LAUGH YOUR HEAD OFF!

Just like exercise, a little laughter everyday can improve your health in many ways. Need proof? Read on…

HUMOR LAUGHTER & HEALTH

TAKE A HIKE!

In preparation for the cold months ahead, I’ve decided to take the few remaining weeks of nice weather and be outside as much as possible. So, tonight I planned a hike at Seaton Trail in Pickering; having never been (and going it alone), I went prepared with the terrain map and a compass plugged into my phone. The weather was beautiful and with Sumac and milk weed as far as I eye could see I set off.

I took a walk for about 20 minutes to warm up “old fathful” (when I broke my leg it lovingly got nicknamed) down the rocky path and when the trees started to get a little more dense, I took off.  Dense forest, fallen logs and rolling streams are just the beginning and its amazing what a run like that can do for the soul. I was a little worried about getting lost, but remembering my grade school orienteering I kept a close watch that the sun stayed on my right and made mental notes about landmarks I saw.

Every so often I stopped to take a snapshot with my phone and was amazed at the differences in landscape that Seaton Trail had to offer. Forty minutes in I thought it was a good idea to turn around and head back, while it was still light.

Being outside is definitely a nice change from staring at the person’s head in front of you on the treadmill and it doesn’t even feel like a workout. While Canada only offers about 6 months of hiking weather, it’s worth it to find a trail and get those Tuff Cookie buns outdoors! HAPPY TRAILS!

The Tuff Cookie Gets AIRBORN!

After a little hiatus, I’m back in the groove. Everyone needs a little break, right? Right?

I got a new job that took up most of my brain power for the last couple weeks, but now that things are settling down, I’ve been antsy to really try something new. I was thinking of some hot yoga, but needed a little more socializing than inner reflection. Boy did I find what I needed at Aerial Yoga at P3 Yoga in Pickering!

I was a little bewildered at first; the studio is in the middle of a barren industrial park. But once inside I was greeted by a firecracker named Suzanne Hennig, who owns the studio and created their trademark aerial program “Zero-Gravity Yoga”.

P3 Founder Suzanne Hennig

Friendly and in great shape, its quite obvious that she loves what she does. Once we got chatting Suzanne divulged that we had come into contact before at Excel Fitness, a small independent gym in Pickering. She had seen me slugging away on the rower, cast still on and crutches at the ready.

The small class size allowed everyone to get a “silk” (a fabric hammock used for suspension) although I was cautioned that the classes do get really FULL from time to time. We immediately started using the silk to facilitate traditional poses and gain a deeper stretch. At first it was an odd and slightly scary feeling to allow myself to rely on the silk to support my body weight.  Suzanne encouraged me to engage my core to stabilize full and partial suspensions. Before the class I was skeptical that the silk would be useful for anything other than inversions. In traditional yoga, head and handstands are used to strengthen the core and spinal column and increase blood flow to the brain. But in aerial yoga you can take inversions and stretches to your personal maximum by eliminating gravity entirely.  While I can do head and

Suspended Full Wheel

handstands on the ground, there are still many back bends  I find difficult, such as “full wheel“. By placing the silk in the small of my back and using gravity to just hang out, I was able to push myself further without the fear of falling out of it and smashing my face on the ground! Sweet!

There is a certain amount of flexibility required to engage in this sort of yoga, but once you’ve gained some basic yoga knowledge and skill, the Zero Gravity Yoga can help you push beyond your limits. I was pleasantly surprised to be quite sore 2 days later. And, although none is required, some grace can be helpful!

Over all, I rate this (out of 5):

Fun – 5
Worth the cost – 4
Challenging – 5

This is a definite must-return class. Hopefully, I can get some pics to post! I highly recommend this class to ALL TUFF COOKIES!

A TUFF Update!

The Tuff Cookie is hard at work lining up interviews, profiles and vids with lots of fun and informative peeps!

Coming up soon: I’ll be stopping by WARRIOR 1 TRAINING to hang with owner Robbie Craig and get my butt kicked! Also, I’ll be heading to RPM Laser Therapy to talk with Certified Laser Therapist Rey Portillo, to see how laser therapy can help with pain and inflammation.

As many of you already know, I was in a skiing accident on December 31, 2010. I was left with what’s known in the skiing community as a “boot top” (ie. a broken fibula caused by traumatic impact to the back of the calf bythe top of the ski boot). The result? A pretty big bummer of a New Years Eve and a hell of a self-rehab experiment. I still have a little swelling (which is more aesthetically displeasing than it is painful), so I’m gonna see if Rey can help me out.

In the meantime… tomorrow I’m heading to The Consumer Fitness & Wellness Show to see what is going on. My good friend “Crystal Beth” (the famous voice of “Tha O Show” are going to check out the vendors and a couple of the speakers on this years lineup including fitness model and business woman Trish Stratus. Check back for an update on what went down!

Get OUTSIDE!

