Virtual Active: Costa Rica Ride

    Virtual Active has released their Bike Series 2. The titles in this series are Costa Rica, Argentine Patagonia, Chilean Patagonia, Panama and Tierro del Fuego. Unlike their Bike Series 1 (which contained a 55 minute ride and a 35 minute ride), the DVD’s in Bike Series 2 feature only one 55 minute ride (and, as always, you have the option of doing it guided or unguided).

   Yesterday I did the Costa Rica ride. It’s led by Buddy Mucuha (who led the British Columbia ride in Bike Series 1), who I really like as a Virtual Active trainer—he’s calm and encouraging without seeming phony.

Length: 55 minutes

Format: like all the other Virtual Active rides, the Costa Rica ride is divided into “stages". Each stage is around 5 minutes in length and usually features a new geographical area (although sometimes a stage continues in the same area as the previous one). Each stage usually features a particular skill to focus on. Some VA rides focus on speed or climbing but Costa Rica has a bit of everything. One stage features a heavy hill climb, one stage features jumps, another features sprints, etc. Buddy describes Costa Rica as an “advanced power ride” and I’d agree. Like all VA rides, you always have the option of doing the “unguided” workout if you want to ignore the format.

Here’s a screenshot of the profile to give you an idea of what you face:

           

Music: the music is mostly instrumental and seemed to have a suitably Latin flair. Once I got going and working hard, I really didn’t notice the music, which tells me it was neither terrible nor particularly memorable. I had to really pay attention to it in order to be able to comment on it here. 

Footage: the Costa Rica ride takes you to various locales around the country, including  the Monteverde Cloud Forest, La Paz Waterfall and Laguna Arenal. I love crossing the suspension bridges in the cloud forest and at one point you cross (without a bridge) a crocodile-infested river. During the final stage you ride along a beach at sunset.

Difficulty: Buddy describes the Costa Rica ride as an “advanced” ride and, as far as Virtual Active workouts go, I’d have to agree.  It’s not as advanced as some of the Sufferfest workouts but it is an advanced ride. (But remember: you can always do the “unguided” ride and spin along to the scenery at your own pace).  The toughest stages for me were the two back-to-back sprinting stages—8 minutes of 15 seconds on/15 seconds off. (And during the "off" intervals you're still pedalling at 80RPM.) 8/10 for difficulty.

Other Random Thoughts: I think Costa Rica may become one of my favourite Virtual Active rides. It’s just a feel-good workout with beautiful scenery, lots of variety, a perfect level of challenge and a fun trainer. The only thing I didn’t love was the music, which didn’t add too much to the ride. (There is a music-off option for the guided ride, so next time I may play my own music while still having Buddy guide me). 8.5/10.

The Sufferfest: The Elements of Style

    The Sufferfest has released a brand new workout :) It’s called The Elements of Style and it isn’t your typical Sufferfest. Unlike other Sufferfests, its end goal isn’t to break you down and destroy you. It aims to increase your body awareness and efficiency while you’re on your bike. Not only does Grunter von Agony want you to suffer, he wants you to do it with style. 

     Bonus points for starting with a Star Wars-inspired crawl!

     The Elements of Style is also unlike other Sufferfests in that it’s narrated. The narrator is Carlton Kirby, a well-known cycling commentator whose hypnotically smooth, deep, British voice made me feel like I was watching a twisted nature documentary. (Which is a good thing.)

Length: 40 minutes

Format: The Elements of Style consists of 6 drills to “make your suffering look effortless”. The drills are:

            *systems check

            *pedal stroke drills

            *low cadence drill

            *high cadence drill

            *systems check under pressure

            *climbing with your core

My favourite drills were the systems check (and systems check under pressure) and the pedal stroke drills. The systems check is a mental checklist to raise your body awareness and to ensure you know what “all your bits and pieces are doing”. I found it surprisingly useful to pay attention to what my ankles, knees, shoulders, were doing, as they aren’t body parts usually associated with cycling. But they all play a role in your form and, therefore, your efficiency. The “systems under pressure” drill takes you through the same checklist but at a much higher cadence, since that’s usually where your form falls apart.

The pedal stroke drill takes you through the four “segments” of your stroke (the top, the down, the bottom and the up). First you focus only on your right foot and only on the muscles that should be engaged on the top stroke. You work your way through all the segments on your right foot before moving to your left. I’ve been a road cyclist for ten years and a pretty serious spinner for the last year but I had never paid much attention to the different segments of my stroke and I enjoyed working through this drill.

