What a spectacular time to be alive! I had the pleasure of giving my beautiful friend a beginner ski lesson the other day at Lakeridge Ski Resort and was ecstatic to be able to hit the slopes in jeans and only a couple of thin layers. I can’t be the only one loving this warm streak, not to mention all the sun. We had a blast and I was reminded of how much a girl can enjoy winter.
So, since I can’t imagine we’ve seen the last of winter just yet, I thought I’d highlight some of the many things to do on campus as well as in and around Toronto to keep your body moving and enjoy this so-far-mild winter!
Disclaimer: “Trolls” on the internet love to pick on people who wear lifting gloves – just ignore them. Whether you need lifting gloves is for you to decide and is no indication of how much you can lift, how “beast” you are, or anything of the sort. Many bars and barbells have a knurled surface (is that a fun word or what?). You’ve probably seen it, the pattern of thousands of diamonds that cover most of the bar, it’s there so athletes can get a better grip on the bar. This knurling, however, doesn’t make for a particularly pleasant grip and can cause the hands some discomfort – to reduce this discomfort, some people choose to wear lifting gloves. Others wear gloves to improve their grip when their hands start to sweat, and others wear gloves for entirely different reasons. Point is, if they’re going to benefit you, go right ahead. Don’t feel the need to put on a brave face while the bar exfoliates your hands. It doesn’t make you any more awesome than the guy or gal next to you whose hands aren’t the same shade of bright red.
Source: harbingerfitness.com
Brand-name apparel:
I’m not even going to go there. Your body is just as strong and just as amazing in your highschool gym shorts as it is in Lululemon yoga pants that set you back $140, or bright green UnderArmour sweats.
This past Monday, Move U and U of T’s Black Students’ Association hosted the university’s first Afro-Caribbean dance workshop. It was one of many highlights of my four years at U of T. Seriously.
The hour-and-a-half long workshop was a total blast! It was led by Arsenio Andrade, who was born and trained in Cuba and has performed internationally, and accompanied by the wonderful drumming talent of Richard “Popcorn” Cumberbatch who has been playing Caribbean indigenous drums since the age of 11. There was a great turnout and every single person seemed to be having the time of their lives – I know I was.
Guess what? I took the plunge! I bought my own beautiful pair of skates! Did my wallet cry a little? Yes. Am I beyond excited? Yes. On my way home to my parents’ house I took a detour to the…
That moment when you realize you’re training in as many sports this term as you are completing courses…
My body is going to be so mad at me. Source: giphy.com
What better time to check out a myofascial release class at Goldring? Your fascia is a sort of spider-web of dense tissue which surrounds and attaches to all kinds of structures in your body. Normally –rather, in a healthy state- your fascia is relaxed and can stretch and move as you do. Over time however, due to stress, trauma, poor habits (slouching, for instance) your fascia can undergo changes which lead to restricted mobility, tension and even pain. Myofascial release consists of massaging and stretching the fascia to relieve pressure and tightness.
Am I the only one who’s ever been jealous of the kinesiology students? As someone so interested and engaged in fitness and physical activity I would love to be able to sit in on those lectures. While that may not…
Everybody hates January. After a well-deserved break from courses, assignments, readings, exams and –for some – the cold commute, we’re back to reality. Thankfully, while reality does include mountains of coursework, commuting in all kinds of weather and a general apathy that comes with the second semester… it also includes campus physical activity programming! I kid you not, if it weren’t for aerial silks and Jiu Jitsu, I don’t know how I’d put my toque and winter boots on every morning to trek to school. I’m hoping you all can also find something to be excited about and to make this semester a little more pleasant!
7 more days!
I’m happy to announce that on top of circus and jitsu, I’ll be continuing my ice princess adventure this semester in the Skating Level 1 registered class at Varsity Centre! I’m currently looking for a pair of skates to call my own, but it’s great knowing that rentals are available if I don’t find the right fit in time.
If you’re as prone to self-deprecation as I am, the end of the term may inspire some troublesome realizations and painfully remind you of all the goals you set in September. As the year winds down but exams wind way, way up, it’s hard not to take stock of the past few months – if only to procrastinate.
It’s really easy to identify the goals we didn’t realize and the plans we didn’t follow through with, and the associated negativity is not something any of us needs right now. So, I’m looking back and while I can’t ignore my “areas for improvement” I am sandwiching my criticisms of myself with silent celebrations of all the things I did well and accomplished.
As well as some flashy, Instagram’ed celebrations.
I’ve never really participated in a group fitness class that wasn’t a quiet, restorative yoga session. As such, I had no idea what to expect from the “Cardio Kickbox” drop-in fitness class offered at the Goldring Centre. I came into the class without expectations, exhausted after a long day on campus, and somehow I walked out energized and uplifted.
Let me start this off by saying I am not a yogi, nor am I a master of the subconscious – or any other level of consciousness for that matter. U of T’s new yoga and meditation programming is inclusive and inviting, and all you need in order to participate is your presence.
Yoga and meditation are available across campus five days a week at a variety of times to suit our crazy schedules. It’s drop-in programming so you can go as often or as seldom as you like. If it’s Wednesday, 5:15 p.m. and you’re thinking you’re done for the day, you can pop over to the Goldring Centre and join the “Yoga and Meditation” session which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It’s flexible – in more than just the obvious sense.
That’s the session I had the pleasure of attending this week. It was held in the dance studio/multi-purpose room on the top tier of the Goldring Centre’s strength and conditioning centre. I’d never been in that space before and oh how I wanted to dance! It’s so bright and open, with a wall of mirrors that I could think of many ways to exploit.
This is the site of all group fitness at the Goldring Centre, for future reference!
