Foolproof Fitness

/ 2012/01/11 12:40 pm

Resolutions versus trends

Foolproof Fitness THE MONTH OF January is somewhat bittersweet for me. By the time the first week rolls around, my stocking has been reduced to nothing more than a sad sock of empty wrappers. Like every other student, I am scratching my head in wonder at the fact that, yes, midterms are coming up in a matter of weeks. The [...]

/ 2011/12/07 7:10 pm

Working the holidays away

Foolproof fitness IT’S THAT TIME of year again—time to board a plane, hop on a train, or jump in a shady rideshare to head home for the holidays. While I am happy my hometown of Vancouver offers me some temporary separation from the library and lecture halls of the University of Ottawa, I am also disappointed that it is far [...]

/ 2011/11/30 3:05 pm

TV workouts

Foolproof Fitness IT’S OFFICIAL: THE parkas and scarves have been retrieved from the back of the closet and dusted off for another five months of use. Foolproof Fitness fans, if you’ve read my earlier column on moving your outdoor workout indoors, you know the time has come to do so. One of my suggestions to keep up your fitness routine [...]

/ 2011/11/23 3:32 pm

Foolproof fitness

Mastering the deadlifts ONE OF MY favourite tracks on my workout playlist is a song by Salt n’ Pepa that encourages me to “push it, push it real good.” Poor grammar aside, this song works wonders when I’m ready to give up on a tough workout. Every time I’m halfway up a huge hill or struggling through a set of push-ups, it’s [...]

/ 2011/11/23 3:19 pm

Gee-Gees turn up the offence

U of O men’s hockey team takes home two wins THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa men’s hockey team (8-4-2) increased their standing to fifth in the Ontario University Athletic league this weekend with back-to-back wins at home. On Nov. 18, the team defeated the Ryerson Rams 4-3, followed by a second victory on Nov. 19 against the Nipissing Lakers, 7-1. The Gee-Gees battled their way back to a win against [...]

/ 2011/11/17 3:02 pm

Challenging yourself to the max

  Foolproof fitness ANYONE WHO HAS explored the depths of my pantry knows I am a cereal fiend. Cereal is good for you and it tastes good—the perfect combo. Am I going to eat a bowl of Life every morning for the rest of my, well, life? No! I like to switch it up here and there with some yogurt, [...]

/ 2011/11/10 2:38 pm

Bearing the cold

Foolproof fitness MY FIRST YEAR in Ottawa, I flat out refused to adapt my activities to the cold weather. I had grown up on the West Coast, where skiing, golfing, and surfing were perfectly normal ways to spend a December afternoon. Thus, I thought nothing of it when I pulled on my thin layers of Under Armour and headed outside [...]

/ 2011/10/19 10:55 pm

Foolproof fitness

Eating your way to healthy living   IN THE SECOND instalment of this two-part series, Stuart Thomas, a graduate of the University of Ottawa’s human kinetics program, is answering my top questions about nutrition. Good news: My hypothesis that chocolate milk is both nutritious AND delicious has been confirmed. Is carbo-loading really necessary before an intense workout? “No, it certainly [...]

/ 2011/10/05 8:07 pm

Dress to impress?

UNIMPRESSED WITH THE best-and-worst dressed recipients that appear in a tattered 1997 issue of People at the gym? Take a look at some of the fine specimens around you, like Commando Carl, who makes no attempt to hide his underwear preferences—or his junk. There’s also Kardashian Kopy-Kat, who has to adjust her weight on the elliptical machine to accommodate her [...]

/ 2011/09/28 5:00 pm

Cycling your way to healthy quads

ALTHOUGH YOU MAY still be able to wear your Birks around campus, winter is (sadly) just around the corner. This means some of the outdoor activities you enjoy, such as cycling, become more difficult. That is, unless you’re one of the badasses in Sandy Hill who braves the icy streets in a blizzard when everyone else is wrapped in their [...]