So after a very successful Focus T25 round of Alpha and Beta, I decided to take a break. I initiated my yoga and stretch challenge, and all was great for a week! But then I thought- I need to do more. Not surprisingly, I got a bit antsy, and have now doubled up on my activity. Yoga and stretching are still important over the next few weeks as I head into day 10 of the challenge, but on Monday, I decided to start T25’s Gamma round!
Gamma is all about strength. Of course, the usual speed workout and high intensity cardio are still there, but now, many of the moves are done with weights- burpees and weights, balancing with weights, push ups with weights, and the list goes on. I may be tired these days, but I’m loving the amount of fitness activity this fall. Other than generally staying fit and healthy, there is a purpose to rebuilding my muscles, emphasizing stretching and yoga, and attending physiotherapy to get my arm all fixed up (I think I have a case of tennis elbow :S). It’s all in preparation for the new fitness regimen, starting January 2014. Oh there’s a plan… and I can’t wait!
I’m slowly starting to enjoy the winter. It’s been coldish, but I’ve already been out for two hikes. The first was Tunnel Mountain, and then on Monday, Robbie and I took a quick drive to Canmore to hike the Grassi Lakes trail. We left Calgary late and started the hike around 3 pm, but by 4:10, we were back at the car. I loved that the sun was out (albeit setting), and that we had great views of Canmore as we ascended. Walking past the icy waterfall was a nice touch before watching the sun set behind the mountains surrounding Grassi Lake. With all of the cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing planned, will it be possible to add more hikes?? Of course it will. Of course.
One of the items on my list for quite some time has been to complete a 30-day yoga challenge. I always assumed that I would join a yoga studio and dedicate myself to 30 days of Bikram or Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in the company of other yogis where I, too, would be wearing my yoga gear and drinking coconut water. But alas, yoga is expensive. I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but it’s very pricey. And since I let my Bikram yoga passes expire *gasp*, I figured it would be best that I didn’t purchase another block of classes.
Yesterday was a good day. After starting Beachbody’s and Shaun T’s Focus T25 program several months ago, I finally completed the last week of the Beta phase. To sum up: the program was awesome!
Last weekend, the snow came to Calgary. It was one of those weekends where I stayed around the city. I knew that this weekend… the long weekend… a visit to the mountains was necessary. I get really antsy when I haven’t visited the mountains in quite some time, and for me, ‘some time’ is more than a week! So Robbie, Tushna, Shari and I headed out to Banff today ready to climb something. It was cold but the sun was shining, and the weather was ideal for a winter outing. We didn’t want anything too strenuous, so we opted for a quick hike up Tunnel Mountain. Tunnel Mountain will always have great memories for me (Os!), and for not a lot of effort, there are beautiful views of Mount Rundle, the Bow Valley, and the town of Banff. The path was snowy and a bit icy at times, but the spikes helped with the grip. It got me thinking- if there are ever days where I need to do a winter hike up a mountain, Tunnel Mountain is a good ‘go-to’. I’m hoping that this marks a bit of a change. October and November are always very difficult months, from motivation to mood. But getting out to the mountains felt so great and definitely made me more excited about the winter activities to come.
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 