Climbing, FitFluential, Fitness, Newfoundland, Photos, Vacation

Climbing in Newfoundland

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The next few posts on my blog are going to be quite photo heavy. I’m about to bombard you with pictures from my trip back home to Newfoundland.

Let’s dive right on in b’ys! The first day that I was home I didn’t do too much besides hang out with family, especially my little nephews. That night I got a text from one of my climbing buddies asking me to go outdoor climbing with them by the Manuel’s River. I had never been there before, so I decided to go out for a climb!

I’m not one for outdoor climbing. I don’t have any certification to set up lead or anchors. But I’ll gladly top rope. So that’s exactly what I did.

Lori, me and Kerry getting ready to hike in.

trio

We hiked in the trail about 30 minutes or so, along this muddy, overflown trail. I borrowed some shoes from Lori ;) since I didn’t bring any hikers home. Thanks buddyhiking the trail

This was Lori’s second climb of the day and I wanted to belay her on lead. Chalking up to top rope.climb5 climb7 climb10

High fives throughout the day for the awesome climbing day!climb12

I went up after Lori lead the climb and set the anchors. It was my first time ‘cleaning’ the route, which meant taking off all the quick draws so you’re only left with an anchor at the top for top roping.

Tyin’ in and making faces.IMG_0025

 Sweet moses. It’s been YEARS since I climbed outside. Over 8…climb1

Here we go, cleaning the route:

IMG_0035climb

Apparently it was only a 5.6 but I made it much more difficult, haha.

climb3

Scared here.climb13 climb14

Almost to the top. 60 feet.climb16 climb15 climb13

Hellooooo up there!climb17  All the gear safe back on my harness. IMG_0055

I climbed twice more (or maybe just once?) after that climb. One was a 5.9 which I really liked because sections of it were difficult, and others were quite nice and ‘easy’.

Someone brought a dog. I’m obsessed with dogs.lol2

So that’s that! An outdoor climbing adventure a few days before Canada Day. Such a fun (and scary) time. climb20 Tomorrow I’ll be back with more photos from my vacation.

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CrossFit, Daily, Fashion, FitFluential, Fitness, Health, Photos, Running

It never gets easier. You just get better.

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I don’t think my desire of fitness and exercise is particularly a big secret.

ua-iwillTo me, staying fit is an essential part of my lifestyle. This is why I’m involved with the UnderArmour #IWill/#WhatsBeautiful campaign, see my direct Under Armour profile page. I don’t think I can be complete without exercising a few times a week.

This week I received an Under Armour surprise thanks to the #WhatsBeautiful campaign and sponsorship with me being a FitFluential Ambassador. Here I am sporting the tank and the pink sneaks that was sent to me for free. Totally my style, love what they picked!

ua-frontback

Let’s do this ladies. Go after your goals!ua-goafteryourgoals

… and never give up!ua-never-give-up

Take a rest day when needed, and lace up and give’r on the other days. ua-lace-up

As much as I love working out and working on my weaknesses — I course love my rest days like anyone else. Something about a bit of rest makes me feel stronger, faster, and better the next time I do a CrossFit wod, a run, or go for a climb. 

I’m pretty proud to announce that on Wednesday I achieved a 100lb Power Clean at CrossFit and did it three times in a row.100lb powerclean

We were given a 15 minute time limit to do 5 sets of 3. Well, I ended up doing it 7 times because I kept going up in weight, and surprised myself. So now? I have no idea what my PR is, since we ran out of time. I feel like a powerhouse, who never gave up.ua-never-give-up2

Thank you Under Armour, and FitFluential, for allowing me to be part of this motivating worldwide team. uathank-youMy favorite way to work out, as you already probably know is going to CrossFit and bouldering at the local climbing gym. A proper balanced diet, mixed with some candy and McDonalds here and there is how I’m keeping things real. How I keep myself fit, healthy and happy.

