Jordan Clark, participant of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, practises her dance movements at her condo gym in Toronto, September 15, 2011.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
You likely know the name Jordan Clark, the latest winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. What's not so obvious, though, are the years of training the 19-year-old from Tottenham, Ont., put in, on and off the stage, to lead up to her triumph in September.
My goal
"To keep healthy and my body in shape."
My workout
"Twice a week for an hour, I do cardio. For the first half I run on the spot with knees up, then [with]feet kicking my bum. I do football runs, then jumping jacks, suicides, burpees, and track and field drills.
"I do 15 minutes of abs. I start with regular crunches and do two counts of eight, and then do them [again]in levels – crunching up half way, then doing a full crunch, and then crunching up half way – for another two counts of eight. I put [my]knees together and [bring my]feet off the ground, and then do levels. I do this again with legs in a split. I bring my feet together to make a diamond [shape]with my legs, and then I do the same thing. I lean back and pulse for a good two minutes. I do twists to my right and left [sides]and I do v-sits [simultaneously raising straight legs and torso to touch raised feet]and planks.
"After that, I do arms. I do 10 push-ups with a single-arm reach underneath my body – right and left is one rep. I sit on the ground with my arms out to the sides and pulse arms up and down in jazz arm positions for a good 10 minutes."
My lifestyle
"I teach jazz, acrobatic and hip-hop [dance]seven days a week and I dance five hours a day."
As for nutrition, "today I had cereal – Honey Bunches of Oats. I had a club sandwich for lunch. For dinner I had chicken and pasta. I don't eat as much protein as I should – I learned that through the competition when my body started to feel sluggish I thought, 'I have no more power to do anything!' "
My motivation
"I feel so much better when I eat healthy and work out. My body feels so great and I feel like I can do anything. I'm obsessed with that feeling – you feel so clean."
My anthem
"A remix of Lady Gaga's Born This Way."
My challenge
"Feeling too tired. After a long day of dance you have to do your cardio routine so you have to push through it because you know you'd feel better afterward."
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Special to The Globe and Mail