday season.

Wednesday – Eat veggies at every meal.

Thursday – Buy coffee for the person behind you in line. I’m not a coffee drinker, but will make that my Starbucks day and treat the person behind me as I pick up my chai latte!

Friday – Workout out with a buddy.

Saturday – Donate to a holiday charity in your area.

I’m super pumped for Round 2 of the Elf For Health Challenge 🙂 Can’t wait to find out who my new elf is!

Thanks to Sarah for being such an awesome elf! You rock!

Have you got your week planned out?
What’s your schedule look like?
Any great recipes you’d like to share?

Three Things Thursday!

1. The Elf For Health Holiday Challenge has begun. We are on day 4 of the challenge and so far I have:

• Gone Meatless on Monday. This was the first time I had actually planned a meatless day and meatless meals. I have definitely had meatless days, many of them, but none of which were actually planned. I really enjoyed going meatless for a day and will be making Meatless Monday’s a regular thing in our house!
• Wrote a note to a friend – actually I wrote two. One was a note to a bestie of mine who is working her butt of to get back in shape after having baby #2. I wrote the note to congratulate her on her progress to date, to let her know how proud I am of her for her commitment to her health and encourage her to keep it up. I was awesome to take a few minutes and actually hand write a note – we text each other all the time – but I definitely think the hand written note was more meaningful. The other note I wrote was a thank you to a friend who helped me through my BodyAttack training. Unfortunately, I forgot to give it to her when I saw her earlier this week, so I will have to pass it on next week.
• Tried a new workout. I found this workout on Pinterest and did it after putting the kids to bed on Wednesday night.

  
  I needed a fun, quick, no equipment necessary workout, and this was it!

• Woken up early to do 15 minutes of meditation/ reflection. It was awesome just to have some quiet time first thing in the morning to get my thoughts in order and think about the past few days. At the end of the 15 minutes, I felt like a load had been lifted from my shoulders, I felt refreshed and ready to start my day. I will definitely be adding this to my daily routine. At least weekdays anyway, not sure I will get 15 minutes of awake time before the kids get up on the weekends!

So far I am totally loving the Elf For Health Challenge I have gotten some great ideas for Meatless Monday meals, new workouts and awesome support from totally random people – It’s amazing!

Here’s what’s up for next 7 day’s:

It’s not too late to join in for Round 2, click here for more info!

2. I’m super excited to start the Winter 100 Challenge on Saturday. Kristen from the-running-mom has organized a challenge to run/walk 100 miles between December 1st and February 28th. Although 100 miles seems like a ridiculous number of miles to run, if you break it down it works out to just over 8 miles (about 13.5 km) per week, which breaks down further into three 4.5km runs a week. I can do that! For sure 🙂

I usually slack off with running over the winter so I’m really looking forward to the accountability this challenge holds. I will be using my Garmin to track my miles, giving a weekly update on my blog, and tweeting my progress using #winter100challenge.

3. This week’s Frosty Fitness Challenge is complete 100 push-ups. So far I have done 72 (thanks to Tuesday’s BodyAttack class) and will be finishing off the last 28 tonight after the kids are in bed. Need a little motivation to stay active as the cold weather settles in…check out Push.Pump.Progress and join Michelle in her weekly challenges. You might even win a prize!

Three Things Thursday Friday!

Wow, what a week! It’s been so busy that I’m a day late (again) with my post…oh, well…life happens! Hope you enjoy this week’s three random things…

1. Last Sunday I ran the Niagara Falls Half Marathon. I was both excited and a little nervous about this race. I had a personal goal of completing the race in under 2 hours, but since my previous best time had been just over 2:03 (and that was about 10 years ago), I wasn’t exactly sure if I could do it.

With some last minute coaching from my friend Kathy, I decided to try and and change up my 10-1 plan (run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute) to do 10 and 30 seconds for the first 8km, then 10 and 45 seconds for the next 8km, and then 10 and 1’s for the last 5km. Here’s how things actually went…

lap	time	distance ran
1	5:35	1.79 km
2	5:34	1.80 km
3	5:24	1.85 km
4	5:17	1.89 km
5	5:26	1.84 km
6	5:27	1.83 km
7	5:32	1.81 km
8	5:36	1.79 km
9	5:41	1.76 km
10	5:44	1.74 km
11	5:47	1.73 km
12	5:35	1.78 km

Overall Results:
Chip Time: 1:59:38 (5:41/km) I DID IT!!
Age Group: 51/224
Gender: 300/1281

2. Yesterday I did my first ever BodyAttack Release Class 🙂 If you’re not familiar with BodyAttack check out this video – it’s a wicked workout and this latest release is jam packed with awesome new moves….like tuck jumps between your jump lunges and burpees in the running track…cause BodyAttack wasn’t already enough of a workout!

