Allison Daisley, 31, is naturally drawn to outdoor workouts. After all, she grew up in Owen Sound, Ont., a small city on the shore of bucolic Georgian Bay.
So this fall, the marketing manager at Cake Beauty is getting fit with friends through a military-style boot camp program – rain or shine. She's pushing herself and targeting her problem areas, but a reliance on take-out meals is assaulting her efforts.
My goal
“To improve my strength and stamina, and tone up my thighs, buns and arms.”
My workout
“Twice a week I do Booty Camp Fitness and the one-hour workout on DVD. What I love about it is that my butt is gonna be kicked right at the beginning.
“We start with a warm-up and incorporate some boxing moves. Then we do squats for a full song, and follow that with walking lunges for a full song. The rest of the session varies from class to class, but always includes strength training for the upper body, a lot of cardio and then a 10-minute cool-down and stretch at the end.”
My lifestyle
“Typically, I work Monday to Friday with intense days of creativity – a lot of my work is idea generation – and I have to be flexible with my time to produce special events and be ready to do things off-hours, so I can't always commit to a scheduled hour-long exercise routine.
“I'm a classic everything-in-moderation eater. I have a steady diet of white meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. Swedish Berries take care of my sweet tooth. As of late, I'm trying to pack a lunch. Otherwise I end up eating far more than I need.”
My motivation
“I don't like exercising in front of mirrors; I'm always aware of how you're looking and being self-critical. But being among trees and sky makes me feel good.
“Before and after camp, the drill instructors take measurements to see your progress. And they e-mail me twice a week with tips and suggest meals to try.
“There's no whistles in your face, no suicide sprints if you can't finish push-ups and lunges. I like a workout that's tough, but friendly.”
My workout anthem
“I really appreciate fresh music that's loud and upbeat, like I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. I'm so programmed to move to that song now, when I hear it I'm like Pavlov's dog; I start doing something active.”
My challenge
“I eat take-out too much. I have a boyfriend, but he works late, so often I'm a single diner. I can't prepare dishes for one.”
THE CRITIQUE
Rethink take-out
In the opinion of Mark Verstegen, founder of Athletes' Performance and author of Core Performance for Women, Ms. Daisley's regime successfully combines strength training with cardiovascular conditioning, but could still benefit from minor tweaks. More importantly: She needs to reshape her thinking about take-out to keep her nutrition on point.
Cook once for 10 meals
Mr. Verstegen observes that people who dine out eat more fat than if they'd made the meal, and up to 40 per cent more calories. But he understands that healthy eating is particularly challenging for the single cook.
To do wonders for her health and her waistline, he proposes that Ms. Daisley plan a week's worth of meals, shop once and make enough to provide 10 servings that can be individually frozen.
As an additional strategy, he offers his 1-2-3 system to build a meal: Cook and portion out proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables into three containers and store them in the fridge. By prepping and separating a variety of foods in advance, Ms. Daisley will have plenty of options to build easy-cook single-serving meals such as stir-fry dishes for lunch or dinner.
Switch to short sessions
When Ms. Daisley's professional priorities trump her exercise routine, Mr. Verstegen recommends she fight her all-or-nothing approach with 10-minute sessions. While that may appear to be an insignificant amount of time to produce results, bodies respond positively to even small amounts of physical activity, Mr. Verstegen says. It's an easy way to keep metabolism boosted.
Roll away tightness
Finally, for days when Ms. Daisley finds her energy too low for workouts, he recommends she switch to recovery mode and use a foam roller, an aid beloved by physiotherapists.
Deep-tissue self-massage with a densely packed cylindrical roll of foam will help improve circulation and release knots of tension between skin, muscle and bones that hours of stretching can't reach, he says.
“This added activity can have a tremendous impact on Allison's energy, stress levels and overall health, and it can help her get more out of the workouts she's already doing.”
Special to The Globe and Mail
