We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this public service announcement:

When I work out, I get sweaty...really sweaty...and yet, I have never felt the urge to whip off my shirt à la Brandi Chastain.  So why is it that some of the men at the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre do?  I like to think of this phenomenon as "the peacock effect."  This should rustle a few

"Hey, ladies!"

feathers to be sure. 

When I train, I generally don't wear make-up, I'm in impossibly stretchy clothing that pretty much shows ever curve and dimple, my hair is soaked with perspiration and stuffed into ponytails, and the last thing on my mind is how sexy I look.  

I'm more concerned with pushing myself further than the last time I was on the elliptical, or picking up my knees higher in aerobics class (or actually following the not-so-complicated choreography, let's be honest), or even running for longer than a minute and a half on the treadmill before jumping off...and at no time have I ever thought, I bet it'd be really attractive to show more skin and let it all hang out.  Or, how about I show off those stretched out tattoos on my lower back that I haven't had a chance to get touched up in 17 years.  Nor, have I contemplated running on the treadmill sans part of my wardrobe....and neither should you.

I think there's a sign somewhere in the facility that says:  No shirt, no shoes, no service...and if there isn't, there should be.

So please, boys...shirts on while working out.

Swimmers, as you were.

Do something every day that makes you sweat...

...AND THEN SEND ME THE PROOF!  I'll post it on my Sweat T-Shirt Contest Page!

When I started this blog 3 months ago, I took a picture every week or so of my sweaty t-shirt...and then posted it for all to see, but I think it would be much more interesting if you would take a picture of yourself and send it to me.  

After all, I wanted to inspire people to get moving because, honestly, if I could do it, anyone could...and a lot of you did.  And, many of you have told me your stories.  Here's your opportunity to show me (and the people of the interweb) the proof.  

I want to see your workout gear, your funny t-shirts, your downward dog yoga pants, your gym hair...I want to see you sweat! 

Send your submissions to me at suziespitfyre@gmail.com and tell me how you got so sweaty in the first place!

Weigh-In Wednesday #11

April 3rd, 2013 - Happy 46th Birthday to my April Fool, Stéphane Gagnon!  

But first, let me celebrate Weigh-in Wednesday with a little happy dance.  Last week was an insane loss of 6.3 pounds and this week was a decent loss of 4.1 pounds!  I'll buy that for a dollar!

 

Starting weight:  292.1

1st weigh-in:  286.8

2nd weigh-in:  280.1

3rd weigh-in:  276.4

4th weigh-in:  274.1

5th weigh-in:  270.6

6th weigh-in:  266.2

7th weigh-in:  262

8th weigh-in:  261.4

9th weigh-in:  257.7 

10th weigh-in 251.4

11th weigh-in 247.3

Total weight lost: 44.8 pounds!  I have lost a small child...or a rather substantial dog.  Amazeballs!
 

Happy Dance because I lost weight whilst having a fabulous house guest, Delfine...and if you're going to have a house guest, Delfine is the perfect person to have when you're trying to lose weight because she doesn't eat a lot and she doesn't really drink.  And, if you're going to have two really fabulous house guests...then the other obvious choice would be Danijel Solanović, my Croatian conscience, who doesn't really drink and is really mean.  Haha...just kidding...or am I?  No really, Delfine and Daniel are the best people to have with you at any time, they are amazing supporters of mine and understand what I'm going through.

Daniel travelled all night and some of the day on the bus from Calgary seated next to a lovely Korean woman with a tablet.  He booked in at the swanky hostel in town so as not to overrun casa Spitfyre with too many people...and then when he got to town, he tried to check in, and they told him at the front desk that his reservation was for April.  Woops.  So, insta-guest.  After spinning, Stéffi raided my parents' basement and found a feather mattress...the one the dog doesn't use.  

Gotta love Zombie Jesus Day, it brought great friends to the family dining table, and no body thought about chocolate...or was that just me?  Could have been that everyone else was thinking, where the heck are the Easter eggs?

Run away...run away!

Herbert Spencer coined the phrase, "survival of the fittest," and I have always thought of it in a rather Darwinian way i.e. "better adapted for immediate, local environment."  However, now I think of it every time I step on a treadmill.

Not so long ago, the ninja taught me how to run on the treadmill...and I use the word "run" in the loosest possible way.

