Did this winter drive away your desire to be active? This spring, find something fun to bring back that active-passion! Each Wednesday, Rhonda Major will post about the exciting activities she tries out in Toronto.
Let’s be honest Canada, we complain about weather, it is our first national past-time. This winter, we earned that right in spades! Besides picking up my weights every now and then, and teaching classes through the week, my own level of activity was woefully absent.
I decided getting excited about moving my body again would require drastic action! For my 37th Birthday, I put a call out to all my friends who would indulge me and join a private lesson at The Monkey Vault! Nothing helps you feel your age like jumping off and climbing over objects!
The Monkey Vault is a parkour gym with 10,000 square feet of dynamic playground for kids and adults alike. As owner Dan Iaboni says: “We all have monkeys inside us, but as we grow older this feeling, this passion for movement dies away. It shouldn’t. Come play with us, let us help you revive it.”
While my friends are fairly open to my wacky ideas, I felt some eyes burning through me as Dan had us warm up with some runs, spider crawls and other activities. As a personal trainer and someone who has spent countless hours in instruction in a variety of classes over the years, I found his training style to be absolutely top-notch! This man knows how to move your body properly, with correct form, all the while acting like a motivational cheerleader to move adults past their developed fears of self-injury during physical activity.
Our private class (one hour session at just $20 each) consisted of gradually working our way up through tricks (including running on a wall), finally building towards some obstacle courses to give us a taste of a parkour session. It was like re-living my childhood in gymnastics. Even though my body’s not quite what it was at that age, I could handle every challenge that was thrown at me.
Though completely exhausted and with trophy bruises to show at the end of our hour, all were quick to agree they would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Make no mistake, this is a tough workout. Many friends reported sore muscles still lingering a few days later. This is some fantastic functional training that will break you out of the monotony of your gym routine.
If your friends aren’t game enough to join you, there are also ongoing adult classes throughout the week. There’s also the option of coming into the open gym with a rock climbing wall downstairs and of course, the foam pit!
If you’re looking to get excited about fitness again, The Monkey Vault is it!
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