Author: Sam

…doesn’t actually stay in Toronto. Because this isn’t Vegas (sorry if this comes as a shock to anyone). Because Tony from Calgary was there this morning throwing down with us and he’s going to go back to Calgary and tell them all about it. Because people talk to people, who may live outside of Toronto. Because there’s this thing called social media that we use to broadcast how much fucking fun we’re having every Wednesday morning. It’s not quite a brag, but it’s pretty close. It’s like, “This is how much fun we’re having. This is how much fun you could be having too: come and join us.” People visiting Toronto from other cities know that we’re here, and they come to workout with us. Simply because we are who we are and we do what we do. And we can do the same. If we’re in another city, be it one that we’ve known for years or are visiting for the first time, if there’s a tribe there, we can just show up. There’ll be smiles and hugs waiting to welcome us, and damn good workout. Whether we realise it or not, whether we take advantage of it or not, that community is out there for us. I think that’s pretty cool. read more

I’m going to claim that this is so late because I was busy negotiating to get Beyonce to #justshowup next Wednesday. Apparently you can’t do burpees in heels, although I’m pretty sure BG would take that as a challenge. But, we’ll still have the album to listen to whilst we burpee (thanks Krizka). read more

First off, I want to say a massive congratulations to Sherab and Ray who crushed Boston Marathon on Monday morning (as a training run), then showed up for ‘recovery burpees’ this morning. That’s pretty hardcore. And obviously everyone else who was there on Monday. Now I want to run a marathon again. I’ve seen literally (and figuratively) dozens of photos from race day, where November Project had a HUGE presence, but this one below has got to be my favourite, so I need to share it: read more

I walked into work yesterday morning with a bit of a spring in my step. I restrained myself from jumping up and down, from shouting fuck yeah and from high five-ing any of my colleagues. I did however say good morning (using my inside voice) individually to everyone in the office (spoiler: there were only three of them at that time), and with a little more verve than usual. Enough that I was asked if I was ok. Enough I had to give myself a little pep talk; to take a moment to compose myself. My colleagues have never seen NP Sam, and would probably find it pretty hard to reconcile with my professional demeanour. It’s almost like I have an alter-ego, but instead of emerging from the telephone box in red and blue spandex, I’m wearing neon #grassrootsgear. That’s always how it is when I imagine it anyway. This difference between NP me and ‘grown up me’ is something that I’ve amused myself thinking about occasionally over the past few weeks, and it turns out that I’m not the only one: Nadim has already beaten me to a blog post on the subject, and his is probably funnier than anything I would have written anyway. read more

How do you like your tabata in the morning?

I like mine with a hug.

Dark or light, the world’s all right as long as I get my hug.

It was definitely dark this morning, there were definitely hugs, and there most certainly was tabata. The Easter Bunny came by and dropped off her eggs. Clearly the poor little lady has become a little twisted – presumably with jealousy over how much more popular Santa is than her – because her eggs were a little more sadistic than usual. Let’s just say, there was a lot of leg work today. read more

This week’s workout was brought to you by the duo behind November Project Vancouver: two time Olympian Rich, and Graham, the guy who has just announced he’s going to do 200 burpees and an hour of cardio every day for the next two weeks as preparation for his bachelor party. So you know they mean business. They obviously weren’t aware of how badass you guys are you. “Only one extra burpee each time? Let’s make it two.”. Brush those shoulders off Toronto. I’m serious. Go stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye, and brush your shoulder off. See if you can manage to do that without laughing. Wednesday was fierce and we fucking loved it. read more

Tracker. You know what to do.

NP SUMMIT. You know you want to.

Social group on Facebook. We’re about to start actually using it so you might want to join if you haven’t already.

I got a text late on Tuesday night that shocked me. “Does NP get snow days?”. Damn right we do. It snows, and we get to play in it. Perhaps not what the author of the text was thinking of when they used the term ‘snow days’, but fortunately an enthusiastic ‘#weatherproof’ response got them back on the straight and narrow. read more

I promised you a lame Prince Charming joke but it’s not going to happen I’m afraid. Nothing on Sickipedia was appropriate. I don’t know what I expected.

Wisconsin Notes: Buffs. Cards, Froggers and Stairs. Positivity Award.

I have a new hashtag for us. #WhereIsNick. Look through some of the group photos, you’ll understand. He seems to crush the workout, and then disappear like a badass ninja. He hits the Steps other mornings too. That’s badass. read more