Vitamin Daily

After achieving Zen on the mat, a yogi’s greatest challenge is maintaining that inner peace in the outside world.

We’re still working on it, but until then, at least we can prolong the feeling of the mat under our feet with Sanuk’s Yoga Mat flip flops ($39.99). With a footbed that molds to your foot and a soft upper part that won’t cause battle scars, you'll be tempted to wear these cushiony sandals everywhere.

Now back to that journey of a thousand miles….

At InterSport.

The Scandinavian tradition of outdoor exercise has shaped nations of tall, tan and fit babes.

We’re taking our own fitness regime al fresco at Parc Jean-Drapeau, where Montreal company Trekfit has set up a permanent outdoor circuit. Geared to boosting cardio and targeting specific muscle groups, the five-station training circuit has 17 concrete equipment units including balance beams, step benches and monkey, push-up and parallel bars. Customize your own work-out or download a free training program from the Trekfit website (we like buns of steel!).

Will it make us taller and blonder? No, but we’re finally fit enough to catch a hot Swede.

At Parc Jean-Drapeau (near the Aquatic Complex), Montreal, www.parcjeandrapeau.com

We always thought “no swinging” was the number one rule of weight training. Then we tried Kettlebell.

Founded in Russia and centuries old, Kettlebell is all about the swing. The instructor makes it look easy as she guides you through familiar moves (lunges and presses) and brand new ones like the “snatch” and “clean” (no joke) with small cannonball-esque weights in 10, 15 or 17.5lb denominations. At first, we felt awkward, a bit like Jennifer Coolidge trying to “bend and snap” in Legally Blonde, but gradually we got into the flow. Kettlebell worked our glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core. The key is balance and control so don’t fret about keeping up with the regulars and do plant yourself in the first row by the instructor. 

Classes at Energia Athletics are 45 sweaty minutes long and get booked quickly in advance ($18/class).

Energia Athletics, 
164 Danforth Ave., Toronto, 
416-406-6664
, www.energiaathletics.com

Two months after giving birth, Gisele was posing on the beach in a bikini. Then there's us mere mortals.

To look long and lean in our own sandbox, we love the Essentrics Workout, a stretching regime used by Olympic and NHL athletes for strength, speed and tighter bums. Now creators Miranda and Sahra Esmonde-White have opened their first downtown studio. Nestled in a historic coach house with exposed brick walls and lockers from California Closets, you might spot Vanessa Hudgens striking a pose, or skater Joannie Rochette practicing hip stretches at the barre. Sign up for private sessions (from $65) or an inch-busting bootcamp ($120/month).

Bundchen, beware.

3431 Stanley St., Montreal, 514-989-0236, www.essentricsstudio.com

Girls just wanna have fun, but when their gym kit makes them look like Little Miss Sunshine, you can bet they won't be turning cartwheels.

There's no sitting on the sidelines with Lilikiks, a Vancouver-based girls activewear line that has just launched its online store.

With on-trend colours, super-soft fabrics, and high-end technical detailing, styles like these will take them from tennis to track and back again.

She shoots, she scores!

Shop by sport or by style at their new e-store.

www.lilikiks.com

June equals weddings and weddings equal bachelorettes, but when our go-to party dress wouldn’t quite zip up, we admitted we had let things slide.

Kick-start your summer fitness regime with the Circuit 60 class at Track Fitness. The unique, total body workout alternates intense treadmill and weight training in five- and ten-minute intervals so there’s no time to get complacent. Before you can complain about the sprints, it’s time to hit the floor for push-ups or squats. While the class is designed for varying abilities—walkers, joggers and runners—everyone is pushed to their limit for a full sixty minutes.

Incidentally, the same duration as the hot bath we took when class was over.  

$25 per class (first class is free). Track Fitness,  417 Spadina Rd., Toronto, 416-481-7872, www.trackfitness.com

If you treat bikini season like a test (with dread and lots of cramming), then we’ve got the study group for you.

Shape up starts by enrolling in Survivor Bootcamp. The four-week intensives offer two, three or five day a week routine outdoor grinds in Canadian cities. Lead by very motivating instructors, they combine cardio and circuit training for trimming down and toning up. We’ll testify that they’re no walk in the park, but yield serious results.

And the high we had afterward felt better than scoring an A+.

From $190, find a location and sign-up at www.survivorbootcamp.com

If your mountain biking regimen includes a pre-ride prayer asking whoever’s up there to help you make it down in one piece, the Trek Dirt Series is your saviour.

Learn an entire season’s worth of skills (from basic climbing to riding down drops) and bond with fellow mountain bikers at the all-women two-day weekend camps ($315). Participants are split into groups according to experience so no need to fret if you’re still working on the basics. The camps also include bike maintenance clinics, fit workshops and social time to talk shop and show off your new skills.

The first Canadian camp runs May 15 and 16 in North Vancouver followed by May 29 and 30 in Whistler, July 10 and 11 in Calgary and August 21 and 22 in Canmore. For a complete schedule go to www.dirtseries.com

Whether we’re treading the mill or pumping some iron, we refuse to look like a mess.

We’ve discovered a perfect fit in Canadian-made Dedicated Clothing. This flattering line of work-out wear uses nylon-spandex blends that don’t call attention to our “problem areas.”  We’re burning calories in the booty-friendly shorts ($40) and spaghetti strap racer tanks ($44)—no sports bra required—in happy fabrics like green pea, canary yellow and brick red that won’t fade, shrink or pill .

We’ll dedicate ourselves to that.

At Boutique Romy Elliot, 292 Principale, Saint-Sauveur, 450-227-2421, www.boutiqueromyelliot.com and Brome Lake Fitness, 328 Knowlton Rd., Knowlton, 450-243-6246.

The Village People recently revealed that they wrote their 1978 hit “Y.M.C.A” in Vancouver, and after getting a private tour of the renovated downtown location, we think they should release a reprise singing its new praises. Herewith, ten reason to play at the new YMCA:

1. While the space retained its cool historical exterior, there’s nothing dated about the open, light-filled interior of windows and glass.

2. You don’t have to be a member to enjoy the Licious café (which also offers nutritional counseling and food delivery) and quiet meditation room on the ground floor.

3. Five different change rooms, including one just for families, with card-access lockers large enough to fit your moped helmet and a machine to ring all the water out of your bathing suit in 10 seconds.

4. Its Membership Plus service, which offers separate adult-only change rooms with towel service, Aveda products, lounge with internet and TV, and private sauna and hot tub.

5. The 25-yard pool with a movable floor that is UV filtered (no green hair!) and kept warm using reclaimed heat from the building.

6. Fitness classes like yoga, spin, personal training and even stroller-baby boot camp for moms and tots to take together.

7. Two rooftop playgrounds for the wee ones with a view of the 1910 church building next door that the kids have already dubbed “Hogwarts.”  With licensed daycare and child-minding services, your muggle can play there while you work or workout.

8. An outfitted, open concept kitchen and meeting area upstairs that will offer cooking classes by Vancouver chefs or can be rented out for that family reunion you don’t have room for.

9. Full gymnasium, racquetball/squash courts and 70 cardio and strengthening machines.

10. The fact that one very affordable monthly fee (from $43) gets you access.

Robert Lee YMCA (opens Monday, May 3, 2010), 955 Burrard St., Vancouver, 604-689-9622, www.vanymca.org/centres/robertlee