           

Music: unlike in most Sufferfests, where the music is front and centre, the music is really more in the background since Carlton speaks through most of the workout. It’s mostly a mix of dance and electronica.

Footage: The Elements of Style was filmed in New Zealand and the scenery is gorgeous.

Difficulty: this isn’t a beat-you-down-and-break-your-spirit-until-you’re-cursing-Grunter-von-Agony-type Sufferfest but you still work hard. Physically, I’d give The Elements of Style a 6/10. Even though there are sections where you’re pushing hard, the overall length and lots of rest intervals make this one of the easier Sufferfests. However, throw in the mental challenge of paying attention to your form and efficiency and the challenge rises to 7/10.

Other Random Thoughts: I enjoyed The Elements of Style a lot. I loved the scenery, the music and Carlton’s narration.  The drills were valuable and they moved quickly enough so as to not drag on and feel tedious. This is a fantastic resource for new cyclists or spinners. Due to its nature it probably won’t find it’s way into my regular rotation but I can see pulling it out every few weeks for a “systems” check.  Overall score: 8.5/10.

It's Not All About the Bike

     While spinning is my favourite way to keep fit, it certainly isn’t all I do to stay healthy. I aim to spin 2-3 times a week (although lately it’s been a pathetic once a week) and I do other types of workouts on the other days. As much as I love spinning, if overdo it my knees really feel it. So I mix it up. So here are some of my favourite non-spinning workouts: 

Cardio: besides spinning, my favourite cardio to do is kickboxing. My all-time favourite is Turbo Fire—it’s been a mainstay of my fitness routine since it was released in 2010. It’s a Beachbody set led by Chalene Johnson and features absolutely awesome music. It’s just fun fun fun. I sweat like crazy and always feel great when I’m done. A word of warning: some people find Chalene to be a bit over the top and some of the music to be slightly objectionable. (I personally don’t but can see where those people are coming from).  It's also not strictly kickboxing--more like a kickboxing/dance fusion and the form isn't always perfect. Here's a clip: 

My other favourite kickboxing to do is the Powerstrike series, which is lead by Ilaria Montagnari. Ilaria is the anti-Chalene: she’s very serious and form-driven. I don’t find the Powerstrikes to be as much fun as Turbo Fire but I still love doing them and get a great workout with Ilaria.

Strength-Training: my go-to for weights is Jari Love. Her workouts are low weight/high reps, which is what my body responds to best.  When I first started doing weight-training about ten years ago, Jari was the first instructor I tried and I’ve been loyal to her ever since. My favourites are still her original three workouts (Get Ripped, Get Ripped: Slim & Lean and Get Ripped & Chiseled), as some of her newer releases feature weird outfits and look like they’re set in night clubs. When I want to do high weight/low reps, I turn to Cathe Friedrich’s Burn Sets or Gym Style series.  I’m also a fan of Chalene Johsnon’s Chalene Extreme (CLX) and P90X/P90X3. I know that Tony Horton isn’t for everyone but I enjoy his cheesy jokes :)

Ballet/Barre: these are newer categories for me, areas that I’ve really only gotten into over the past year or so. For ballet, my absolute favourite is Mary Helen Bowers’ Ballet Beautiful. These give me amazing lower body/butt results and I aim to do her Classic Total Body workout at least 2x a week. I also love Leah Sarago’s Ballet Body. She has tons of downloads and 4 DVD’s to choose from—these are no joke and give me DOMS for days. For barre, my favourite is Sadie Lincoln’s Barre3. The “3” is because they’re a mix of barre, yoga and pilates.  I also enjoy Suzanne Bowen,  The Bar Method and Physique 57.

Essentrics: Essentrics is an off-shoot of Classical Stretch (which I also love). Essentrics workouts are led by Sahra Esmonde-White and are a bit hard to explain so this explanation is directly from their website: "Essentrics dynamically combines strengthening and stretching to develop a strong toned body with the complete ability of moving each joint and muscle freely and with full range of motion." 

CS and Essentrics are based in Montreal and they regularly work with and train the Canadiens and Olympic athletes. Essentrics is wonderful for rehab and really helped my recover from my back injury. I’m such a fan that I’m currently undergoing teacher training to become an Essentrics instructor.

Here's a clip from one of my favourite Essentrics DVD's (Strength and Stretch in Motion:) 

Kettlebells: before my injury kettlebells were a huge part of my fitness routine. Sadly, I’ve had to abandon them because of my back injury and I really miss them. I got fantastic results from an RKS rotation and hope one day to be able to do it again. My other favourite KB workouts  are Paul Katami’s Kettlebell Drills and AOS (Art of Strength), especially Providence and Santa Monica.