I have harboured a certain amount of disdain for the treadmill since I began training around 3 months ago.  So when Jonathan asked me whether I wanted to do stairs or the treadmill, I obviously picked stairs.  Which then came back to bite me in the ass as he said, "Great, treadmill it is."  And then he added, "we're going to run" or jog, as the case my be.  Running sounds better though...so I'll continue to use that.  Jogging just conjures up images of my dad in a royal blue track suit with three parallel yellow stripes running down the side of the legs and arms...and sweatbands in general.  

One of the nice things about having a personal trainer is that, generally, they know better than you what you can do when it comes to exercise.  When I started down that long hallway towards the row of self-contained moving sidewalks, I was dragging my feet.  I started feeling sick to my stomach too...because it's only been 5 months since I sprained my ankle, and I worry about treadmills in general as previously stated.  So, the ninja calmed me down by telling me that he knew that I could do it.  And that he would teach me how to start, stop, and jump off, if need be.

My name is Suzie and I have found it difficult to walk at a 5% incline at a speed of 3.0 MPH.  In fact, I much prefer 2.8 MPH which makes me sweat, but not hurt.  The ninja wants me to feel the burn, and so I have passed on the treadmill for a couple of weeks in favour of the elliptical.  So I start the belt at 2.5 and I start walking.  To jump off, use the hand railings at the side of the treadmill...hop up and use your hands to lift yourself up and then place each foot on opposite sides of the belt.  That is how to jump off a treadmill.  Now...to get back on, you need to to lift yourself up and move your feet like you're already running...and then gently...well...just start running on the thing.  Glad that's sorted.  If you need some balance, grab the bars in front...by then end of this, I'm going to need to go to the bars.

So, I'm walking at 3.5 MPH at a 3% incline...and I'm not falling over.  Wow, apparently leave treadmill out for a couple of weeks, and you get better at it.  Ninja is looking on...and then tells me to increase the speed - so I do...to 4.3 - and I'm jogging.  WHAT?  Very exciting...and thankfully, I have worn 2 bras.  So, I run for a minute, hop off...go back to a walk...run for a minute at an increased speed of 4.5...and then hop off and run again at 4.7!  And I'm dying...and my shins hurt, but I'm running!  I don't care!  Who knew this was possible?  Well, Jonathan did...even if I didn't believe him.  I don't even care that my stride is akin to that of a Hobbit.

What's that they say?  Even a bad run is better than no run at all.

I'm a superhero ninja (in my mind).

Weigh-in Wednesday # 10

Weigh-in Wednesday - 9 days ago - Things were good.  Very good.  My best friend was in town from Montréal AND my workouts were on track.

Wednesday the 20th - Morning workout anticipating Del's arrival...an hour on the machines and an aerobics class, and I skipped the Crystal Fools at night and opted for cleaning-the-house-cardio instead.

Thursday the 21st - I did elliptical for an hour and an hour on the treadmill...kinda boring, but sweat-inducing nonetheless.  I had to get it over with, Del flew in at noon.

Friday the 22nd - Del and I warmed up for 1/2 an hour on the elliptical and then we joined the Ultimate Sculpt class...this means aerobics with weights.  I soldiered on for another 1/2 hour on the elliptical, because somehow I knew we would not be coming back for an evening workout.

Saturday the 23rd - Day off...for everyone.  And I dressed like a girl that day, instead of a gym rat.

Sunday the 24th - FIT camp with the ninja...haha...so just after I'd hopped off the elliptical for 1/2 an hour, I got back on it for another 1/2 hour of intervals.  And it is the first time in recent history that I felt like I was going to throw up all over myself...heart rate, meet 172 again.  Then as a group we did some core exercises and other body weight strength stuff...and then I had a ninja session on top of that.  Before supper at the famdam's we took the crazy Mexican (Pinta, the dog) for a walk on the beach.  Lovely.    

Monday the 25th - As you may have read,  was spin class..and before that the same sort of routine that we did on Friday.  

And finally...

Tuesday the 26th - Elliptical followed by a ninja session with Jonathan, and a lovely bendy Yoga for Recovery class with Taryn.  

So what did I learn this week?  Well, if you double up on your cardio, that you only have to go to the gym once and it's all done in one shot.  Also, that having a friend over doesn't mean that you abandon all your healthy new habits.  Del was game to tag along to the gym and to eat the food that I made for dinner.  We even went out to lunch a few times, and again I made good choices and the results...well....they speak for themselves.     

Good bye 40 + pounds.

