Lamrou Life : fitness

Ottawa Gyms

By lamrou - October 02, 2018

Soooo I've been on this journey of exploring gyms in Ottawa & looking for what different types of workouts the city has to offer. So far I have been to Wheelhouse Cycle, Elevate Yoga, Spin Co, BodiesbyPhil, The Dailey Method and Iron North Studio (if you click on them it will take you to the post I wrote all about them).

Since I've started this journey, I have been finding so many other places I want to check out & try workouts I've never done before. When I used to go to Goodlife, I thought that it was good but it wasn't the type of gym for me. I love the local gyms where it's intimate, they know your name & recognize you when you come in. It's mostly group classes but the trainers walk around & make sure you're doing things properly and if your form is right; it's a whole ass community too which is amazing.

So far the places I've been to have been great & I loved my time spent there. I would definitely be back to check them out & I know that they would recognize me.

Other gyms I would like to check out in the next few months are:

* Epic Fitness & Lifestyle: I've beeeeeeeeeeeen watching their snaps & went to one class before but I was late & lost. Then I saw them at City of Om & got a free pass that I will use those on my friend since I need more than a class. Instead, I'll get a month membership because I need to know how it is after watching their insta stories EVERY DAY. So let's say maybe next month I am going there? Aka next week?

* Yogatown: is the next yoga studio I want to check out & apparently it's all hot yoga which I'm sooooo into cause I'm down to sweat out all my toxins & get back to my yogi status. They also have a 30-day challenge in November which is perfect cause I was trying to sign up because it's going to challenge me to make it out to the studio EVERY DAY to get in a class, no matter how tired I am from my jobs. Plus isn't this sign so cute? Maybe I'll try to do some cool pose in front of it when my month is over.

* Reform Health & Fitness: I saw some blogger put it on their story, started following them on instagram & it looks like a wild workout. I have no idea what pilates is but I'm down to learn & have fun trying a different type of workout where I will definitely die but hey, the journey will be fun. Also, I don't think we have that many pilates studios in Ottawa so it will be nice to explore this place & search for other pilates spots.

* Inside Out Studio Barre: after doing barre at TDM I'm down trying it again at a different location & this was a place I heard about before TDM but forgot about it. I'm ready to mission over & check it out & see how their barre classes are; if you think the workouts are too hard you are mistaken, my friend. It also just focuses on just barre compared to TDM that also has spin & yoga classes as well.

* UVU Fitness: is a new gym that opened up recently & after the first class I went to & died, I definitely wanna come back to do a month. I also have to say I LOVE the concept of the name because that literally is what it is in workouts U vs U. How you decide to push yourself & do your workout is your choice & you see the difference it makes when you push it all the way compared to days you half ass it. Of course, we know some days we feel like shit & still want to get some kind of workout in but I feel like the gym just makes you reflect. Kenny is great & I cannot wait to come back & spend a whole month at this gym. ALSO, they have a community wall that people can sign after working out there which I MUST REMEMBER to do.

* Free Form Fitness: they have this deal that has been going on for lifetimes & every time I am at the Starbucks on Bank & Third, I see it there. It's personal training, 8 sessions for $96, which is a pretty good deal I think but I don't really know much about personal training. It would be nice to be one on one with a trainer who is watching my form & how I do things & correcting me as well as making sure I finish my reps as a whole & not half ass (these are things you get away with in group classes when you get tired ahaha).

* OCR Academy: this gym looks like a good time & a chance to be a kid while also getting some fitness while running around a whole obstacle course. I know they also have a camp for children & a slot for them through the year so I know if they can do it, I should be able to at least survive one course, I hope.

* F45 Training: is another new gym opening up which is all about 45 minutes of functional training. It is soooooo close to home so that's always a benefit when looking for a gym. F is for functional & 45 is how many minutes the class is: F45. "It combines elements of HII, circuit training & functional training with 2 personal trainers per class to correct form & there are heart rate monitors."

There are so many other studios or gyms in Ottawa that I feel like a lot of people don't know about. This makes it hard to try something if they don't know where it is or anything about it, so that is what I'm here for. I can create a whole post listing all of the ones in Ottawa & split them up by categories. You guys just let me know down below if you're interested in that. I shall just keep adventuring around the city, see what's a great workout & how I feel about the studios I go to.

The main thing I look for at each studio is the environment, starting from when you walk in, to when the class starts to when you leave because everyone wants to feel welcome & part of the community that's built. It's also good to see if there are showers available & all the necessities in the washroom (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bobby pins, hair elastics, cotton swabs, tampons/pads), if the lockers are big enough to hold my big ass gym bag with my life & if they come with the built-in locks or you have to bring your own, if towels are included in your membership fee & just finding out what else is included in a membership.