Pilates: I love pilates but have a hard time working it into my rotation. I first started pilates with Jennifer Kries and she remains my favourite pilates instructor, although some find her rather dry. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Cassey Ho of Pop Pilates—her routines are fun and high-energy. Jules Benson, Bernadette Girogi and Rebekah Rotstein are other instructors I enjoy.

Yoga: before my back injury I adored yoga and did it several times a week. But about 15 months after my injury I started seeing an osteopath (who I love and who deserves an entirely separate post) who told me that my body “wasn’t made for yoga.” So I took a break from yoga and yes, sadly, my body (especially my back) did feel better. But I really missed it. So kundalini yoga has been a god-send. Kundalini is more spiritual and less physical than vinyasa or power yoga (although it can be physically intense if you so choose).  My favourites for kundalini yoga are a husband and wife team, Ravi Singh and Ana Bret (better known as Raviana). I also really like Mantra Girl. When I was doing vinyasa yoga, my favourite practice was Tilak Pyle’s Altar of the Heart, which is a transcendent, one-of-a-kind experience. I also loved Travis Eliot’s Ultimate Yogi set, Rudy Mettia’s Yoga Warrior 365 set and anything by Eoin Finn.

Other instructors/sets that make it into my rotation on a regular basis: Kelly Coffey-Meyer, Jessica Smith, Hamelin D'Abell, Jillian Michaels, Michael Olajide, Tracy Anderson, Shaun T’s Insanity and Focus T25, Piyo, Leslie Sansone, Horizontal Conditioning, 21 Day Fix, JNL Fusion, Dream Body, and You Are Your Own Gym. 

So many workouts, so little time!

The Sufferfest: The Long Scream

     On Tuesday I tried a new-to-me Sufferfest  called The Long Scream :)  It’s an “Extra Shot” workout, meaning it’s shorter than the other Sufferfest workouts and it’s meant to be added on to the end of another Sufferfest, for some serious, hard-core suffering.

Length: 35 minutes

Format: The Long Scream is ALL time trials. Since it’s an Extra Shot, there’s no official warmup or cooldown. (Although I get a decent warmup pedaling through the introduction, copyright info, etc. at the beginning.) There’s really no recovery—you go right from one time trial to the next.

Music: alt rock with some electronica. I really liked most of the music but there were two songs towards the end that were just a bit too loud and “screamy” for my liking.

Footage: the UCI World Championship Time Trial in Copenhagen. It’s awesome racing down the Old World streets of Copenhagen—especially with some well-known riders (see Other Random Thoughts).

Difficulty: as with Half Is Easy, I made the mistake of doing a lower body workout the day before I did The Long Scream so my legs were really tired. But I think this would have been a tough workout even if my legs weren’t so fatigued. The fact that there’s nearly no recovery time means you’re pedaling all-out for almost the entire 35 minutes. The shorter length makes it doable. 8/10 for difficulty. 

Other Random Thoughts: I loved Time Trial-ing alongside the likes of  Tyler Phinney, Bradley Wiggins and Tony Martin. There’s not much storyline beyond how you’re supposed to be “schooling” said cyclists in how a Sufferlandrian handles a time trial. One thing missing from The Long Scream is the cadence meter—instead of a suggested cadence, you’re expected to match the cadence of the cyclist on the screen (which can be tough). I did miss the laugh out loud moments that are more prominent in other Sufferfests but I enjoyed The Long Scream and I’m glad to have another shorter Sufferfest workout. 8/10.

The Sufferfest: Half Is Easy

     The Ministry of Sufferlandria has determined that we haven’t been suffering enough and has “treated” us to a new Sufferfest workout! It’s called Half is Easy and is touted as a more “beginner” workout since, as the name implies, half of the workout is recovery or “easy”.  It seems that Grunter von Agony is actually pretty thin-skinned and is insulted by the notion that his workouts may too difficult for the average mortal. Half is Easy is his way of reaching out to Couchlandrians. 

Length: 40 minutes

Format: The bulk of Half is Easy is “Ugly 15’s”.  These are twenty sprints of 15 seconds each. But after each sprint you get a 15 second recovery interval. You do two sets of Ugly 15’s (so 40 sprints/40 recovery intervals in total), with a 4 minute recovery in between.