Starting weight:  292.1
1st weigh-in:  286.8
2nd weigh-in:  280.1
3rd weigh-in:  276.4
4th weigh-in:  274.1
5th weigh-in:  270.6
6th weigh-in:  266.2
7th weigh-in:  262
8th weigh-in:  261.4

9th weigh-in:  257.7
10th weigh-in 251.4

My 10th weigh-in was the 2nd most successful of the entire challenge.  My second week on programme (which happened to be the first week I worked out) I was down 6.7 pounds, and this week, I was down 6.3 pounds...yes please, I'll take it!  Grand total 40.7 pounds gone.  May have been the spinning, I know I only did it once, but it was intense!  Or it could have been all those good vibes that Del sent my way :-)

"You spin me right round...like a record, baby!"

Today (and by today, I mean Monday, April 1st, when I actually started writing this post), I celebrate a return to routine and regular blogging.

It has been a while since Weigh-In Wednesday # 9...but I have been busy, busy, busy.  On Thursday, March 21st, my Montréal bestie Del came for a visit.  So rather than be anti-social and write into the void, I hung out with her instead.   

I must say, I'm more disciplined than I thought.  

Not only did I get in a 2 hour workout before we went to the airport to pick her up, but I managed to drag both her and my lazy bones to the gym the next morning for a cardio machine/aerobics class/cardio machine sandwich combo to which my super bendy yoga-going friend was not accustomed.  1/2 an hour on the elliptical, an hour of aerobics, and then 1/2 an hour on the treadmill...no big deal, for me...kinda big deal for Del, but she soldiered on!  Here's something I didn't expect, I am pretty good at keeping a straight face when I screw up a combination in Manda's class when I'm alone, but I burst into uncontrollable laughter when I see my best friend making up steps and looking back at me.  I usually utter some sort of disclaimer to those around me when I attempt the dancy classes, but we should have been placed into a soundproof room.  Haha... 

I should have remembered to suck in my neck..haha...

Good friends will come visit you, great friends will attempt massive amounts of cardio with you...except if you decide to attempt a sp!n class.

No doubt you are aware of Del's first indoor cycling experience - Sit 'N' Spin - so you can imagine my excitement when both she and my mother said they'd come and try "weaving" with me.  Monday morning started off similarly to Friday morning, mandatory elliptical, then aerobics, back onto the elliptical for a bit more...and then hop off, join Del on the bleachers for a bite to eat...at which point she breaks the bad news.  She will not be attending the class with me.  Then I get a text from my mother saying that she's punking out as well.  Really?  How bad is this  sp!nn!ng?  Haha...I mean, I've ridden a bike before, I should be fine, right? 

There is this complete knockout that always sneaks into the back of Manda's aerobics classes, and after one such class, I spoke with her:

"I want to be you when I grow up."  I told her.

This woman is gorgeous.  She has a rock solid bod, fantastic hair, wonderful freckles, and if she's at the Crystal...then, no doubt, you can hear her laughter...and to top it all off...she's really, really nice!  Turns out Teresa teaches  indoor cycling.  Of course she does.  She gave me a two-week pass to Quadra Sports & Fitness so I could give it a try...and she gave me 3 other passes too so that Del, Stéphane, and Barbara could do the same.  Yet, I am the only trooper apparently.

Monday, March 25th, 2013 - my first class with Teresa @ Quadra Sports & Fitness - the ninja has already warned me that the seats are small and hard, the classes are tough, and that I should probably do half of what she tells us to do...just to get used to it.  Trepidation?  Sure.  Del, also reminds me that the clock will not advance and that it'll feel like I'm going to die.  Nice.  So, I choose my bike with a due sense of exhaustion and dread.  Teresa makes the necessary adjustments, and I hop on...and think, wow, this really is a hard and tiny bike seat.  There are so many fans set up in the racquetball court in which the class takes place, but I am at the edge of them...so I will sweat.  WHAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

Sitting up on the seat, we do some arm, shoulder, wrist stretches while our legs fly around at uncontrollable speeds...or perhaps that's just me.  Tension set at 65%, so pretty much...none...and then we are meant to slip one foot out of the straps and place it on the centre bar.  Um...what?  Haven't we all had that super scary kid-injury that involves a pedal hitting a shin at a truly unsafe velocity?  I think it's usually on one of those red and white tricycles as the pedals are attached directly to the front wheel and when you're flying down Roslyn Avenue...anyway, that's all I can think about.  But, I do it...warming up one leg and then the other.  And then we're off...or we would be if the bikes had two wheels and weren't stationary.