The whole purpose of this blog is to explore different ways to workout OTHER than in a traditional gym setting. So today, let’s talk a little about taking your workout OUTSIDE. One example would be what I did today. Sprint and drills incorporating a baseball diamond, playground equipment and a soccer field. For example:

Using the benches for steps ups (the ones on my local diamond are HIGH…lucky me) and running the diamond in between sets

Using the bike rack for hanging leg raises

Overhead bars can be used for pull ups and chin ups

We have a grassy hill. It begs to be ran up & down numerous times

The soccer field is great. Put a big a$$ kettlebell at one end and a mat at the other. Sprint to one end and do 30 sec of KB swings, sprint to the other and and do 30 sec of burpees.

Another, more extreme example of outdoor fitness is brought to us by the incredible Erwan Le Corre, founder of MOVNAT, which “enables people to make faster, safer and broader progress in the practice of natural movement skills“. The video below shows just some of the inspirational outdoor practices of MoveNat, but does NOT show coaching or the training methods necessary to the safety of the MovNat experience. Erwan refers to current humanity as “zoo humans” – people who exist in a falsely constructed environment, and encourages everyone to “experience their true nature“…”to be strong, healthy, happy and free“. Based upon the video, you’d believe that MovNat was simply the use of the natural landscape to facilitate fitness – dig deeper and you’ll see that these courses teach so much more. Key to the teachings are biomechanics, specifically, running, walking and crawling. Breathing, mental control and natural health are also on the syllabus. With courses held in Thailand and various US states, you’re sure to, at the very least, experience nature at its finest.

Visit http://movnat.com/train-with-us/for information about courses. MovNat is a philosophy and practice designed to help one get closer to their natural, primal roots. Okay Erwan…so when are you coming to Canada???

 

 

To learn more, visit http://www.movnat.com/

Visit MOVNAT on your social network of choice!

IT’S POLL TIME! How’s Your Fitness Routine?

I get bored VERY easily. Although its widely accepted that fitness routines should be periodized, even the most varied gym program can’t keep my attention for very long if I’m stuck in the “box”. I need new settings, new people and new exercises to keep me amped up. What about you? Take the poll and let’s see how many of you need a change.

The Early Bird…

6 am comes pretty early some days. Beefy likes it even less than I do…

A Well-Writen Post on Body Image

It so easy to get caught up in what you see in the mirror. Although what Jason Seib mentions in this article may seem common sense, really take it in. Really. I read it 3 times – maybe once more will help it sink in.

“YOU CAN’T FIX A BODY YOU HATE” – Jason Seib

Tuff Cookie HITS the WEB!!!

Hey there world! Thanks for stopping by The Tuff Cookie.  As this little brain baby grows, I hope you (and I) find what we’re looking for.  I come to you out of restlessness and desperation – for change, for excitement, for accomplishment.  Now let’s back up the bus  moment and I’ll explain myself…

I’ve been athletic all my life.  I think my dad just assumed I was a boy until I started wearing a bra. I played team sports like basketball and volleyball, but all that came crashing down one summer after a particularly ego-crushing error in our house league softball finals (GO McKenzie Park!). I’ve always been a bit of an odd duck, secretly adoring the things that “weren’t cool”, like Star Trek (sure NOWWWW its cool to be a geek, but back in the day, it was just nerdy). Whatever was different, I generally liked. I was also VERY into dance. My mom spent hours and copious amounts of money nurturing my (and my sister’s) love of all things dance. Whether you agree on it being a sport or not is your own choice, but you have to agree that it is, at the very least, athletic. After I realized I wasn’t going to be the next Karen Kain or Savion Glover, I became much less enthusiastic (and I believe that was about the time I discovered boys). Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to keep my naturally muscular but slim frame without dance, I joined a gym.

MISTAKE NUMERO UNO. Sure there were lots of fit people at the gym, but there were more UNFIT people. I had a pretty good steeping in biomechanics from dance to figure out the machines, but it was boring. I will mention again, that “normal” isn’t for me. It’s the outliers that really get me going.  Don’t get me wrong, some people like the safe and friendly atmosphere of their local “million-franchise-mega-fitness-facility”. It’s cardio-funk classes and brightly coloured walls are pretty inviting. I’ll admit, very sadly, that I have fallen prey to one such super gym. Six months ago I broke my leg and needed a relatively inexpensive way to  rehab my leg and lose the 10+ lbs. I gained while sedentary. But every time I walk down the stairs and open the door to said club, I find myself disheartened. Why? Because I know 3 things, based on years of various memberships:

1) The Customer Service Rep at the desk will scan my card. At which point my membership and financial data will show on her computer screen. Although she probably knows my name (because, unlike most, I’m there 5-6 days/week), she does not know that I hit a new personal record for a bench press last week or that I’m having problems with my nutrition. But it’s not her fault, the club has 2,500 members!
2) Only 3 of the 9 trainers on staff could properly demonstrate a back squat and only 1 could tell you how to improve your RDL.
3) There will NOT be a rope, a turf hill, a tire, or anything in sight that relates to navigating through everyday life.

And so, here I am at the start of a mission to find fun, challenging, effective ways to stay TUFF. I don’t know exactly where this will go. My intention is to seek out people who know their stuff and are examples of their knowledge, unorthodox activities or ways of training that may not be well known and facilities that are known to encourage success, healthy competition and camaraderie within their walls. This kind of thing isn’t for everyone, but I know there are many people out there, just like me desperate for something different.

Stay Tuff All You Cookies