Working out became a thing for me so I could work on my body after a fender bender. During that time my body was just in the worse chronic pain compared to the pain I was previously experiencing. Physio helped only a bit but once that was over I needed to find a gym to push myself further, to see what my limits were & what I could handle. So that's how I ended up at BBP & was so happy I did because it was a great way to get back into working out. If you're interested, just keep coming back to check out what my thoughts are on places I've been to. If there are places you want to check out but are too nervous & overwhelmed to do so, I can check it out for you or maybe even join you at the gym where we can see how we feel about it together.

p.s. Ima try to buy some kinda merch from each studio whether it be a tank, leggings, sweater, bra top, grip socks- ima try to represent each place with what I like from there.

till the next workout

happy sweating

xoxo

lamrou

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fitness

Tips before your first spin

By lamrou - August 26, 2018

I’ve been to two spin studios so far & with two different people who don’t usually spin & I learned that no one prepares you for your first spin. So I’m here to let you know what it is & better prepare you before you book that class & go in. The class itself is not hard, no matter which teacher you have but knowing somethings may bring you some ease.

Sooo let’s get right into it:

- Bring shit to shower & a change of clothes because if you are tryina leave the studio without showering you are crazy because your gonna sweat like an ice cream cone on a hot day in places you didn’t even know you can sweat; the right teacher & you pushing yourself will have you sweating buckets

- The person who checks you in will tell the teacher that there is a new rider but if a teacher doesn’t approach you, go up to them & tell them your new & ask for help setting up your bike & give you some good tips on making it through your first class (show up early so you have time & not in a rush)

- Your first class just be ready for your ass & lady parts to be sore af (I dunno I guys get sore to but i'd imagine so). I now understand why bikers wear padded bike shorts; those seats get uncomfortable & fast too. It takes a few classes to get a bit more comfortable but you’ll never be completely okay with it in my opinion at least i was uncomfortable 85% of the time

- There are weights involved where you spin & do light arm workouts for just one song which would be like 3/4min so choose the right weights to rough our for the whole song. I feel like 2lb is a good start because 1lb might be not a challenge & 3lb is a lot for the start because you are pumping to the beat of the song.

- You want to be able to last during the class so put the resistance at what is too much & then soften it to what you can handle and go with it. When they say go up try I but if it’s too much then soften it to what you can handle but is a challenge as well. You want to be able to push yourself but also listen to your body & see what it’s saying.

- I think the best bike to book is the first row or the second where you have a good view of the mirror & the instructor so you can see what everyone is doing & what your supposed to be doing; if you don’t want to be in the front & center you can be in the front & on one of the ends. Plus if you can see yourself in the mirror you can watch yourself & make sure your form is right & you are in sync with the class.

- Taking your shoes off is actually a little bit confusing & the way they say it made no sense for me but let me explain it better. So you clip in & that’s not too hard but taking them is different. You need to just open your knee out to it’s side like the flamingo pose in yoga and it should unclick; you’ll just need to use some force & kick out.

And then of course just remember to stretch after because you want to make sure your muscles don’t hurt like crazy since you’ve been working them out pretty wild. Also if you haven’t worked out in forever you will be sore after spin even if you usually do workout, you may be a little sore it all depends how hard you go in class but the one place that will definitely hurt is your ass & parts.

I have a whole post about Wheelhouse Cycle that I went to & Spin Co cause now that you have the tips you just need to find a spin studio to check out.

happy sweating

xoxo

lamrou

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fitness

Spin Co

By lamrou - August 23, 2018

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fitness

Wheelhouse Cycle

By lamrou - July 30, 2018

You know those workouts where you are on the brink of giving up & crying while simultaneously trying not to throw up & pass out are the best workouts.

I somehow push through & finish the class then dance in the I shower like I didn't almost die.

I have been debating to do cycle for so long but was hesitant cause I heard it was hard but I also didn't think I'd die as much as I could in a HIIt class. I was wrong first of all. I tried cycle once & didn't feel anything cause I wasn't doing it right & then I tried it at the Dailey Method. I did it right & DIED. So I said fuck it let's just sign up for cycle & just see what it's all about.

I ended up signing up to Wheelhouse Cycle which is one that I said I wanted to go to earlier this year or end of last in a blog post about getting fit. So I got a friend to sign up with me & we did the unlimited 2 week deal for $50. With that $50, cycle shoes & a sweat towel is included & they have showers available with hair dryers, straighteners, hair elastics, q-tips & tampons to fulfill all your needs. Which was a nice intro to cycle & see how we feel about it & how many classes we can handle within that time frame. Most of our classes we just went to the Bank St location & made it out to the original location in Wellington once & it's so nice & pretty big; it accommodates about 33 while centertown holds about 26 riders. the front desk staff are super nice as soon as you walk in & are willing to help you with whatever you need whether it be asking for something theat may have finished in the washroom, giving you your shoes & towels, helping you set up your bike or answering any cycle questions for you.

