Take it to the Barre

A few weeks ago JWow and I decided it was time to try "barre" class.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with barre, the class is rooted in ballet exercises at the barre.  It has a reputation as a tough workout and seems to be all the rage right now.  So, when an intro class became available at Core Essentials in Dartmouth, we thought we'd give it a whirl.

To be honest, when I thought of barre class I was pretty much channeling Centre Stage, Step Up and even Black Swan (just the dancing).  I felt like I was about to uncover my destiny as a tutu-adorned dancer, certain of being partnered with ripped men who were Channing Tatum look-alikes. JWow was a bit skeptical about this destiny.

As I arrived before class our instructor was finishing up a personal training class with all of Eminem's best songs as the soundtrack.  Little did I know that 'Till I Collapse would take on a new meaning in less than an hour.

Our instructor, Laurissa, made sure to give us a quick run through of the relevés, battements and other postures that we would need to know.  She also let us in on the secret to barre - that we would be working each side of our body to the point of exhaustion. I can assure you that she was not kidding.  We proceeded to do a series of exercises while using the barre for balance.  We started on the right side and then just when we thought we might truly collapse, we switched sides and did it all over again.

While the workout was quite effective, I had pictured something similar to that scene in Centre Stage where she attends a "fun" dance class whilst dancing to Billy Jean.  Unfortunately, the workout felt like just that - work.  I was searching for something that would not feel like something I had to push through.

Overall, I would try another barre class, but would try to find one that was a little more "dancey".  I did like the Core Essentials space and am headed there this weekend for my first kettlebell workout along with my workout partner JWow.

Also, in other news, I am participating in Spin4Kids with Goodlife Fitness on March 1st in Halifax. I am a strong believer in maintaining an active lifestyle and establishing healthy habits when young. In support of fighting childhood obesity my team, the Pedal Sweats, will be spinning for eight hours to help raise money for this cause.  I would be most grateful for your support.

Monday Musings: From Eminem to Coady

Well hello November!  Are we really in November?  It would appear that it is essentially Christmas as it dawned on me while in Michael's that Christmas carols were being played over the stereo system.  Sigh. Which leads me into my links, only one of which has a Christmas reference - I promise!

It's Overflowing - Home Organization Ideas - November

With Christmas around the corner and our holiday party to plan for, it is very clear that we need to get our butts moving and get organizing.  I love how she organized her kitchen and know that I need to spend time reading about how to de-clutter.

From Fries to Fit - Homemade Protein Bars

Given my lack of carnivorous desire, I am constantly looking for ways to increase the amount of protein in my diet.  I can't say I'm a fan of store-bought protein bars except the Honey Stinger Protein Bars, which aren't too bad, but I always try to find ways to make things at home.  With that, my brother, and fellow blogger over at the Daly Dose On Sports came over to test out this protein bar recipe.  We also tried these from Oh She Glows - I have yet to find a dud recipe on her blog!  Both recipes were good; however, I found the pumpkin bars a little bland - but I think they could be jazzed up by adding raisins or some nuts.  As for the Oh She Glows squares?  They are a-maz-ing!  This is a must try recipe!

I wanted to give a shout out to the new Eminem album out this week; I have been listening and loving it. (Never had any doubt that I would adore it!).  Rolling Stone pens an article about the success of the album thus far.

Another shout out goes to Lynn Coady who won the Giller Prize for her collection of short stories Hellgoing. I have yet to read the collection but will definitely pick it up to see for the words that won it for my fellow Nova Scotian.  Maclean's points out the timing of the win, one month after Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize - where fiction is traditionally dominated by the novel. The Toronto Star also examines this feat and wonders about an increase in popularity for the short story.

Cookies baby!

Tonight was an absolutely beyond amazing night for a run.  I did my regular pre-injury route, just at a  reduced distance.  It was slightly warm tonight but with a lovely breeze, a cusp-of-fall kind of night.  While I was away on vacation I did one run on the treadmill where I tweaked my knee a little bit, but aside from that it felt pretty good.  As I said in last night's post, we did some serious hiking on Thursday and my knees were complete jelly after we finally found our way out of the woods.  As I ran tonight I was very mindful and a little nervous of what might happen to my wimpy knees.  They are a little sore and I will certainly be icing both of them before I go to bed, but, I was able to climb the stairs in our building, so I took that as a good omen.

About a month ago I went running with a friend of mine who also happens to be my chiropractor. She is amazing and I am not quite sure what my body would do without her.  She was gracious enough to go running with me one day and critique my running form.  It was the one avenue we had not yet explored as to what might be contributing to my slew of injuries.  It was a fabulous experience.  We ran just short of 5km, with 5/1 run/walk intervals (including several hills), which we were both amazed by considering I had not done any serious running in many, many months.  I thought I might just drop dead or face-plant at the beginning due to sheer exhaustion, but my pride would not allow me to give in.  Pride - what a wonderful motivator!  The big take-away from that (aside from the post-run laser treatment due to ignoring my body) was that I am a ... heel striker! Gasp!  She explained to me that there is a higher impact on my knees when I heel strike and that could be contributing to my injuries.  Luckily, she did not notice any other issues with my form, my posture was good.  She showed me how to strike with my forefoot instead, so I have been diligently working on that ever since.

So tonight, I spent a lot of my time looking down, which I acknowledge is likely not advisable, but I am pretty much obsessed with trying to fix this.  Given my out-of-shape legs and the new (or attempt at) stride, I had bad shin splints and ended it one interval early.  I have been doing 3/1 and I was hoping to do five sets instead of four, but, I am comfortable with the results.  Another take-away lesson from my injuries is the virtue of patience, not one of my current virtues, but one I am working on, along with the heel strike!

What really got me through the run tonight were a few "power" songs, which I am throwing out there because I love to see what other people are listening to.  I kicked off the run with Carly Rae Jepsen and Call Me Maybe - I seriously adore this song and am not ashamed to say it, it is beyond catchy, as is the Sesame Street version - I am still deciding which one I like better!

The key song of the night was W.T.P by Eminem (W.T.P. = White Trash Party).  Does this make me WT for loving this song?  I hope not, but if it does, I embrace it.  This song is so wonderful that I played it twice and had a six-minute interval in there because - how can you not run while listening to this song?!  I also have to wonder if Eminem is talking to me when he says ... you got more junk in your trunk than I do in my car.

On a final note, I had a great laugh when I saw this spray-painted on the sidewalk ... did they know I was wearing my Lulus to go running?