Why am I all of a sudden leaving things everywhere?

Last night, I realized that I had left my lock at the gym. After accidently leaving something else at the gym last week, I wasn't impressed. Especially since I couldn't find it last week. Today, I went back to that particular gym to retrieve the lock. It turns out that not only did I leave the lock there, but I left my gym shoes there as well. It's a good thing that I checked the locker room and not just the lost and found. I went to a different gym tonight and I hope that I didn't end up leaving anything there tonight. So today's favourite thing is finding stuff where you left it.

Still exercising!

I have written in the past about doing different group exercise classes at the gym I go to. I tend to really enjoy them but some I enjoy more than others. There is something to be said for having an instructor that you enjoy. It makes the workout seem less like a workout. None of the instructors I have had have been bad per se, but some of them have definitely been better than others. There are certain days and times that I go to classes just for the fact that I enjoy the instructor for that class. For example, I go to Zumba on Mondays at 4:30 simply because I like the instructor. I also enjoy the instructor for BodyPump on Wednesdays at 6:30 and Mondays at 5pm and for BodyCombat on Thursday nights (sadly, I can't go to the Thursday night class until my French class is over). Those are definitely the classes I enjoy the most just because of the instructor. So today's favourite thing is Group Exercise class with an instructor I enjoy.

Absense makes the heart grow fonder.

Today, I went to the Monday Zumba class that I love for the first time in nearly two months. With the bus strike, going to that particular class just didn't work out in terms of car availability and other class my sister and I like. I've been to Zumba since the strike began but was never able to make that class. I don't know why I like the Monday class as opposed to the Thursday or Friday classes but I think it has a lot to do with the instructor. She is very energetic and really into and seems less inhibited than some of the other instructors. It helps that I am familiar with the songs now so have some idea of what I am doing and, also, that the class is only 45 minutes as opposed to an hour. I was just really happy to be back at that class. So today's favourite things is the Monday Zumba class at the Baseline Goodlife. (I know I have written about Zumba before but I really enjoyed today's class.)

I'm the wiiiiiiiiinner!!!

This past fall, the gym I go to was having a promotion where every time you went to a group exercise class, you would get an initial on a card. After you filled up two cards (50 initials), you could hand the cards in and be entered for a draw for a water bottle (After one card, you received a key tag. More excited about the water bottle). Today, I found out that I won a water bottle. So yay me! I haven't gone to retrieve the water bottle yet but it is pretty awesome anyway. Hopefully, I will make it there at some point this week. The bus strike is really a drag. Although when it's over, I can no longer use it as an excuse to not go to the gym. Sigh.

I can't think of a clever title so this will have to do.

So today I did the BodyPump class at the gym. I have done this class a few times and I enjoy how strong it makes me feel even though I usually have the least amount of weight possible on my bar. I have definitely noticed the difference in my body since starting the class and it is the class that I do that I can tell is working to shape different muscle groups. Many of the other classes seem to be focused more on cardio while this more about weight training. The hardest part is figuring out how much weight to use for each of the different muscle groups. The instructor gives guidelines about how much to use but you also have to base it on how much you actually can do. I bumped the weight for my squats today which seemed like the 'smart' thing to do right before Christmas but it wasn't a huge leap so I think I'll be okay. On a related note, I think I did something not so good to a glute so I have to figure out a good way of stretching it. I have tried a bunch of different stretches but none of the seem to really hit the spot. Any suggestions?

We will survive

Once again this post will be about exercise. Today I went to the BodyCombat class at the gym. It is a very high energy class that is, as the name would imply, a mixed martial arts based class. Lots of kick and punches. I have done this class for a over a month now and I continue to actually suck at the kicks and punches but I have a good time anyway. It's quite cathartic. It was a new release a few weeks ago that I tried out and it ended up being my favourite set of moves and the reason I continued going to the class. They continue to use some of the same songs from that release along with some older stuff that I am not as familiar with. It takes a lot of energy but it simultaneously revs you up with the high energy music that the moves are based on. I am getting better at it. I find it to be one of the best workouts I get, lots of sweat.

Shaking it up

I started going to my current gym in September. It's a Canadian chain called Goodlife Fitness. I am generally not the sort of person that enjoys go to the gym just to on a machine or four for an hour. I really need motivation. So the group exercise classes that they offer there have really been an added incentive for me to go to the gym. One of my favourite exercise classes is called Zumba. It's a very energetic dance based workout. It's also a lot of fun. Once you've been to a few classes, it's quite easy to follow. The girl that leads my class changes it up quite a bit every week but she also keeps some of the same songs and routines so that you have that familiarity with it as well. I don't believe that Goodlife has the exclusive Canadian rights for Zumba like it does for some of the other group exercise classes it offers so you may be able to find it in other venues. The other dance exercise class I have gone to at GoodLife (BodyJam) is enjoyable as well but it requires you to remember sometimes lengthy routines for multiple songs. Zumba changes the routine with each song, so each song has it's own choreography. I also, personally, do not feel like I have 6 left feet when I do Zumba like I occasionally do when I do BodyJam. (Yes, I apparently gain 4 extra feet, thank you for asking.)