Music: electronica

Footage: the footage during the warmup is really fun: cycleball. I’d never even heard of cycleball before but now I seriously want join a league. Check out this clip: 

The footage during the sprints for the first Ugly 15’s set is BMX and Cyclocross and the footage during the recoveries is of various Couchladrians lazing around: on the beach, petting a kitty and (where else?) sitting on the couch. OK but not great. I greatly preferred the footage during the second set of Ugly 15's. The sprint footage is from a U23 road race and the recovery footage was gorgeous overhead shots of mountains and Florence, similar to the footage in Violator.

Difficulty: just because it’s an easier Sufferfest workout doesn’t mean it’s easy.  But the recovery intervals and the shorter time make it easier than most other Sufferfests. My legs were fatigued and a bit weak from a lower body workout the day before (poor planning on my part) but in terms of a cardio challenge and sweat factor, Half Is Easy definitely doesn’t compare to most of the other Sufferfest workouts. I keep debating whether it's a 6.5 or a 7 on the difficulty scale. I'm going to give it a 7/10 for difficulty. 

Other Random Thoughts: I liked Half Is Easy but I didn’t love it. I just found that the humour that usually makes me enjoy the Sufferfest workouts so much was really lacking and I missed having a storyline. I also wasn’t crazy about the footage during the first half. The on-screen graphics (timer, RPMs, interval counter, etc) have been revamped; this threw me for a bit of a loop and it took me a while to adjust as it didn’t feel like a true Sufferfest workout for the first few minutes. But I ended up liking the new graphics a lot. I also really enjoyed the cooldown. The Sufferfest often uses their cooldowns to call attention to worthy causes and the cooldown for Half is Easy is no exception. During the cooldown you learn about a fantastic organization called World Bicycle Relief. Their website can be found here.

People new to spinning might be tempted to start with Half Is Easy but I don’t think it’s the one I’d recommend for a newbie to get the “true” Sufferfest experience. I’d recommend Extra Shot for someone trying a Sufferfest for the first time. It just seems more representative of the true Sufferefest experience to me. (But for someone not new to spinning but new to the Sufferfest, It Seemed Like a Good Idea is definitely the one I’d recommend.)

So even though I didn’t love Half Is Easy, I’m really happy to have a shorter and easier Sufferfest in my collection. 7.5/10 overall.

Virtual Active

      With all the love I’ve been showing for The Sufferfest, I’ve neglected my other spinning love: Virtual Active.  (Here is their website. You can watch clips of all their workouts as well as purchase DVD's or downloads.) VA is a series of DVD’s filmed in gorgeous locations around the world (current titles include New Zealand, the Swiss Alps, Italy, Australia and California), meant to be used with a treadmill, elliptical, indoor bike, etc. For each workout you have the option of selecting a “basic” workout or a “guided” workout. The basic workout is just the scenery while in the guided workout, the instructor appears (in a small box so as to not block your view) every so often to tell you about the location you’re in or to tell you to increase/decrease your speed or resistance. The instructions always match the terrain—for example, you increase your resistance when you’re going uphill and you decrease your resistance but increase your speed when going downhill.   

     Here's two images from the Northern Italy workout, one of my favourites. It really does feel like you're there. 

 
     There’s a music on/off option and you also have the option of turning subtitles on/off. So if you wanted to listen to you own music but still wanted a guided tour, you could turn off the music and turn on the subtitles.  

     The Virtual Active DVD’s are divided into three categories:

     Hike—the Hike workouts move the slowest—they’re filmed at speeds between 3-6 miles per hour. Even though the hiking workouts are geared towards someone on a treadmill, I have a lot of the hiking workouts and find them easy enough to adapt to my spin bike.  My favourite hike DVD’s are California Central Coast, New Zealand and Northern Italy.  The Hike workouts are 35 minutes long (each DVD comes with two 35-minute workouts, the guided and unguided).

     Run—the Run  DVD’s are filmed at 8-12 miles per hour so the scenery goes by faster than in the hike workouts. Like the hiking workouts, the run workouts are easy to adapt to a spin bike. My favourite of the Run series are American Southwest 2, Sydney and Alberta Rockies. Again, the Run DVD’s come with two 35-minute workouts.

     Bike—up until this year, the bike DVD’s were released under the ICG (Indoor Cycling Group) label. Jim Karanas developed and instructed the workouts. Sadly, Jim passed away last summer so now the biking DVD’s are just called “Bike” and each has a different instructor.  The older ICG DVD’s contained 2 totally different 35 minute workouts (again, with a guided/unguided option, so really you get 4 35-minute workouts) and my favourite of these is the Northern Italy ride. The newer Bike DVD’s also contain 2 different workouts (also with the guided/unguided option) but one is 35 minutes long and the other is 55 minutes long, so it’s fantastic value for your money. Of the new Bike DVD’s, my favourites are New Zealand and British Columbia.
 
