- Orienteering
- My oldest sport; I started in high school because one of the teachers there was a prominent orienteer, and I was bored of simple cross-country. I wanted a reason to run - a reason to get from A to B. Turns out I also love maps and mapping and navigating. As I've gotten faster in the past few years, I've also had to sharpen my orienteering skills to catch up. I finally feel a tiny bit competitive. I run in red colours for the Toronto Orienteering Club.
- Kyoshin Ryu Jiu-Jitsu
- I had always wanted to be an ass-kicking ninja, and at 19 I suddenly decided that with a bit of training, it can be done by really anyone! I showed up to a jiu-jitsu dojo that promised to teach me everything from stand-up fighting, to throwing and landing, to joint locking, to ground work, to modern and traditional weapons. I walked in, saw everyone in black gis instead of white, and I was sold. I was honoured to serve as a junior instructor for a few years, and although my club is currently on hiatus from teaching, I am continuing to train with other instructors towards a chance at grading for my Nidan.
- Boxing
- This was a sport that I practised not because I enjoyed it, but because I needed to learn it as part of jiu-jitsu, and because I stumbled upon probably the awesomest boxing gym in the city, the Toronto Newsgirls. The kind of place where the coach has you pretend you have the words "bite me" and "wanna fight?" written on your forearms, so that when you block, you can "show it to them." The kind of place where she'll egg you on in the ring by yelling for you to "wipe that smile off her face!" I have to say, after years of eastern martial arts, I really sucked at boxing, but I had a great time. I should go back... they're around the corner...
- Soldiers of Fitness
- Not really a sport, more of a lifestyle. After a full year in an intense post-graduate program, I had reduced my activity level to almost nil, and when I heard the ad for an outdoor, military-style bootcamp, I signed up immediately. Besides giving me a solid foundation in functional fitness, SOF also developed my on-the-fly organizational and decision-making skills and turned me from a timid follower to a confident leader, and from a staunch individualist to a team player. Our trainer pushed us to try things we never imagined possible, and I credit him with laying the groundwork for essentially all of my subsequent athletic adventures and for making me love to Play Outdoors, All the Year Round. Also, he dragged me through a lot of mud, gotta love that.
- Road Running
- Took this up accidentally in 2009 after winging a 1/2 marathon in support of some severely injured members of SOF (auto accident on a training bike ride), some of whom were going to be pushed through the race in wheelchairs by their friends. I figured if they can do it, so can I. Then the race entries became more frequent, although other than the mental drive picked up at SOF, there wasn't much else pushing me forward. In the past year, I finally signed up to train with my current running club, the most excellent XSNRG. With their weekly speedwork and hard hill running, I've dropped my road times dramatically. Although pounding the pavement is not my favourite way to race, I do like the consistency of it, so I will definitely keep some road racing in the mix.
- Trail Running
- I found out that this exists as a separate sport a couple of years ago, and although it's still not quite like tearing through the woods in whichever direction I please, it's a step up from the monotony of road running. I love the woods, so a good shady, gnarly, hilly trail is pure pleasure. I especially love mountain bike trails the way they wind up and down. And of course nothing beats running straight up the Escarpment. I find that I'm always physically more comfortable eating up the elevation changes than shuffling along on flats in the city.
- Beach Volleyball
- The first time I went to check out Woodbine / Ashbridges Bay Beach after I moved in about a 10 minute bike ride away, I immediately gasped with delight at the city-maintained beach volleyball courts, peopled by hundreds of half-naked, sun-baked die-hards jumping around in the thick sand. I sighed because although I loved volleyball in high school, these days I didn't know anyone who played, let alone had a net to bring. Literally a few days later at a concert, I met an awesome set of new friends, who it turns out have their own net and show up each Sunday to play at that very beach! What luck! We've been playing on-and-off for three summers now; it's a very recreational game, where we often forget the score and sometimes score points for trash-talk instead. My specialty is digging, but I've been taught how to set for others as well. Can't block or hit over the net to save my life, but I am 5'2".
- Weightlifting
- I had to take up weightlifting in a gym as part of Lean Eating last year, and I really dreaded it. I was used to flipping tires and tossing sandbags outdoors, so sweating inside with a clunky dumbbell, stuck between a meaty guy doing arm curls and some lame chick lightly jogging on the treadmill was not appealing at all. But the workouts designed by Bang Fitness were really informative and not only kicked my ass and made me lean, but taught me a lot about proper form, biomechanics, and essentially what modern resistance training is all about. For the most part, that means compound movements with free weights that support real-life fitness. Seeing my rippling shoulder muscles in a mirror didn't hurt either! Right now, I'm focusing on maintaining general strength and keeping lean, but I'm incorporating lifts that will improve my running form as well.
- Cross-Country Skiing
- I come from a skiing family - an alpine skiing family. I hated being forced into it all through childhood, and Nordic was not even on my radar until the Torino and Vancouver Olympics, when I suddenly realized how exciting it was to watch. Given the opportunity to try it myself in winter of 2011, I spent an entire day wiping out on the easy trails at Mont Tremblant with a more experienced friend. And although I must have resembled a baby giraffe, I was instantly in love with this sport. It's a perfect combination of running and muscling, my two favourite things. I loved running up the hills with my whole body. I displayed such glee in our trip photos, that my downhilling parents surprised me with Classic XC skis for my birthday at the end of the year! I've gone out a few times this winter, including trying my first skiing-orienteering race. I'm more confident with handling, turning, and flying downhill with each trip.
- Snowboarding
- Another downhill skiing replacement I'd been meaning to try for years. It always seemed so much cooler, more versatile, more manoeuvrable. I took one intro lesson last year, and was sold. I never left the bunny hill, but learning how to slide around and make little turns before falling on my bottom was so thrilling! I love having to control my balance and know where my body is at all times. It's so smooth to ride. I upgraded my training this winter and practised some more advanced moves on a steeper hill. I even got the courage to go up on a chair lift! When I can, I'll keep coming back to this one and getting more and more adventurous.
- Triathlon
- Doing several different and distinct sports in succession in the same race seemed pretty ludicrous to me. And since I don't really enjoy riding a bike at all, and I forgot how to swim since racing for a lame rec centre swim team when I was 13 or so, I never thought triathlon would happen to me. A training buddy of mine suddenly announced that she's getting coaxed into a try-tri, and I thought it would be fun to do together. A few months later, I did the beginners' course and then a sprint, and I realized that I'm still a decent swimmer and really miss the open water, that I'm a slow and nearly hopeless rider, but that I am actually a most excellent runner among other triathletes. In the space of a few months, I bought a wetsuit and a racing bike, and I've been training in the pool with the endlessly-supportive Toronto Triathlon Club. But the sum-total of my motivation is basically to kill the swimmers and cyclists on the run.
- Downhill skiing
- Ice Skating
Some favourite exercises:
Curtsy Lunge
Front Squat
Diagonal Squat-to-Press
Push-up Rows
Chin-ups
Lat. Raises
Deadlifts (now that I can do them right)
SHELC (Supine Hip Extension Leg Curl)
...
Some favourite movements:
Cross-Mountain Climbers
Box Walk-overs
...
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