And as an extra bonus, I needed to wear an orange top last night, so I just had to go and buy this cute tank from lulu! Love it!

3. I am once again jumping on the Clean Eating train! While training for my half marathon, I was pretty much eating everything in site and none of it was really that healthy. For some reason things have been crazy busy and meal planning and food prep went out the window 😦 So, its time to get back on track – and my timing couldnt get any better as the lastest issue of Clean Eating Magazine showed up in my Zinio account today, and hubby and I are off to the sunny south for a little vacay in just a few weeks! If having to get into a bathing suit is not incentive enough, I’m not sure what is! Unfortunately, this is the first recipe that caught my eye (its for apple and pecan crumble – yummo!) Why do I love sweets and treats….why can’t I love broccoli and carrot sticks!!

Three Two Things Thursday!

1. Only 16 days until The Niagara Falls Half Marathon….yikes! That means only 2 more long runs to go… 12km this weekend and 8km next weekend. I’m hoping to do both of these runs at race pace – 5:38/km…only slightly a lot faster than I’ve been running my long runs!!! I guess we will see if I can actually pull off a sub 2 hour half?! Wish me luck!

2. I just got the latest BodyAttack release…holy crazy! This release is like no other – super challenging, super intense, and super fun! Lots of new moves that are going to kill your legs! I can’t wait to team teach my first release class!! Release week is October 22-26 🙂 Here’s a preview of BodyAttack 78!

Well, that’s all I can come up with right now, so I’m cutting this one short 😦 My little guy is upstairs screaming and I need to go give him some snuggles. Poor guy has a crazy rash and fever – apparently some kind of virus???

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends! Have a great long weekend!

Who is your Fitness Inspiration? – August Writing Challenge #30

Well, for starters, I can’t believe we are only 1 day away from the end of August….where did summer go?

Today’s Blogger Challenge question is Who is your fitness inspiration?

One of my fitness inspirations is my friend Kathy. She probably doesn’t know this, but she is my running inspiration. I see how committed to running she is and how much of a great runner she is and just thinking about her and her accomplishments makes me want to run more and push myself more when I am running. I hope to one day be a good enough runner to actually run a race with her…and finish with her too!

Seriously, doesn’t she just make it look SO EASY?

I am also really inspired by all of the awesome BodyAttack instructors at my gym. They are all in such great shape and are some of the fittest people I know. They inspire me to work hard and train hard and I hope to one day be as good of an instructor as they are! Thanks ladies, for all of your help and support 🙂

Who is your fitness inspiration?

Three Things Thursday! On the Right Track!

Happy Thursday everyone! I am super pumped that the weekend is almost here, and the fact that its a long weekend…well, that rocks!

This week my three things have to do with me being on the right track. Here’s the scoop:

1. I’m pretty excited about my upcoming half marathon. Yes, its still 52 days away, but I already feel like my running is getting better. Over the past two weeks, I have committed more to my training program, and I can honestly say, it’s paying off.

I was super nervous about last nights hill training…I hadn’t run hills in probably 5 years, and the hill we chose to run is almost half a kilometre long! 5 repeats, a 1k warm-up and a cool down back to the car – we ended up running a total of 5.75 km. Not bad, and the craziest part…I enjoyed it!! Yep, I liked running hills… my times got faster each repeat and at the end I felt like I could have done one or two more…Bring on next week – 6 repeats 🙂

2. I made a couple of super clean eating treats. Yesterday I spent about an hour in the kitchen and made Banana Cocoa Chip Muffins from Ingredients of a Fit Chick ; as well as some Cocoa Bites – both are delicious, low calorie, and easy to make!

3. This weekend I will be doing my second full BodyAttack class in preparation for submitting my certification video. Last Monday’s class went really well and I’m hoping for much of the same – with some improvements – for Saturday. I haven’t decided if I’m going to video tape yet…I guess I will have to see how I’m feeling about it all Saturday morning. I would totally kick myself if I do awesome and don’t record it!!

Well, that’s all for now, gotta go practice my BodyAttack script…then cut the lawn…do some laundry…and figure out what we’re having for dinner…

Have a great day!