So let me start off by saying that cycle is no joke & if your looking to getting a good workout, you definitely will my friend. So there are two different type of cycle classes, that I've been to at least. there is the ones that go by rpm which is what I did at tdm & then to the beat of the music which is how it was at Wheelhouse. Each class is about 45 min with some stretching done at the end. I wanna say it's about 6 songs but I'm guessing; I forget every thing that happened & run to the shower once the class is over ahaha. I made the mistake of coming to one class without my shower stuff & felt so nasty; you sweat like you've never sweat in your life before.

My first class was with Laura Moran & damn was it a wild class and a perfect way to get into cycle; I got to do one more class with her & I can confirm that she knows how to give a wild cycle class where no matter how tired you feel, you don't want to give up. She is a wild instructor who has you ready to bawl your eyes out & go through all those feelings & emotions I said at the beginning. She was our fav instructor because she had me sweating like I've never sweated in in my life before, literally buckets of sweat dropping. All the teachers are amazing & if it's your first class they help you set up your bike, check up on you to see if your okay, make sure you spinning quick, check on you at the end of class to see how you felt and how it was, as well as give you a shoutout in class for surviving your first cycle ahaha.

Cycle is a crazy but great workout that has your whole body engaged & there is even some weights involved; for a song you got weights in your hand and you are going to the beat of the song working on your arms (weight are between 2-5lbs so not bad but tiring to keep them up for so long). I think I wanna check out Spin Co as my next spin studio but still deciding when because I got some other places to check out first.

Location: there is two locations Welly West & Centretown.
Welly West is located on Bank St with Gladstone the closest intersection
455 Bank St Unit 2, Ottawa, ON K2P 1Y9

Centretown is located on Wellington with the closest street, Caroline Ave & intersection is Holland Ave. 1279 Wellington St W, Ottawa, ON K1Y 3A8

Fav teacher: Laura Moran

Getting there: parking is pretty limited especially when it's busy; there is street parking or you can take the 6 or 7 either way & they stop right there or across the street; you get off at Bank & Gladstone, it's right in between the Starbucks & the Shoppers Drug Mart

happy sweating

xoxo

lamrou

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fitness

City of Om

By lamrou - June 10, 2018

So it’s been about a week since City of Om (lowkey been waiting for them to post their pictures before I posted this post but I’ll add them in later). This was the third year of the festival; I missed it last year but made it the first year, check out that post here.

From the first year to this year they have grown so big to have many new & different sponsors & vendors. They also are bringing all kinds of studios; yoga, fitness, barre, etc for all the attendees to discover local spots they might not have known about & most of them give out free class passes which is amazing. I ended up getting the VIP Yogi pass which was a bit more than the regular pass & got you pre registration for certain classes & a picture with the photographer.

The day started at 8am & finished at 7pm but I definitely was not there for it all cause that’s wild. I had work so I showed up around 11am & stayed until about 4pm. I didn’t get to go to as many classes I wanted because a lot of them overlapped & the cool black light classes were all full but I still got to attend 2 classes & visited almost every booth.

cute little jams from Yoga Attic

My first class was Goddess Yoga at 12pm at the great lawn & can I say I don’t think anyone could have taught that class better than Michelle. I left hella liberated after that class. She had us doing some crazy sounds & being all loose & feeling comfortable with whatever we are doing and not worried about people but just doing what’s right for us and our bodies. I think I’ll be going to another Goddess Yoga class after that.

My next class was #bodiesbyphil at 1:30 at the great lawn as well. I’ve done his classes before but it’s beeeeeen a while since & the way I died AND there wasn’t even any weights (my legs were dead for like 3 days later). I came for yoga & got a helluva workout instead which I wasn’t mad about.

got my friend a free pass so she can check it out

After those classes thou I just went on a hunt for food & checked out the booths. I wasn’t really feeling anything at the booths so I looked for like a snack & got a chia pudding. Lemme tell you it was weird as hell and I ate half only because they had fruit on top but I’m not cancelling them out maybe I’ll try it again & see how I feel. I think I ended up going home to eat something.

I was gonna check out a 5pm class but after heading to The Movement’s booth where they were doing some manual therapy & active release therapy treatments (the line was long but it was definetly worth it, it was kinda of like physio but so much more adjusted & pain relief. After visiting their booth I decided it was time to go home I was already hella tired & couldn't wait till the 5pm class.

Overall it was great & I can’t wait to get back into yoga so I can do all these advanced poses & be able to call myself a true yogi. I also ended up signing up for the Lolë White Tour when I saw the girls from Lolë at their tent & they told me there was only a few tickets left (I got a ticket for $23 with a mat & goodies, what a steal). I’m excited for it cause it looks amazing with everyone in all white on yellow mats. To more yoga & being zen.

till next year City of Om

namaste

lamrou

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