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| L-R: Joanne Macdonald, Raeleen Siu, Leah Mack |
This
fall we put a call out for our 2014 BDHQ Ambassadors. It was fun to hear from
many dedicated BDHQ’ers about their fitness goals and to see such great
progress by so many! We’re proud to say that we have selected three amazingly
self motivated, social superstars as our 2014 Ambassadors.
These
three are stellar examples of goal-oriented, driven BDHQ’ers who work their
butts off (literally) to make their workouts happen. They're social, they spread BDHQ love around the community and each of them have great stories to
share about why they do what they do…
Leah Mack is a hard
working professional who (sometimes) rises with the birds to get her workouts
in before her work day calls. If the
morning is too much, she will make it happen at lunch and Saturday
mornings.
More about Leah...
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Home town: Victoria, BC
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How long you
been w/ BDHQ? 3 + years, started in outdoor bootcamps and then found my way
downtown.
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What's your
fave class: Don’t ask me to pick a favorite, I love them all. But if I have too……. Probably Cardio Burnout
– you are guaranteed a well rounded workout of cardio and resistance, with a
team mate cheering you on.
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Favourite
exercise? Box jumps. There’s
always a bit of risk you’re going to fall on your face, so a real sense of
accomplishment when you don’t. So far, I
have not!
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Least
favourite exercise? Push-ups with your feet in the TRX. So far, I just swing. I’ll keep you posted on any progress.
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Can’t say no to: TEAM SPORTS, name it, I have probably
played it, or am currently on a team (softball, ortho, fastball, soccer, lawn
bowling, flag football, volleyball, dodgeball).
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2014 goals: A faster,
stronger, leaner, energized me! Me 2.0. And maybe a half marathon, but I am such a
scaredy cat.
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What I love about
BDHQ:
I fell in love with the efficiency of BDHQ: you will get the best workout, at
any class, on any day, with any instructor. I love the other members - it's like a (non-)secret club. Nothing is more fun than running into a
fellow member in the "real world", dressed in real clothes.
Like Superheros. And I love the music.
Joanne Macdonald is a long
time BDHQ’er and busy working mom. We’ve enjoyed seeing more of Joanne this
year at classes at both locations as well as at outdoor bootcamp as part of her quest
to rebuild from “multi-tasking mom burnout”. In the past months Joanne has shifted
priorities and instead of working 60 hour work weeks she’s now rocking the
workouts including 30 workouts in 30 days in November.
More about Joanne...
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Home town: Born & raised on the Island,
been in Victoria since 1987
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How long you
been with BDHQ? Started with BDHQ Outdoor Bootcamp after my first daughter was born
in 2003, before BDHQ had studios, kettlebells, baby bootcamps and such. I’ve
been in and around BDHQ ever since.
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What's your
fave class: I like different classes for different reasons. Kettlebells for
the strength, spin for the sweat, Bootcamp for the outdoor fun and the Drill
for the awesome live tunes!
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Favorite
exercise? All ab work, especially sit-ups with the ball overhead cause I’m
keen to improve my core strength.
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Least
favorite exercise? Rings and hamstring curls with your feet in the TRX. I’m sure
they are both very helpful exercises, but there’s nothing fun about those ones
for me.
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Memorable
2013 goal achieved? Left my demanding job in July and spent the latter half of the
year recovering from burnout and appreciating having time to workout, re-invent
my career and catch back up on life. Ran the October half marathon within one minute
of my personal best time, plus ran the 1.5km kids run with my two girls as a
cool down.
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2014 goals: Continue to
wage the battle on work-life balance, putting fitness and family first as I
launch a new business. Run a half marathon in June, continue to build strength
by hitting BDHQ classes and refine my food & drink choices for a leaner
body in 2014 (hoping that less work stress = less need for wine!).
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Why I love
BDHQ? I
love the great workouts, people and positive energy. I
appreciate the varying classes that keep my workouts interesting and I love the
music as it keeps me moving. I love the fact that BDHQ’ers represent such a
wide range of people and body types - there truly is something for everyone at
BDHQ! No matter how many reasons I might have for not
getting to a workout, I always leave happy. All you have to do is get there and
you know you’ll work hard and feel better for it. I love that. Check out my
blog for more on how BDHQ has helped me achieve my goals: http://themomcape.com/2014tools/
Raeleen Siu walked off the street and
into BDHQ in the summer of 2011 and said to trainer Lovisa, “I need
to change,” and has been married to the gym ever since. She went from zero workouts to six classes a
week through BDHQ’s Biggest Winner program, losing 35 pounds in 9 months. Since then, she’s had another baby and kept
the weight off, thanks to BDHQ’s Baby Bootcamp. Raeleen’s two hyperactive boys,
aged 1 and 4, keep her accountable to staying fit so she can keep up with them!
More about Raeleen...
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Home town: Born in Vancouver, spent my
20’s in Edmonton, and have been in Victoria 6 years
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How long have you been a
BDHQ’er: 2.5
years
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What’s your fave class: Cardio Burnout—there is
nothing I’d rather be doing during my lunch hour than having James calmly
request ridiculously hard exercises with a car tire, and keeping up with Dawn’s
crazy spin bike routines. And, last year I religiously attended Baby Bootcamp
with Trish which was the best use of maternity leave, EVER.
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Favorite exercise? Planking! I can go for 5
minutes and it’s helped get my core back into shape after having 2 babies.
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Least favorite exercise? Rings! They make me feel
like a large sea lion out of water trying to do upside down push-ups. Awkward!
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Memorable 2013 goal
achieved?
OMG. So many…I was on maternity leave and spent it staying in shape, losing 30
pounds of baby weight, and training for and running 2 half marathons (finished
the Goodlife Half in October in 1:57, my PB)
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2014 goals: This is the year I hit my
final weight goal/dress size and start maintaining. Run at least 2 more half marathons and do it
faster. The scariest goal for me is I promised myself if I am chosen as a BDHQ Ambassador
I will sign up for courses to become a personal trainer. And, figure out those
rings.
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Why I love BDHQ? I love how it makes me
feel—uplifted, less stressed, inspired, and appreciated. It’s partly because
the classes are challenging and I sweat a lot, but I keep coming back because
of the people. Michele has it dialed when it comes to amazing service. They
knew my name the second day I walked into the gym and called me out when I
missed classes. There is seriously good
energy at BDHQ and I need to be a part of that.
