Category: Fitness Story

Drake is one of the reasons I love our co-ed Bootcamps. Although most Group Exercise classes tend to be mostly women, sometimes a good dose of testosterone is what’s needed to amp up the intensity and add a little friendly competition. Drake will never say die during a challenge (9 min wall sit, anyone?) but he’s not afraid to do it in florescent orange leggings. I had an email malfunction and he teased me by calling my company Spam Feels Good (jerk! :)) but he also brought banana bread (that he had made with his sons) and candles to Bootcamp on my birthday last year.

The Not So Early Risers class is one of the most social and hilarious groups I’ve ever worked with and a lot of that has to do with the awesome energy that Drake brings to every class.

Name

Age

Occupation

How long have you been training with us?

Were you always an exerciser? What did you do for your fitness before signing up with FFG?

What made you sign up for a FFG Bootcamp?

Limited time meant I wasn’t exercising like I wanted to.  Plus, despite best intentions, I don’t go to the gym or run.

I need a group for motivation.

How has being an FFG Bootcamper changed your life?

I’m in decent shape! 

..plus I now know so many more words and phrases from the Urban Dictionary.

(Oonagh’s disclaimer: the – ahem- colourful language of the 9:45am class is not necessarily Fit Feels Good Bootcamp policy. But it’s a bonus 🙂

What do you do when you are not Bootcamping?

Work and kids.  And currently obsessing over the Jays.

 What’s your major fitness goal right now?

I’m feeling good on the fitness.

Best/funniest Bootcamp moment?

Funniest is almost every class.

What advice would you give someone who is just starting out with FFG Bootcamps or just thinking about it?

If there is any chance you will ever like a Bootcamp, this is it. 

Ass kicking with a side order of fun.

What is the accomplishment or personal milestone you are most proud of?

10 chinups. 

Whenever I design a workout for our Bootcamp locations, I always give it a second look, thinking: ‘will this be hard enough for ANNIE?”.  According to her trainer, Scott, “Annie leads the pack. She rips through the “harder” options and quite often is the first to arrive at 5:45am with a contagious smile.” Oh – and did we mention that she runs to Bootcamp as a warm up and then, just when we think we’ve kicked her ass, she cheerfully jogs home?

Name

Annie McDonald

Age

41

Occupation

Interior stylist/designer and co-owner of the Michael Johnston music studio.

How long have you been training with us?

A year

Were you always an exerciser?

I have been a runner for most of my adult life

What made you sign up for a FFG Bootcamp?

I started to feel that I needed a bit of a kick in the ass to supplement my running after a long, cold, indulgent winter

How has being an FFG Bootcamper changed your life?

Oh, let me count the ways!

First, the sense of community. I love our little crew and I’ve been welcomed so warmly any time I have worked out with the crews from other locations.

I have never been a gym goer nor worked out or run with a group before, so I was very suspicious at the beginning

– but now I take so much joy in being part of this gang!

Secondly, the sense of sweaty accomplishment at the end of every workout – especially on these sick, hot days when I’d rather be quietly mainlining an iced coffee somewhere in the shade.

Thirdly, I now feel like I can do anything

– and that Oonagh and her people always have my back.

What do you do when you are not Bootcamping?

I am mother to two sweet kids so I hang out with them and my awesome husband; scour the city for treasures for my clients and friends; rearrange other people’s furniture (almost always with permission); run; read; listen to records; make art; and Instagram all of the above.

What’s your major fitness goal right now?

To execute a pull up.

I am also coming back from an injury, so I am currently trying to balance going hard at the workouts with not re-injuring myself. Tricky!

What about coming to Bootcamp makes you jump out of bed at 5am singing the Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music?

Equalizer pull-ups, hill running, the light in the park in the morning, my High Park crew

What exercise or drill makes you cower under your bed covers and pretend you don’t hear your alarm?

Stairs! Burpees! Anything involving bear crawl!

Best/funniest Bootcamp moment?

The time when the drawstring on my shorts came undone and I literally ran my pants off

What advice would you give someone who is just starting out with FFG Bootcamps or just thinking about it?

Just try it. And then try it again. And so on.

What is the accomplishment or personal milestone you are most proud of?

Honestly, attendance: aside from the times when I’ve been out of town, I have only missed one day of Bootcamp since I started.

I may be hungover / sleepless / accompanied by my kids / still in the clothes I slept in, but I try to always be there.

Did Annie’s fitness story inspire you? Leave a comment below and share with anyone else who could use some extra motivation this August!