       I don’t find VA workouts as tough as The Sufferfest and that’s OK. I don’t need to kill myself every workout. (For what it’s worth, the biking workouts are more difficult than the hike/runs.) What’s nice about VA workouts is that you really have the option to push yourself as hard as you want to—for an easier workout, choose “unguided” and just enjoy the scenery as you go for an easy ride. 

 
      I just love doing these workouts. They’re beautiful to look at, so much fun and my workout time seems to fly when I’m doing them. Virtual Active plans to release new workouts this year, including those filmed in Hawaii, France and Costa Rica :)
 
      (Virtual Active also has an app. The app is free and there’s a free run sample you can try, with the option to pay for full downloads. There’s also a VA/BitGym app. The app itself is free but I got a free lifetime membership through KickStarter so I’m not sure what the cost for workouts is. The app is cool in that the footage speeds up/slows down with you, depending on your speed).

The Sufferfest: There Is No Try

     In honour of the Tour de France starting today I wanted to do a Sufferfest workout that features footage from the Tour. So my two options were There Is No Try and The Wretched. I decided on TINT since it wasn’t part of the Tour of Sufferlandria 2014 and, according to my log, I’ve only done it once and I couldn’t remember anything about it. Perhaps the evil minions wiped my memory after I did it the first time…

     The workout, of course, takes its title from the words of a wise little creature from one of my favourite movies.

      As the Ministry of Sufferlandria reminds you during the intro, Sufferlandrians do not try. Sufferlandrians DO.

Length: 55 minutes

Format: TINT consists of intervals. Lots and lots of intervals. And then some more intervals.  And they’re accelerating intervals, meaning that you get faster with each interval--which is the complete opposite of what usually happens in a race. It’s a special kind of suffering. Interval 1 is 4 x 15 second sets, Interval 2 is 4 x 30 second sets, Interval 3 is 4 x 45 second sets and Interval 5 is 4 x 60 second sets. The minions are kind enough to give you 1-1:30 recovery time between each interval. Interval 5 is a time trial. When I reached Interval 5, I actually thought, “oh good. I can recover a bit during the time trial.” Silly me. The time trials are accelerating, as well. It’s 4 sets of 2:00 minute intervals, with each interval getting faster. Then you repeat Intervals 1-4, in reverse order, before a sprint to the finish. Brutal.

Music: fun dance and electronica, but not as memorable as the music in most of the Sufferfest workouts

Footage: THE TOUR DE FRANCE!

Difficulty: this one was hard for me to gauge today. It’s been a busy week and I didn’t get in as many workouts as I usually do. Usually this works to my advantage for a spin workout, as it means that my muscles aren’t tired. But today I felt tired and weak from the starting gun and just pushed through. I’m giving it an 8.5/10 for difficulty but I plan to revisit it again on a day when I feel stronger.

Other Random Thoughts: I didn’t enjoy TINT as much as I do most Sufferfests.  Maybe it was just because I felt off today but I didn’t really enjoy the format. I probably would have been OK with Intervals 1-5 but repeating the intervals for the second half of the workout just made it feel too repetitive, which is something the other Sufferfest workouts are definitely not. They’re usually filled with so much variety that the time just flies by. But this one just felt predictable. I actually felt my focus wandering towards the end, which never happens with Sufferfest workouts. 

      On a positive note, I loved the Tour de France footage. For some reason, I really noticed the strategy in this one more than I have with other Sufferfests. I especially enjoyed watching the Sky team work together and seeing the peleton moving in waves. I also loved that there seemed to be lots of spectators in white shirts covered in maple leafs cheering me on from the road sides. Towards the end, I realized that they weren't maple leafs--they were red polka dots. (No matter--denial isn't just a river in Egypt.) I loved the ending—the final interval has you sprinting down the Champs Elysee towards the finish line, just like the real Tour. 

      Overall, I’m giving TINT a 7.5/10. It’s not my favourite Sufferfest. (But don't tell the minions I said so. TINT makes a point of highlighting the shadowy fort high on a cliff where people who “try” are sent... I get the feeling that people who criticize the Ministry of Sufferlandria get sent there, too.) 

                                                 

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       In other related news, The Sufferfest is releasing a new workout on July 11 :) It's called Half Is Easy. I'm not too enamoured with the trailer but it's a new Sufferfest so I'm excited nonetheless :)