Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
It’s November. This is the only time in the year that the name kinda makes sense to a person who is hearing about it for the first time. Where people say “why is it called November project” or “why are you talking to me about an event that happens in November… when it’s June?” Right now it’s November and we still do November Project. And we do November Project in December, and January, all the way to September, October and November again.
Today you gave 25 minutes and 1 second of your time, energy, athleticism and sweat to those 287 steps behind Parliament Hill. 25 minutes and 1 second, seems a little outrageous don’t you think? Giving you an extra second to get that much further? Yet, we don’t see it as outrageous at all. We see it as an extra second of work, of effort and a runner hitting those last couple of steps to make it to the top in time to finish 6 stair climbs.
Well to all those resisted the snooze button and who came out to play on the Supreme Court Lawn, you impressed us once again. This workout was one in which the challenge and the results of the workout were up to you. It was one you could likely get away with slacking- Did you hang on to that plank until a tribe member come to relieve you? Were you nervous to call someone out to come save you from those burpees? Did you reach that point where 7:00am couldn’t come soon enough? It’s that fine balance between making sure you can push for the entire time and not burn out in the first 8 minutes, and that perfect burn where you just about can’t finish those last few reps. It looked like most of were doing some huffing and puffing- whether your best effort meant a walk or jog across the lawn, a or a sprint everytime. The challenge was up to you and we some some people really kicking their butts into gear and pushing hard.
So today we brought it back to the Supreme Court of Canada. Often when we announce workouts we tend to forget how epic it is that we have the privilege and the right to meet on the grounds of the Canadian Parliament or in today’s case, on the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada. In honour of this, we wanted to pay tribute to all those who show up at the Supreme Court of Canada.
After coming back from some weeks away from the usual workout routine and doing some different physical activities, I believe my body (and mind) took some time to adjust. Coming back stronger in some areas, but rusty in some others, I was sore for about 4 days, I wondered whether this was the most effective way to become my best? I’m not exactly sure of the answer to that. It always feels great to have that satisfying burn and 24-28 hours muscle soreness referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS if you will). I still tried my best during the workouts following this day, but I’m not sure I was getting the most out of my training. When you have to take a moment to mentally prepare yourself to go down some stairs and brace yourself to sit on the toilet for those 24-48 hours, you may be more focused on those functional activities than going out for your long run. It’s okay to feel these things, your body is telling you it worked hard, is getting stronger and it’s just not used to that sort of movement, however, the more important questions to consider may be: what are my goals? What workout did I do yesterday? How am I feeling today? What do I have coming up? What kind of training do I have to complete for the rest of the week that you may have affected? If I have just started exercising, or just getting back into it, what is going to allow me to establish a routine that is sustainable and motivating for me to continue doing week after week? All of these are important considerations to know how to go about your workouts and how to modify your NP workouts to meet your goals.
When I, like most November Project members sometimes awkwardly-excitingly walk up to someone and ask them if they’ve ever heard of November Project, I often get a jolt of excitement run through me. I am beyond excited when people respond with a “No. But tell me more about it” and I’m even more excited when these people who are at first strangers let me know they have heard about a somewhat elusive November Project but have yet to make it out to a workout.
Let’s take a moment to pause and think about our daily life and our habits…. How many things in our day to we do every single day we live? We can generally say almost for certain that all of us wake up, get out of bed, empty our bladder, brush our teeth (hopefully), get dressed and eat breakfast, in some variation of that order. The rest of the day, we likely do some productive things such as being a student, working, taking care of children, volunteering, sleeping because you were productive during a night shift, or being a retiree and playing bridge for the day. Whatever variation, we are creatures of habit and we develop these habits, even as a young child. When your mom tells you you have to eat fruit before desert, you know that the night-time routine includes dinner, fruit, dessert and then some type of bathtime and bedtime routine. Our environment does change, and so do our routines. At the early stages, your preschool routine becomes a kindergarten and then a grade school routine. Your bedtime routine gets 15 minutes later every year you get older. You move out and your routine changes again, you start working, your routine changes, you change jobs, move cities, you have kids, you have grandkids, your routine changes, you get the picture I think.
It’s the time of year when the weathers hot, the days are long and you find yourself out and about at dusk and beyond on those balmy evenings. Why yes, we are talking about that sweet, sweet summer. We wanted to take the time to acknowledge how wonderful this time is and appreciate it for all that it is, and also consider the future of this tribe using an analogy.
That bounce though. Lets talk about it. When you have the opportunity to visit other cities and tribes, there are some keys thing that you can expect when showing up to a November Project workout. Each one brings its own special vibe and energy, but some things are for sure.
You can expect hugs from strangers, many high fives, an extraordinary number of smiley people all before 7am, an intense, challenging but fun workout, and a BOUNCE.
Dear NP Ottawa,
This is a letter to express my gratitude. To all of you who I have met and those who I may not have had the pleasure of hugging bright and early in the morning by the centennial flame, I thank you for being part of this community.
What is neat about this community is that while you are all just showing up for the variety of reasons you show up, you are building a community where the by-product is improved health and fitness. Wonderful humans in the city of Ottawa are coming together and making it a better place. Even though it may be a challenge climbing out of bed and resisting pushing that snooze button, you are there to greet people who may need you that one morning while the rest of the city sleeps.