Sharing the love with a few of my favorite Under Armour What’s Beautiful Women:

As for my workout goals? I had planned on putting down getting double unders — but I achieved that when I did my paleo challenge in April/May. I’m now up to getting 27 in a row without failing. C’mon 30! But my goal now, is to be the healthiest me I can. To have fun, and enjoy food, friends and fitness. Indulging once in a while never hurt anyone.

I also want to get better at doing pushups with my elbows IN, and off my toes. I’m pretty speedy at doing pushups like this when I have to do a ton of burpees, but doing a few pushups in a row? Hard, even after my 50 day push up challenge.ua-pushups

It never gets easier. You just get better.

How about you guys? Do you work out on a regular basis? Do you CrossFit, or climb or all of the above?

Do you ever make goals for yourself? They can be mental, emotional or physical. 

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Climbing, Daily, FitFluential, Fitness, Health, Photos

History of my climbing shoes

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I don’t know why I put myself through the pain of buying my climbing shoes three sizes too small. The recommended amount is that you go down 1½—2 sizes. Yet I chose 3. I can’t go back now, because my feet are used to it!

Have you ever tried indoor rock climbing? This is a really old photo of me climbing lead back home in Newfoundland. I won’t tell you how old exactly because I feel old even thinking about how long ago it was. climbing leadIt’s such a great workout and doesn’t even feel like you’re working out until you’re done. Because it’s SO FUN to climb!

Back home my friends are all climbers. It’s how I’ve met all of my friends in Newfoundland. I miss them all and can’t wait to go back in June to see them.climbing back home

My first pair of climbing shoes I picked out on the recommendation of a friend, back in 1995 when I first started climbing. They were they 5.10 5.10 moccasym’s.

Me and my friends climbing shoes back in 2003:climbingshoes

I made them work, but they were really a basic shoe and not the best fit. Every time I came down off a climb there was air between the arch of my foot and the shoe that it made a farting noise. Talk about embarrassing, especially being a young teenager at the time. That farting noise? No man it wasn’t me.

I had them resoled a few times to get a sharper edge, and of course because the rubber was wearing thin. A few years later I knew I wanted something more aggressive for heel hooking. A shoe that would stay on my foot, and fit my feet better. I did a lot of researching and ended up purchasing the La Sportiva Miura’s back in 2004. Which ended up being a unisex shoe at the time. Now, the green one’s are the men’s version and the women have their own Miuras (in white). I loved using the miuras because it form fitted to my small heel. The edges were incredible and the way I performed on the bouldering and climbing walls were a world of difference compared to the 5.10 moccasym. katana miura

I had been eying the katana climbing shoes by La Sportiva a few years after I purchased the miura’s. But it didn’t make sense to buy new climbing shoes because at that time I was living in Ontario, an hours drive from a climbing gym and not climbing as much as I would’ve liked.

Fast forward to late summer 2011 when the new climbing gym opened up in my city. I took up climbing again after a few years break. December 2011 I entered a boulder comp, this is one of the photos my Boyf took of me on the wall :)boulder comp

In 2012 I took a “break” and didn’t really climb too much. This year I’ve amped it up and I’m climbing 2-3 times a week. Definitely not as frequent as I used to go (5-6 days a week) because I have two loves. Climbing and CrossFit. So something’s gotta give.

My mirua’s are now 9 years old, have never been resoled and it was due time to purchase another pair. Finally, the katana’s! My boyf ended up buying the Katana’s for me for my birthday.katana in box

Super pretty right? I think blue is my favorite color lately. I’ve been buying a lot of it.climbing shoes

I went into MEC and tried them on for the first time. I knew they weren’t going to be an aggressive shoe like the mirua, but I was okay with that. What about the heel hook and the fit of the shoe overall? It’s definitely a different shoe than I’m used to. I bought the same size of Katana’s as I had in the Miura.katana

I was biased about the Katana’s and wanted to buy them regardless. I had my eyes on them for years. I’ve used the Katana’s twice already and while it’ll take a while to break in, I’m overall pleased with it. The heel hook is not the same as the Mirua, the shape of the heel cup is different at the backside. But that is something I”ll have to get used to.

Have you ever tried climbing?

If you do climb, what shoes do you own?

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