Feeling like a champion is kinda the best!


I'm talking about giving your all and knowing that you won - your body is pushed to the MAX, 
your heart rate is up, and you without a doubt hurt. A WIN!

My fitness background goes as such:

Skiing: learned down a black diamond, finished in a ravine while knocking people down the way. Breaks have never meant much to my dad- hence my wipeout. Should we talk about dirt biking (that’ll be for another blog)? I quickly became a hidden gem on the mountain and powder pig was my nickname at the age of 7?
Taekwondo: well this didn’t go quite as planned I would say more so for my dad lol. He put his two kids (daughters) into martial arts at the age of 7 and 11. Holy shit was this hard to attend when all you want to do as an EXTREMELY hyper kid was eat, run around, eat, play and be the family comedian. I broke boards, had a 6 pack in no time, and got bored. So dad took me out… my master yelled more than exhausted my energy.
Competitive cheerleading: what’s possibly better than being thrown in the air, yelling, flipping, dancing and feeling in every way possible… drained. My body seemed to be stretched in ways that I never actually thought it could. I twisted, caught others in my arms, and traveled for free to win with my team. From 12 - 15 years old, I was headed to a goal called, get the hell out of Abbotsford, and go to University (UBC) on a Cheerleading scholarship. I moved to Smithers, BC instead.
Gymnastics: thinking that cheerleading would obviously be just like gymnastics except with an object (floor, vault, beam, bars). It was not. My body also hit puberty around 16 years old and well let’s just say that learning to straddle a beam to a back handspring didn’t quite fly it for me. I learned quickly, worked hard, and I don’t think that I’ve ever done so many splits and chin-ups in my life. 16 - 17 years old, I quit after cracking my chin on a concrete floor.
Snowboarding: from the age of 16 - well still (I’m 27) I found love in the adrenaline rush of going fast, taking jumps, smelling the cold air, and exploring questionably safe places… waterfalls, cabin adventures, snowmobiling in the backcountry, rail jams, and travel for snow & competition was for real. I learned from guys and gals who were better than me and would push me past my limits.
Karate: from 17 - 23 years old I became heavily involved with Shotokan karate-do. A traditional Japanese form of martial arts. My dojo was my first home and I would say my dads too. We trained, studied, watched, and planned how to possibly win. My self had never been so mentally and physically worked. I am not joking. Discipline was like no other. If you were late, you sat back to the wall in a wall sit- for up to 20 min. I thought my legs were bleeding and talking meant silence unless you were asked to speak and it was often, “Oss” (Japenese for the understanding of a command). I loved it so much that not long into, I started kickboxing.
Kickboxing: this was by far my happy place. I started at 17.5 - 20 years old competitively and 22 - now recreationally. ‘HIIT’ to me meant to strategically and physically own my target. There was nothing better than listening to instruction, warm-up, conditioning, pad work, footwork, combinations, bag work, and learning the meaning of … pain. I swear, nothing could possibly hurt as much as the bottom of your feet’s flesh being stripped- bleeding from mat friction. When being paired against a man twice-three times the size meant tears of the most bodily intensity to stay on my feet and win. I listened, I honored and I won. I competed at a national level, was #1 in my division, got invited to represent Canada on the world stage. The speed of success happened at a rate that I mentally was not set to face. Regret was something that I never wanted to face and at 19 years old I decided to go to university, travel, work, and learn life away from the Dojo and leave Smithers BC.
SUP: after my ‘gypsy’ life of working in world-class fishing lodges, tree-planting camps and traveling, I moved to Vancouver to attend University full-time and fell in love with something that was hard to find in Smithers, BC- the ocean. A world to explore, yet something that we often just look to for a captivating sunset. Borrowing my bosses 1 million pound SUP and carting it downstairs upon stairs to make it to the ocean was my daily mission at 6:30 am. I had no clue what the heck I was doing but was captivated over the motion, being on the water, and the quietness. Most of the time my best friend would sit on the front and socialize with me while I paddled. The ocean was my training field and there was no better place than Deep Cove to learn this. I was offered a job at Deep Cove Kayak and learned from the best mentor - Mike Darbyshire. From there I SUP’d every moment I could, I became an instructor, fell in love with the community, started to SUP competitively and fell in love with a guy and surf. My passion for SUP took more of a kickboxing approach than a dancer. SUP surfing is something that I just love. Getting smacked by surf… not much better than working hard to just get up and out… nevermind surfing the wave.
Classes: spin, yoga, pilates, MMA, ballet… some of my favourites would be RIDE Cycle, Lagree West, Jaybird, Diaz Combat, Ballet Lounge… a great way to spend time with friends and get a workout in - of course getting your champion moments by giving it your all and not stopping- even though the burn is hella hard and often hot.
Running: my least favourite way to sweat but absolutely the best way for a free, hard and an easy way to track your cardio and choose that hill climb when necessary!

My mind is happy when I am moving.

QUARANTINED. As you all know, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Globally, from Australia, China, Milan, Brazil, New York, and even Vancouver… but wait. Don’t we live in igloos here in Canada?

It sucks. For everyone. This is a time that we can all say will mark a life-changing moment in history where not only lives are taken, economies hit all-time lows, and we are forced to stay indoors. Could this simply be a bit of a perfect time though- when the world takes a little breather (literally). Maybe.

I do decide to WIN. To feel like a champion and get off from the waiting game and into the dying with exhaustion game. The battle is mine, and my mind is the only thing stopping me… well and being inside.

Here is the start of my fitness journey during a time when studios, outdoors, gyms, and socializing are distanced or on pause. Yes, I paused a bit- did less HIIT and more mat work. Thank you, YouTube for helping me sweat. Personally, this didn’t exactly cut it - I found that my heart rate wasn’t getting up, my sleep was off, and I felt anxious at times.

I changed my training and this is how!