This is what you need to know about indoor cycling classes, it's fast and furious and fun.  Once you get over the fact that all of your weight at times will be on the ball of one foot, and if you don't lower your seat enough it will constantly poke you in the arse (lesson learned)...it's really quite enjoyable...and you sweat A LOT.  Warm-up consists of lower tension sprints, hill climbs, and circuits that include push-ups, hover, hover sits, only the leg on the left, only the leg on the right, stand-up, sit down, fight!  Fight!  Fight!  The tension moves from 65% which takes very little effort to 95% which is like pushing through wet cement.  It's constantly changing...as is the routine.  Pull up, push down, pull up, push down...breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, in through your nose, out through your mouth.  Thank gods our feet are strapped in securely, unfortunately, I have no feeling in them at this point.  "Weaving" is part strength and part speed...all endurance...and then it's over.  

I honestly couldn't believe how the time flew...but then again, it was new and exciting and Teresa does a good job with the encouragement.  Of course, she IS at the front of the class going through everything that we are going through...does that mean that if I continue sp!nn!ng, I get to look like her?  Gah!  I hope so.  That's motivation enough. 

Also...FYI....from an email I received from Rhona Attwater, Executive Assistant to John R. Baudhuin, CEO

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc.
2111 Narcissus Ct., Venice, CA 9029 Phone: 310.740.8834
Fax: 310.823.7408

E-mail: rattwater@maddogg.com www.maddogg.com

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. are the creators and exclusive owner of all rights to the popular physical fitness programs branded under our federally registered SPIN® and SPINNING® marks, among others, for indoor cycling and products and services related thereto.   The founders of our company, Johnny Goldberg and John Baudhuin coined the terms SPIN® and SPINNING® for indoor cycling in 1992, approximately 20 years ago, in Santa Monica, California, and grew the brand into a worldwide phenomenon.  We currently have over 200,000 licensed SPINNING® instructors in over 35,000 fitness facilities in 80 countries.  The generic term that should be used is “indoor cycling” and not Spin® or  Spinning®.   Our Spin® and Spinning® trademarks are not the generics term for indoor cycling.
Now, we all know what to call "weaving."

Weigh-in Wednesday # 9

What happens when you get your period, and then there's Saint Patrick's Day, and they coincide in the same week, and your weight loss for the previous weigh-in Wednesday was -0.6 pounds?  

The McGillicuddys @ Lucky Bar, Victoria, BC

And then the weather is disagreeable on Wednesday, and you really want to go to the Crystal Fools Run/Walking Clinic but the elements are too formidable...and your best friend is coming from Montreal and you really want to be good, but you also want your loft to be immaculate and even though she's known you for 13 years...you still want to impress?

Well, you concede to working out for 2 hours instead of the 3 on which you intended.

This is my life now...apparently 2 hours split between morning and evening is not enough.  The ninja insists that I work out twice a day, which I have done, but this week I've been working out for longer in the morning, and then again in the evening...if I can.  So when I skipped the walking clinic on hump day.  I knew I'd be in for some "missing a workout guilt."

Not that cleaning the house isn't cardio...because it is...but it's hard to justify sweating to the sounds of AC/DC and Black Flag (I don't know why I clean the house to such music, but I do) whilst doing the laundry and dusting the coffee table.  If I'm not at the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre sweating, I feel penitent.  I'm not religious, but dear gods!

Starting weight:  292.1
1st weigh-in:  286.8
2nd weigh-in:  280.1
3rd weigh-in:  276.4
4th weigh-in:  274.1
5th weigh-in:  270.6
6th weigh-in:  266.2
7th weigh-in:  262
8th weigh-in:  261.4

9th weigh-in:  257.7

Weigh-in Wednesday number 9...FRAK!  Is it 9 already?  STRESS...does this mean I only have my ninja for 3 more weeks?  Must figure out way to keep up with the training after this Times Colonist Health Challenge is over.  And also, YES!  I lost 3.7 pounds...wish it were more, but what can you do.  I would pray to St. Patrick, but I'm not a Catholic, nor do I think he would save me, in fact, I think he prevented me from losing more.  Damn you, delicious Guinness, but thank you for giving the world the most amazing stout in the universe.

So, as I weighed-in and lost weight, Victoria decided to rain, sleet, and hail on Wednesday, and I helped Stéffi clean the house and anticipated Del (The Oracle Delfine's) arrival.