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Fast and sweaty or slow and spirit-centred, there's a route for everyone

BY SARAH PETRESCU, TIMES COLONIST JANUARY 18, 2011
It's mid-January and statistics say nearly half of us will have botched our New Year's resolutions by now -- most of them fitness-related. We all know it's hard to look great when you feel like a sack of potatoes.

I'd be in the failed bunch too if it weren't for a serious wake-up call in early December. I decided to join Club Phoenix (2122 Government St.), the gym closest to my work and home. The catch was a mandatory fitness test, a "baseline," they said, to measure my goals. I could barely do a sit-up, the supposed muscles I always had as a runner had softened with months of desk work and not much else.

I was tired, unmotivated and, to be honest, a little delusional about how far I'd fallen off the wagon.

My reality check and a first-time focus on weight-training sustained me through the holidays and has sparked a new enthusiasm for getting in shape.

Many people feel the same way. More than 500 applied for the Times Colonist Health Club Challenge, and more than 400 signed up for the at-home version of the challenge.

I decided to seek out others inspired to change their health, specifically those with tips for sticking with it. I started with fellow gym member Garry Knapik, 48, who has lost more than 40 pounds since July.

"It surprised me at the consultation how out of shape and overweight I was," said Knapik, a carpenter. With a history of playing sports, Knapik had no problem working with a personal trainer and hitting the gym six days a week. When he wanted to see quicker results, his trainer suggested he try the nutritional meal planning service offered by the gym.

"Within the first few weeks I was losing two to three pounds a week. Now I'm wearing the same pant size I wore in high school," he said.

EATING RIGHT

Knapik told me changing his eating habits and exercising has changed his life, and his family's, too. "It's a lifestyle change that's made our whole family healthier. I have more energy, I sleep through the night and I'm happier."

Club Phoenix fitness consultant and nutritionist Kim Knott, 24, said she hates the word "diet." She offers personalized meal planning, using foods clients are already eating and introducing some new ones. A custom seven-day plan and consultation costs $200.

"I tell clients 'food is your fuel.' It's not just about losing weight but also getting the nutrients and energy you need," she said. Knott focuses on portion control, good carbs and fats, and simple guidelines.

Some of the sage advice Knott offers clients: Eat breakfast. "It boosts your metabolism. Some people gain weight because they don't eat enough and their body goes into starvation mode," she said. Oatmeal with anti-oxidant rich berries is a good start.

Also, "If you're bloated you probably need to drink more water," and at least a cup to match each coffee, she says.

When it comes to portions, Knott said veggies should make up half the plate. "Your good proteins and carbs are the other half."

She said to give yourself a realistic time frame to make changes and see results. "It takes about five weeks to form a habit. Give yourself that at least."

COMMUNITY

The word community continually comes up in buzz about Crossfit Zone gym (613 Herald St.). CrossFit combines weightlifting, sprinting and gymnastics. CrossFit was developed by former American gymnast Greg Glassman in the mid-'90s to train police officers, firefighters and the military. It's since been dubbed a fitness craze, even a cult -- as branches meet to compete.

Deanna Whiteley, 30, opened her Victoria CrossFit gym nearly three years ago and its popularity is quickly growing. The workouts are set up as a circuit, each task modified for different levels. Members challenge their personal bests in everything from rowing and running to ring dips and chin-ups, in short, intense bursts.

"The original draw for people is always, 'I hear it's a good workout,' " she said in the gym, a converted garage with gymnastic rings, sawhorses, tractor tires and weights. The walls are covered with leaderboards of members' best lifts and times. "Once they get into the routine, the community and see results they want to stick with it for the long term and keep challenging themselves."

As Whiteley took me through their introductory workout, hopping from sit-ups on the floor to pull-ups on the bar, I felt like Rocky Balboa. Yo, Adrienne, we did it ... We did it.

She cheered me the whole way through. "We do that for everyone in class, at any level. It's a fun motivator," Whiteley said.

SWEAT AND STRETCH

Nothing cleanses the system like a good sweat, which might be why Bikram Yoga Victoria's (1015 Fort St.) attendance numbers more than double at this time of year. Each 90-minute class is in a room heated to 45 C, to mimic the warmth of India, where it was developed. The 26 poses are meant to open and stimulate the body from head to toe. Owner Ken Mayes says the practice is also a good diagnostic tool.

"It very clearly shows you where your imbalances are," Mayes said. "It's also very therapeutic."

Mayes started doing Bikram Yoga seven years ago when a girlfriend wanted him to limber up and be able to dance. The former University of Alberta football player had five knee operations and had never tried yoga.

"I was hooked," he said. "I'd like to reach out to more men. What's the point of being a big, muscular guy if you don't have a range of motion or skeletal health?"

EMPOWERMENT

Alice Bracegirdle developed Bellyfit (1303 Broad St.) as a physically and spiritually empowering fitness system for women. In three years, Bellyfit has grown from hosting a small group of devotees (myself included) to an international brand with teacher training and an instructional DVD.

"It's designed to give an all-in-one experience: Cardio, strength and stretch," she told me. "But it's different as we do weave in a spiritual component connecting to the deep feminine self."

Bellyfit combines cardio elements of African, Bollywood and belly dance with yoga and pilates stretches, as well as meditation. The soundtrack is a custom mix of world beats and electronica, sometimes performed by a live DJ and drummers. Participants range from teens to women in their 60s -- and even one 78-year-old. The moves are simple enough to get and big enough to break a sweat.

Bracegirdle said fitness resolutions require a mind shift to stick. At 37, with a 10-year-old daughter, she is "in the best shape of my life."

"We need to flip our mindset around exercise and embrace it in a category of fun, celebration and self-care," she said.

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